As he dons the
War Machine armor,
James Rhodes looks back over his history of clashing with
Tony Stark/
Iron Man: their first meeting in Vietnam (
IRON MAN #144), Tony asking
Rhodey to be Iron Man the first time (
#170), facing the
Mandarin (
#181), angrily quitting as War Machine (
#291), and their recent spat over the specs for the armor (
#309). Now he is headed to the Stark building for the confrontation.....
At
Worldwatch headquarters,
Rebecca Bergier,
Ranald Jeffries, and
Sheva Joseph are debating whether War Machine's association with the organization is now becoming a liability and why Director James Rhodes is not commenting on it. Rebecca is called to the phone by tabloid reporter
Trace Miller, threatening to reveal her secret life on his TV show. She hangs up and decides the revelation will be on her terms; she calls everyone to her office.... [Her secret is that she's a lesbian, mentioned in later issues.]
At Stark as they are discussing War Machine's latest troubles,
Mrs. Arbogast tells
Felix Alvarez that Tony is drinking again....
War Machine arrives at
Stark Enterprises and is met on the roof by
Bethany Cabe who warns him not to start trouble. He heads to the main office where Tony meets him in his Iron Man armor. Rhodey demands the specs for the suit; Tony demands he surrender it, citing his latest “misuse.” Rhodey jets off angrily and Tony follows. They battle in the sky, unaware that the Mandarin is watching via the
Heart of Darkness, plotting his revenge against them both and gloating about it to his unseen minions. The battle moves to the ground and Tony distracts Rhodey with talk while he secretly interfaces with Rhodey's armor, shutting it down. War Machine stiffens then topples to the ground. Is this the end?
Story continues in
IRON MAN #310.
Give that special marvelite a timely gift
CharactersGood (or All)Plus: Avatars, Bethany Cabe (
Bethany Camilla Cabe von Tilburg), Felix Alvarez, Mrs. Arbogast, Paula Lin, Ranald Jeffries, Rebecca Bergier, Sheva Joseph.