War Machine #16: Review

Jul 1995

Dan Abnett, Sandu Florea

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Story Name:

Zietkrieg triumphant

Review & Comments

Rating:

War Machine #16 Review by Rob Johnson (May 8, 2019)

There's the usual confusion over parallel/alternate timelines. The standard Marvel theory is that all the alternate realities exist so Grinz hasn't destroyed Rhodey's future but created a new 1. But that dilutes the drama so it is often (usually?) played as here that the futures are mutually incompatible.

Next issue's solution will be even more dubious.

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Synopsis / Summary / Plot

War Machine #16 Synopsis by Rob Johnson

War Machine has been sent by Nick Fury back in time to Berlin in 1943 to rescue Sheva Joseph and stop present-day weaponry from being used to win WWII for the Axis. He teamed up with that era's Sgt Fury & his Howling Commandos and Captain America & Bucky Barnes only to see Nick Fury killed by V3 a bulky armoured figure making use of 'futuristic' exoskeleton tech.

James Rhodes had been separated from his WM armour by the time-jump and the current mission had been to retrieve it from the Germans. Rhodey is suited up now but it is taking time for the suit's system to reboot. So he's facing V3 with no weapons or boot jets active and is getting pasted by his Nazi foe ...

... but Cap and Bucky leap into the room and draw V3's fire giving JR the breathing space for the reboot to complete. Now superior Stark-armour and weapons make short work of the lumbering giant.

But Rhodey has to tell them that Fury is dead. And he has to repeat the news to the Commandos and Sheva. (Jim and Sheva don't tell the others that in their timeline Nick survived until the present, but he promises her he'll restore the proper future. Even though the advanced weapons have already brought the Nazis to the brink of victory.)

Last issue we learned that the Zeitkrieg/Time War was the brainchild of Commandant Grinz who had established a Nazi base in Chile to await the invention of time-travel. Now in ZeitWaffen High Command he consults with Raeder from the future who reports that the 1995 Time-Drive has been captured by the enemy, but they already have enough future-weapons to win the War and then that future will be irrelevant. And if they get War Machine's armour as well then victory will be even more assured. So Grinz orders a hunt for WM.

Meanwhile the resistance have determined that targeting Grinz is key to reversing the time-changes. They learn that he is on the way to a Luftwaffe test site at Meinz. Rhodey and Cap will go there to capture him, and the Commandos, Bucky and Sheva will seize control of the 1943 Time-Drive base.

The duo hop a ride on a freight train. Jim tells Cap that the future he knows is worth fighting for, but sidesteps mentioning that Bucky will die in the War and Cap will be in suspended animation for decades.

At Meinz Grinz is demonstrating to Adolph Hitler the 2 new ME-300 jet fighters. Cap and WM are spying on them, and Rhodey wonders whether he should take the opportunity to kill the Führer. But they are seen by guards and have to start fighting their way to Grinz, who sics the jets on them. WM takes to the sky and wrecks them both. Cap notes that Rhodes let the pilots eject, and he is using non-lethal weapons against ground troops. Jim says he doesn't want to kill. His resolve may be tested as they are surrounded by tanks.

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