Although the diary didn't explicitly state the full name,
it's undeniable that the "Rhodes" mentioned was definitely Tony Stark's best, or rather, only friend, Colonel James Rhodes.
Otherwise, why would he appear at his birthday party?
It couldn't be another guy named Rhodes, right? The playboy didn't think things would be so coincidental.
So, the problem was precisely this: why would Rhodes "beat him up"? And at such an important occasion as his birthday party, no less!
It seemed that a very serious conflict and contradiction had erupted between him and Rhodes, to the point of turning against each other! So~ What exactly was the conflict?
Because he didn't know the cause and effect, Tony Stark really couldn't imagine it for the moment.
But no matter what kind of conflict or contradiction it was, Rhodes wouldn't go this far, right?
But what was even more unimaginable for the playboy was something else: James Rhodes had actually stolen his armor!
How could this be possible?
He knew that it was the Iron Man armor, and it was all under Jarvis's control.
Without his, Tony's, authorization, no one else could use it.
In other words, if he, Tony, didn't want them to, then even if the armor was placed in someone's hands, they wouldn't be able to use it at all.
So how could it be "stolen"?
The Iron Man armor designed by the playboy simply couldn't be stolen!
"Sir, it seems that the you in another universe really had a thrilling birthday."
The voice of the considerate AI, Jarvis, rang out, teasing his boss, "So hot that the house almost blew up."
Jarvis's words were unintentional, but they immediately caused Tony Stark's brow to furrow slightly.
What was going on this time?
Did the "battle" between him and James Rhodes actually get so intense that it blew up his own house?
That's just... unbelievable.
Did Rhodes use grenades to fight him?
The playboy really couldn't figure out how a simple fight with his best friend could lead to this.
But soon enough.
Tony Stark, after considering the context from the diary, came to a logical conclusion.
The "battle" between himself and Rhodes mentioned in the diary must have involved them both wearing Iron Man armor!
So, Rhodes not only took the Iron Man armor from him, but also put it on.
Then, he had a full-blown battle with his Destroyer!
Only in such a scenario could it be called a "battle", and only then could it lead to the house being blown up.
However...
Even if they were wearing armor, did he and Rhodes actually fire at each other?
Did the conflict escalate to that extent?
Tony Stark truly couldn't understand what could have caused them to act like that.
"Iron Clad Battle!"
"This should be the 'Iron Clad Battle' mentioned in the diary before!"
After concluding it was the Iron Man armor battle, Tony Stark's mind sparked again.
He connected it to a spoiler from the diary long ago.
The diary had mentioned that he went a little crazy when he was dying from Palladium poisoning, and created several iconic moments.
One of them was the Iron Clad Battle with James Rhodes!
If he thought about the timing, if it weren't for the diary's reminder, which allowed him to solve the Palladium poisoning problem in advance, he would indeed be close to death by now, right?
It matched up!
It all aligned!
So it seemed that the "Iron Clad Battle" mentioned in the diary before was most likely the battle at this birthday party, as revealed by the spoiler.
"I see!"
Once he connected the dots, Tony Stark's mind cleared, and he managed to piece things together.
It seemed that in that other universe, the other him, knowing he was about to die, went wild at his birthday party.
Otherwise, Zhou Cheng wouldn't have called him "crazy."
As for how crazy, just look at "peeing inside the Iron Man armor" and "sitting on a donut while eating a donut."
He even had a high probability of attending the birthday party wearing the Iron Man armor.
This did indeed fit the playboy's personality of doing whatever he wanted and acting recklessly.
So, what about his good friend, James Rhodes? Naturally, he couldn't bear to see him in such a depraved state, which is why he would have stepped in to stop him, to stop those crazy actions.
And considering he was in the Iron Man armor, how could James Rhodes stop himself?
Naturally, by putting on another suit of armor.
So, what happened next was only logical.
Although he hadn't experienced that state of another self, the playboy could still empathize with his opponent's state at the time.
The other person wouldn't listen to James Rhodes!
The conflict between them arose like that, escalating and evolving into a great battle!
Yeah, that should be about it.
"Sir, there's nothing wrong with your entire theory, except for one thing."
When Tony Stark told Jarvis his deduction, Jarvis pinpointed a problem with laser precision, "Without your authorization, no one else can use your armor, including Colonel Rhodes."
"So, haven't you already given the answer?"
Tony Stark spread his hands in a matter-of-fact manner, "Then it must be the authorization I gave!"
Even though it didn't happen to him, it was still a "counterpart" of himself.
So Tony Stark could still understand the actions of that other self.
He was going to die anyway, so he couldn't take the Iron Man armor with him, could he?
So it would be better to take this opportunity to give James Rhodes a set of the Iron Man armor, leaving behind a legacy.
It wouldn't let his life's work be cut off from the world!
So, this was the reason why James Rhodes would get the armor and become War Machine?
The playboy had previously thought it was because the other him couldn't withstand the pressure from the military and was forcibly taken by them.
After all this time, it turned out he gave it away himself.
But that made sense.
That other-world version of himself couldn't possibly be so incompetent as to fail at the hearing.
So, this is the truth!
"So, sir, what are your thoughts now?"
"Are you still considering granting authorization to Colonel Rhodes?"
Jarvis's voice echoed again, interrupting Tony Stark's thoughts.
The playboy immediately fell into contemplation.
Right, the other him had given Rhodes a suit of armor, so what about him?
"No, I don't plan to do that."
After only a moment's hesitation, Tony Stark made that decision.
The Destroyer was unique, belonging solely to the great Tony, and no one could share in it.
Even James Rhodes!
