U.S. WAR MACHINE vol. 2 #3
(December 2001) "Book 1: Chapter 3." Story: Chuck Austen. Art: Chuck Austen, Wild and Wooly Press and NIC Entertainment. Layout: Victor Lopez.
Things really begin to heat up in this issue! First revelation: Parnell stole and sold a WM suit to Hydra! Rhodes goes nuts at this news, and is calmed only by Fury, who shows him three SHIELD-developed War Machine suits! Rhodes is impressed. Next bomb drop: Fury wants Parnell on the team, due to his prior WM armor experience, and the fact that Parnell's wife has been kidnapped! Fury believes this to be an excellent method of controlling Parnell while using his experience. Third ripple in the pool: AIM has split along racial lines, with a neo-Nazi racist apparently the new AIM leader! Ultra-Violent Marvel Max ending! No more slowly smoldering story!!
TJ's Recommendation: USWM patches!
Hube's Response: Chuck really piles on the racial undertones here. Rhodey witnesses (via videotape) a white supremacist AIM agent butchering a helpless black man (or should I say "African-American?") after Jim's told what SHIELD wants from him. Filled with rage, he grabs a pistol to kill the imprisoned AIM agent. Parnell tells Jim "not to do it," that "it's not you." So Parnell takes the gun and puts a bullet in the agent's skull! Whoa!
Hube's Recommendation: 3 and 1/2 USWM patches!
