James aided Tony in taking down Stane after he betrayed Tony in an attempt to take over Stark Industries. The next year, James took one of Tony's Iron Man suits after they got into an argument over Tony's usage of the suits, and took it to his Air Force base, where it was upgraded using Hammer Industries technology.
To put a stop to his friend's erratic behavior, Rhodes put on Tony's older Mark II armor, leading to a brawl between the two. In the wake of this, Rhodes took the Mark II suit to Edwards Air Force Base, where Rhodes' superiors called in Stark rival Justin Hammer to outfit the armor with additional weapons.
Summary. 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.
What happened to the real Rhodes in Secret Invasion?
It is probable that the real Rhodey is being held captive in the laboratory of the Skrull terrorists, led by Gravik. Within this facility, the humans they imitate are kept unconscious but alive. This suggests that the genuine Rhodey has spent the duration of "Secret Invasion" in captivity.
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.
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.
Whenever Rhodey was seriously exasperated by Tony's antics, the genius billionaire would smooth things over by calling his friend funny nicknames like "Honey bear," "Platypus," and "Sour Patch."
In spite of his devastating injuries, Tony is able to whisper, “Hey, Pep,” spare her a smile, and place his hand over hers on his chest. Pepper assures Tony that she and Morgan will be okay, and tells Tony, “You can rest now,” harkening back to their initial conversation regarding time travel.
Don Cheadle's journey in the MCU started with Iron Man 2 in which he replaced Terrance Howard who was originally supposed to play War Machine. In his first MCU movie, he earned $ 1 million (which was the amount that was offered to Terrance that he refused because earlier he was promised $ 8 million for Iron Man2).
"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.
Terrence Howard reportedly left War Machine due to a salary dispute, not returning despite initial intentions for a sequel appearance. Don Cheadle took over the role in Iron Man 2 and has since established himself as the definitive War Machine actor in the MCU.
After Iron Man died, Peter Parker kept plenty of Tony Stark's technology, including the EDITH glasses and the Iron Spider suit. After giving up the glasses to Mysterio in Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker was able to design a brand-new suit with Happy Hogan's help.
He and Tony had a tumultuous history, Bucky having being the one who killed Tony's parents while under Hydra's brainwashing. They ended up nearly killing each other during Civil War. Since Bucky wasn't originally planning on going to the funeral, he didn't have time to get dressed.
Tony Stark's personal journey in the MCU led him to destroy his Iron Man armors as a way to prioritize his relationship with Pepper Potts. Although Tony initially retired and destroyed his armors, his relentless commitment to improvement and his obsession with being a hero led him back into action.
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.
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.
Because of absolute points, certain events like Iron Man's death need to happen. In Infinity War, Strange makes it clear that there is only one way to defeat Thanos. If Iron Man doesn't sacrifice his life, it could spell the end of the universe as the Avengers know it.
After Howard's death, Stane became interim CEO of Stark Industries until Tony officially took over shortly after. Stane's jealousy of the younger Stark led to him betraying Stark by joining forces with the Ten Rings to organize a failed attempt to assassinate him, so Stane could become CEO once again.
In the MCU, Tony's parents died from a car crash ' 'accident' orchestrated by HYDRA to obtain the secrets of the Super Soldier Serum, with the Winter Soldier carrying it out. Their car crashes, and then Bucky Barnes (being brainwashed), finishes them off by strangling them.
As the conflict worsened, War Machine clashed with Captain America's allies, only for War Machine to be disabled as he had been inadvertently shot out of the sky by Vision.
Why didn't the White Vision help Wanda? Because White Vision doesn't have Vision's memories. He doesn't know Wanda except through the programming SWORD installs. Hex Vision doesn't know a lot either, he had second hand information from Darcy on what went down during Infinity War and End Game.
Theories suggest that Rhodey was replaced by a Skrull either after Captain America: Civil War, before Avengers: Endgame, or just before Secret Invasion. The timing of Rhodey's replacement has significant consequences for various key moments in the MCU, impacting the emotional weight and plot developments.