The playboy believed that the other him must have made this decision because he was about to die.
Otherwise, there was no way he would have given the armor to the military so easily.
After all, James Rhodes's identity was there. Giving the armor to James Rhodes was the same as giving it to the military. Tony Stark wouldn't do such a thing.
[If that's the case, how did War Machine come to be in this universe?]
[Or, will it not appear at all?]
[If he later faces the enhanced Whiplash, wouldn't Iron Man be dead? That's not something Iron Man can handle alone.] [Wait, Stark didn't even go to the race in Morocco. Whiplash didn't attack Stark, and he wasn't captured either.]
[So, Whiplash was rescued by Justin Hammer, and the two of them joined forces to secretly deal with Iron Man, creating a group of Iron Man armors to chase after Iron Man, and that might not even happen.]
[The final battle of "Iron Man 2," the epic scene of a bunch of Iron Man armors fighting, wouldn't happen either?]
[It's completely different! The plot of this part is really completely different.]
That's right!
The War Machine in this universe won't appear anymore!
Tony Stark nodded inwardly.
Rather than letting James Rhodes wear the armor and become a puppet controlled by the military, it's better to keep things as they are.
In this universe, with the Destroyer and all, one big Tony is enough!
But the playboy was immediately slapped in the face as soon as this thought flashed through his mind.
What the heck?
A group of Iron Man armors are chasing him?
Is this the work of Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer, working together?
Those two clowns, teaming up, actually managed to accomplish something!
"Hammer, you really don't miss any opportunity, do you?"
The playboy couldn't help but sneer.
Even though the diary clearly stated that a group of Iron Man armors were created by Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer working together, Tony Stark didn't take Justin Hammer seriously at all.
The playboy knew that guy too well; he knew that Hammer Industries simply didn't possess that kind of capability.
The so-called collaboration between the two was undoubtedly a model where Ivan Vanko provided the technology and Hammer Industries provided the resources.
So Justin Hammer was not worth mentioning; the only one that really caught Tony Stark's attention was Ivan Vanko!
The diary had already mentioned that this person possessed his own technology, even manufacturing an "enhanced" version of the Iron Man armor.
The diary also stated that when this person returned, it took a combined effort of himself and James Rhodes, in the War Machine armor, to defeat him.
Although Tony Stark always considered himself unrivaled, the world's top scientist...
There was no doubt that Ivan Vanko, who inherited relevant technology from Anton Vanko, was someone the playboy would have to take seriously.
A major threat!
That Whiplash, Ivan Vanko, was a major threat! Even Tony Stark had to admit this.
"Jarvis, any leads on Ivan Vanko yet?"
Thinking this, Tony Stark immediately began to question his AI.
"Sir, there are no relevant leads."
"I've screened and compared all the Ivan Vankos I could find, but none match the criteria."
"I believe Ivan Vanko is likely not using that name."
Jarvis gave this answer.
"Keep monitoring."
Tony Stark wasn't surprised and simply instructed Jarvis to continue.
However, the playboy, Tony, wouldn't have imagined that the Ivan Vanko he was searching for had already been locked up in a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison.
Oh, wait.
More precisely, it should be Nick Fury's private secret base.
Considering S.H.I.E.L.D.'s infiltration by HYDRA, Nick Fury immediately took over using his private channels after Agent Hill captured Ivan Vanko.
This was to prevent the relevant technology from falling into HYDRA's hands.
So, barring any unexpected events, Tony Stark should no longer be able to find Ivan Vanko.
Of course, the sudden appearance of Whiplash to attack him wouldn't happen either.
But Tony Stark couldn't possibly know these things.
However, there was one thing Tony Stark was absolutely certain of.
That was, he wanted to continue researching even more powerful Iron Man armor.
To deal with the enhanced Whiplash armor that he and War Machine might need to team up to defeat!
But if that's the case, it's actually a good thing for James Rhodes.
At least he won't be crippled by Vision during the Civil War!
After all, Vision's strength is really too great. Iron Man armor is just trash in front of him, and being grazed by him is fatal.
Although Thor has always claimed to be the strongest Avenger, he's not necessarily stronger than Vision.
Especially Thor before his transformation, who couldn't possibly be Vision's opponent.
It's just that Vision didn't want to take action, otherwise the Civil War wouldn't have happened at all. Vision alone could have swept the entire Avengers at the time!
James Rhodes was actually crippled during the Civil War?
Tony Stark's brows couldn't help but furrow.
All along, he had thought that the Civil War was just a "friendly sparring session."
After all, both sides in the battle were superheroes, even former colleagues, and the diary also mentioned that neither side intended to kill.
The playboy naturally assumed that.
Aside from some superheroes being arrested by the authorities, there shouldn't have been any serious consequences.
Who could have guessed that something actually happened!
James Rhodes was crippled!
And it was Vision who accidentally injured him.
"Vision!"
This name immediately caught Tony Stark's attention.
The diary had mentioned it before, but only in passing.
The playboy knew that this was the Scarlet Witch's lover, and his end was incredibly tragic.
Not only was he killed multiple times, but he was ultimately dismembered.
Tony Stark never imagined that Vision would be so powerful!
During the Civil War, James Rhodes was clearly wearing the Iron Man armor, fighting as War Machine.
Yet, he was crippled by Vision's carelessness.
Even in Zhou Cheng's eyes, the Iron Man armor was completely insignificant in front of Vision, and a casual swipe from the latter would be fatal.
Damn, was that Vision really that strong?
More powerful than Thor, able to sweep through the entire Avengers single-handedly?
-----------------------
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(End of Chapter)