James Rhodes acts as Tony Stark's military liaison and close confidant, holding the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force. His background includes extensive combat experience as a skilled pilot and marksman. Rhodes operates using the heavily armed War Machine armor, providing flight capability and an integrated arsenal of heavy weapons, possessing no inherent superhuman abilities. Rhodes first appears participating in a high-speed desert race alongside Tony Stark in their armors. This event is interrupted by an attack led by Ezekiel Stane and the Raiders targeting the Howard Stark Satellite launch ceremony. During the ensuing conflict, Rhodes is caught in a nanite-infused explosion inside a building and presumed dead, though he survives only to lapse into a coma. While comatose, S.H.I.E.L.D. takes Rhodes into custody aboard the Helicarrier. His condition persists until a subsequent clash between Iron Man and the biotechnological entity Technovore. During this confrontation, Rhodes regains consciousness, immediately dons his War Machine armor, and intervenes to assist Iron Man. The Technovore, having betrayed its creator Ezekiel Stane, seizes control of Stane's body and the Helicarrier systems. This creates a critical situation where the Technovore threatens global destruction by weaponizing satellites. Stark devises a plan necessitating War Machine to fire the Howard Stark Satellite's defense laser directly at Stark's captured arc reactor. Rhodes executes this command despite the apparent risk to Stark's life, successfully destroying the Technovore. Following the defeat of the Technovore, Rhodes joins an Avengers operation alongside other heroes, including Black Widow and Hawkeye, against the terrorist organization Leviathan.