I've always been a fan of War Machine but felt he's been underused for many years. Sure, he came into the spotlight a bit with his job at O*N*E* during the whole 198 era, and then again after Civil War with The Initiative at Camp Hammond.. but I still felt like Rhodey didn't get the "air time" he deserved.
Now Secret Invasion happens and War Machine is thrusted directly into the Skrulls path and effectively, into the spotlight.
First off, that Adi Granov cover is great. I was so excited when this first image popped up a few months back because as we all know, Adi Granov helped design the look of Iron Man's armor for the Blockbuster Movie. I saw this War Machine art as a possible armor design for the Iron Man sequel. One could only hope, it's bad a**!!
The story was well written, You really get the sense that Tony Stark likes to be prepared for anything, and even more, you get the sense that Jim Rhodes really IS the only person that Tony ever fully trusted. Also, with a few well placed monologue bubbles, you can easily identify what kind of character Rhodey is. Tough as nails U.S. Marine. He's got the experience, the disciple and the right attitude to pilot Stark's "heavy artillery" suit of armor.
This whole story arc will really serve in defining War Machine as its own entity. He's not just an Iron Man carbon copy. Rhodey IS War Machine, so you better recognize.
The interior art was good. Not great, but good. I really liked seeing through War Machine's Point of View in a couple of panels.
I give this issue a good 4 stars out of 5. I'm really looking forward to the next 2 parts of this story.