This version of Iron Man was killed during the incursion crisis, when the original Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe collided together, wiping out all life in both. Tony wasn't stupid, however, he knew that he had to balance his cruelty in order to prevent the world rising up against him and thus he engaged in hostile take-over of many companies, forced people to promote his Extremis Apps positively (via blackmail) and even went as far as unleashing an army of advanced drones to act as a personal police force - in essence becoming a tyrant. This caused social unrest and panic, as well as great suffering as a large section of society became in effect drug addicts enslaved to Tony's will, all the while Tony played things off as a game and spent much of his time indulging himself in parties and social events while the world around him suffered.
This would allow a new, darker Tony to infiltrate society and build an empire for himself, growing into an egotistical monster he would ultimately show himself as a true villain by releasing the Extremis 3.0 virus to the public as an app, addicting people to the substance and then depriving them of any further "upgrades" until they paid his fee of 100 dollars per day. While the spell was undone the now corrupt Tony managed to shield himself and thus retained his evil personality even as most of Earth's heroes reverted back to their usual selves. The origins of Superior Iron Man would begin in the Axis event, in which the morality of Earth's heroes and villains was reversed by magic.