James Rhodes
From Marvel Movies
| James Rhodes | |
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| Alias(es) | Rhodey War Machine |
| Appeared in | Iron Man, Iron Man II, The Avengers |
| Actor | Terrence Howard (Iron Man), Don Cheadle (Iron Man II-) |
James Rhodes, commonly called Rhodey, is a colonel in the U.S. Airforce and a jet pilot. He is a good friend of Tony Stark. Is the liaison between Stark Industries and the military in the department of acquisitions.
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Character Traits
Rhodey is a strict disciplinarian, with a very military outlook. Terrence Howard has said of his character:
| ...Rhodey's killed a thousand people with his planes, dropped bombs, and bears no responsibility for it. [1]
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Rhodes is depicted in the film wearing a "Brass Rat", the MIT school ring, indicating that in the film, he and Stark were graduates of the same college[2], and on his other hand he wears an Air Force Academy ring, suggesting that he received his masters degree from MIT after earning a "grad school slot" for high academic achievement while at USAFA.
Biography
Iron Man
Colonel James Rhodes attends a ceremony to present Tony Stark with an award for his work, but Stark is not in attendance. Tony's right-hand man Obadiah Stane accepts the award in Tony's honor. Rhodey later finds Tony partying in a casino.
Next day, in a flight, Tony talks with Rhodey. Rhodey is unhappy about Tony's lax attitude, and Tony tries to get his old friend to relax. Before long they are drunk and leering at the stewardesses.
Tony arrives at a military outpost in the Middle East to demonstrate his company's latest project - the Jericho, a super-missile system. After the demonstration, Tony goes off with the convoy that is soon attacked by terrorists.
Months later, after his escape, Stark walks over more sand dunes when a couple of US helicopters fly overhead. A group of soldiers, led by Rhody, come across Tony. Rhody is overjoyed to find that his friend is alive.
Shortly after, Tony appears before a group of reporters and announces that he intends to shut down Stark Industries' weapons manufacturing division immediately.
Tony comes to visit Rhodes and asks for help with a new private project. Rhodey does not agree with Tony's approach; he thinks Stark is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder because of his capture and needs time to recover.
In a Middle East village, terrorists are rounding up civilians for capture & execution when they are confronted by a mysterious figure in red and gold. Iron Man has arrived. Within seconds, he defeats the terrorists and destroys the weapons they had obtained.
As Iron Man leaves the area, two F-22 jets spot him. Col. Rhodes is asked about the status of any new developments. He contacts Tony, who claims that he knows nothing about what is happening. Iron Man tries to outrun the jets but they are too much for him. Tony calls Rhodes and reveals that he is responsible for the "unidentified craft." Rhodey is furious about Tony sending in unauthorized equipment, and horrified when Tony explains that the "equipment" is actually himself. Iron Man is hit by one fighter jet, sending him flying into the wing of the second jet. The pilot is forced to eject, but the parachute fails to open. Iron Man, still under fire, manages to fly in and successfully deploy the parachute in time to save the pilot's life. Tony convinces Rhodey to pass off what happened with the jets as a "training exercise."
Days later, Stane arrives at Tony's house and paralyzes him with a sonic weapon. Obadiah yanks out the power source from Tony's heart, taunting him all the while. After he leaves, Tony realizes that he has only one hope for survival - the preserved Arc Reactor that Pepper gave him in a display case. He gets the power source installed just as Rhodey arrives.
Rhody watches Tony suit up, awestruck at the Iron Man costume, saying that it's the "coolest" thing he has ever seen. As Tony flies away, Rhody looks at the prototype silver suit Tony built earlier... then shakes his head and mumbles "Next time, baby."
Days later, Rhodey holds a press conference about the incident with the two robots.
Iron Man II
The Avengers
War Machine
In the original comic series, Rhodey dons armor like his friend Stark, and becomes War Machine. As to why this hasn't happened in the current Iron Man film, Howard believes that the character is not yet emotionally ready:
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| He has to be willing to take off his suit as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force first, and that is a hard thing to let go of. [1]
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The film's director, Jon Favreau, claims that War Machine would be likely to appear in any potential sequels to the movie. [1]It is possible that he will be appearing in the Iron Man 2 movie.
Relationships
In the film, as the leading manufacturer of weapons, Stark Industries has enjoyed a long and prosperous relationship with James. Following a successful military weapons demonstration in the Middle East, Rhodey and Tony Stark's convoy is attacked by a group of insurgents. During the intense battle, Tony is wounded by shrapnel and captured. Although the Department of Defense gives up its effort to find him after a few months, Rhodey refuses to stop searching for his lifelong friend and confidant. As an accomplished military pilot, James' daring and skills has become valuable assets to Tony Stark.
Robert Downey Jr:
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| Tony Stark is such a dynamic character that if Rhodey was merely his sidekick it wouldn't work. Rhodey had to be his equal.[3]
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Appearances/Actors
- Canon
- Iron Man (First appearance) - Terrence Howard
- Iron Man II - Don Cheadle
- The Avengers - Don Cheadle
Behind the scenes
Please Add Behind the Scenes information on this Character
Gallery
 Don Cheadle as Rhodey in Iron Man 2 |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Terrence Howard on the Future of War Machine interview at superherohype.com, April 27, 2008.
- ↑ Official movie site
- ↑ "Iron Man: Casting the Lead and Supporting Players" Emanuel Levy
