Following his paralysis during the events of Civil War, Rhodes is given an apparatus by Stark to walk again, although according to Cheadle, in Avengers: Infinity War, Rhodes is reluctant to don his War Machine armor and rejoin the Avengers due to his injury.
Rhodes survived, but lost the use of his legs, with Stark providing him with high-tech braces to help him learn to walk again. Over time, Rhodes had grown regretful over his role in the Sokovia Accords situation, which had sent Cap, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon into hiding as fugitives.
Both legs were paralyzed but with the use of leg braces early on, Rhodey seemed to make a miraculous recovery. Given what we know now, it seems more likely that this is when the Skrulls took and replaced Rhodey while he was in the hospital after being injured.
Shortly after, Stark created a pair of leg braces that allowed Rhodes to walk and engage in other activities fluently, and also integrated a similar functionality into all of Rhodes's suit designs.
Rhodey instead was grazed by the pulse, and dead sticked to the ground below. And though his War Machine supersuit saved him from death, the impact caused a spine injury that paralyzed his legs.
Rhodey Has Been A Skrull Since Captain America Civil War || Secret Invasion Finale
Could Rhodes walk in Endgame?
During Captain America: Civil War, Rhodey is injured in a crossfire incident when Vision unwittingly shoots him out of the sky, causing him to lose the use of his legs. When he returns in the MCU, Rhodey has leg braces developed by Tony Stark that allow him to walk with physiotherapy.
"Tony Stark's story is far from over," Downey said. "Iron Man 4 will explore new dimensions of the character and his legacy through the eyes of Morgan. It's an honor to continue this journey and see where it leads." Feel free to express your thoughts on this exciting project by leaving a comment below.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, director Ali Selim has confirmed that the dark theory that Rhodey has been a Skrull ever since Captain America: Civil War is actually true. "Yep. He's been a Skrull the whole time, yeah," Selim revealed, adding that the reveal has "massive implications" for the MCU.
So, the implication would be that Rhodey has been a Skrull since the events of Civil War, meaning the character we've been following on screen since 2016, nearly a decade in MCU years, has been an imposter this entire time.
Fury's suspicions were confirmed when he listened in on a chat between his Skrull wife Priscilla (Charlayne Woodard) and imposter Rhodes, a conversation in which Rhodes ordered the hit on Fury (Samuel L Jackson).
Terrence Howard was initially intended to continue playing James Rhodes/War Machine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but was replaced by Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2. Howard's departure from the role was partly due to a significant decrease in pay, which created tension between him and Robert Downey Jr.
While Episode 3, "Betrayed" pretty heavily hinted that Rhodes was a Skrull—it was clearly Don Cheadle's voice on the other end of Priscilla Fury's (Charlayne Woodard) episode-ending phone call—Episode 4,"Beloved" confirmed it.
The alien being looks in the mirror, and its face transforms into James Rhodes. Yep, we were right. Rhodey is indeed a Skrull in Secret Invasion. He comes out of the bathroom and is shocked to see Fury sitting at his dining room table.
Though no plans to bring back Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man have been announced, Tony Stark's legacy is still being felt in the MCU. Riri Williams, who appeared in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and will be the lead character in the upcoming Ironheart series, is in many ways a direct successor to Tony.
When Vision saw he hit Rhodey on accident, he was no doubt shaken even more. Factoring in that shock with how far he was (and how not even Tony who was right there couldn't get to Rhodey fast enough) and it makes perfect sense why Vision couldn't have saved him. Vision can fly, but he doesn't have superhuman speed.
Summary. Rhodey has been replaced by a Skrull impostor since the events of Civil War, missing out on major events in the MCU such as the Battle of Wakanda and the Blip. The real Rhodey is unaware of Tony Stark's death in Avengers: Endgame and the funeral that followed, as he has been in stasis the entire time.
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Secret Invasion. Following Secret Invasion's fourth episode, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige talked to Marvel.com about the big revelation that Colonel James Rhodes is actually a Skrull working for Gravik.
The Skrulls appeared in the 2019 film Captain Marvel led by Talos. However, as opposed to being ruthless conquerors depicted in the comics, they are fierce yet benevolent creatures who are victims of a genocidal war committed by the Kree Empire (led by the Supreme Intelligence).
A rogue Skrull pirate, Raava struck back against the Skrull Empire following the deaths of her off-spring, Skragg and Raavaka. In the wake of her carnage, she was sentenced to a lifetime at a secret deep-space torture prison.
Biography. Tony Stark's best friend, James Rhodes, is one of the few to wear the Iron Man armor, other than Tony Stark himself. Although he initially took on the role when Stark was dealing with his demons, Rhodes has reprised the role over the years.
In the feature films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Morgan Stark is the name of Tony Stark and Pepper Potts' daughter, who in the 2019 film Avengers: Endgame, is played by Lexi Rabe.
Robert Downey Jr. may have recently won his first Oscar for Oppenheimer, but he's not looking to run from his Marvel past. In fact, the actor says he'd “happily” return as Tony Stark/Iron Man.
So, it's not outside the realm of possibility for Evans to reprise his role as Captain America or Human Torch in Avengers: Secret Wars, especially considering the actor has expressed that he's more willing to return as his Fantastic Four character than the Star Spangled Man with a Plan.
