Ultimate Universe Bios

As an adult, Tony built up Stark Industries to an economic powerhouse and is the creator of many different combat suits, which he calls the Irontech armor. When Tony wears the Irontech, he is Iron Man, and his identity is publicly known. These suits are equipped with jet packs, concussion grenades, force fields, and can withstand deep sea or outer space environments, all of which he designed. This suit even managed to hold its own against the Hulk. Tony is also a multi-billionaire, his company being a trusted name in everything from computer software to soft drinks. Tony lives the high life, which includes the parties and the women. It would seem that Stark also on the verge of alcoholism (if he is not there already).

Tony is the son of Howard Stark and Dr. Maria Cerrera. The two met when Howard hired her to help work on his bio-armor project. The blue-paste armor provided substantial defense and ate all metal except gold, but eventually ate all the skin off the wearer as well as keeping their skin a blue color while it was on. It was, however, washable with anti-bacterial soap. Dr. Cerrera was known for her work on human regeneration and was recruited because her genetic manipulations could potentially allow the bio-armor user to wear it all day, or even forever. The two soon fell in love just as Howard’s old marriage with Loni Stark was ending. Loni secretly went to Howard’s rival, Zebediah Stane and the two plotted to take over Howard’s business. Howard and Maria soon married but tragedy struck when Maria was attacked by a monkey infected with an experimental virus that made cells capable of new growth, like embryo cells. Maria became infected and also realized she was pregnant! With no cure for the virus, Maria was subjected to excruciating amounts of pain as the virus forced her brain to grow to the point it didn’t fit in her skull. She told her husband that the baby inside of her would not affected in the same way. His brain would not outgrow his skull; instead, neural tissue would grow through his entire body, essentially making his whole body a brain, but he would be in constant pain.

Things only got worse when Zebediah Stane took over Howard’s company and Maria passed away. The doctors kept Maria on life support long enough for their son to be born. Howard arrived and poured his bio-armor over his son, Antonio, to stop the constant pain and ran away with his son. At the same time, Zebediah found out taking over Stark’s company had not given him the secrets to the bio-armor or any part of the bio-armor project to due leases and not patenting anything. Howard left with baby Tony, all the bio-armor information, and his friend, scientist Si Ma. As they left, Stane captured Si Ma’s co-worker, Nero, and extracted the information to Howard’s whereabouts, lobotomizing Nero in the process. Upon arriving in Italy, Howard and Si Ma ran into the lobotomized Nero, forcing them to run again. Four Years later: Howard and Si Ma lived a peaceful life with Tony and his friend, Nero. However, they were found by Stane’s men, who controlled Nero into attacking Tony. Howard and Si Ma found Tony missing, but Nero dead. Stane tried to retrieve the secret of the bio-armor from Tony, but the intervention of Howard and the police foiled it, although Tony lost his right foot in the process. Howard told Tony his cells would regenerate his foot and nicknamed him his “Little Iron Man”. Howard, Si Ma, and Tony moved and Si Ma eventually produced a bi-armor that would change from blue to a more normal skin pigment color once it dried. With that, Tony could now go to school.

Ten years passed and Tony went to school and was noted for his intelligence and inventions. He eventually met a fellow student, James Rhodes, who was being bullied, and helped him. Unfortunately, this only made “Rhodey’s” situation worse. Tony, determined to help James, created a special suit to help him. When the bullies returned, Tony showed the suit power to shock those who touch it when turned on. However, the bullies were able to snatch the control to the armor to prevent any further shocks and stuck Tony into the school’s furnace. Tony used another invention to turn Rhode’s armor back on and James quickly stopped the bullies but not in time to stop the fire from totally disintegrating his legs. James and his friend Nifara were able to help Tony with the help of the suit. By the time the paramedics and Howard had arrived, Tony’s legs were almost perfectly healed.

Fearing for the safety of Tony, James, and Nifara, Howard sent all of them to the Baxter Building’s Think Tank where they met Obadiah Stane, Zebediah’s son, whom Howard had also gotten into the Think Tank. After the meeting, Obadiah took some hair and lint from Howard for an unknown reason. That same day, the group witnessed Obadiah murder two children and subsequently remove his implications in the crime. Tony then improved his Iron Armor in order to protect his father.

Tony continued his work on his armor for Stark Enterprises while Rhodey and Nifara worked on their weapon, “War Machine”. Trouble hit when Zebediah Stane was broken out of prison by his son, only to be killed by Obadiah. Howard was called to the police station while attending a party, leaving Tony alone and allowing him to taste alcohol for the first time.

Tony’s father was arrested due to evidence of a single hair and some lint from a coat (which Obadiah had taken upon meeting them in the Baxter Building) and gave control of his company to Tony. Tony handled the business well, but continued drinking as the alcohol numbed the pain from his neural tissue. Tony then witnessed a boat hijacking and promptly used his huge Iron Man armor to rescue the passengers and even survive the subsequent explosion of the boat head on. So began the career of Iron Man.

For years Stark has refused to sell the patents to the Irontech armor, and many countries and organizations have tried to take it from him. All have failed, most notably during an attempt in which Stark was assisted by Spider-Man, who was on the scene to accept a science award from Stark (in Spidey's alter ego as Peter Parker, geeky high school student). Nick Fury originally asked Stark to be on the Ultimates because his name would bring some respectability to an otherwise unknown group of people, and maybe hoping to get the plans for the Iron-Man suits for S.H.I.E.L.D. Stark agreed to join, but it was unclear why at first. As it turned out, Tony has an inoperable brain tumor, which could kill him in anywhere from 6 months to 5 years, hence him wanting to make a difference before he dies. Though he does not seem it on the surface, Tony is one of the more moral members of the team and sees his teammates not as coworkers, but as friends.

During the attack on the Chitauri (Skrulls), it was Iron Man's force field that save the Ultimates and their allies from the nuclear bomb that was dropped on them. One year later, Tony was happily dating fellow Ultimates member Natasha Romanov (Black Widow). Still a major part of Fury’s team, Iron Man helped Captain Britain and the European Super-Soldier Initiative rescue a submarine, and watched the trial and “execution” of Bruce Banner. Shortly afterwards, Tony made a black armor for Natasha and on a test flight over her old home town, arranged for the entire town to spell out "Will you marry me?" with their bodies. Natasha appears to have agreed. Next Tony helped bring down Thor and then aided in a preemptive strike against the Middle East.

Things then took a turn for the worse when Natasha revealed herself to be the Ultimates’ traitor while in bed with Tony. As the Liberators attacked, Natasha pulled a gun on Tony and killed Jarvis. She planned on keeping Tony’s money once he was dead. Fortunately, Tony was able to get the upper hand by using the nanites in Natasha’s body to stop her and transfer all information she had on the Liberators into his brain before knocking her unconscious with a champagne bottle. With that, Tony grabbed his old Iron Man suit and flew into space, ready to activate his latest suit for the fight: Iron Man 6.
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