The Air Force officer who was Tony Stark's oldest friend and his liaison to the military at the same time, which is a conflict of interest the films take seriously.
James Rhodes has the least comfortable position in the Iron Man films and the one the story never quite resolves. He is Stark’s best friend and he is also the officer the United States Air Force has assigned to Stark Industries, and those two jobs give opposite answers to almost every question the films ask.
He is the one who flies into Afghanistan to find Stark rather than sending somebody. He is also the one who eventually decides the armour cannot belong to one man, takes a suit off the floor of the workshop, and hands it to the military. The films treat both as loyalty, which is the interesting part.
By Captain America: Civil War he is the loudest voice for oversight, and the film costs him more for it than anyone else pays for anything. He is hit by his own side, by accident, in a scene about a disagreement between friends.
Show detailsTwo actors and one first film
Terrence Howard played Rhodes in Iron Man in 2008. Don Cheadle has played him in everything since. This catalogue records the current portrayer, which means the entry’s first appearance is the one film that actor is not in.
The article has a second inconsistency worth knowing about: its own summary says Rhodes has appeared in seven films, and its list of appearances names eight, including a mid-credits scene in Captain Marvel. This catalogue lists the eight the article documents.