War Machine’s MCU Future Has An Extremely Difficult Iron Man Problem

War Machine will lead the upcoming movie Armor Wars, but he will be facing a very difficult problem regarding his suits now that Tony Stark is gone.

James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) a.k.a. War Machine has been adapting to life without his best friend Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) after the events of Avengers: Endgame, and he’s actually facing a big problem now that Iron Man is gone. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, characters who had served as supporting ones before are now preparing to take the lead, and among them is War Machine, who will star in his own movie, Armor Wars.

Initially announced as a TV series, Armor Wars was later revealed to be a movie, and though plot details are still a mystery, Marvel has revealed that it will see Rhodey confronting one of Tony’s greatest fears when Stark’s tech falls into the wrong hands. Of course, Rhodey is expected to suit up and fight against his enemies as War Machine, but now that Tony is no longer around, Rhodey is facing a very difficult problem in the MCU, as he actually depended a lot on his old friend, who was the one in charge of designing and building his armors.

Iron Man Built War Machine’s Armors

All of War Machine’s armors were designed and built by Tony Stark, though the first one was modified by Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Mark I War Machine Armor was originally Iron Man’s Mark II armor, but it was taken by Rhodey and modified by Hammer with different weapons and armor additions, which were later removed by Tony. Mark II War Machine Armor was repainted and modified by A.I.M. to rebrand it as Iron Patriot, but it was reverted to its original name and design. War Machine’s armor went through significant changes for its Mark IV, built after the events of Captain America: Civil War, after which Tony made sure it was more armored around the torso and lower back, and added a built-in walking aid to allow the now semi-paralyzed Rhodey to walk.

War Machine’s most recent armor is Mark VI, which he used during the Time Heist and Thanos’ attack on the Avengers Compound in Avengers: Endgame. Unfortunately, Mark VI War Machine Armor was damaged after Thanos’ attack, so it had to be left behind in the rubble. Rhodey no longer has his trusted friend to design and built new armors for him, so he’s facing an important problem in Armor Wars, as he can’t fight without a suit.

Who Will Build War Machine’s Suits Now?

The question now is who will build War Machine’s armors from now on, and there are a couple of candidates for that job. First is Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne), Iron Man’s official MCU replacement, who just like the late Tony Stark, is a tech genius and has already built her own armors, inspired by those of Iron Man. Another good option to fill that role is Shuri (Letitia Wright), another genius inventor who joined forces with Riri in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, providing her with material to build her second Ironheart armor. Another option could be that War Machine’s new armor will be built by whoever stole Tony Stark’s tech, bringing even more conflict to Rhodey. Although the MCU and its characters have to move on and away from Iron Man’s shadow, he was too important in the stories of a couple of characters, and they now have to face some big problems thanks to him.