Four runs count for War Machine:Michelinie, Byrne and Layton on Iron Man (1979-1982) for his creation;Denny O'Neil(1983-1985) for the period when Rhodes East Iron Man; there first solo series (1994); And Greg Pak(2009), the best modern attempt. None lasts: this is the characteristic of the file.
This character never had a long run. His solo series are numbered in dozens of issues, his strong periods in handfuls of episodes, and he systematically returns to the background.
This classification therefore isolates windows rather than runs in the usual sense - and this is good news for the collector: they are short, therefore complete.
Top 1 — Denny O'Neil (Iron Man, 1983-1985)
Screenwriter: Denny O'Neil
The period when James Rhodes East Iron Man, while Tony Stark is out of state. This body of work places her at the head, ahead of the one who created the character, and the reason deserves to be exposed.
It is here, and nowhere else, that the character is examined. The armor doesn't fit him—it was made for another body and another mind. He gets the job done anyway, no one knows it's not Stark under the mask, and the story takes this imposture seriously.
No later period has found this quality, including those where he finally wears armor of his own.
Numbers to aim for: Iron Man #170 (The Taking of the Armor) and subsequent issues.
Top 2 — Michelinie, Byrne and Layton (Iron Man, 1979-1982)
Screenwriter: David Michelinie | Drawing : John Byrne, then Bob Layton
The period that creates the character — and one of the most esteemed in the entire series, for reasons that have nothing to do with him.
Rhodes is a discreet supporting role: pilot, employee, loyal presence. This is precisely what makes his subsequent promotion interesting, but we have to be honest about what we find in these issues — not much about him.
Aim for first appearance and general run quality, not War Machine content.
Top 3 — The first solo series (1994, 25 issues)
The moment when the character finally gets a title to his name, two years after getting an identity.
This series is firstly worth editorial milestone. It belongs to the period of overproduction, which makes it very abundant and very cheap - we complete all twenty-five issues for a paltry budget.
This is, for this matter, the best way to have a complete set without effort or expense.
Top 4 — Greg Pak (War Machine, 2009)
Screenwriter: Greg Pak
Twelve numbers which give the character a much harder register and an autonomy that he did not have. The best modern attempt, and the one which treats its military dimension most seriously.
Short, recent series, complete in one search.
Top 5 — Iron Man 2.0 (2011)
A series that moves the character towards intelligence and state operations rather than head-on confrontation. Interesting direction, short duration.
Little researched, therefore very accessible in booklets.
What is special about this file to collect?
An observation that clearly distinguishes this character from most.
For an established hero, the difficulty is to cut: the series is long, most of the numbers are uninteresting, and you have to know how to select.
Here the problem is the opposite. Solo Series Are So Short You Can Own Them completely— 25 issues for 1994, 12 for 2009, a handful for 2011. The whole represents around fifty issues, all from periods of abundance and cheapness.
A collector can therefore build, for a very modest budget, a collection exhaustive solo series of this character. This is an achievable objective that few files offer, and which produces a more satisfactory result than an incomplete selection on a major hero.
For number-by-number selection, see ourkey numbersand ourcollection guide.
Track each run and identify missing numbers with ourcollection management application.