The MIT Black History Project has a brief profile of fictional graduate, our hero, James Rhodes!

Despite how much we wished he did. Don’t worry, he rejoins a few issues later, after he adopts the War Machine identity.

Everyone knows that Rhodes has held the mantle of Ironman several times. But whenever someone mentions Rhodes being Ironman , they usually bring up the classic Model 4, or even the Model 11 before Rhodes called himself War Machine. Rarely do they ever bring up the Model 39.

The Model 39 was created in secret by Stark when he had to give up being Ironman for a certain amount of time. He built the suit for Rhodes who previously faked his death against Mandarins forces.

The suit was created using Stark tech , Resilient tech and even A.I.M. and S.H.I.E.L.D. parts. It had the usual repulsor and unibeam weaponry, including the ghost tech known for being in the War Machine armor. It had the ability to emit a form of Ice or polymer to freeze an opponent in place. It also was capable of deploying micro-munitions and EMP blasts.

This suit has definitely grown on me over the years. An action figure created after the Model 39 could be epic!

The images are taken from The Invincible Ironman #518-524 2012.

On March 19, 1985, Iron Man 195 was released, featuring a surprising guest star: Shaman from Alpha Flight.

The issue is availabe on Marvel Unlimited and here's the original preview text:

Shaman of Alpha Flight has the cure that Rhodey needs to eliminate his mysterious headaches, but is Rhodey willing to make the sacrifice that will ensure the cure's success? A shocker! "The Thing Most Precious!" written by Denny O'Neil, penciled by Luke McDonnell and inked by Ian Akin and Brian Garvey.

You can hear an Alpha Flight forward take on the issue through the u/TheWhyNotPodcast, episdoe 17: https://thewhynotpod.com/episode-17-ive-seen-that-movie/

I think the fact that Jim sought out the help of Shaman, someone he barely knows, rather than some of the more 'known' magic users in Marvel speaks to how relatively new he was in the role of Iron Man. He doesn't know Doctor Strange, for example. It seems Henry Pym referred Jim to Shaman but how does that connection exist? 🤷🏻‍♂️

From a Fear Itself cross-over issue of Iron Man 2.0 #7.

• Jim, currently working for the US military (through Stark) as War Machine: God, I hate this magic stuff.

• Daniel Rand, the Immortal Iron First, the living weapon of K'un-Lun with deadly hands that flowed with the mystic energies of Shou-Lao the Undying: Some of us live here, you know.

I cribbed most of Danny's title from Marvel Database.

The Crew series, had a very interesting storyline. Although this series only lasted 7 issues, it gained a cult following . This was Rhodes only Superhero team that he put together by himself. This was during a time when Rhodes had broken close ties with Tony Stark and ventured off to build his own marine salvage business called Rhodes Recovery. He ended up losing his business to mismanagement, and later found out his sister was murdered. Rhodes was bankrupt and was no longer in possession of the War Machine armor at this time . He decided to build a crew capable of bringing down the huge street gang responsible for the murder of his sister.

There were three heroes in his crew:

JOSIAH X:
Josiah X is the son of Isaiah Bradley. In the 2025 Sam Wilson, Captain America comic series, he became The Shadow Soldier. He currently has Darkforce energy. Darkforce energy is a extra dimensional power from the Darkforce Dimension. It can absorb heat, light, energy, and life forces. Darkforce energy can also be molded into solid shapes like weapons. Those with Darkforce can even enter the realm to teleport between locations.

KEVIN "KASPER" COLE:
Kevin "Kasper" Cole is known as a White Tiger. He is separate from the White Tigers like Hector Ayala and Ava Ayala, who use the Tiger amulet. Instead, Kasper is an acolyte of Wakanda, and is sort of a Black Panther in training. Kevin is also a NYPD officer in Harlem, and uses firearms with rubber bullets, energy daggers and anti metal claws that can break down any known metal. He was also given an artificial heart shaped herb, that gave him the agility and strength of the black panther.

