There are some periods in a hero's background that fans consider better off forgottenーand then there are some versions of a loved character, but they can't last for too long. For Iron Man fans, the Superior time period could easily count as either one. The character was one of a handful who had a complete personality change thanks to the events of AXIS, where heroes and villains had their personalities inverted.
In Stark's case, rather than be a villain, he became a person who felt no remorse for anything he'd ever done. Freed from that concern, he began engaging in many of his old behaviors and embracing what he could really do with his incredible intelligence and unlimited powerrーand that wasn't always a good thing.
10 He Began To Drink Again
It’s not brought up much, but Superior Iron Man immediately went back to drinking. This is a huge deal for Tony Stark, who has often struggled with sobriety, having not one but two different major bouts with alcoholism. It’s suggested, though, that Tony’s managed to use Extremis to filter out most of the worst effects of drinking, which allows him to engage in an indulgent lifestyle rather than taking things seriously.
9 The Endo-Sym Armor
Introduced in Superior Iron Man was the Endo-Sym armor, the Model 50. This was perhaps one of Stark’s most powerful suits, as it was meant to be an armor that took the building blocks of what made symbiotes work. The suit was arguably alive and was bonded to Stark so that he could summon it from a distance to himself. It’s in a liquid form normally, but much like many of his older suits, when locked into place around Stark, it hardens into something stronger than steel.
8 Teen Abomination
The one thing Tony Stark does that’s decent for the majority of Superior Iron Man as a series is his work with a new character known as Teen Abomination.
A teenager named Jamie, Teen Abomination, is introduced in the first issue and is seen wreaking havoc throughout the city before Tony beats him into submission. Tony decides to take the young boy under his wing after learning his mom was a Stark Industries employee, and his dad was Happy Hogan, one of his best friends. The series is based on getting him to transform back into his human form after he initially transformed out of rage and hurt his mother. Upon learning his mother was safe, he’s able to change back into his human form.
7 His Next Extremis
When Stark was converted via the Inversion, his first move was heading to San Francisco, and the first thing he did was introduce the idea of Extremis 3.0. This version of Extremis transformed people into smarter, healthier, more beautiful people. It was given to the people as an app for free but only lasted a day before they had to pay $100 a day to extend its usage.
6 He Became Big Brother
Matching his time as Director of SHIELD, one of Stark’s creepier moments was his Iron Sight program he did in the Superior Iron Man comic. With Extremis wearing off unless people could pay an absurd amount of money, they resorted to crime to keep paying for it. Stark utilized the Iron Sight program to keep that under control, which created thousands of drone programs that followed people around and monitored them right down to the websites they browsed. These drones followed anyone with a tablet, making it impossible to escape.
5 He Tried To Buy a Media Empire
After making himself billions of dollars by selling a dangerous weapon to multiple countries, Stark decided he would need something specific for his plan's next phase. He decided to buy out one of the biggest media conglomerates on Earth.
He offered twice what the company was worth to get to the point as quickly as possible. His goal was to manipulate how the world saw him through social media and television networks, but unfortunately, the company was acquired before he had the opportunity.
4 He Turned Alcatraz Into Stark Island
After moving from New York to the West Coast, Stark needed a new place to work from, where he could have his own lab and even meet potential business partners. Rather than choosing something more low-key and out of the way, he decided to go for something as in-your-face as possible, almost daring people to attack him. He bought Alcatraz Island and converted it into an island with a massive “Stark” building becoming the place’s primary attraction.
3 He Became His Own Worst Enemy
There aren't very many Iron Man villains in this comic, and Stark himself became the villain in his own book, both in terms of how his friends saw himーand in terms of who he fought. Stark learns that there’s an armor using cloned brain waves of his from eight years prior, and it’s this character who’s responsible for much of the opposition. Pepper Potts brings this version of Stark out as a contingency plan against an out of control Tony Stark, and this is the primary threat to Superior Iron Man for most of the series.
2 He Erased Matt Murdock's Memory
Matt Murdock is the first threat readers see Stark face during the series. Murdock tries to stop Tony because they’re occupying the same city, and the Extremis program is obviously more trouble than it’s worth. Later, Matt would learn that Stark had given the Extremis program to everyone without their consent and planned to tell everyone about it. Refusing to have his plan outdone, he has Murdock’s memory of several days completely erased, giving Matt no more reason to continue hounding him in his series and making one of the evilest Tony Stark moments ever.
1 He Had His Personality Reset
For people wondering what happens to Superior Iron Manーthere’s not exactly an answer. Superior Iron Man as a comic is brought to an end after nine issues. His adventures continue during Secret Wars, but the last thing readers see is the character fighting it out with Steve Rogers in destroyed Endo-Sym armor. The two characters are pulled into the Secret Wars world, and everyone is reset coming out of it, leaving Tony restored to normal for the next run and becoming a mentor to Riri Williams in the next run.