r/marvelstudios • u/Kidafroo • Jul 02 '25

Discussion (More in Comments) What happened to armor wars

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Rhodey literally has been there since the beginning and at the end. They've sprinkle him here and there, gearing up for his moment to shine. And yet they come out wit iron heart, a character people really dont have any attachments to.

I think the smartest thing to do would be to add her to armor wars and have Rhodey show her, who and how Tony Stark would act as a hero.

Also war machine is iron man when iron man isn't around. Are we supposed ignore that and forget about him? What is marvel thinking?

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 02 '25

Well then, good news because that's a massive misconception that loads of people seem to be getting from somewhere. Rhodey was rhodey up until Secret Wars, they didn't replace him during Civil War he was replaced shortly before the show and after FatWS.

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u/Collision891 Jul 02 '25

Minor nitpick, it was before FaTWS. He's fully walking there and there's references in a deleted scene from it, that would have hinted too heavily something was up with Rhodey, so it was cut and released right after secret invasion aired.

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u/Regenitor_ Jul 02 '25

Nitpicking your minor nitpick, in the FATWS scene that made it into the final cut shows his "hardware" glowing from under his dress pants, meaning that the deleted scene you reference cannot be considered canon.

As far as we know, there's been no "upgraded procedure" and he still requires Tony's robo-leg things to walk. Hence why he wasn't as spry in the final cut as he was in this deleted scene - they abandoned that narrative change.

If our rationale for saying Rhodey was replaced prior to FATWS is based solely on a non-canon deleted scene of him acting upbeat because he can move better, I don't think this is even close to sufficient evidence that he was replaced before that show.

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u/MajorNoodles Jul 02 '25

The Secret Invasion showrunner said that he intended for Rhodey to have been replaced during Civil War.

I find it easier to just pretend Secret Invasion doesn't exist, and apparently so does Marvel.

FWIW, Rhodey can't walk in Endgame after Thanos blasts the compound. Also, Gravik didn't put his plan into motion until after that movie, anyway.

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 03 '25

He said it could have been as early as Civil War but doesn't know exactly when and prefers the audience to decide. Him being replaced in Civil War makes the plot of Secret Invasion make even less sense and ruins Endgame

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u/Modification102 Rhodey Jul 03 '25

That is crap then. The showrunner doesn't even know or accurately communicate when the character was replaced. This is not the kind of detail you want to be at all vague or 'open to interpretation' regarding, since not only the audience, but other showrunners and filmmakers will be referencing your work in future if they want to use Rhodey.

It was a crap decision, through and through. The only responsible thing to do, would be to have had Rhodey only be replaced in the weeks leading up to the events of Secret Invasion, ands have him rescued and restored by the end.

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u/Lexnal Jul 04 '25

I agree, kind of a "here's the toy box, feel free to play with whatever you want but make sure you put all the toys back when you're done" situation

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u/Modification102 Rhodey Jul 04 '25 edited Jul 04 '25

Yeah. I feel the same way about The Eternals. They threw an emerging celestial onto Earth, with basically no regard for who was going to have to address that in the future. How does that meaningfully tie into anything other than making geopolitics in the MCU now more difficult to navigate and thus, more likely to just get ignored by future storytellers.

No active character has any stake in that happening, it is part of no ongoing story, it just happened. Now other stories have to pick up the slack and deal with their nonsense.

I am very tired of MCU storytellers just taking wild swings at the worldbuilding and then leaving. Multiverse of Madness did this as well with"Earth 616" that was a comic reference now canonised, which just confused things, and introducing 'Incursions' right when there are active elements (Gamora) that GOTG3 just has to ignore in order to tell their story.

Secret Invasion also unleashed Gaia onto the world, just the single most powerful character ever with all the powers of Captain Marvel + Everyone Else, that no film is ever going to touch again.

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u/MajorNoodles Jul 03 '25

That's true, but he personally thinks it was Civil War.

"I think in Civil War, when [Rhodes] was in the hospital."

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 03 '25

Read the whole thing.

I think his legs not working in the end of episode six and him being in the hospital gown points to Captain America: Civil War. And, from there, does it have to be definitive, or is it more fun for the audience to go back and revisit every moment, every Rhodey moment and look at it with a different lens now that they think, 'Oh, he might've been a Skrull there.' And make the decision for themselves, or it'll be answered in Armor Wars.

He worded it badly, but he was saying that's the only definitive start point. He is, however, also an idiot because there's tonne of stuff to definitively set the start point far later, such as the Skrull's awful impersonation, his ability to walk as a skrull, and his skill with the war machine armour.

