Contains spoilers for Iron Man #22!
In its latest issue, Iron Man finally addresses the controversy behind War Machine's ultra-violent name. James Rhodes's own high-tech armor always stood out from Tony Stark's Iron Man suits because of its focus on traditional weaponry, with an iconic mini-gun positioned on one shoulder. Finally, the two armored adventurers explain why a "peace-keeping" hero has such a counter-intuitive name.
James Rhodes is a former marine who became Tony's personal pilot in Stark Industries. For a time, Rhodes even took Tony's place as Iron Man when his employer's alcohol and substance abuse issues became overwhelming. Years later, when Tony Stark was fatally injured and placed in cryogenic sleep, Rhodey was named CEO of Stark Enterprises and inherited Tony's last gift for him; an armor to bring forward Iron Man's legacy. However, in true 1990s style, the new War Machine suit was a gritty update of Iron Man's suit, sporting guns, rockets, and gun-metal grey armor rather than Stark's gold and scarlet.
Considering that both Tony Stark and Jim Rhodes are, technically, heroes who fight to maintain peace in the world, the name War Machine seemed odder and odder as the decades passed, with even the Multiversal Masters of Evil's Black Skull unironically calling his armored fascists the War Machines. In Iron Man #22, by Christopher Cantwell, Angel Unzueta, and Frank D'Armata, this issue is finally addressed. Tony explains that every suit he's built has had the purpose of stopping the proliferation of weapons and "technology with no moral compass." When his associate Carl Walker points out that their suits are actually weapons, and Rhodey is even called "War Machine," James replies that the name has always been ironic.
It's the best attempt yet to align a 'Rule of Cool' '90s superhero name with modern sensibilities, as Tony and Rhodey square their incredibly powerful suits with Iron Man's anti-weapons proliferation legacy. Tony makes it clear in this issue that he's trying to address the sins of his father, and even describes his wealth as "blood money." Of course, in a world where superheroes are living icons, it's not surprising that a name based on "clever irony" can be taken in different ways, and there have certainly been many stories which took the War Machine title at face value. For instance, it's hard to argue that the huge satellite suit War Machine used to take on the Skrulla armada was anything other than a pure weapon of mass destruction.
Tony Stark's dueling obsessions with creating and destroying weaponry continue to define the Iron Man franchise, however this moment attempts to merge these motivations into one, explaining that the War Machine name is meant to be ironic, since both Tony Stark and James Rhodes are (often unsuccessfully) dedicated to ending war, not propagating it.
Iron Man #22 is available now from Marvel Comics.