- "Nevertheless, you, James Rhodes, are never wearing the Mark II Armor again... because I made this for you instead."
- ―Tony Stark to James Rhodes[src]
The Mark II War Machine Armor, temporarily known as the Iron Patriot Armor, is the armor used by James Rhodes during his missions for the United States Air Force around the globe, Aldrich Killian's War and the Battle of Sokovia.
History
The Beginning
Successfully defeating Whiplash in two-vs-one combat at the Stark Expo with James Rhodes, Tony Stark took back and stripped the War Machine Armor: Mark I of everything that Justin Hammer's technicians installed.
However, Stark did decide to make Rhodes his own armor, as a way to keep the US government from his doorstep. He discovered that the original War Machine had served as a buffer that calmed the senators that would exploit his technology. Stark made a newer suit which he later gave to him. Since Stark was busy with the construction of Stark Tower and as a consultant to S.H.I.E.L.D., he had no time to fight against the terrorists as Iron Man. But knowing that the world expects Iron Man to always be available, he gave the armor to Rhodes to fight in his place.[1]
For some time, Rhodes used the new armor to destroy various cells of the terrorist group Ten Rings around the world as War Machine. When he fought in Hong Kong, Rhodes was called by Stark to assist him in fighting against the Chitauri who invaded New York City. Since Rhodes was on the other side of the world, he couldn't help the Avengers in their battle in time. Although when he was able to get to New York, he found the Chitauri defeated and the Avengers all gathered inside a shawarma restaurant where Stark invited him to join them.[1]
Tony Stark had tried to make Rhodes another armor and then decided to keep it for himself.[2]
The Iron Patriot
James Rhodes re-branded as Iron Patriot
- "Sir, this is Colonel Rhodes! They're using the Iron Patriot as a trojan horse; they're gonna take out the President somehow. We have to immediately alert that plane."
- ―James Rhodes to Rodriguez[src]
Roughly about a year later, Rhodes was still using the suit to serve the government. However, after several supposed Mandarin attacks on America, the Mark II was repainted in the motif of the American flag in a design similar to Captain America's costume. Instead of acting under the violent guise of War Machine, Rhodes was given the name "Iron Patriot" to boost morale with the American people.[2]
Iron Patriot locates some Ten Rings members
When the Mandarin supposedly killed Thomas Richards on live television, President Matthew Ellis sent Rhodes to find and capture him; however, he was lead into a trap with his suit being immobilized by an Extremis soldier. Locking himself into the suit, Rhodes was taken to a secret A.I.M. base where they tried to remove him to no avail, forcing their leader Aldrich Killian to use his Extremis powers to burn it open. Once removed, an Extremis soldier Eric Savin, took control of the suit and flew it to Air Force One where he pretended to be Rhodes and accompanied Ellis on board.[2]
Eric Savin controls the Iron Patriot armor
When the time came, Savin used the Patriot Armor to kill all bodyguards and place Ellis inside the suit. Killian then used a remote control to pilot it back to him, with Ellis captive inside. Once arriving back to Killian, he locked Ellis inside the suit, strung it up from a crane and intended to burn him alive on live television. Rhodes and Stark, however, infiltrated the base with Rhodes rescuing Ellis, taking control of his armor and flying him to safety.[2]
Back to Basics
Sometime afterwards, the name was reverted back to War Machine and the American-inspired motif was removed, returning to a darker suit.
Iron Man and War Machine fighting Ultron
Rhodes later used the gauntlet of the armor in a failed attempt to lift Mjølnir alongside Tony Stark, and to defend himself from Ultron's first attack. He donned the entire armor during the final battle against Ultron in Sokovia, fighting the Ultron Sentries and giving air support to the Helicarrier. After the battle, he used it for superhero activities after becoming part of the official roster for the Avengers.[3] Ultimately, however, the armor would be replaced by a Mark III, which was in use by Rhodes by the time of the Capture of Winter Soldier.[4]
Capabilities
The War Machine Mark II vastly improves on the flaws of the Mark I. As it was originally Tony Stark's Mark II armor, the original kept the icing flaw and the poor power distribution, despite its formidable arsenal. The new model is noticeably more streamlined, and was built from the start as a military tool and weapon, rather than an unarmed prototype. It has weapon-grade repulsors, enhanced thrusters and the standard function of augmenting the strength and durability of its user. Additionally, just like the Iron Man armors following the Mark V and the Mark VI, the Iron Patriot (and by extension, War Machine) armor was designed to be able to open and close up from head to toe and allow the user to seamlessly step in and out of the suit at will.
However, the suit had the opposite weakness of the Mark I: extreme heat. This was shown when an Extremis soldier applied heat to its chest, causing it to shut down. Later, as soldiers in the Mandarin's compound attempted to no avail to open it, Killian applied heat to its chest. The heat intensity was so great that the suit ejected Rhodes from itself for his safety, when it determined it could no longer protect him from it.
Weapons
- Minigun: Like most Iron Man armors, most of the suit's weapon systems were concealed beneath its exoskeleton. It demonstrated having miniguns concealed in its arms while in the Middle East.
War Machine shooting an Ultron Sentry
- Back-Mounted Machine Gun: The War Machine Mark II's most intimidating weapon is a long, thin, twin barreled, rifled gun mounted on an articulated arm which slides in a V-shaped track on the suit's back. The track allows the gun to slide up over either shoulder and the arm allows the gun to elevate and traverse for the field of fire with few if any, blind spots.
- Missiles: The armor has formidable miniature missiles.
- Miniature Stark Sonic Cannon: The Stark Sonic Cannon can make frequencies that could make someone's ears bleed. Rhodes only uses it as a last resort in combat.
- Repulsors: Like most or all of Iron Man's armors, the Iron Patriot armor has standard repulsors capable to flight stabilization and firing concussive energy blasts in the form of segmented bolts.
Trivia
- In the comics, the Iron Patriot codename was first used by Norman Osborn.
- The markings on the War Machine Armor: Mark II's shoulder "FF" and "ED 445 FLTS" are Tail codes designations of the 1st Fighter Wing and the 445th Flight Test Squadron stationed at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
References
External Links
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|---|---|---|---|
| Iron Man | |||
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| Iron Monger | |||
| Mark I | |||
| War Machine | |||
| Mark I • Mark II • Mark III • Mark IV • Mark V • Mark VI | |||
| Whiplash | |||
| Mark I • Mark II | |||
| Spider-Man | |||
| Spider-Man Suit • Iron Spider Armor | |||
| Rescue | |||
| Mark XLIX Iron Man Armor | |||
| Ironheart | |||
| Mark I • Mark II • Mark III | |||
| HYDRA Stomper | |||
| Mark I • Mark II | |||