War Machine

War Machine
War Machine on the textless cover of Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #33 (November 2008). Art by Adi Granov.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	James "Rhodey" Rhodes: Iron Man #118 (January 1979) As Iron Man: Iron Man #169 (April 1983) As War Machine: Avengers West Coast #94 (May 1993) As Iron Patriot: Gambit #13 (May 2013)
Created by	David Michelinie John Byrne Bob Layton
In-story information
Alter ego	James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes
Team affiliations	Avengers The Crew Force Works Initiative Iron Legion Office of National Emergency Secret Avengers Secret Defenders Stark Enterprises United States Department of Defense United States Marine Corps West Coast Avengers
Partnerships	Iron Man
Notable aliases	Iron Man Iron Patriot Commander Rhodes Hulk Machine Iron Man 2.0 Rhodey Shellshock The Pilot
Abilities	Experienced Marine trained in armed and unarmed combat Aviator and aviation engineering Utilizes powered armor suit

War Machine is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, John Byrne, and Bob Layton as a supporting character for Iron Man, he first appeared in Iron Man #118 (1979) and became a superhero with the Iron Man armor in issue #169 (1983). War Machine has since been established as an independent superhero and appeared in multiple standalone series in addition to his appearances in Iron Man comics.

War Machine is the title adopted by James Rupert "Rhodey" Rhodes after he acquired the War Machine armor. He is a military veteran and pilot who began working for Tony Stark, eventually discovering that he was Iron Man and then taking Stark's place when he was incapacitated. Stark subsequently gave Rhodes the War Machine armor. The character is among the earliest African American superheroes in mainstream comics. His race, his military experience, and his sense of morality are often used to contrast him with Tony Stark and to analyze the themes of Iron Man stories through a different perspective. War Machine is the primary romantic interest of Carol Danvers, while many of his other supporting characters and villains overlap with those of Iron Man.

War Machine has been the main character of two War Machine volumes (1994–1996 and 2009–2010), as well as other stories including The Crew (2003), Iron Man 2.0 (2011), and Iron Patriot (2014). An adaptation of War Machine appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portrayed by Terrence Howard in Iron Man (2008) and by Don Cheadle in subsequent appearances.