Last issue, we learned Tony Stark’s armor was making him sick. In these issues, we see his competitors, Hydra, Yakuza Samurai, etc., plotting to jump into the breach.
There’s also a new gang called the Masters of Silence. They’re working for Hammer. They bust up Stark’s armor.
As a result, he transitions to a new suit and becomes…
War Machine. Except no, he’s not.
He’s Iron Man.
He takes it for a test drive against some beefed up mandroids.
By #284, he’s back to his regular “Iron Man” logo. Also during this story, while Tony is sick, Jim Rhodes takes an active role and gets a job offer from Nick Fury.
And so the seeds are sown for a War Machine comic starring Rhodey.