I like the way they try bring back another War Machine title without calling it War Machine. It does tend to reinforce the fact the character is a Iron man spinoff. James Rhodes depending on the writer waivers from being just a different guy in the Iron Man armor ( the substitute teacher) to a very complex character (War Machine – Volume 1: Iron Heart (War Machine (Marvel). That seems to be the problem the character development disappears each change in writer or title. They always reset to “the other guy in the armor” or in another example “the other guy with the ring” aka “John Stewart” who suffers from the same problem. The problem with constantly starting over is you never get anywhere. Maybe this time we will get some lasting character development
“When I was a kid, Rhodey was Iron Man,” Spencer said, referring to the character’s two stints filling in for Tony Stark. “I had always viewed the character as a little bit more of a lead than maybe a lot of other people do.”
Spencer’s prepared to not only defend Rhodey’s place in the Marvel Universe, but also the character’s personality. Instead of seeing him as just Iron Man’s by-the-books buddy, Spencer’s clearly given thought to what makes Rhodes an interesting character on his own.
“Jim is a straight-laced, down-to-Earth, keep a low profile, business is business, kind of guy,” Spencer said. “He’s not a guy who cracks a lot of jokes on a day-to-day basis. He’s not a guy who deals with a whole lot of personal angst in a very loud way.
“In that sense he can be hard to get a handle on for some people. One of the things we’re going to be dealing with here is why he is like that, and why he feels like that’s what he needs to be.”
All of those qualities make Rhodes essentially the opposite of Stark — which is, yep, exactly why Spencer thinks their friendship works.
“Creative geniuses love stable, down-to-Earth people because that’s what they’re not,” Spencer said. “If you look at Rhodey, and you look at Pepper [Potts], that’s what they are. They are pragmatic, realistic, rational people in a way that Tony can never be.”
For Spencer, making readers care about a traditionally low-key character lke Rhodes is a “fun challenge,” one that — though it pained him to admit it — reminds him of a ’90-s chick-lit classic.
“This is a horrible comparison, but this is the Bridget Jones conflict,” Spencer said. “When you meet two people at the same time, and one is outgoing and friendly and funny and has great stories and talks your ear off, and the other person just sits there very quietly, you’re going to immediately walk away with the stronger impression of the one that was so much more charming and more outgoing. That doesn’t tell you anything about how they are as a person.
“At the end of the day, you might want to spend more time with the loud, boisterous type, but when the chips are really down, and you really need somebody to count on, you would want the other guy. And that’s who Jim is.”
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This post was written by Lobo on October 21, 2010
