How Powerful War Machine Is Compared To Iron Man
Jessica Wilkins As much as Iron Man is strong and revered in the MCU, Rhodey Rhodes's War Machine is powerful enough to avoid the title of "Tony Stark's sidekick".
Iron Man has always taken the center stage as the most powerful armored hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it's only a matter of time until War Machine surpasses him. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Don Cheadle) remained a close friend and confidant of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) for years after graduating college, unaware that the tycoon's stubbornness would take them both on a world-saving adventure. Although Rhodey's experience in the US Air Force makes him the perfect candidate for the Iron Man suits — the most high-tech weapons ever built on Earth — he has always been overshadowed by his playboy friend. This begs the question: just how powerful is War Machine compared to Iron Man?
After Tony Stark returned from his trip to Afghanistan with a second chance at life and the idea to build a proper Iron Man armor, Rhodey Rhodes felt enticed to get one for himself; however, his wish only comes true when he needs to wear one of the suits in order to subdue a drunken Stark in Iron Man 2, after which Stark realizes his friend has the maturity required to make a name for himself in the superhero business — more specifically, "War Machine." Both heroes start out as equals, but the gap between their capabilities grows exponentially over time.
Even with bootleg weapons added onto the first War Machine suit by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell), Rhodey is still as powerful as Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. His repulsor beams can collide with Iron Man's, creating a devastating shockwave that both of the armors can withstand. War Machine's shoulder-mounted and wrist-mounted machine guns are only rivaled by Iron Man's laser, but Stark's armor (at the time) could only shoot it once. The biggest differences between the two starts to become apparent in Iron Man 3, after Rhodey is rebranded "The Iron Patriot" by the government. While Tony Stark is busy perfecting the dozens of easily-deployable armors of the Iron Legion, each with different capabilities, Rhodey only gets a sturdier armor and a patriotic paint job. Despite the minor change, he manages to destroy multiple Ultron Sentries effortlessly at the end of Avengers: Age of Ultron with the same armor model.
To keep up with the rest of the Avengers in Captain America: Civil War, Rhodey needs an even stronger suit. Fittingly, the War Machine Mark III allows him to face the strongest members of the team with ease and even defeat Giant-Man (Paul Rudd) alongside his lifelong friend, Tony Stark. Unfortunately, Vision (Paul Bettany) misses a shot of his laser beam and hits War Machine in his arc reactor, which causes Rhodey to fall from a great height and become permanently paralyzed.
His next three suits of armor not only have a built-in walking aid, but also give him a sizable advantage in battle. By the time the Battle of Wakanda takes place in Avengers: Infinity War, Tony Stark has developed nanotechnology for himself and for Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) "Iron Spider" suit, but not for Rhodey. Nevertheless, War Machine still earns the highest kill count and saves the Avengers from certain death after he holds massive waves of Outriders from entering Wakanda's force field. After the five-year time skip in Avengers: Endgame, Tony Stark once again pushes the envelope and perfects his Mark LXXXV armor, which is limited almost only to his imagination. However, War Machine shows off his Mark VII suit — a huge reinvention of his Iron Patriot armor, filled to the brim with weapons that he uses off-camera in the Battle for Earth.
Considering War Machine's powers come from the same source as Iron Man's, he should be on his same level of power, but Tony Stark has always been several steps ahead. Although this can be solely attributed to Stark's characteristic egocentrism, his genius-level intellect is also pivotal to his own rapidly-evolving technology. Still, it's hard to defend why he never shared his Iron Legion armors or his nanotech with his best friend. Hopefully, Rhodey Rhodes will become more powerful and independent in his next appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
