In the Ultimate Marvel Universe, the character is a wealthy industrialist, billionaire playboy, genius inventor, business tycoon and world-renowned scientist, who created the Iron Man armor, an exo-suit with high-tech equipment and superhuman capabilities, which grants the wearer with abilities, such as super-strength, flight, enhanced durability and the ability to fire weaponized energy blasts and beams.
Like his mainstream counterpart, he has a drinking problem, being commonly depicted as a charismatic and womanizing alcoholic, with a snarky and sarcastic sense of humour, who suffers from a life-threatening affliction; in this case an inoperable brain tumor.
With a life expectancy anywhere between six months and five years, he chose to become a philanthropist and superhero, deciding to use the remaining time he has left to live, for a noble purpose.
While the character is yet to be featured in his own ongoing series, Stark's early life and origins were initially explored in the Ultimate Iron Man miniseries written by science fiction author Orson Scott Card.
However, this origin story is no longer considered canon in the Ultimate Marvel Universe and was retconned as only being a fictional Japanese anime version.
In the limited series The Ultimates, when Tony Stark first hears that Nick Fury is assembling a team of superheroes, he volunteers his services.
The flight test of the suit includes flying over her homeland, where Stark had paid the three million inhabitants of her hometown to stand in a field, spelling out his proposal, which she immediately accepts.
After the battle Stark agrees to finance the now independent Ultimates, and seemingly very quickly gets over Natasha's betrayal with the help of a pretty blonde.
In Ultimate Human, which was published around the same time, the focus is on Bruce Banner as he pleads with Stark to cure him of his Hulk affliction just before Ultimatum, which dealt with Magneto's attempt at complete destruction.
Stark joins Nick Fury's latest Ultimates roster alongside Thor, Spider-Woman, Hawkeye, Black Widow and Falcon.
Following the reunification of the United States, Tony Stark builds a new red-white-and-blue version armor under the name "Iron Patriot" which is badly damaged in a confrontation with the Dead Hand Hydra terrorist group, and is later cut in half during repairs by the Black Knight.
When the Maker collaborated with High Evolutionary to destroy the Superflow that kept the different universes separate in order to merge them into one reality, the Ultimates members Captain America, Iron Man, Giant-Man, Wasp, and Hulk were revived where they were to help Eternity fight the First Firmament.
Obadiah is mentioned as being the public face of the company while Howard leads research and development, with both men and the corporation itself having a reputation of innovators and forces of progress.