Tony Stark’s death plays a part in Disney Plus’ Armor Wars series

War Machine actor Don Cheadle reveals the death of Tony Stark in Avengers: Endgame will play a big part in the upcoming Disney Plus series Armor Wars.

The ripples of Tony Stark’s sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame, to end the threat of Thanos, are still being felt in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and they will continue to be as the streaming offerings set within the continuity get going on Disney Plus.

Viewers of WandaVision already see evidence that this is the case but War Machine/James Rhodes actor Don Cheadle is saying the greater ramifications of Stark’s heroic death will kick into overdrive soon.

He explained on BroBible’s Post-Credit Podcast the absence of Rhodes’ friend will have some kind of impact on him in the upcoming Armor Wars show as he flies solo and he evolves into more of a superhero. He said that he was “pretty sure” that the “death of Tony Stark” would “play a role in the series.”

Obviously, not many crucial details can be revealed at this stage but Cheadle teased that Rhodey is due for an upgrade to his suit and tech he’s worn since Iron Man 2 while he copes and moves on personally:

"“Where we’ve been sort of progressing Rhodey—even in the last film where he’s now up again and he’s now walking again and he’s now mobile again—so as the technology continues to develop and we keep making innovations in the suit and what happens, I imagine there’s gonna be another elevation and another way that we’re going to keep digging into that part of Rhodey.”"

During the interview, he also shared that he’s going to show up in The Falcon and The Winter Soldier although without specifying if Rhodey will wear the War Machine armor, what he’ll be doing, or if Armor Wars will spring off from his appearance. Nonetheless, it’s a shared universe so we can anticipate the properties mingling.

Armor Wars may even bleed directly into the comics in some capacity. Cheadle gave a hint of this, stating they plan to “bridge what’s happening in the comic books” with some of the things “happening on screen in the MCU and how we’re going to make those worlds work.”

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How much of what occurs on the screen will jibe with the source material is uncertain. Like Avengers: Age of Ultron, Armor Wars might just lift the title from the storyline by David Michelinie and Bob Layton without actually following it. But, reportedly, War Machine will go on a similar mission to reel in abuse of Stark tech.

The original comic book arc – also dubbed Stark Wars – ran from 1987 to ’88 through issues #225-232 of Iron Man and chronicled Tony’s struggles to neutralize enemies, including Justin Hammer, who’d stolen his technology. His methods of often going in alone and ambushing villains on his hit list put him at odds with allies such as Captain America.

Armor Wars received a sequel in Iron Man #258-66 in 1990 and another follow-up for the Ultimates line in 2009. The saga was reinterpreted over the years in the pages of What If? and in animated efforts Iron Man and Armored Adventures. Both of those toons are available on Disney Plus right now.

What are your expectations for Armor Wars? Do you think it will live up to the MCU standard of quality and action? Tell us in the comments below!