Infinity War War Machine/Rhodey... Like or Don't Like?

[Mjölnir]

Rhodey was an active duty officer in the US Air Force as of Iron Man 3. His armor still had military serial numbers on it in CW, IIRC. Marvel has made a mistake in having Rhodes stay static at the rank of lieutenant colonel since Iron Man. An Air Force officer would have promoted several times over nine years. Failure to earn a promotion over so many years would have ended his career in the real world. In fact, there is no reason why Rhodes wouldn't be at least a brigadier general by the time of CW, given his achievements and status as a hero.

My first thoughts, which weren't very active, were that he's put there because he's still wanting to be an active soldier and moving up should move him further and further away from that (even the rank he has feels high for someone active on the front line).

At the time of Civil War he feels more like an Avenger than part of the military (which I suppose the end of AoU confirms). If he was still in the military hierarchy it seems more likely that he'd be with Ross, trying to persuade the Avengers, rather than being part of their internal discussions.

I'm not arguing against that he couldn't have been promoted though, as he's certainly a special case that's not applicable to anything relevant in our world. He seems to have gotten plenty of medals and such though, so perhaps that's how they are dealing with it.

 

[Hypestyle]

no excuse not to involve him in the Infinity War. Especially if the US gov't gets involved, he's an "officially authorized" superhero, he signed the Sokovia accords.

I just hope he doesn't get dispatched early in the narrative. So I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

 

[KevTravels]

no excuse not to involve him in the Infinity War. Especially if the US gov't gets involved, he's an "officially authorized" superhero, he signed the Sokovia accords.

I just hope he doesn't get dispatched early in the narrative. So I'm hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

I don't think he'd die. Then again, who knows. I have a feeling it's Hawkeye who bites the bullet. I just hope Rhodey does more. Like perhaps he leads the new Avengers into battle.

 

[hafizbat]

I love War Machine, he's a great counterpart to Iron Man and he has some badass armor, but I don't like Cheadle in the role at all. Howard was much more charismatic and interesting.

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I thought Howard sucked in the role. Cheadle all the way.

 

[KevTravels]

My first thoughts, which weren't very active, were that he's put there because he's still wanting to be an active soldier and moving up should move him further and further away from that (even the rank he has feels high for someone active on the front line).

At the time of Civil War he feels more like an Avenger than part of the military (which I suppose the end of AoU confirms). If he was still in the military hierarchy it seems more likely that he'd be with Ross, trying to persuade the Avengers, rather than being part of their internal discussions.

I'm not arguing against that he couldn't have been promoted though, as he's certainly a special case that's not applicable to anything relevant in our world. He seems to have gotten plenty of medals and such though, so perhaps that's how they are dealing with it.

I thought the same. Better to stay at colonel and in the field rather than a general or major general and be behind a desk.

I just wish that in Civil War we saw more mention of his military credentials. He's an officer, not a soldier like Cap or Falcon. Show him as kinda like conferring with Cap about the role of the Avengers.

 

[Flemm]

Howard was much more charismatic and interesting.

I thought so, too.

Cheadle has just played the character as a fairly generic sidekick, basically. Granted, that is the character's role, but I thought that Howard's take provided a sense of depth that Rhodey hasn't had since.

People forget this, but the main reason the first Iron Man was so well-received critically was the overall quality of the cast and performances, not just RDJ. Howard and Bridges were a part of that.

Marvel probably didn't care all that much, since they wanted him in the sidekick role anyway. Certainly not a big deal, as Cheadle is fine, but I preferred Howard.

 

[KevTravels]

I thought so, too.

Cheadle has just played the character as a fairly generic sidekick, basically. Granted, that is the character's role, but I thought that Howard's take provided a sense of depth that Rhodey hasn't had since.

People forget this, but the main reason the first Iron Man was so well-received critically was the overall quality of the cast and performances, not just RDJ. Howard and Bridges were a part of that.

Marvel probably didn't care all that much, since they wanted him in the sidekick role anyway. Certainly not a big deal, as Cheadle is fine, but I preferred Howard.

Blame the writing. They probably wrote the sequel with Howard in mind and wanted him to have a lesser role in the film and then went and fired him and didn't change the script to match Cheadle at all.

 

[hafizbat]

I thought so, too.

