James “Rhodey” Rhodes aka War Machine (Don Cheadle) is a skull. The new episode of the MCU series “Secret Invasion” shows this more clearly than ever. However, there have been hints before that the Avenger is not who he claims to be. However, let’s start with the end of episode 3:
However, not all Marvel fans will have noticed it’s undoubtedly Rhodey’s voice on the phone when Nick Fury’s wife Varra aka Priscilla (Charlayne Woodard) takes the gun from the locker. That alone wouldn’t say much, after all, Varra could just be working with the US government without Fury’s knowledge. But the dialogue itself is also important:
“I want to talk to Gravik,” Varra says to the voice on the phone, Rhodey. So she expects Rhodey and Gravik to hook up – and that can only mean that War Machine is actually a Skrull and not one of the good guys, but one of Gravik’s henchmen. Especially since there were other clues to Rhodey’s true identity before:
Nick vs Fury
Especially the conversation between Skrull-Rhodey and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) in Episode 2 is of great importance. It’s a great scene anyway, but there’s a second level that only becomes apparent when you look or listen carefully:
In episode 2 dialogue, Skrull-Rhodey consistently addresses his counterpart as “Fury”, but in a moment of inattention slips out a “nod”. – and as was emphasized again in Episode 3 (but also established in “Captain Marvel”) Nobody Just Calls Nick Fury ‘Nick’. So is the Skrull, who pretends to be Commodore Bob Fairbanks (David Bark-Jones) when he tries to imitate the voice of Talos (Ben Mendelsohn).
Will Rhodey be unmasked in ‘Secret Invasion’?
Nick Fury’s shocked reaction to speaking with Skrull-Rhodey in Episode 2 takes on a whole new meaning and one thing seems clear: Fury knows that Rhodey is not who he appears to be. He should do everything in the remaining episodes to expose the alleged Avenger.
Whether that will succeed is also an exciting question in view of the already announced War Machine film “Armor Wars”, in which Don Cheadle will play the leading role. We honestly can’t imagine watching a Skrull Rhodey trying to preserve and protect the legacy of Tony Stark aka Iron Man. After all, the emotional connection between the two characters would then be missing.
However, we’ve also seen the human counterparts of the Skrull copies being held captive at least partially. So it’s possible that the real Rhodey will be released in the course of Secret Invasion – and must be in “Armor WarsAlso deal with the fact that he may have been stuck for a very long time and missed a lot.
Secret Invasion Episode 4 will be released on Disney+ on July 12, 2023. It is not yet known when ‘Armor Wars’ will be shown in cinemas. However, we are betting on a release in 2025 or 2026.