“ | You see all kinds of things in this world-- eventually, you think you've seen it all. But then something new comes your way, and suddenly, there's that thing you thought was lost forever: wonder. | „ |
~ Smasher. |
“ | Stay down, big fella. I'm not really sure how these things normally go... But I think this'll be over soon. | „ |
~ Smasher to Ex Nihilo. |
Isabel "Izzy" Kane, also known as Smasher, is a superhero from Marvel comics.
The granddaughter of the World War II superhero Captain Terror, Izzy discovered a pair of Exospex and became a subguardian for the Shi'ar Empire. After the death of the previous superguardian Galin, she was given the title of Smasher by the Majestor. Under the leadership of Kallark, Kane serves the Imperial Guard to enforce intergalactic law and stop threats. She was also a member of the Avengers during Captain America's expansion of the team, and is the wife of the mutant Cannonball.
She was created by Jonathan Hickman and Jerome Opeña, and first appeared in Avengers (Vol. 5) #1 in December of 2012.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Little is known of Isabel "Izzy" Kane's past, but she was born in Iowa to unnamed parents. She's also the granddaughter of Dan Kane, a retired superhero known as Captain Terror who battled threats during the Second World War. While attending college in Colorado for astronomy, she learned of her mother's passing and her grandfather falling ill. Despite Dan's protest, Izzy returned home to help her father take care of his father and their farm. Unbeknownst to the Kane family, the Shi'ar Imperial guardsman Vril-Rokk fell into their farm and left behind a shard from his Exospex, a pair of advanced goggles granting its wearer superpowers.
The shard eventually grew itself into another pair of Exospex, and egged Izzy on to wear them when she was discovered them. Upon placing onto her face, she was gifted with superpowers, but only received one power at a time and wasn't mutated human the Exospex downloaded abilities for the wearer. With her newfound powers, Kane traveled Chandliar was chosen to become a subguardian for the Imperial Guard. She then returned home to find her grandfather dying from his illness, but in his final moments told her to become a hero.
Adventures[]
Before he passed away, Dan gave Izzy a business card he received from Captain America, possibly hoping that the superhero could help or mentor her. His final wish for his granddaughter to become a hero came true when Rogers recruited Izzy to the Avengers, which was starting a new expansion for new members. Kane's first mission was to help the team deal with the threat of the former world builder Ex Nihilo after they were defeated. Alongside her assistance and Captain Universe, Nihilo and his allies, Abyss and Aleph, were subdued on Mars. She then continued to help the Avengers on several missions, notably fighting Nihilo's creation Nightmask and discovering his origins.
After receiving an alert from the Imperial Guard, the Avengers helped them deal with a threat and the current Smasher was killed during the conflict. With a position open, the Majestor promoted Kane to become the new Smasher and giving her the position as the superguardian. As the new Smasher, she fought against the Builders and the Curators during the Infinity storyline. Around this point, she became close with her teammate Cannonball, and the two started a romantic relationship. Following the war, she was captured by A.I.M. and forced to become Andrew Forson's Messenger to tell the entire universe that "Everything dies". However, she was freed from his influence once an alternate future version of the New Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. attacked A.I.M.'s island, but it took her time to fully recover from the incident.
During her superhero tenure, Kane discovered that she was pregnant and was called to the Chandilar to be accompanied by the Imperial Guard. Cannonball followed suit and learned of her pregnancy, and the two decided to stay on the Shi'ar homeworld until their son Josiah was born and hyper-gestated. Afterward, the family returned to Earth and introduced Josiah to Izzy's father. Smasher and Cannonball also married at some point, but continued their careers while raising their child. After the universe was restored, Kane and the Imperial Guard investigated the rebirth of a planet consumed by Galactus, not knowing that it was rebirthed since their memories were erased.
Trivia[]
- She is the fourth character to hold the title of Smasher.
- Her was name originally "Isabel Dare", but this was later corrected. According to Tom Brevoort on the change, she was always intended to be the granddaughter of Dan Kane.