Saying as how Iron Man saved the day (more-or-less) in The Avengers, wouldn’t it have been great if there’d been two of them? Hold on! Where was War Machine?!

Well, for anyone that noticed the absence of James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes , the question of ‘what was more important than an alien invasion?’ is about to be answered.

Marvel has listed a two-part prelude to Iron Man 3 in its January titles that will start off during the Avengers movie and explain just where War Machine was during the events in New York.

The book will be by Chris Gage (Writer) and Steve Kurth (Author) and the official descrption says:
•The perfect prelude to the upcoming highly-anticipated Marvel Studios film, Iron Man 3
•As Tony Stark prepares for his next venture, he tasks War Machine with a mission of his own.
•War Machine faces his biggest test as a hero, while Iron Man takes on the Battle of New York!

Interestingly, Barnes and Noble will be releasing a trade paperback that will also include the comic adaptation of Iron Man 2 and in their description hints at some of what we can expect in Iron Man 3 too, including Stark’s development of the Extremis technology with allows him to directly interact with the Iron Man armour:

The Marvel Cinematic Universe returns! First, it’s the comics adaptation of the blockbuster film Iron Man 2! Why is the U.S. government going after Iron Man? Plus, a mysterious figure from Tony’s past returns – and he’s got a vendetta. Featuring the first appearance and origin of War Machine! Then, it’s an all-new story set between the events of Marvel’s the Avengers and the upcoming Iron Man 3! What mysterious project has Tony Stark been developing since his alliance with SHIELD and his joining Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? And how will it change the way he lives … forever?

Don Cheadle did hint at Comic Con this year that War Machine may well appear in Avengers 2, which would make sense providing he survives Iron Man 3 and the Iron Patriot repaint. But with Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Thor: The Dark World all coming with new characters in abundance – Falcon for one – and rumours overspilling of others – hello, Doctor Strange and Wasp - is there a danger of two much going on and too many characters? Can even Joss Whedon fit THAT many characters into Avengers 2? Throw in the SHIELD TV series, the rumours of an agreement to have Spider-man, Fantastic Four appear in these movies and the transferring of the Daredevil rights back over, just how big can this franchise get?

Are we worried? No, but we do think that, while things are on a high with Marvel’s movie-verse, the ground could become very shakey, very quickly…