Wasp (character)
The Wasp is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Ernie Hart, and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44.
Janet van Dyne is usually depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters, fly by means of insectoid wings, and fire bioelectric energy blasts. She is a founding member of the Avengers and the one who gave them their name as well as a longtime leader of the team. She is also the ex-wife of Hank Pym and the stepmother of Nadia van Dyne. The Wasp has been described as one of Marvel's most notable and powerful female heroes.
Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed Janet van Dyne in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films while Evangeline Lilly portrayed an original MCU version, Hope van Dyne, in the films Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Publication history
Janet van Dyne debuted in Tales to Astonish #44 as Hank Pym's partner, becoming the Wasp to avenge the death of her father, scientist Vernon van Dyne. She co-starred in Tales to Astonish from issue #44–69. She was also the star of her own backup feature in issues #51–58.She was a founding member of the Avengers, appearing in the first issue and giving the team its name. It is with the Avengers that Janet became most well known. At first she was the weak link of the team, but later on became one of the smartest and craftiest of its members. Though she takes leaves of absence throughout the series, she is one of the longest active members and has acted as leader of the team for longer than anyone besides Captain America.
During her absences from the core Avengers book, Janet appeared in various other publications, including appearing as a main character in Marvel Feature issues #6–10. She has also made sporadic guest appearances in various other books, such as Captain America, Iron Man, and Fantastic Four.
Janet became the leader of the Avengers in The Avengers #217, a position she held until issue #278, with the exception of a brief period where she handed leadership off to the Vision. She then appeared in issue #32 of West Coast Avengers, becoming a full-time member in issue #42.
She made occasional appearances in Avengers, returning as an active member of the team in issue #27 before resuming leadership duties. She and Captain America became co-leaders of the team starting in issue #38.
After the events of "Avengers Disassembled", Janet appeared in the limited series Beyond! before rejoining the Avengers in The Mighty Avengers #1. She was presumed dead during the events of Secret Invasion in 2008. the Wasp returned in the Avengers "End Times" storyline that ran from issue #31 to 34. She then appeared as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad in Uncanny Avengers and as an Agent of Wakanda in the Fresh Start title of the Avengers. Janet also returned as a romantic interest to Tony Stark in 2018, and left the female lead role of the Iron Man comic book two years later in 2020.
Design
In his 1970s run on The Avengers, artist George Pérez revamped the character's costume a number of times, having a significant impact on the character's development:It became a joke. In the case of the Wasp, I noticed that she has so many costumes that eventually I said "Why not?" I think I was on the book long enough what was once just a little bit of idiosyncrasy about the character became fully part of the character's persona.
Fictional character biography
1960s
Janet van Dyne was born in Cresskill, New Jersey, the socialite daughter of wealthy scientist Vernon van Dyne. When her father is killed by an alien entity unleashed during one of his experiments, Janet turns to his associate Dr. Hank Pym for aid and convinces him to help her. To avenge her father's death, she undergoes a biochemical procedure that grants her the ability to grow wings upon shrinking under four feet tall and uses a supply of "Pym particles" by which to change her size. Together, she and Ant-Man defeat the alien and avenge her father. Janet decides to remain as Wasp and be Hank's partner as she has fallen in love with him, though Hank initially rejects her feelings due to the similarities between her and his murdered first wife.During her time as Hank's partner, she took part in numerous conflicts with villains who included the Porcupine, Egghead, and Whirlwind. Though initially without any offensive powers, Janet proves to be resourceful, using her ability to communicate with insects to fight, as well as using a pin to poke people as a weapon. Later, she uses a miniature air gun, the original wasp's sting.
After the initial confrontation with Loki that brought together the founding Avengers, it is Janet and Hank who propose forming a team of superheroes. Janet suggests the name for the team and becomes a founding member. Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who include Norse gods and aliens, despite being the most underpowered member of the team. Janet frequently comments on the attractiveness of her male colleagues, especially Thor, to provoke jealousy from Hank and get him to commit to a relationship. Early on in her Avengers career, she is seriously wounded by a stray bullet in battle against Count Nefaria, and nearly dies from a collapsed lung. She leaves the team several issues later. When she returns in The Avengers #26, her shrinking powers have progressed to the point where she no longer needs Pym particle capsules to use them.
