As MCU Phase 3 came to an end, we got to witness a lot of heroes passing on their mantles to the next-gen heroes. Thor made Valkyrie the ruler of New Asgard. Steve Rogers saw a successor of his shield in Sam Wilson. And in Spider-Man: Far From Home, we saw how Tony left the EDITH glasses for Peter Parker. So in a way, Tony actually passed on his mantle to Spider-Man. But that had people asking why Rhodey did not get the Iron Man Mantle after Tony.
Quite a bit of this mantle shifting will also be happening in Phase 4 as Yelena Belova will be introduced as another Black Widow. Clint Barton will pass the Hawkeye moniker to Kate Bishop, and Hulk will do that with She-Hulk. But before we get to that, let’s answer one burning question that must have popped up in your mind during Far From Home.
Why was Peter Parker always favored ahead of War Machine? I mean, Rhodey didn’t have a parachute in his suit. But Peter Parker got his suit before the Civil War battle, and guess what! His suit came with a parachute! And now that Tony is gone, Rhodey isn’t even representing the Iron Man mantle. First, it was Spider-Man with his Iron Spider suit. And then, it will be young Riri Williams, who will be suiting up as Ironheart.
Rhodey has been alongside Tony every step of the way. Despite the fact that he hasn’t been a part of the Avengers right from the start, he is still an MCU veteran. He is also the one who basically sports an Iron Man-esque armor! So, why didn’t Tony pass his mantle to Rhodey? This question is similar to the whole Sam and Bucky situation.
People were also left asking that why did Steve Rogers give the shield to Sam ahead of Bucky. Well, the way we see it, Tony didn’t do it because of the fact that Rhodey was a veteran! The same goes in the case of Steve and Bucky as well. Rhodey had already made his fair share of contributions to keep the world safe. He is suffering from a form of paralysis and still continues to fight. He had flown a hundred and thirty-eight combat missions before even getting injured. And after that, he fought along with the Avengers in Infinity War and Endgame.
Even though War Machine wasn’t as big of a name as Iron Man, he was still his own hero. Unlike Peter, he doesn’t need someone to pass his mantle on to him. He was already among the top-rated heroes of the team. And now we’re going to see his true importance in the upcoming Armor Wars on Disney+. Also, Tony Stark did not want to pass on the burden of being Iron Man to his friends. He always saw Iron Man as a way of fixing his past mistakes. And he certainly wouldn’t have wanted his friend, who is a veteran hero, to carry any more burden.
Captain America was a symbol right from the start. So, it is a mantle that can be passed on from one person to another. But Tony was, and always will be the only Iron Man. The entire world knows that. So, it is good that the MCU did not come up with a Steve and Sam kinda moment between Tony and Rhodey. It is time that Rhodey finally gets the recognition he deserves before he retires. And it should happen with him making his own stand as War Machine, or perhaps the Iron Patriot, but definitely not Iron Man!
So you see, that’s why Rhodey did not get the Iron Man Mantle. Would you have preferred otherwise? Tell us in the comments.
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