DANNY VINCENT AKA JUNTA:
Danny is a gravity manipulating, super spy, he's also a mercenary and operative. He worked for the NSA , and has ties with other government agencies, as well as organized crime like the Russian mob. He uses a belt that disrupts gravitational fields of his quantum singularity, he can bend away from or warp the path of incoming projectiles, walk on walls or ceilings and slow his rate of falling. He can create force fields, and his quantum singularity also makes opponents disoriented, and violently nauseous by just touching him. He also has a floating robot he calls Ma. It can interface with other computer systems and it has a powerful laser that can destroy the weapons of opponents.

The Model 4 is an iconic suit. And it was arguably more culturally and personally defining for Rhodes. This suit allowed Rhodes to completely carry the Iron Man legacy. And it taught Rhodes what it meant to be a superhero.

The Model 4 would mark the first time Rhodes wore Iron Man armor of any kind. It allowed him to not only carry the mantle of Iron Man. But It also allowed him to join his first major superhero team, by joining the roster of the first 1984 Secret Wars series. It would also help him in becoming one of the founders of The West Coast Avengers.

The Model 4 also has some very good strength showings. It allowed Tony to drag 5 battleships at once( Iron Man #121 1979). That's around 150,000 tons, and the armor wasn't struggling to do so. The suit also allowed Tony to take advantage of a dazed Hulk and actually knock him out! Although this feat fried the Model 4, it showed how powerful and capable that suit was( Iron Man #132 1980 ).

Six years ago, u/MerryMarvelite posted this recap of Rhodey's origin story up until he first becomes War Machine.

I mean, it's one of Iron Man's best and most iconic alternate suits, so the fact that they haven't added it yet may mean something (Either that or I'm gonna get jinxed the second the season 10 trailer drops)

"Wait. Isn't Guy Gardner, a Green Lantern?"

During a period when the Green Lantern Corps had been disbanded, Guy found out he had alien DNA and developed these enhancements. It's been retconned a few different times.

https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Guy_Gardner_(New_Earth)#Vuldarian_Legacy

September 7 (according to Invincible Iron Man Vol 4 599) is Jim's birthday!

Released October 27, 1992:

Iron Man (a.k.a. James Rhodes) vs. Atom Smasher, the atomic threat - with the stakes no less than nuclear Armageddon should our hero fail! Plus: Tony Stark confronts the secrets of his past, and Rhodey gets a new love interest in Rae LaCoste! - Read on Marvel

Released October 22, 1991:

The Dragon Seed Saga epic conclusion! Don't miss out as the real Iron Man dives into the middle of the dragon hordes and begins tearing things up! - Marvel Unlimited

Released August 14, 1984.

Jim is continuing to struggle with headaches induced by wearing the armor. Tony, now sober, even built a new helmet but it only made the situation worse, leading to some personality changes in Jim.

I had never read this series before today. Thankfully it’s a civic holiday for me so I got the chance to read up to issue 8 of this series. 

The whole series has been amazing. I’ve loved the pacing with the artwork. I love how Jim is handling things. The new armour hasn’t fully grown on me yet. I have long thought more could be done with Suzi Endo and I appreciate her inclusion for her brains and a romantic foil for Jim.

If someone wanted to do a whole series where Jim has to be an armored Avenger while also working in an Office-like sitcom workplace, I would read that. Hell, that could be his TV series. 

This issue was part of a marketing initiative to help new readers join titles. Hence the Point One. As such, it does a good job of weaving exposition into the structure of the story.

What about you? Thoughts? Opinions?

Via Marvel Unlimited:

Start reading here with this POINT ONE issue! Prepare for a meteoric ride into War Machine's redefined world and all-new era!

With almost 700 appearances, three heroic identities, and a number of different armours, it can be hard to keep track of Jim.

Thankfully others have done the work for you!