Illustration: James Rhodes (War Machine), 2016
Image of Marvel Comics' James Rhodes (War Machine), Civil War II #0 (July 2016).
The Marvel Comics' fictional James "Rhodey" Rupert Rhodes, a Philadelphia-born lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force, earned a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from MIT. An ally of the Wakandans, he is also the personal aide and best friend of fellow MIT alum Tony Stark (Iron Man). Rhodes derives his powers from his War Machine Armor, a suit that endows him with superhuman strength, durability, and supersonic flight. He first appears as James Rhodes in Iron Man #118 (January 1979), then as the All-New Iron Man in Iron Man #170 (May, 1983), and as War Machine in Iron Man #284 (September, 1992).
Rhodey's death was one of the many factors that sparked the second superhuman civil war...Stark exhumed Rhodey's body and performed the necessary procedures to kick-start his biological system, which returned him to life. The accumulation of traumatic experiences involving suits of armor caused Rhodey to develop a pathological fear for armoring up. He found an alternative in the Manticore, a multi-purpose weaponized vehicle which allowed Rhodey to fight more comfortably.