War Machine #1 (April 1994)

In the late 80s and early 90s, the superhero was undergoing...growing pains. Writers and artists were exploring the relevance of the superhero in what seemed to be a world that was growing ever darker and scarier to live in. After all, with so many real-world problems, what place did the superhero have? One man who asked that question himself was James Rhodes, aka the former Iron Man, but most famously, the War Machine.

Mr. Rhodes has graced this blog before, in previous reviews of Iron Man issues. But our man Jimmy has actually managed to get his own comic a couple times. The comic we're looking at is the first issue of his first solo series. It lasted from 1994-1996, 25 issues. In this series, he set out to do more than the standard superhero...and encountered his fair share of problems on the way. Let's take a look at War Machine #1!

The cover is a Gabriel Gecko and Bob Wiacek piece. It's a basic cover, just showing the star himself in plain black, gray, and white. The usage of black makes it look very stark. The blurb is amusingly 90s.

"Something to Believe In"
Writers: Scott Benson, Len Kaminski
Penciler: Gabriel Gecko
Inker: Pam Eklund
Colorist: Ariane Lenshoek
Letterer: John Constanza
Editor: Nel Yomtov
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco

The story begins with what looks like James Rhodes, the titular War Machine, on a rampage. He's blasted his way through some of the Marvel Universe's meanest villains, like the Green Goblin, Ultron, the Leader, the Juggernaut. Even Dr. Doom and Magneto aren't safe from the man in the gray-colored weaponized armor. And for it, he is hailed as a hero. The Greatest Hero of them All. 

"I'm goin' to Disneyland!"

A ringing noise is heard, and James Rhodes is brought back to reality. Turns out that little bit of epicness was a bit of a daydream on the former soldier's part.

He's on his way to meet his girlfriend Rae LaCoste. The two had been dating since the events of Iron Man #287, which was three months earlier than this comic, according to Rhodes' dialogue. James realizes that Rae doesn't really know a lot about him other than she thinks he's really nice. So, we have to turn the clock back.

James Rhodes grew up in South Philadelphia. It was a rough place to grow up in, and Rhodes was bullied a lot. It made him determined to get out of there as fast as possible. Not just get out, but do something he could be proud of with his life. He wasn't a brainiac, but he was a working man. He had three jobs by the time he graduated high school. How'd he find the time?! 

It was during that time that Rhodes discovered that he had talents with machines. The man was a good repairman and gadgeteer. He couldn't afford to go to college, so he joined the Marines and became a pilot, serving in Southeast Asia. Yeah, at the time of his debut, the late 1970s, it could be assumed to be he served in the Vietnam War. But thanks to the sliding timescale and History of the Marvel Universe, Rhodes served in the Siancong War. It was there he met the Iron Man. Tony Stark offered him work when his hitch was up, and he accepted. The two men became thick as thieves.

He was hit hard when Tony Stark seemingly died. And he was shocked when Stark's will left him in charge of Stark Enterprises, as shown in Iron Man #284. Rhodes did his best to run the company. When he was starting to get the hang of things, it would be revealed in Iron Man #289 that Stark was in stasis. Rhodes felt Tony lied to and suckered him, which resulted in him quitting SE and the end of his friendship with Tony. He's been getting calls from other corporations, as shown in Marvel Comics Presents #152. Rae asks him what he really wants. Rhodes wants...to do something meaningful. Something beyond making money. Something he can believe in. 

Rae suggests joining her for a dinner with some friends of hers next week. One of them is a Mr. Vincent Cetewayo. Rhodes is shocked, as he's heard of the man. He'll be there. And also, I can imagine there will be free food. Mmm...food...

The next week arrives, and we meet the man himself.

"Yes, I am this handsome."

Rhodes has an admiration for the philanthropist, as he has done a lot of good. He's also a bit of an adventurer himself, having once talked a terrorist out of nuking Belfast.

