Superhero of the Month - Ross Radke's War Machine

Congratulations to Ross Radke, winner of July's War Machine Contest! It was, yet again, another close one. Thanks to everyone who participated. We hope to see all of our War Machine contestants -- and many, many more -- for August's Wonder Woman contest!

Ross Radke - 26/30

Mitch: This is what I think of when I think of War Machine. This is what I think would happen if the military took a hold of a[n Iron Man] suit. They'd bulk it up and add weapons that took away from it's sleek look and design it to look intimidating. Everything about it screams "I'm a machine built for war!" Those vestigal arms are a nice touch, seeing as he can't really use his gun arm or claw to do too much. And the logo on the leg is clean and simple. But isn't that Wonder Man's?

Alex: Another very well-done design that could work even without the revised back story if you imagine the suit being significantly bigger than Rhodey. The load of weaponry effectively makes him more of a one-man army, ready to take out enemy threats.

Yifan: This reminds me the mechs from the RoboCop movie, in a good way. It's scary, edgy, bold, and certainly doesn't shy away from the extremes. The changes are big enough that they matter, and I like that there is a reason for the direction. It may allow some nasty stories spawned from it. The only thing I'm not sure is the little arms on his belly.How about two thin and long arms on the shoulders and rise over head instead?

Editor's Note: Since there were only six entries, we decided to list them all this month! Judging was done by the Superhero of the Month staff, and Yifan Jiang, winner of June's Green Lantern contest!

Check out the rest of the War Machines after the jump! 

Kevin Prieto - 24/30

Alex: This was actually the piece I was gunning for most. It looks practical (well, as practical as a man-sized, armored piece of super-technology can be) and represents everything I think of when I think of War Machine. I'm not an Iron Man mythos expert, but in my mind, War Machine is the guy you send in when a job is too "messy" for Tony, and this represents that. The red energy scheme is perfect, and I think enough elements are here to make this recognizable as War Machine that the Iron Man mask is unnecessary. Anything I could complain about would be so nit-picky, it's not worth mentioning.


Mitch: Great costume. Love the colors. The lines on the legs are a great touch. My two big problems are the chest as a lot of lines going everywhere and the mask isn't very Iron Man-y. I feel that's an integral part of War Machine.

Yifan: War Machine of Helghast! The dark soldier look may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I think it works as it is. The shading is nice too. My only complaint would be that, if you look at his silhouette and the curves of the armor pieces, it's too round. Give him a few hard corners, leave space between armor pieces, use not just shiny metals. These all will help it be much better defined.

Richard JP Le Guen - 19/30

Yifan: I like the direction, but it's got an identity crisis.This design tries too hard to be Cap that it feels forced. Black, red and white could have worked much better together: Maybe let black, not the current dark brown, dominate the body, then spread red stripes all over with a few white touches. Don't worry that it might look like Iron Patriot or any other version, you can always tune it back later.

Mitch: I can also see the military going this route. Adding elements of Captain America to their favourite tin soldier. Arc reactor in the sheild is a great touch and I like the star. Would have liked to see the legs to see if Cap's pirate boots have any influence here.

Alex: I'd actually like to see this tweaked to eliminate the Captain America theme. I'm even fine with the shield, but the CA elements seem to be superfluous. Everything else I really like; unfortunately, I can't see anything past mid-thigh, and I'd like to know what's going on with the rest of the suit.

Brian Post - 16/30

Mitch: Nice for a one shot "What If?" or a brief glimsp into an alternate world.

Yifan: Good direction, not very good execution. It's always exciting too see a mech from ages back, and the American Civil War is a good place to go. I know that WM's always black and white, but leaving the whites not painted just like the background make it look like unfinished. By looking deeper I can tell there are thoughts put into it, but the coloring made It hard to get the details across to your audience.

Alex: I actually love this. A lot. But ultimately I agree with Mitch. That said, I'd love to see the Tony/Iron Man companion piece.

Pharoah Bolding - 14/30

Yifan: I like the classic look and the attempt to make him slimmer. It did a good job of staying true to the character, but I'm not sure there are enough tweaks to call it a redesign. While it's okay to bring in old school elements, sadly this very decision seemed hold back WM to have any modern/high tech touch. Let your audience know how this armor ticks; add small details without breaking the overall feel. For melee weapons, there should be something on-par to his shoulder cannon than daggers, I think.

Mitch: A slimmer War Machine is an interesting idea, to be sure. But this one just feels a bit too exposed. It may be the white coloring, though. I was typing a question as to why blades in modern combat, then remembered a good half of Marvel have blades popping out of their arms. Maybe a lightsaber-esque blade would be nice here.

Alex: This just feels a little too "classic" for me. I agree with my colleagues, the slimmer feel is interesting, but I'd really just like to see more. I do like the wrist knives, though. Like I said earlier, War Machine is a character I can envision getting down-and-dirty in combat, and the blades reflect that.

Warren Newsom - 13/30

Mitch: Very machine like, but perhaps a bit too machine-like. I don't really see a person piloting this. Maybe as a drone back-up though. I like that the laucher and guns a bit more included into the shoulder piece.

Yifan: Chest/shoulder cannons are too small, the suit isn't showing too many functions here. The colors make him like from a 80' cartoon but that's not a bad thing; the bad thing is that with a very different helmet, he is unrecognizable as WM now.

Alex: I think if you threw down a black/gray color scheme, this would instantly be more recognizable as War Machine. And that's my chiefest complaint. A lot of other liberties have been taken here, and while that's fine, the deviated color scheme makes this look unrelated to Iron Man. I understand what Yifan is saying about the helmet, but if you reverted to the classic WM colors, I think you could get away with it (it worked for Kevin Prieto). That said, I love the big hands!

There you go! Thanks again to all of you who participated! Stay tuned for Wonder Woman -- the first batch hits Superhero of the Month August 4th!