Chrome (Isabella Stark)[]
Strength, speed and style--the Chrome suit.
The niece of Tony and Leslie Stark and heiress to Stark Industries. In her preteen years, Isabella functioned as Iron Man's sidekick Iron Girl before assuming the name Chrome. Currently, Isabella heads the Reassembled team alongside her aunt Leslie.She is more commonly known as 'Iz' to friends and relatives.
Biography[]
Isabella Renee Stark is the daughter of David Stark, Tony Stark's cousin and head of the Stark Industries offices based in Chicago, and Katrina Stark, a renowned scientist. She was educated in a boarding school in Illinois where she became well-known as a somewhat rebellious troublemaker, though a top student with genius-level intellect and a passion for making things, just like her uncle. This attitude led her to being expelled after she hacked the school's system and faked an email from the principal to parents announcing an early summer vacation. However, it was not her parents who showed up to take her home but SHIELD, as her own mother and father were the victims of an attempted kidnapping because of their work and involvement with Iron Man. While they were unharmed and sent to a witness protection program, Isabella was sent to live with Tony and Leslie.
It was here that she began designs and a prototype for her own suit as a means of self-protection, which she eventually used to help her superhero aunt and uncle fight crime, eventually earning her a spot as their sidekick Iron Girl AND the heiress to her uncle's entire company. After her parents were released from the protection program, they allowed Iz to stay with Leslie and Tony permanently in order to recieve mentoring from Tony. This setup also allowed her to become close to the Avengers and its newer members, the current members of the Reasembled team like Nightingale, Fyrebird, Atom/Eclipse and Lectric. Later on, Isabella changed her superhero name and appearance, becoming the ultra-fast Chrome with a new suit that granted her exceptional speed.
Isabella was 27 years old when Iron Man and Captain America were killed in battle against an unknown enemy who also destroyed Stark Tower, forcing the Avengers to disband. Six months later, with Leslie's help, she unearthed plans made by Tony Stark prior to his demise of 'reassembling' the Avengers, with a list of potential superheroes whom Iz and Leslie swiftly tried to recruit. The first person Isabella met on this list aside from her old friends was Jay, then known as Jessica Moon.
Having reassembled the initial team of heroes, Isabella and Leslie led a fight against the one they discovered responsible for defeating the Avengers, Ashley's (Nightingale's) nemesis James, as well as an old enemy of Eclipse's, Alex Canon. The battle also involved Loki, who seemed to be manipulating the other villains. Though the new Avengers won the fight (with help from Thor) Isabella was wounded in the chest by an exploding knife, forcing Jessica to save her life using an arc reactor exactly like Tony's.
Since then, the Avengers have moved into the rebuilt Stark Tower with Iz and Leslie at the head of the team, having defeated various threats since, and Isabella was able to recover the last of the Extremis virus left for her by her uncle in the hope that she might someday perfect it. She became closer to Jay (then Jasmine Velo) when she helped her to regain her old memories of life as a SHIELD agent and exposed her as a tool manipulated by both Nick Fury and Natasha Romanoff.
Currently, Isabella Stark is romantically involved with the Asgardian Valli. The two are in a serious relationship and took time off from the Avengers to go on a vacation, but were forced to return home early when news of Zephyr's death reached them. After his resurrection, they planned to continue their honeymoon but were prevented from doing so when the Avengers were trapped in another manifestation of the Illusion, wherein Isabella caught a glimpse of life as she wanted it with her uncle still living and their family intact. However, she and Valli attempted to escape knowing it wasn't reality, and both were rescued by Phantom and returned to the real world.
Iz and Jay went on a 'smash n' grab' mission to find the rest of the Extremis virus in the hands of Jessica Moon's former employer Alistair, with Jay used as a guinea pig for the virus that Iz had and accessing the effects of the virus temporarily. They were able to retrieve the virus successfully and Isabella perfected it in the hopes of using it for medicinal purposes. Some time later, she injected this perfected virus into herself after Valli left to aid Asgard in the war against the Dark Elves. The process went by without a hitch, allowing Iz to remove her arc reactor as a side effect, but from JARVIS' scan on her, she also discovered something else--she was pregnant with Valli's baby.
Appearance[]
Isabella has green eyes and black hair. When not in her silver-and-blue Chrome suit, she can be seen wearing turtleneck tops/sweaters, leather jackets, jeans or pencil skirts and, while working in the 'garage,' a white tank top. She wears glasses and her hair cut shoulder-length and straight. Like Tony before her, she has an arc reactor in her chest.
