The future of the Avengers is in grave danger, not because of Thanos this time, but because of the absence of many of the key heroes. Three of the original Avengers are dead, and now, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans are craving for some sort of substitute in the future, particularly for Iron Man.
War Machine, also known as Colonel James “Rhodey” Rhodes, seems to be the most logical candidate to be the “new Iron Man”. However, some Marvel fans will not accept substitutes and agree to let the past die.
Fans have clamored for some kind of new Iron Man
Since Tony Stark made the last sacrifice in Avengers Endgame, on-screen and off people have been wondering how to get on without the man who started the entire MCU. But there doesn’t seem to be any consensus on how to do it.
Some fans have suggested that perhaps there could be some kind of Iron Man Jr, such as the character Ironheart, a teenage girl who builds a Stark suit. It has also been suggested that the Young Avengers might carry the torch, and the Young Avengers included a character named Iron Lad. Some fans have suggested that Tony’s daughter Morgan could be a future hero.
Some fans are so attached to Iron Man that they haven’t gotten to the acceptance part of the five stages of the duel. Sometimes they’ve suggested bringing Tony back through flashbacks or some kind of Doctor Strange mysticism, regardless of the money Disney would have to give Robert Downey Jr. to do it.
So the path of least resistance seems to be putting War Machine front and center, if not in an MCU movie, then in a Disney + series.
What happened to War Machine?
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The last time we left War Machine it wasn’t in a great place, personally or heroically. In fact, the character has had a pretty heavy story with the MCU from the start.
Terrence Howard played Rhodey in the first Iron Man, and I was ready to go like War Machine, until I said “Next time baby” during the first movie. As we all know, that shouldn’t be, with Don Cheadle taking the role of Iron Man 2 ahead.
Once Cheadle came on board, however, Marvel seemed to not know what to do with War Machine, he was certainly a capable ally in iron Man 3, but he paid a heavy price to side with Team Iron Man in Captain: American Civil War. In the Avengers vs. fight Avengers, was seriously injured by Vision’s friendly fire, and ended up playing no major role in the Infinity War / Endgame double invoice
Now, it’s hard to know where it would fit into the MCU in the future. The only movie he would obviously fit into is the third Spider-Man movie, as Peter Parker carried on Tony’s legacy, but many fans think that this subplot has been overstated. And there are no signs of a War Machine series for the small screen, either.
Why do some fans think that War Machine shouldn’t replace Iron Man?
On Reddit, fans debated the fate of War Machine. One theme was titled: “If there’s ever going to be an Iron Man 4 movie, I’d really like Rhodey to take his place.”
Some fans agreed, and one went so far as to suggest uniting all the Iron Man types: “I would like to see a 3-way team. War Machine, Ironheart and Iron Lad (those 2 are unlikely to exist at the same time, but I can dream! ”)
But another fan said, “No way. Rhodey is nothing like Tony, just like the war machine is nothing Iron Man Iron Man uses his intelligence and ingenuity to solve problems and overcome danger. WM only points its weapons and missiles and is heading Brr Brr. ”
And someone responded to that by saying that War Machine was prepared to replace Tony in the comics before the comics came back to life, “Anyway. They haven’t laid the groundwork in the MCU for Rhodes to (step up). Too bad . ‘”