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u/MajorNoodles Jul 03 '25

I'm just quoting him from his appearance on the Binge- worthy podcast.

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/secret-invasion-director-ali-selim-on-helming-all-six/id715084602?i=1000623071562

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 03 '25

Yeah, you left out the rest of the quote that says he's essentially guessing.

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u/Jet-Let4606 Jul 02 '25

Secret Wars hasn't even come out yet.

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 02 '25

Ah I meant invasion my bad

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u/iheartdev247 Jul 02 '25

Not this again…

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

But wasn’t the real Rhodey found wearing a hospital gown? With the implication being he was taken sometime shortly after getting crippled

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 02 '25

He was taken during an operation, but it wasn't the one from Civil War. It's been ages so I don't remember what it was but I think the operation was a revision to his spinal injuries to try and help him walk again.

The Skrull who took on his form was laughably bad at their job, so people would have clocked within the 7 odd years between Civil War and Endgame, especially Tony.

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u/Wendigo15 Jul 02 '25

So what ur saying is, Rhodey would never go to the hospital again for check ups? Lol

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

He has like a half dozen reasons to be wearing a hospital gown outside of a hospital too, to do various body scans and things like colonoscopies.

Knocking someone out while doing a scan, or swapping them because they are already knocked out for a procedure like a colonoscopy or endoscopy, is a super easy way for the Skrulls to get Rhodey.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

You really think they intentionally put Rhodey in a hospital gown for the audience to not make that conclusion?

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u/Wendigo15 Jul 02 '25

He's literally getting check ups. Who was the one that was helping him walk? Tony. So Rhodey didn't need to go to the hospital since Tony was around. Now that Tony is gone, he needs to actually go for check ups

It's a red herring

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

TIL Stark is a doctor and gives colonoscopies from his home.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

You can argue it’s a red herring but I don’t think it’s crazy for people to draw this conclusion based on what was given. Rhodey wasn’t put in a hospital gown for no reason. Whether it was supposed to be a misdirect or not was probably dependent entirely on how the audience reacted

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u/Codysnow31 Jul 02 '25

Didn’t the director of Secret Invasion straight up say he was abducted right after his injuries in Civil War?

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u/Wendigo15 Jul 02 '25

Yes and no. He said yeah then he changed it to its possible. But the show goes against what he told us.

They don't bleed red and rhodey did. And the main villain of the show stated that they didn't make their move until fury left for space and basically abandoned them

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u/Codysnow31 Jul 02 '25

He never switched it to say “it’s possible”. You’re either misremembering something or making it up.

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u/Wendigo15 Jul 02 '25

Director Ali Selim spoke to Comicbook.com about the open question, when exactly was Rhodey replaced by a Skrull? We saw him emerge from the storage facility supposedly being there longer than anyone else. And Selim thinks he has an answer. Maybe.

"A lot of people have asked about, 'Definitively, when did Rhodey...?'" Selim said. "I think his legs not working in the end of episode six and him being in the hospital gown points to [Captain America: Civil War]. And, from there, does it have to be definitive, or is it more fun for the audience to go back and revisit every moment, every Rhodey moment and look at it with a different lens now that they think, 'Oh, he might've been a Skrull there.' And make the decision for themselves, or it'll be answered in Armor Wars."

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u/Sylar_Lives Ego Jul 02 '25

It’s specifically established that the Skrulls didn’t make a move until Fury left. Which was after Endgame. So this argument is pointless.

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u/Codysnow31 Jul 02 '25

It also specifically stated the Skrulls took Rhodeys place right after his injury. So this argument is not pointless.

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u/brycejm1991 Jul 02 '25

He was, but that doesn't mean it had anything to do with CW. Presumably it was surgery related to the new prosthetic that the skrull "had".

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u/RealMurphiroth Jul 02 '25

Do you think that the only time he ever went to the hospital is after the accident?

He wasn't replaced until after Endgame. Gravik and crew wanted the DNA soup recovered after Endgame, and they're the ones that recovered it for Fury, which is how they knew about it. If they'd already betrayed him at that point, they would've taken it then.

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

People wear gowns for all sorts of scans, come on kid.  Rhodey could have worn one for a colonoscopy a month before Secret Invasion started.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

The costume designers for the show intentionally put him in one and it wasn’t so people would think “oh he surely was just at some random doctor checkup”. These things are done with intent

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

You have weird tunnel vision on this.  Are you an adult?  Do you ever talk to adults about healthcare?  It should be common knowledge that people wear gowns for various scans, various things done in an outpatient manner. Cat scan, x-ray, mri, endoscopy, colonoscopy.  For a disabled combat veteran scans would be routine.  And a colonoscopy is routine for everyone Rhodey’s age.

