Synopsis
In Santo Marco War Machine prevents a genocidal attack. The president's mercenary army is using a Sentinel to genetically identify members of rebel tribe. It seems James Rhodes has taken on this as his task during Dark Reign, a vigilante tackling mass murderers. Cue lots of shooting to kill.
During the fight Rhodey remembers another warzone a year ago where an explosion left him battered and limbless. Tony Stark gave him a new life as a cyborg, and a new War Machine armour. His body and armour weren't built from Stark Tech, and were made from a titanium/vibranium alloy. Bethany Cabe was involved in his rebuild, and she promised him a more human body eventually.
During the fight he also spots someone he knows. Parnell Jacobs saved Rhodey's life when they were in the marines, and married Jim's childhood friend Dr Glenda Sandoval. He later became a gun runner, currently supplying San Marco's dictator. He also found Rhodey's old lost War Machine armour, sold it to Stuart Clarke, and then used it to try to kill Iron Man.
War Machine takes Jacobs to his orbital satellite, where robotic surgeons patch him up, while he communicates with Bethany Cabe in Colorado. Beth warns him that repeated surgery isn't good enough, because his cyborg body is dying. She wants him to come down because his replacement body is nearly ready. But Jim intends to get Parnell to modify his War Machine armour to make it less stressful for his body.
Jacobs is about to attack Rhodey, but Jim tells him that the satellite is keyed to his body. If Jim dies, the life support will fail for Parnell.
Rhodes reveals that his priority at the moment his to rescue Jacobs' wife Glenda. Parnell says she's not missing, she's just gone off in a huff. He lay low a few months ago after being presumed dead. When he returned to Glenda she was angry at his deception. She went overseas to work as a medic for weapons manufacturer Eaglestar International. But Rhodey shows him video of Glenda captive of one side of a civil war in Aqiria.
Jacobs uses the captured Sentinel head to upgrade Rhodey's armour, and he heads for Aqiria.
Meanwhile Bethany's base is raided by HAMMER, and Norman Osborn takes a personal interest in the body she has prepared for Rhodey.