Though Janet hopes on several occasions that her long-term boyfriend Hank will propose, their relationship does not move forward to that point until something more dramatic happens. The new vigilante Yellowjacket breaks into the Avengers mansion, demands to be admitted as a member of the team, claims to have killed Hank Pym, and then kidnaps Janet. Not believing that Yellowjacket was Hank's killer, she attempts to find where Yellowjacket is holding Hank, but instead determines that Yellowjacket is her boyfriend. Before revealing this, and during the period in which Yellowjacket still believes himself to have killed Hank, Janet marries Hank, though the wedding is disrupted by an attack from the Circus of Crime. During the fight, it is revealed that Yellowjacket is Pym.
1970s
After another departure from the team, Janet van Dyne returns briefly and becomes a member of the original Lady Liberators, before once more leaving the team. She becomes temporarily trapped at insect size, and battles Whirlwind, Para-Man and Doctor Nemesis. She also battles Equinox alongside Spider-Man and Yellowjacket; during this time her powers are augmented to allow her to harness her body's bio-electrical current and fire blasts of energy which she calls "wasp's stings".During one of her breaks from active Avengers duty, Janet approaches the team with concerns about her husband having suffered a breakdown and attacked former teammates. In attempting to find a way to help Hank, she is captured by a brainwashed Hank, and used by Ultron as a template to create Jocasta. She is rescued when Jocasta alerts the Avengers to her location, and Black Panther suggests that the A.I.'s ability to reach out to them was brought about because of Janet's personality breaking through.
1980s
Janet van Dyne discovers that her husband, now paranoid, overbearing and verbally abusive, has concocted a plan to make himself look good in front of the Avengers by staging an attack that can only be stopped by the instigator. When she attempts to dissuade him, Hank strikes her; she divorces him soon after and takes a very brief break from the team.When Janet returns to the Avengers, she proposes that the team is in need of new leadership and nominates herself for the role of chairperson. She is elected to the position by Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America. Janet takes to the role naturally, proving to be an efficient and smart leader who is praised by Captain America for her leadership skills. She makes it a point to increase the number of women on the team and recruits She-Hulk and Captain Marvel.
At the same time as taking on leadership of the team, Janet begins to work in earnest as a professional fashion designer. Part of her friendship with She-Hulk includes designing new clothing for her. She also renews her social life, engaging in a whirlwind romance with Tony Stark before learning that the billionaire is Iron Man. She breaks off the relationship, saying that she cannot date a colleague who is also a friend of her ex-husband. Later, she has a relationship with Paladin, though they are often apart due to their jobs.
Janet briefly hands leadership of the team off to the Vision, though he soon leaves the team and returns the position to her. The new team line-up proves difficult, and Janet clashes with Hercules taking issue with a woman leading. It is during this time that she meets the Space Phantom for the second time and defeats the villain. During the first Secret War, despite being the official leader of the Avengers gathered by the Beyonder, Janet nominates Captain America for leadership of the assembled heroes as the non-Avengers present know him better. As the conflict unfolds, Janet is briefly captured by Magneto, but she turns the situation to her advantage by pretending to be seduced; she learns Magneto's plans and then defeats him before leaving to alert the Avengers. She is shortly afterwards killed by the Wrecking Crew, but resurrected by the alien healer Zsaji.
During the Under Siege storyline, Janet leads the team during a time when they are attacked from all sides. She defeats Titania and the Absorbing Man, then leads a team against Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil to rescue Captain America, the Black Knight, and other team members who have been captured. Shortly after the resolution of this story, she steps down from leadership once more, succeeded by Monica Rambeau in that position. After leaving the team, she battles the threat of Red Ronin by herself. She later joins the West Coast Avengers. Initially, she still acts as though the team leader, to the chagrin of other West Coast Avengers who desire that role. During this time, she resumes a romantic relationship with Hank. Although she is elected as a regular member of the Avengers West, Janet chooses to become a reserve member.