10 MCU Loose Ends That Will Mean Something In Phase 4

8. The Iron Patriot Programme

It might not be talked about all that often, but it's important to remember that one of the very first Iron Man armours wasn't even owned by Tony Stark. The War Machine armour was effectively just stolen from Stark when he's drunk by James Rhodes under the guise of him confiscating it on behalf of the US Air Force. From there on, War Machine works not for Stark but for the US Government and in the wake of the Battle Of New York, his role changes from that of a secret weapon to a public-facing, state-sponsored superhero.

He effectively takes up the same position Captain America was used for during the second world war, but then after Iron Man 3 (and some merciless ribbing by Stark), the Patriot suit disappears and the government seemingly just drops the idea of having their own super lapdog. Well, apart from Captain America.

Now that Cap is gone (and his replacements are seemingly less-government aligned), that line of thinking is about to come back with a bang as The Falcon & The Winter Solder will include the debut of US Agent. In the comics, he was introduced when Steve Rogers stepped away from his government role and it would makes sense that the government realises the need for such visible heroes and symbols of patriotism and brings in US Agent as a state-sponsored alternative to Bucky and Sam.