"These are the Cubans, baby. This is the Cohibas; the Montecristos. This is a kinetic-kill, side-winder vehicle with a secondary cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine RDX burst. It's capable of busting a bunker under the bunker you just busted. If it were any smarter, it'd write a book, a book that would make Ulysses look like it was written in crayon. It would read it to you. This is my Eiffel Tower. This is my Rachmaninoff's Third. My Piéta. It's completely elegant, it's bafflingly beautiful, and it's capable of reducing the population of any standing structure to zero." ―Justin Hammer

The Sidewinder Self-Guided Missile, also known as the "Ex-Wife" Missile, is a projectile designed by Justin Hammer.

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History

When Justin Hammer gave a presentation to the United States Armed Forces of the different weapons his company could potentially add to the War Machine armor, the Ex-Wife Missile was marketed as the best available.

During his battle against Whiplash, James Rhodes chose to deploy the Ex-Wife Missile against him; it turned out to be a dud. Iron Man laughed, "Hammer Tech?" as he watched the inferior weaponry's failure.[1]

During the Battle of Hong Kong, the Ten Rings used a tank armed with an Ex-Wife Missile which blew War Machine out the sky. Ultimately, he defeated the terrorists and rushed to New York.[2]

Capabilities

This missile is a kinetic-kill sidewinder with a secondary cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine (RDX) burst, which means it is designed to be fired from long ranges and its kinetic energy allows it penetrate armored targets. It then detonates with a force equivalent to that of C4 as RDX is a main component of C4 explosive. It is essentially a miniaturized dual-stage smart bunker-buster with a high explosive yield.

Despite its fearsome reputation, it ultimately failed to function properly when used by James Rhodes in the War Machine Armor: Mark I.

Trivia

In the novelization of Iron Man 2, the Ex-Wife Missile is successfully used by James Rhodes, managing to kill Ivan Vanko with it.

References