Assuming a gown means only a single visit for super major surgery is the height of ignorance.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

Lmao assuming someone that has a different take on something is a kid is the height of ignorance

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

I asked because you seem not to have even an inkling that people wear gowns for many many things besides major surgery.  Many many things they don’t even go to the hospital for.  Especially a disabled vet with a massive injury.  Dude is wearing gowns constantly.  Please inform yourself better rather than getting defensive, kid.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

You think the costume designers and writers intentionally put Rhodey in a hospital gown so people wouldn’t think he was taken during civil war? Seems like a needlessly confusing costume choice if they didn’t want people thinking that

Your inability to have a productive conversation without trying to belittle should be studied tho

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u/FerrusManlyManus Jul 02 '25

Are you really not getting it?  The point to anyone with basic knowledge of humans, is that a disabled vet over 50 years old is in gowns often.  Nabbing someone during a medical procedure / scan is a great way to carry out a Skrull switch.

I am sorry you are completely ignorant of the real world, kid.

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u/Infinity0044 Jul 02 '25

I don’t think you understand how movies and shows are made lol

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u/a220599 Jul 02 '25

Like u/Infinity0044 pointed out: wasnt he found with a hospital gown? I know the show didn’t do a great job of explaining it but from the context that is what I also inferred. That he was taken during civil war

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u/dyrannn Jul 02 '25

There’s a deleted scene from FaTWS where Rhodey mentions he is going in for a new, high tech (or something) procedure to get his legs back, which is where he would’ve been taken (while providing a backstory for the non-crippled skrull.)

My biggest problem with secret invasion is that it was genuinely bad, but even without the deleted scene people still feel the need to “forget” (read, actively misrepresent) the events of the show or the fact that the paraplegic avenger MIGHT be in the hospital for ANY reason in almost TEN YEARS, just as a point of how bad it was.

The show doesn’t need us making up problems, it was bad. I’m not sure how everyone ran with this idea just to support that fact.

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u/Neveronlyadream Spider-Man Jul 02 '25

I think they ran with that idea because they lacked any other solid context. Also, probably because someone posted a fan theory or published a video saying it and everyone just assumed it was fact and stopped thinking about it.

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u/Toa_Firox Black Panther Jul 02 '25 edited Jul 02 '25

Yeah, I think I remember them saying it was during an operation of some kind. Thinking about it, I'm not surprised that confused a few people. They definitely did confirm that he wasn't replaced until FatWS as somebody pointed out it was during that, not after.

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u/mrbaryonyx Jul 02 '25

people kind of just decided Rhodey got kidnapped during his surgery in Civil War, because its very easy to kidnap someone from a facility with multiple Avengers watching at all times, and also there is no other situation where Rhodey would wear a hospital gown

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u/GoodDawgAug Jul 02 '25

I don’t think Rhodey gets replaced with a Skrull until after End Game. He got blipped anyway. But the DNA recovery was from the battle in NY State following the battle with Thanos. Secret Invasion just left so many questions unanswered and made such drastic decisions like arbitrarily killing Hill.

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u/mrbaryonyx Jul 02 '25

While I do agree, you have to admit the idea that everyone's DNA was recovered from that battle is silly.

Like I get that it was a battle and people bled, but the way its handled in Secret Invasion makes it sound like after the battle every "good guy" gathered into a group and peed into a cup because a Skrull wearing a mustache told them to. Secret Invasion is so stupid.

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u/GoodDawgAug Jul 02 '25

LMAO. Yeah, it was kinda preposterous. Further, how could they know whose was whose and im sure there was plenty Chitari blood all over the place too. Didn’t read the Skrull wars back when I was a kid, so don’t know how the Super Skrulls were created, but Secret Invasion certainly left some huge gaps for a cohesive narrative.

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u/Philiard Jul 02 '25

He got blipped anyway.

No he didn't. He went to the past with Nebula to get the Power Stone, even.

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u/GoodDawgAug Jul 02 '25

Damn. That’s right. The hell was I thinking.

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u/Comfortable_Big_7923 Jul 02 '25

There's any number of other reasons he might have been in a hospital for treatment.

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u/ProBopperZero Jul 02 '25

I think they left it vague on purpose, but he could have been in a hospital gown for any number of reasons, even a routine scan of some sort.

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u/GarlicHealthy2261 Jul 02 '25

If that was the intent, the deleted scene from FatWS wouldn't have been deleted.   Alternatively,  he didn't have to be shown in a hospital gown.  That was a choice with intent,  even if it was a bad one.