Rhodes is amazed about how outright cheerful Cetewayo is after all he's seen and done. Cetewayo explains it's because he has hope that things can and will get better. It's also why he wanted Rhodes here (presumably LaCoste told Cetewayo about Rhodes). He introduces James to some people: Ms. Rebecca Bergier and Dr. Ranald Jeffries.

"And these are my friends from my D&D group."

He's forming a new organization called Worldwatch. The goal of this organization is to help maximize relief agencies' effectiveness around the world, as well as use diplomacy and politics to help resolve situations. It's just these three right now, but the staff will grow. Rhodes offers to donate some money for the cause, but Cetewayo wants to hire Rhodes himself.  

Cetewayo thinks Rhodes is the perfect man for the job of Worldwatch's executive director. His time running Stark showed he was skilled at administration, and more importantly, he's a good man. Rhodes turns down the offer, and Cetewayo gives our man a book.

"I wrote this during a sugar binge. Heckuva Tuesday, that was, ha ha!"

He asks him to give it a read. On the way home, Rhodes confronts LaCoste. LaCoste points out that he was looking for something to believe in. Our man decides that he feels a need to walk home, even though it's still miles away.

When he makes it home, Rhodes watches the TV. The channels report on Neo-Nazi riots in Germany, unrest in the former Yugoslavia, even the Persian Gulf and police brutality in the US. Rhodes turns off the tube and decides to give Cetewayo's book a read.

Meanwhile, in the African nation of Imaya, President Eda Arul is holding up a copy of Cetewayo's book. Arul calls him a traitor, and claims he is not an evil man...while having his soldiers hold the crowd captive...quite literally at gunpoint. Arul then goes to rant to a shelf containing the heads of his enemies. Arul wants Cetewayo dead, and his chancellor suggests a way it can be done: using Imayan agents to divert his charter plane to the country.

Rhodes learns Cetewayo's kidnapping in a news report and makes a call to Nick Fury. Among those watching the news report is Captain America and the Michael Collins Deathlok. Fury asks if Rhodes wanted to take up an offer he made to work for him in Iron Man #282. Rhodes wants to know what SHIELD is doing to save Cetawayo. Fury points out there isn't much SHIELD can do. Enraged, Rhodes decides if you want something done, you've got to do it yourself. He suits up and heads for Imaya. Over in Switzerland, another surprising party takes interest.

"Ahhhhh, I'm gonna need a drink."

The time-traveling X-Man known as Cable fears that War Machine's presence in Imaya will only further destablize things, so he heads out to stop him. War Machine engages the Imayan Air Force. He beats a bunch of jets, but is blown to the ground in the process. It's here that he and Cable meet. James is familiar with the man, at least the team he led at the time: X-Force. He met them in X-Force #20. Cable's there to bring James back to the US, as he fears the War Machine's attempt to rescue Cetewayo will further destabilize an already unstable region. The two end up fighting, and then Deathlok makes himself known. He plans to rescue Vincent Cetewayo himself.

I admit, I enjoyed this comic. Yeah, I know, it's 1990s Marvel, but keep in mind, in my opinion, Marvel in the early 90s was actually chugging along rather decently. I think this is actually a very interesting concept. A superhero trying to help solve problems beyond just fighting supervillains. It was an idea ripe for storytelling possibilities back in this time. 

The ending also leads to what could be a very interesting team-up. War Machine, Cable, and Deathlok seem like such a random combination until you keep one thing in mind...they're all soldiers. Well, not exactly in Deathlok's case. Michael Collins was a programmer before he was unwillingly turned into Deathlok. But the Deathlok body was created for soldering, so...yeah. The first issue does show great promise.

The artwork is pretty decent. When people make jokes about 1990s comic art, they're often referencing the likes of Rob Liefeld. In this case, though, Gabriel Gecko turns in some good art here. Better than I expected. 

If you want to read this yourself, I recommend tracking down the 2010 trade paperback War Machine Classic Vol. 1. Thanks for reading this blog entry! If you liked it, show it off! Take care of yourselves and each other! Stay safe, stay healthy, stay home, wash your hands often, wear a mask, and get your vaccine/booster! See you next time!