Real
Name: Jim Rhodes
Real
Name: Jim Rhodes
Identity/Class: Extra-dimensional (Earth-Amalgam) human technology user
Occupation: (currently) ally of Thanoseid; (formerly) adventurer
Affiliations: (currently) The Hand; Thanoseid; (formerly) Diana Prince (Princess Diana of Themyscira)
Enemies: Diana Prince (Princess Diana of Themyscira); The Punisher (Trevor Castle)
Known Relatives: none
Aliases: Rhodey; Monarch
Base of Operations: Stronghold of the Hand
First Appearance: Bullets and Bracelets #1 (April, 1996)
Powers/Abilities: War Monarch possesses a suit of hi-tech armor that presumably allows him to perform a variety of superhuman feats. He also has shown the ability to project holographic images of himself. His alliance with Thanoseid provided him with access to Apokoliptan Boom Tube technology.
History:
(Bullets
and Bracelets#1 (bts)) - The man known as Jim Rhodes was once a "close"
friend of Diana Prince (and was possibly romantically involved with her for
a time). But Jim Rhodes then became the War Monarch and underwent a
personality change, becoming estranged from his former friends in the
process.
(Bullets and Bracelets#1) - "Final Thrust" - As Diana Prince
and the Punisher (Trevor Castle) searched for their kidnapped son Ryan in
the stronghold of the organization known as the
Hand, War Monarch (who was rumored to be the one behind Ryan's
abduction) appeared as a holographic image and trapped Diana and Trevor between
two brick walls. War Monarch admitted that he was the manipulator of
the scenario, but claimed that he was not the true power or motivator behind
the abduction of Ryan. Diana Prince attempted to appeal to the human
side of War Monarch and pleaded with him to take her to her child.
But War Monarch responded that he was no longer the man she once knew as
Jim Rhodes. Nonetheless, War Monarch opened a
Boom Tube under Diana and the Punisher
that transported them to Apokolips where
they eventually found their kidnapped son. War Monarch's true intentions
and allegiances remained unrevealed.
Comments: created by John Ostrander, Gary Frank, and Cam Smith
Key:
Marvel characters are listed in regular, or bold black
type.
DC characters are listed
in bold blue type.
Amalgam characters are
listed in bold purple type.
In case you're confused, Amalgam Comics didn't really exist beyond those seen in the few DC/Marvel cross-overs. The titles you don't recognize are amalgams of similar Marvel and DC comics--Snood.
Special thanks to writer John Ostrander for clarifying some of the component sources for his amalgamated characters and providing some additional insight into the Amalgam Universe!
Mr. Ostrander on
the subject of War Monarch (Jim
Rhodes) and his involvement in the abduction
of
Ryan Castiglione:
"WAR MONARCH is indeed a cross between
War Machine and Monarch and, yes,
Jim Rhodes was
once someone who was good who went bad.
"Rhodes has manipulated this particular
scenario but, as he says, he is not the power BEHIND it. Not the
person who CREATED it. WAR MONARCH
manipulated it so that Diana and
Trevor show up at the
same place at the same time to be sent to
Thanoseid. Is he working WITH or AGAINST
Thanoseid?
That was left deliberately vague.
Thanoseid's plan was to have
Castle kill his own child and for that
to
happen they had to come into contact. Did WAR
MONARCH know that? Or was he also manipulated
by Thanoseid? Wish I could tell you for
sure but I really don't remember."
Q: Was War Monarch intended to be affiliated with the Hand in any way?
Mr. Ostrander: He must have had at least
a temporary alliance with them since they were used as part of
the trap at the beginning of the story and we know
WAR MONARCH set that up as well. Any
deeper
alliance would be just speculation . . . or a story to be told another day
in some parallel universe to ours!
The
Hand
The Hand is a clan of villainous ninja assassins. In PUNISHER #90-99, the Punisher (Trevor Castle) was led to the Stronghold of the Hand during the search for his kidnapped son, Ryan Castiglione. Likewise, in DIANA PRINCE, FREELANCE#90-99, Diana Prince also traveled to the Hand stronghold in search of her son Ryan. The Punisher and Prince finally crossed paths at the Hand stronghold in BULLETS AND BRACELETS#1 and opened fire on the clan of ninjas. Many of the Hand ninjas were killed in the unrelenting onslaught of bullets and arrows, but a few mannaged to escape with their lives.
The Hand is an Amalgam Universe version of the Hand of the Marvel Universe.
--Bullets and Bracelets#1
Profile by Skullogeist
If you like the Amalgam stuff, Skullogeist recommends these two sites:
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Center.htm
http://www.io.com/~woodward/chroma/amalgam.html
CLARIFICATIONS:
Also assume that the Amalgam characters have no other connection to any others than whom they are Amalgamated, unless specifically mentioned.
War Monarch is an amalgam of:
War Machine of Earth-616, James "Jim" Rhodes, @ Iron Man (vol. I) #281
Monarch of the mainstream DC Universe,
Hank Hall (formerly known as the hero
Hawk; later known
as
the villain
Extant),
@ Showcase#75
No known connections to, and not to be confused with
Hawk, former partner of Dagger and former member of the X-Patrol @ The Exciting X-Patrol#1
Stewart Rhodes, engineer at Stark Aircraft and friend of Iron Lantern @ Iron Lantern#1
Last
updated: 06/06/03
Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me
know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
All characters mentioned or pictured are ™ and ©
1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc or DC Comics. All Rights
Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at:
http://www.marvel.com