Why did Rhodes' back get broken?

Question

In Captain America: Civil War, when Rhodes gets knocked out by Vision and falls, why did his back break?

He still was in the suit.

In Iron Man (around 1:18:37), Tony goes to Gulmira and when he tries to destroy the Jericho missiles he gets hit by a tank and falls from a higher distance than Rhodes, and he was okay, even though he falls really really bad.

Because steel doesn't magically protect you from everything, and Rhodes free-fell from what appeared to be thousands of feet? — Rogue Jedi, Sep 11 '16 at 18:31
“In Iron Man 1, Tony... falls from a higher distance than Rhodes, and he was okay.” I don’t recall that bit. I remember him falling after launching the first suit he builds in the cave, but he falls into sand at an angle, not straight down onto soil. — Paul D. Waite, Sep 11 '16 at 20:04
Dpesn't vision hit on the right spot for this outcome and Iron man suit are not vision-safe — Ankit Sharma, Sep 12 '16 at 06:26
Oh yeah that bit. I’m not sure it’s clear he’s at a higher distance than Rhodes, but it’s definitely a similar fall (the crater apparently produced by Tony’s fall seems bigger too). — Paul D. Waite, Sep 12 '16 at 16:03
Rhodes' suit was completely disabled and he fell at terminal velocity (at least 200mph), punching a crater when the hit the ground. The deceleration would have been immense. Without superhero physics he should have been pulped inside his suit, no matter how strong the suit itself is supposed to be. — , Sep 13 '16 at 00:45
Just watched the bit in 'Iron Man' at 1:18:37 and although Tony also punches a crater when he hits the ground, (1) the crater is not as large and (2) his suit wasn't disabled. — , Sep 13 '16 at 00:57
Than you Paul D. Waite look man when you ar in a tank and you get hit by a truck it doesn't matter that the tank works or not iron man took a lot of tihs hits he was ok (iron man 3 2 1 avengers) — capHossein12DarthVader, Sep 14 '16 at 05:50
The real question should be why wasn't Rhodes turned into human mush at the sudden impact. Even that super hero landing at the Expo that Tony does at the beginning of Iron Man 2 should at the very least caused massive brain trauma and killed him instantly. — Jane Russell, Jan 30 '18 at 12:03

score 10 · Answer 1 · edited Sep 11 '16 at 18:58

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It appears that Tony's suits (including the War Machine suit Rhodes wears) rely on the arc reactor to cushion impacts.

But this is where Vision strikes the suit. Without it he doesn't have the same protection.

edited Sep 11 '16 at 18:58

Rogue Jedi

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answered Sep 11 '16 at 18:57

AncientSwordRage

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come on a tank is A tank with or without electrical power – capHossein12DarthVader Sep 12 '16 at 15:07
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@capHossein12DarthVader I don't write the rules of comic book physics... Here's a good explanation : http://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/16466/3804 – AncientSwordRage Sep 12 '16 at 15:11
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@capHossein12DarthVader: and if you look closely, you’ll notice that the Iron Man suits are not tanks. – Paul D. Waite Sep 12 '16 at 15:48
"It appears"... based on what? – DCShannon Sep 12 '16 at 20:17
@DCShannon based on watching the movies. – AncientSwordRage Sep 13 '16 at 08:05
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@capHossein12DarthVader Tanks are actually a great analogy here. A tank that has had its power knocked out cannot use its active protection systems like the Iron Curtain, which requires a functioning radar etc. An Iron Man suit might do stuff like stiffening joints in anticipation of an impact, inflating g-suite bladders to immobilize limbs, and other such things that'd improve survivability. Even modern cars do this - airbags, seatbelt retractors - and rely on power. – ceejayoz May 05 '17 at 13:58
tank you ceejayoz you actually got what i meant did not think about it like that i feel so stupid it makes sense now and my favorite movie indent dumb – capHossein12DarthVader Feb 15 '19 at 18:32

Why did Rhodes' back get broken?

1 Answers1