War Machine 1: Iron Heart

War Machine (2009) #1-5

by Greg Pak, Leonardo Manco (Contributor)

Rhodey versus Ares! Man versus Immortal! War Machine versus God of War! With the life of one of his oldest friends in the balance, Marvel's one man army must face the only warrior who can outdo his thirst for battle! Be there as armor meets axe, James Rhodes makes enemies in the highest places, and Dark Reign falls! Collects War Machine #1-5, plus Dark Reign story.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2009

About the author

Greg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."

Reviews

[Jedhua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story Synopsis: Due to near-fatal injuries incurred on a mission in South America, James Rhodes is given advanced cybernetic implants that allow him to incorporate foreign pieces of technology into his armor, granting him the freedom to physically transform into whatever form is most suited for the task at hand. With the help of Parnell Jacobs, Bethany Cabe, and Suzi Endo, Rhodey sets out to rescue his childhood sweetheart from Eaglestar – a corrupt and dangerous private security firm. Managing to fend off both Eaglestar's soldiers and Ares, Rhodey successfully kills Eaglestar's CEO and frees Glenda. But in the aftermath of the operation, Ares releases the Ultimo virus, infecting Glenda and numerous inhabitants of a nearby city. Fortunately, Suzi is able to calibrate an EMP device that successfully counteracts the virus before the death toll rises too high. Refusing Osborn's offer of the new body grown for him – which was recently stolen from Bethany by H.A.M.M.E.R. forces – in return for his heroic services, Rhodes and his team become fugitives, determined to hunt down whoever provided Eagestar with the virus.

Book Info: This collection contains War Machine issues #1-5 and the "Crossing the Line" story featured in Dark Reign: New Nation .


ABSOLUTE RATING: {3+/5 stars}

STANDARDIZED RATING: <3/5 stars>

[Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay! So I'm finally going through my collection and finding all the stuff that I have not reviewed here on Goodreads; re-reading them and reviewing them; starting with this one! So the story here is War Machine got completely blown away; I'm talking arms, legs and half of his face ROBOCOP style! So Tony Stark rebuilds him as a cyborg; and now he basically wants to kill all terrorists! That's the just of it! Story wise this is nothing really to special; the art is kind of a mixture of flashy but ruff as well; it was not really, my cup of tea! Action though, is pretty epic; and its cool because now if his cybernetic leg gets blown off he can grab a piece of a fighter plane and turn it into a new leg! Overall this was an okay read, the violence got a bit over the top for my liking though!

[Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a lot more intense than I expected it to be, here Rhodey is a cyborg with the data of multitudes of the worst types of crimes in his head. He's still the man set on doing the right thing, but due to losing some of his humanity there is not much that will hold him back from violence he feels is justified towards evil people.

Enough of the previous stories that led up to Rhodey becoming a machine in a literal sense are shown here that the reader has a decent concept of what's going on, but I'm still pretty confused because I've never read any of the comics that led up to this series or the Dark Reign event.

My favorite part of comics or any media with a narrative is the psychology of the characters, and while we see some of Rhodey's past that led him to become the man focused on justice he is now, I hope there's more backstory about him and his mindset in later issues.

[Christopher Dodds · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fantastic, I'm a big fan of War Machine and have been wanting to read this properly for a long time as this character both in the comics and in the MCU after he had first appeared in Iron Man 2 and again in Age of Ultron and Civil War movies.
I love the direction the character has gone in with him being part human and part cyborg and being able to integrate any part of other military weaponry into the War Machine armour and weaponry and love the story of him and his team and how his new body is affecting him both physically and mentally.

[Terry Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

What an absolutely vacant and useless tale.

The characters are all impossibly smart, sexy, tough and capable and none of them have more than an ounce of grease or wear on them despite getting beaten, raped (yup...), and defeated morally throughout this all.

Michael Bay is bound to produce something akin to this soon.

[Victor Santiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhodey's a technopathic cyborg on a suicide in the middle east. That's pretty much it. He can link up with other machines. at one point he plugs himself into a tank. Ares shows up. Savagely violent, but cyborg Jim is hard to look at.

[Arturo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is so action packed, a younger me would have loved this.
A little more on Rhodie woulda been nice, not just his current problem.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ordered this series from the library so I could get to know Rhodey better. You can believe that I was shocked to see the mild-mannered patriot from the Iron Man movies turned into a very, very angry cyborg. Folks, if I missed important connections in other comics, please let me know!

I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say that this comic run gives an amazing insight into Rhodey's character and the length he will go to do the right thing. We also get to meet Rhodey's mother and learn a little about his childhood. I loved this comic run and really hope they give Rhodey another run of his own!

[SA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rhodey at his darkest point. This is so cracky, but I mean--it's Rhodey. And, I think, the most recent appearance of Bethany Cabe before Invincible Iron Man Vol 5: Stark Resilient Book 1. I kind of just want to pet him and put him on vacation after reading this.

[Jin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The dark and gritty armored hero of Marvel Universe. Total action from Pak and remarkable art by Manco. I really liked the concept they used for War Machine. He is using a familiar Stane technology where his suit can assimilate other material/tech and make it work as part of his armor. Badass!

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too violent for me. On the bright side, I'm starting to really like the character of Ares.

[Ketan Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard Hitting and well plotted. Leonardo Manco's art shines and the potential of the War machine Armor seems almost limitless.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nah, too chaotic, violent and full of techno babble for me. Not my cuppa.

[Username · Rating 3 out of 5]

Manco!

[Graham Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark story, very good artwork though. Would like to read other stories about War Machine.