A newly-released Avengers: Infinity War concept art reveals War Machine helping Wanda and Vision's rescue in Edinburgh. It has been more than four years since the 2018 Joe and Anthony Russo-directed blockbuster premiered, but alongside Avengers: Endgame, fans continue to revisit it. Avengers: Infinity War has even been crowned the best MCU film thus far by some.
Whether Avengers: Infinity War really is the best of what Marvel Studios has to offer is still up for debate, but it is undoubtedly one of the most ambitious ventures for the franchise. Aside from establishing Thanos, the movie was also tasked with bringing together all the disparate pockets of the MCU. In order to craft a cohesive narrative, the Russos opted to separate the heroes into mini-teams to give everyone their fair share of the spotlight. Rhodey had a couple of great bits in the film, but Marvel Studios may have scrapped what could have been his coolest moment in the flick.
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Shared by concept designer Phil Saunders on Instagram is his illustration for Avengers: Infinity War which sees Rhodey joining the rescue effort for Wanda and Vision in Edinburgh. Instead of being actually there, however, he is using "a holographic control system" that allows him to fight Proxima Midnight remotely. Check out the cool artwork below:
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A post shared by Phil Saunders (@philjdsaunders)
It's uncertain where exactly Rhodey is during this scrapped Avengers: Infinity War scene, but chances are that he is in the Avengers Facility in Upstate New York. This means that aside from the leg brace that he is rocking, the holographic system that he is using is also another Tony Stark creation. Interestingly, however, it's reminiscent of the technology that Shuri used to remotely help T'Challa, Nakia, and Okoye hunt down Ulysses Klaue in Busan, South Korea early on in Black Panther. It's curious if this system in Avengers: Infinity War is inspired by that. In any case, it fits with Iron Man's efforts to safeguard the world against the looming threat from Thanos even after the Avengers broke up after Captain America: Civil War.
As cool as this scene looks, however, it's for the best that it was cut from Avengers: Infinity War. For starters, Rhodey's involvement would have taken away from Wanda and Vision's efforts to fight Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive. Secondly, it could have also ruined Captain America's glorious entrance in the film and would have diminished the emotional weight of the Secret Avengers' return to the Avengers HQ after Captain America: Civil War. In any case, with War Machine set to front Armor Wars, perhaps Marvel Studios can re-purpose this idea and use it on the Disney+ show instead.