James Rhodes

James Rhodes is a comic character, featured in the 2008 Iron Man film. He was incarnated by Terrence Howard.

Iron Man (2008)

James Rhodes is a top officer of the Air Force, who is the liason with Stark Enterprises, a company of warfare; particularly, Rhodes is a close friend of Tony Stark, the founder and owner of it.

In his first appearance, James Rhodes speaks in a conference, held at the Caesar's Palace; he tells that Stark had been both his friend and mentor. However, Stark isn't there for receiving the award, and so Rhodes must look for him throughout the hotel; finding him at the table of craps, Rhodes refuses helping throwing the dices for Stark, who wouldn't care much about the formal conference.

On the next day, -after waiting three hours in vain- James Rhodes escorts Stark aboard his private jet, and the air-force officer complains particularly about the drinking uses of the millionaire. Disregarding, Rhodes ends up joining the alcoholic revelry, mainly out of personal friendship.

In the middle of the middle-east desert, James Rhodes is the first American officer who rushes reaching Stark, embracing fraternally, after the businessman was captive by Afghan terrorists.

Back in America, James Rhodes was addressing some officers at the base, when he is intercepted by Stark, for helping into a new secret project -Iron Man-. However Rhodes refuses, instead scolding about the lack of seriousness of Stark Industries, which has decided to stop producing actual weapons after some of those had been clandestinely sold to the enemy.

James Rhodes is in the air-force headquarters, when Stark as Iron Man is attacked as an unknown object by American fighters, at Afghanistan. Via his cellphone, Rhodes directly converses with the flying hero as he manages to disentangle off the pursuers. Then Rhodes actually understands what the secret project of the millionaire is about... Rhodes officially attempts to explain the incident to the press, alleging some training incident: the government doesn't exactly know which local factions have helped, fighting the terrorists and blowing all their arsenal.

James Rhodes learns, via Stark's secretary Pepper Potts, that Stark has gone missing. When Rhodes gets to the mansion, Stark lies agonizing on the floor, as Stane, an executive of Stark industries, has betrayed him, stealing the plans for building his own version of the power armor: the Iron Monger.

James Rhodes witnesses as Iron Man takes off from the mansion; Stark has requested to him so the skies remained clear for the final showdown. Rhodes then stared at a previous prototype, mumbling that someday he would be using it too; then, leaves the premises, driving his fast sport car.

In the end, James Rhodes was again giving account of the latest events, the Iron Man-Iron Monger confrontation, to the press. Rhodes officially told that some robot prototype had failed, destroying the building's core reactor.

Then, James Rhodes assists Stark for his speech, when the latter admits actually being the Iron Man, with Rhodes besides.