War Machine #21 — Nick Peron

Nov 9

Nov 9 War Machine #21

Brothers in Arms

This story continues from Force Works #18…

Jim Rhodes wakes from a nightmare in which he is being attacked by his oldest friend, Tony Stark, aka Iron Man.[1] He wakes up and discovers that he is still at the Mesa Viento Airstrip in Calexico. He had fled here with US Agent and Hawkeye after Clint was framed for a number of murders that recently took place at Avengers Mansion.[2] Jack and Clint are still asleep, but the Black Widow heard Jim yelling in his sleep and had come into to check on him. The two decide to go outside so they can talk about things while the Widow checks the perimeter.[3]

The two discuss the accusations that Hawkeye was responsible for the murders at Avengers Mansion. Neither are convinced that Clint is the killer, they also don’t think Tony Stark somehow framed Clint, even though he’s the only one capable of doing so. When Jim asks why Natasha is helping them hide out from the Avengers and Force Works, the former Russian spy explains how she owes it to everyone. Recounting how Natasha and Clint got their starts as enemies of Iron Man but soon grew to become allies and were trust enough to become Avengers.[4] She owes the team a lot for that as they represent everything she has aspired to be and owes it to them to find the truth. Although their present location is safe and secure for the time being, Jim suggests that they relocate to another safe location in the morning. When it comes to sweeping the area for threats, Jim decides to do it himself and reveals his new Warwear to the Black Widow.

As Natasha heads back to the hideout, she doesn’t notice the sentry pods set up suddenly burn out. Moments later, the Anachronaut known as Deadhunt 9000 teleports onto the scene with an army of cyborg drones. They have been dispatched by the mastermind behind all this to eliminate the four heroes hiding out at this location.[5]

Inside, Hawkeye is just waking up when suddenly, they are ambushed by Deadhunt and his army. This knocks out Clint and wakes up US Agent who keeps the cyborgs at bay while the Black Widow gets Hawkeye to safety. The sound of battle is heard by War Machine who comes rushing back to help his friends. He arrives just in time to save the Widow and Hawkeye from Deadhunt’s troops, but the mercenary manages to defeat US Agent and take him hostage. War Machine manages to overpower Deadhunt who then tries to commit suicide rather than risk capture. Luckily, Hawkeye has recovered and uses one of his arrows to shatter the knife that Deadhunt is trying to use to slit his own throat. Unfortunately, this distracts the heroes long enough for Deadhunt to activate the recall function on his time travel device and disappears into the time stream. This attack confirms to them that someone else is involved in everything that is going on, but Hawkeye is frustrated by they still don’t know who is responsible. War Machine assures him they’ll get a bottom of this but first they need to break camp and relocate.

Meanwhile, in California, Sheva Joseph is being visited by SHIELD agent Kirby Martell to discuss the strange time shifts that she has been experiencing. Kirby believes that this is a side effect of Sheva and War Machine’s recent trip into the past. Joseph is frightened by the frequency of the time shifts but Kirby tries to assure her that they are just side effects of the “time fatigue” she’s experiencing.[6] However, when Kirby looks up at Sheva she is startled by the fact that Joseph has suddenly grown older.

Later, War Machine and the others have set up a new hideout in a ruined building in the deserts of Mesa Viento. As Jim, US Agent, and Black Widow are setting up camp, Hawkeye suddenly takes off in a Quinjet without telling anybody.

… This story continues in Iron Man #323.

Recurring Characters

War Machine, Hawkeye, US Agent, Black Widow, Deadhunt 9000, Kirby Martell, Sheva Joseph

Continuity Notes

It should be noted that in the dream, Jim is wearing his old War Machine armor. However, at the time of this story Jim no longer has possession of the armor. Jim lost his original War Machine armor in War Machine #15-17 during a trip through time. The suit will be found by Parnell Jacobs and will resurface in Iron Man (vol. 3) #11-12 and 18-20. Since then, Jim obtained the Warwear in War Machine #18-19, but has decided to keep his new identity a secret for the time being.
At the time of this story someone murdered Yellowjacket and Marilla by a traitor within the Avengers, as seen in Avengers: The Crossing #1. Hawkeye was framed for the killings in Force Works #17. As we’ll learn in Iron Man #323, the real killer is actually Iron Man, who is being manipulated by what appeasers to be Kang the Conqueror. In reality, this is later revealed to be Immortus in disguise and part of plot to manipulate the destiny of the Avengers, as explained in Avengers Forever #8.
Jim refers to himself, US Agent, and Hawkeye as “brothers in arms”. The trio recently formed a bond while on a mission in San Rivella. See Force Works #12, War Machine #15, and Iron Man #317.
The Black Widow goes into her and Hawkeye’s past history. Both started off as Iron Man villains, with the Widow targeting Stark Industries starting in Tales of Suspense #52. She later seduced Hawkeye into becoming her partner in espionage in Tales of Suspense #57. Clint was later convinced into joining the Avengers in Avengers #16 in order to redeem himself. Natasha later defected from her Russian handlers in Avengers #30, although she wasn’t given official membership until issue #111 of that series.
Deadhunt 9000 believes he is serving Kang the Conqueror, as he has done in the past starting in Fantastic Four Annual #25. It’s later revealed that he was actually tricked into working for Immortus, who was posing as Kang at the time of this story. This is all explained in Avengers Forever #8.
Sheva and War Machine went back in time to World War II in War Machine #15-17. At the time Kirby Martell warned them that they may experience “time fatigue” as a result. Sheva started showing symptoms in issue #19 that will continue to plague her until death in War Machine #24.