Warning: contains spoilers for Iron Man #17!
Marvel's James Rhodes has stood by Tony's side on many occasions, sticking by him when many others, Avengers or otherwise, would not. But in Iron Man #17, Tony Stark expresses his extreme jealously regarding War Machine's popularity, even while he might agree with the crowd in secret.
James Rhodes is well-known as Iron Man's best friend today, but he took quite a long time to debut in Iron Man comics proper. He first appeared in Iron Man #118 in 1979 as Tony Stark's helicopter pilot; in true Iron Man fashion, Stark decided on a whim to pilot the helicopter himself instead. The two would eventually become fast friends and confidants, with Rhodes even helping Tony Stark at his absolute lowest point while the latter was suffering from crippling substance abuse and alcohol addiction issues.
In Iron Man #17, Iron Man has harnessed more power than he ever had before; after defeating Korvac, a villain with a God complex, Iron Man retained the Power Cosmic that allowed him to defeat the megalomaniac - and has essentially developed a God complex of his own. Using his nigh-omnipotent power, he decided to give a "gift" back to humanity, and granted everyone in New York City his own genius-level intelligence. Immediately, chaos is the order of the day: New Yorkers create world-changing inventions, destroying the economy and bringing down the social order within hours. Iron Man's fellow Avengers try to stop him - but they stand no chance against Iron Man and his Iron God Armor.
"I know what they say behind my back, Rhodey. What they've said for years," Iron Man exclaims after dispatching the other heroes in seconds. "That you wear it better than I do. That it should be you in the red and gold, not me." This is correct for multiple reasons, and indeed, the world would be better off if Stark didn't wear the armor at all. James Rhodes has actual military training, a comparatively humble background compared to growing up the son of billionaires, and perhaps most importantly, a complete lack of self-destructive behavior.
Rhodes wore the Iron Man suit for a time in the 80s while Stark was dealing with his alcoholism, and during other stories where Stark and Iron Man needed to be seen in the same room (at the time, the general public weren't aware that Iron Man and Tony Stark were one and the same). Fans were quite receptive to the idea of a non-white character becoming a superhero for once (Black Panther notwithstanding, Marvel had a lack of diverse superheroes at the time), and Tony Stark not becoming a superhero might have helped humanity far better than the alternative.
