Evans teen to be featured on Marvel’s Hero Project

Some never thought Izzy Green would be able to walk, but now she is inspiring others to never give up.

“I was born with a condition called Arthrogryposis. It means my joints are tight and I can’t strain any of my joints,” Green said. “I did karate. At first, I couldn’t kick above my knees, I had terrible balance. Now, I can kick above my head and I can do the split and I wasn’t supposed to be able to walk.”

The 13-year-old Evans native will be featured in her own episode of Marvel’s Hero Project on Disney+ to be released Friday, which will show how she overcame Arthrogryposis and what she is doing to help others in the Augusta community. The show, which premiers a new episode on a weekly basis, takes an up close and personal look at 20 kids around the country who are doing remarkable things to help their community.

Izzy’s mother, Tanya, said they didn’t know it was Marvel or Disney filming them until the last scene was shot, which is part of the show. She said they were simply contacted in October 2018 about doing a documentary about Izzy.

“We didn’t know it was actually Disney and Marvel that was contacting us. The whole point of the show is for you to see the ending reaction,” Tanya said. “We kinda had an idea that it was a little bit bigger than what we thought, when they showed up with six or seven people for the crew.”

At first, they were a bit skeptical since they didn’t know what it was about. She was the first one to find out it was Disney because she had to deliver a box and envelope with the Marvel logo to her daughter, but she only found out the night before.

They originally thought it was something to do with the Children’s Hospital of Georgia’s Miracle Ambassador Program, since Izzy has been heavily involved with the hospital for many years. Tanya said she is proud of her daughter and everything she has overcome.

“This is a kid that wasn’t supposed to walk and that is part of her story. She is just a great kid and now she is in the legacy program teaching karate to other people, so they can understand that anybody of any abilities can do karate,” she said. “She has really overcome so much. I think they do just a great job showing how much she has overcome, how much she is doing in giving back to the community and some of the things she does.”

Filming took place at Children’s Hospital, Atlanta, at Prazers ATA Martial Arts school in Evans, where she practices karate and other local locations in the area. Tanya said some of the crew was hired locally, with filming taking place for two weeks during Easter last year from 6 a.m. until around 9 p.m.

Izzy, who is a third-degree black belt and a world champion in taekwondo, said she was surprised and excited when it was revealed Marvel and Disney had picked her for the series. She said everyone during filming was really nice and made it comfortable to film, especially the producers.

As part of being featured in the series, Izzy got a Marvel’s Hero Project jacket with a patch, a Marvel comic made after her, a one-year membership for Disney+ and a trip to New York in early November to meet some of the other kids recognized this season. She hopes people are inspired by her story.

“I want people to get inspired and I want people to know that they can do anything,” Izzy said. “Never give up, no matter how difficult it is, you still have to try.”

A public screening of the episode will be held at Prazers ATA Martial Arts, 4490 Washington Road, at 5:30 p.m. Friday. It will also include a Bully Prevention Seminar before the screening. Those interested can call (706) 650-3055.

All episodes can be watched on Disney+, membership required.

Public Screening