Cheadle has just played the character as a fairly generic sidekick, basically. Granted, that is the character's role, but I thought that Howard's take provided a sense of depth that Rhodey hasn't had since.

People forget this, but the main reason the first Iron Man was so well-received critically was the overall quality of the cast and performances, not just RDJ. Howard and Bridges were a part of that.

Marvel probably didn't care all that much, since they wanted him in the sidekick role anyway. Certainly not a big deal, as Cheadle is fine, but I preferred Howard.

Mackie is just a sidekick too yet he has his own charm and flavor. Cheadle just makes War Machine boring. And yeah, being a hardened military man might call for a straight-laced performance, but Cheadle comes off as annoying/arrogant. I especially didn't like him in Civil War with the way he talked down to Cap.

 

[KevTravels]

Mackie is just a sidekick too yet he has his own charm and flavor. Cheadle just makes War Machine boring. And yeah, being a hardened military man might call for a straight-laced performance, but Cheadle comes off as annoying/arrogant. I especially didn't like him in Civil War with the way he talked down to Cap.

I quite liked him in Civil War. For me, it was his best appearance in the MCU.

But yeah they need to give us more of Rhodey. Stop downplaying him. Not sure if they are worried of him upstaging Stark or so. But we need to see more from him. Show us how much his military career means to him. Iron Man 2, we could have had more of why he and Stark are pals.

You have a guy of the talents of Cheadle playing a seemingly one-note character. A waste. I hope we have at least a scene or two of him dealing with his rehab. And how he still wants to be a vital member of the Avengers, despite it.

 

[Hypestyle]

hopefully he'll get more cartoon appearances and return to the comics soon.

 

[hafizbat]

I quite liked him in Civil War. For me, it was his best appearance in the MCU.

But yeah they need to give us more of Rhodey. Stop downplaying him. Not sure if they are worried of him upstaging Stark or so. But we need to see more from him. Show us how much his military career means to him. Iron Man 2, we could have had more of why he and Stark are pals.

You have a guy of the talents of Cheadle playing a seemingly one-note character. A waste. I hope we have at least a scene or two of him dealing with his rehab. And how he still wants to be a vital member of the Avengers, despite it.

The Russos used him perfectly in Civil War, it's not the character I have a problem with (I actually love War Machine) but with Cheadle's performance. Definitely agrees with you on the last paragraph.

 

[KevTravels]

The Russos used him perfectly in Civil War, it's not the character I have a problem with (I actually love War Machine) but with Cheadle's performance. Definitely agrees with you on the last paragraph.

Can you explain about Cheadle's performance? I figure it's mono-tone, but I'd knock that simply to the writing or directing.

 

[Capsfan]

Mackie is just a sidekick too yet he has his own charm and flavor. Cheadle just makes War Machine boring. And yeah, being a hardened military man might call for a straight-laced performance, but Cheadle comes off as annoying/arrogant. I especially didn't like him in Civil War with the way he talked down to Cap.

Totally agree with you. WM is one of the most boring characters in the MCU for me.

And yeah, Howard was waaaaaaaaay better. One of the highlights of the first IM.

 

[hafizbat]

Can you explain about Cheadle's performance? I figure it's mono-tone, but I'd knock that simply to the writing or directing.

He just kinda seems like a jerk to me, especially in Civil War. First the way he was talking down to Sam and the others in the accords debate, and then his "Congrats Cap, you're a criminal" line. Also the way he ordered Vision to take out Falcon, he just sounds a little full of himself to me. He was a lot better in IM3 and AOU though.

I liked Howard because he had better chemistry with RDJ, and he had a better look. Cheadle looks small and skinny, and even though War Machine wears armor, he should be a more sturdy guy IMO.

 

[Best]

I feel like Howard would have provided much more challenge, dialogue/range-wise. He never took any of Tony's crap in the first film. Cheadle was sort of like that in Iron Man 2 but it just dropped since then. Would have loved to see him go back-and-forth with Steve or Fury.

 

[shadowboxxx]

He just kinda seems like a jerk to me, especially in Civil War. First the way he was talking down to Sam and the others in the accords debate, and then his "Congrats Cap, you're a criminal" line. Also the way he ordered Vision to take out Falcon, he just sounds a little full of himself to me. He was a lot better in IM3 and AOU though.