The heiress of Stark Industries
Personality[]
Ambitious, confident, witty and extremely intelligent, Isabella is every bit the genius inventor her uncle was, and maybe even every bit the snark. Growing up exposed to the Avengers and other superheroes has made her 'someone who knows her s***' and a focused, if a little bossy and high-strung, leader. She feels responsibility for the team and is easily stressed by their shenanigans (nothing a little tequila won't fix, though.) Iz is loyal to the team and though she tries not to show it, she does have soft spots especially when it involves her uncle and the friends she lost. A tactical thinker, Isabella can quickly and easily come up with plans and ideas by asessing the situation at hand and weighing her opportunities. Conservative and a bit of a workaholic, the only romantic relationship that ever worked out between her and anyone was with Valli.
Relationships[]
Iron Man/Tony Stark- Uncle/mentor/former partner/legal guardian
Iron Woman/Leslie Stark- Aunt/former partner/legal guardian/ally
Pepper Potts Stark- Aunt
David and Katrina Stark- Parents
Valli Halvorson- Love interest/ally/baby daddy
Jay- Best friend/former rival/drinking buddy/ally
Naomi/James Carter- Godchildren
Powers and Abilities[]
The Chrome suit
Isabella's Chrome suit is silver and blue in appearance, sleeker than any Iron Man armor and charged entirely with electron beams and kinetic energy, making her faster the farther she goes. It is operated by FRANNIE, a sentient OS like JARVIS, and has a super-fast reaction system. Weapons include palm repulsors, small guns, missile launchers and retractable titanium blades in the gauntlets and an energy shield. FRANNIE also holds a playlist of over 200 songs.
Extremis
The effects of the perfected Extremis virus gave Isabella regenerative healing abilities and the ability to interface with technology using her mind. Other effects of Extremis such as enhanced strength and speed and electropathy were eliminated from the final serum in order to make it safer for ordinary people to use. Her entire genetic code and the repair center of her brain was rewritten, healing her of the shrapnel in her heart. It is unsure if Isabella will pass on these abilities to her baby.
Skills
Iz was trained in basic fighting styles by both Captain America and Phil Coulson (with whom she was close) and trained in engineering by Tony Stark. Her genius level intellect allows her to make, modify, repair or even thoroughly destroy any type of machinery and hack into the most secure computer systems on the planet. She is also a talented pianist, having taught herself Rachmaninoff's Third at age 15. She is also an excellent driver unless she's drunk.
Quotes[]
'Get in newbie, we're going Avenging!' (to Jessica Moon)
'Whatever, man. My math is always right.'
"Oh. My. God! I have had the biggest crush on Ramin Karimloo since, FOREVER! Well, his voice at least.' (to Phantom)
'That's Tony Stark-- genius, billionaire, and you guessed it: my uncle.'
Trivia[]
When she was a teenager, Isabella was notorious for drinking ginger ale on a twice-daily basis. As an adult, this has been replaced with a love for vodka (which, of course, she drinks less of.)
She never came up with the name 'Iron Girl.' Like Iron Man, this is something the press attached to her to match her uncle's superhero name, but Isabella never felt right about it but decided to stick with it anyway until deciding on the identity Chrome.
It is also a well-known fact in the superhero community that she used to have a crush on Peter Parker.
A music enthusiast and a resident of New York, Isabella loves Broadway, her favorite musical being The Phantom of the Opera.
Tony Stark gave the commencement address at Isabella's graduation from MIT.
Hawkeye developed the habit of calling Isabella 'Princess' as a jab at her rich-kid lifestyle.
For those curious, Isabella and Valli DID use contraceptives...though they were quick to find out that they don't work where Asgardians are involved.
Occassionally, Isabella feels as if Tony is still talking to her in her mind, an occurence that happened regularly after his death, though she's perfectly sane in all other respects. This mental Tony seems to be giving her advice and sarcastic comments. The last time this happened was after she spoke with his spirit in Dr. Strange's house and after she kissed Valli.
Isabella and Valli called dibs on being the godparents of the Carter twins and have since tried to spend more time with them. Isabella has also tried to expose them to other music aside from One Direction.
Despite her uncle being an active gambler, Isabella has never been inside a casino. Even after reaching legal age, she never got interested enough to actually gamble.
Her theme songs are 'Lights' by Ellie Goulding and 'Renegade' by Paramore.