Invincible Iron Man #35: Review

Jan 2009

Christos N. Gage, Sean Chen

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Story Name:

War Machine weapon of SHIELD part 3

Review & Comments

Rating:

Invincible Iron Man #35 Review by Rob Johnson (August 31, 2016)

This issue takes place after Secret Invasion #3.

We don't see War Machine and Suzi Endo again until after SI is over, but they'll get involved in Dark Reign. In DR: New Nation /3 Rhodey and Suzi will part company over his tough attitude. In Iron Man (2008) #11 WM meets IM on the run from Osborn's HAMMER and tries to take him in for his own good. Then he gets his 2nd War Machine series and Suzi rejoins him from #4. At then end of that series he will transfer his consciousness to a cloned body. Just in time for him to help bring Tony Stark back to life in IM#21-24, before DR ends in Siege.

This version of Winter Guard also appear during Dark Reign in She-Hulk (2005) #35-36 and Mighty Avengers #22-23.

This is the end of this series of Iron Man. The next series has already been running for a while with #1-7 rated as pre-SI. It will pick up IM's adventures in DR from #8.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Invincible Iron Man #35 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

Skrulls have captured James Rhodes and removed his War Machine armour, revealing his heavily-cyborged body. They're about to start dissecting the body when he wakes up, and kills the 2 Skrull scientists with his cybernetic eye. Then he uses laser drills in his fingertips to cut through his bonds and he's free.

But without his helmet and chestplate his body is dying. He drags himself towards the pieces of his armour.

His actions have set of an alarm, and Skrull troopers come running. They burst into then operation room to find Rhodey already attired in the 2 vital components, complete with shoulder-mounted guns. Explosions ensue.

As Jim dons the rest of the War Machine suit he contacts Suzi Endo on the secret Stark satellite to let her know he's alright, before shooting more Skrulls in the warship. She informs him that she's been studying some of the Skrull ships they destroyed last issue. She's figured out their command codes. WM fights his way to a control console and patches her in. And his Skrull ship starts firing on others.

Rhodey fights off some more Skrull warriors, and exits the ship before the rest of the Skrull fleet destroy it.

Now he heads back to the battleground around the Russian nuclear weapons depot at Tatischevo. The Winter Guard are helping the Russian army and air force stop Skrulls getting the nukes.

Crimson Dynamo and Darkstar are in the air amidst the fight against Skrull warships. CD's bosses tell him again not to accept aid from the American. But this time he ignores them and the 3 join forces. Darkforce has a plan. She uses her power to create portals which put the armoured 2 inside the shields of Skrull ships so they can take them down.

But the strain of this makes her fall to Earth, until War Machine dives to catch her. The 2 men join Red Guardian and Ursa Major fighting 2 Super-Skrulls. RG kills 1, but the other decides to self-destruct to take them all out and detonate the nuclear warheads. Rhodey carries the walking bomb up into the atmosphere, absorbing its energy as he goes. The suppressed bomb does go off, but WM flies back safely.

However on the way down he's harassed by Russian jets. Until Crimson Dynamo flies alongside and orders them off, claiming Skrulls have taken over Russian High Command. It's a lie, but it allows War Machine to fly off to other troublespots around the world.

Story #2