I liked Howard because he had better chemistry with RDJ, and he had a better look. Cheadle looks small and skinny, and even though War Machine wears armor, he should be a more sturdy guy IMO.

All of that is still just the character's writing, not his actual performance.

 

[shadowboxxx]

I quite liked him in Civil War. For me, it was his best appearance in the MCU.

But yeah they need to give us more of Rhodey. Stop downplaying him. Not sure if they are worried of him upstaging Stark or so. But we need to see more from him. Show us how much his military career means to him. Iron Man 2, we could have had more of why he and Stark are pals.

You have a guy of the talents of Cheadle playing a seemingly one-note character. A waste. I hope we have at least a scene or two of him dealing with his rehab. And how he still wants to be a vital member of the Avengers, despite it.

Thats the challenge of the Avengers movies.

You get all these very good actors but no time for them to develop their characters. Worst part is when you try to involve them in other movies, fans feel like it takes away from the main character's shine.

Anyways, I completely agree, IW should absolutely show us WM's recovery. Ill be mad if he comes back and they just nod to it with a line like 'thanks for the upgrade Tony'.

 

[Confusion]

Thats the challenge of the Avengers movies.

You get all these very good actors but no time for them to develop their characters. Worst part is when you try to involve them in other movies, fans feel like it takes away from the main character's shine.

Anyways, I completely agree, IW should absolutely show us WM's recovery. Ill be mad if he comes back and they just nod to it with a line like 'thanks for the upgrade Tony'.

Coulson comes to mind(Pre-TV show). He had a cameo in almost every movie until Avengers and he was loved by many.

I'm still mad they killed him off in Avengers. I liked him a lot.

I like him 1000 times better than Rhodey.

 

[KevTravels]

Thats the challenge of the Avengers movies.

You get all these very good actors but no time for them to develop their characters. Worst part is when you try to involve them in other movies, fans feel like it takes away from the main character's shine.

Anyways, I completely agree, IW should absolutely show us WM's recovery. Ill be mad if he comes back and they just nod to it with a line like 'thanks for the upgrade Tony'.

Great post man.

 

[NealKenneth]

So I have been daydreaming about my ideal War Machine movie and I've yet to really flesh it out (but when I do I will probably pitch it in it's own thread.) The announcement of Captain Marvel taking place in the 90s is where the wheels started to turn.

What I'd like to see is something set between Iron Man 2 and The Winter Soldier, when SHIELD was still fully functioning. The primary plot would be War Machine flushing out The Ten Rings, with Fury, Widow, Hulk and Stark as supporting characters. General Ross is also working on a Hulkbuster unit and maybe we get a little Hulk-out scene. Do a little setup of Banner and Widow. Give just a little hint of Minerva and Ultron. That sort of thing.

Basically as a character I want to see things from Rhodey's perspective and what makes him such a good soldier.

Arghh out of time...will have to work on this more later.

 

[Bren]

I enjoyed Howard but prefer Cheadle...

 

[KevTravels]

I enjoyed Howard but prefer Cheadle...

I'm biased as I'm a big fan of Don.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

So I have been daydreaming about my ideal War Machine movie and I've yet to really flesh it out (but when I do I will probably pitch it in it's own thread.) The announcement of Captain Marvel taking place in the 90s is where the wheels started to turn.

What I'd like to see is something set between Iron Man 2 and The Winter Soldier, when SHIELD was still fully functioning. The primary plot would be War Machine flushing out The Ten Rings, with Fury, Widow, Hulk and Stark as supporting characters. General Ross is also working on a Hulkbuster unit and maybe we get a little Hulk-out scene. Do a little setup of Banner and Widow. Give just a little hint of Minerva and Ultron. That sort of thing.

Basically as a character I want to see things from Rhodey's perspective and what makes him such a good soldier.

Arghh out of time...will have to work on this more later.

Good stuff. It just shows the embarrassment of riches Marvel Studios have that they probably won't do War Machine movie.

 

[KevTravels]

I wonder if Howard has still continued as Rhodey, would he have had a spin-off by now or a bigger role in say Avengers Age of Ultron or CA Civil War.

Is it the casting of Cheadle or just the underwriting of Rhodey.