Wasp (character)

Wasp
Janet van Dyne as the Wasp. Art by J. G. Jones.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Tales to Astonish #44 (June 1963)
Created by	Stan Lee Jack Kirby
In-story information
Alter ego	Janet van Dyne
Species	Human (empowered)
Team affiliations	Avengers Unity Squad Avengers Lady Liberators West Coast Avengers Mighty Avengers
Partnerships	Henry Pym
Abilities	Size manipulation Flight Bio-electric energy blasts Telepathic insect control

Wasp (Janet van Dyne) is a fictional character, a superheroine in the Marvel Comics universe and founding member of the Avengers. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Tales to Astonish #44 (June 1963).

"The Winsome Wasp", as she is sometimes referred to, is usually depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of perhaps several centimeters, grow to giant size, fly by means of insectoid wings, and fire yellow energy blasts.

In May 2011, the Wasp placed 99th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time. The character was ranked 94th in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Her early partner and fellow Avengers member, Henry Pym, temporarily took the codename of "The Wasp" while she was presumed dead.

Publication history

Janet van Dyne debuted as Henry "Hank" Pym's partner in Tales to Astonish #44 (written by Stan Lee and drawn by Jack Kirby), originally only serving as his partner to avenge the death of her father, scientist Vernon van Dyne. Later in the same issue, she decides to stay with Hank only because she is in love with him, wanting him to realize that he loves her back. They both realize their feelings for each other in Tales to Astonish #56, although it isn't until later in the series that they act on them.

During her run in Astonish, van Dyne also joined Avengers in its first issue, along with her partner, Hank Pym. It is on this team that Janet becomes most well-known, at first the weak link of the team, but later on one of the smartest and craftiest members. She is the first one to propose to leave the team, after announcing how tired she is and how she wants to return to a normal life. However, she misses being a superhero, and she returns to the team in issue #28. After marrying Hank in issue #60, Janet and Hank both decide to leave the team in issue #75.

Janet was a main character in Marvel Feature issues #6-10, and made sporadic guest appearances in various other books at the time.

Janet misses being a superhero, and re-joins the Avengers in issue #137, getting injured right away. After being rescued by her husband and hospitalized, Janet recovers and joins the team along with Hank. Here she begins her longest run as a member of the Avengers. After being brutally slapped in the face by her husband, she divorces him, and in turn becomes the new Chairman of the Avengers, starting in issue #217.

Janet later resigns as Chairman, and joins the West Coast Avengers in issue #32, at first only to help stabilize the team after Tony Stark leaves, later becoming a full-time member in issue #42. Later in the run, she rekindles her old romance with Hank, and fully re-joins the Avengers.

Wasp returns in the 2010-2013 Avengers series, in the "End Times" storyline from issue #31 (December 2012) to its final issue #34 (January 2013).

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 a just a little bit of idiosyncrasy about the character became fully part of the character's persona.

Fictional character biography

The Wasp's first appearance in Tales to Astonish #44.
Art by Jack Kirby.

Origin

Janet Van Dyne is born in Cresskill, New Jersey. She is initially a shallow, self-centered, flighty heiress and debutante, daughter of wealthy scientist Vernon Van Dyne. During an experiment, however, an alien monster is unleashed from an alternate dimension and Dr. Van Dyne is killed. Her father's associate, Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym, has created a substance called "Pym particles", which allows the user to grow or shrink in size, and has become the superhero Ant-Man. When Janet's father dies, she convinces Pym to help her. He gives her a supply of "Pym particles" and subjects her to a biochemical procedure which grants her the ability to grow wings upon shrinking. Initially, she uses a pin to poke people as means of a weapon, and she later uses a miniature air gun, the original wasp's sting. Eventually, she gains the ability to harness her body's bio-electrical current and fire blasts of energy which she calls her "wasp's stings". Ant-Man and The Wasp defeat the monster and send it to its own dimension. Janet becomes Pym's partner and falls in love with him before their first adventure, but Pym rejects her at first, afraid of what would happen if he were to lose her as he has lost his first wife, who has been killed. Janet openly muses about her apparently unrequited feelings, often in front of him. Pym rejects his feelings for her, but he later accepts them and tries to act on them. Later, they begin dating.

Avenger

Soon afterward, the superhero team, which Janet herself dubbed the Avengers, forms. Hank and Janet are among its founding members. Still shallow, Janet frequently comments on the attractiveness of her male colleagues, especially Thor, in order to provoke jealousy from Pym. Never lacking confidence or bravery and by nature an outgoing personality, Janet is always in the thick of battles with villains, who includ Norse gods and aliens. Early on in her Avengers career, she is wounded in battle against Count Nefaria. Although she and Hank take occasional leaves of absence, the two have almost always remained members, staying on reserve when not on active duty. After their first leave of absence, she and Pym, as the first Goliath, rejoin the Avengers and battle the Collector. During the course of their many adventures as Avengers, Janet grows as a person, becoming a resourceful and seasoned hero. Several years later, she is elected leader of the team.

Marrying Hank Pym

The Winsome Wasp captured by John Buscema as a 1960s glamor girl.

Janet hopes on several occasions for Hank to propose. Their wedding comes about in a convoluted manner, beginning when new vigilante Yellowjacket breaks into Avengers HQ, demanding to be admitted as a member of the team and claiming to have killed Henry Pym. He knocks Janet unconscious and kidnaps her. Not believing that he has killed Hank, Janet attempts to find where Yellowjacket is holding him, but instead determines that Yellowjacket is Henry Pym. Before revealing this, and during the period in which Yellowjacket still believes himself to have killed Hank, Janet marries him. The wedding itself is a tense affair, made worse by an attack from the Circus of Crime. During the fight it is revealed that Yellowjacket is Pym, who has a severe case of dissociative identity disorder caused by a lab accident. Janet realizes this very early on and takes advantage of it to marry Hank.

Janet later leaves the Avengers, though she has other adventures before rejoining the team. She becomes temporarily trapped at insect size, and battles Whirlwind, Para-Man, and Dr. Nemesis. She also battles Equinox alongside Spider-Man and Yellowjacket; during this time her powers are augmented.

Rocky times

Janet's relationship with Pym becomes rocky, as he suffers a further series of mental problems, exacerbated by the stress upon his body from his frequent size changes and exposure to chemicals. Janet is kidnapped by a brainwashed Hank, and her brain patterns are used to create Jocasta, an intended wife for Ultron. Janet later rejoins the Avengers without Pym. Years later, Hank has a complete breakdown, becoming paranoid, overbearing, and verbally abusive. When Janet discovers that Hank has concocted a plan to make himself look good in front of his teammates by staging an attack upon them which only he could stop, she attempts to dissuade him and he strikes her. The plan backfires and Pym is exposed, disgraced, and expelled from the Avengers. Janet divorces Pym soon after, and then becomes Avengers chairperson; with the Avengers, she arrests Yellowjacket. She eventually surrenders her Avengers chairmanship to the Vision. Despite these hardships, Janet remains with the team and even begins dating other men, including Tony Stark, and Paladin. With Paladin, she battles Baron Brimstone, and shortly thereafter she resumes her Avengers chairmanship. Janet eventually steps down as chairperson again, and leaves the Avengers. Jan battles the threat of Red Ronin alone. She later joins the West Coast Avengers. Initially, Janet is still acting as a leader, to the chagrin of other West Coast Avengers teammates 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.

Several years later, Janet returns to the Avengers, first at reserve status, and later as a full member of the team. During the Destiny War, the Janet of the present becomes the leader of a team of Avengers assembled from different time periods, cited as being chosen due to her "inner strength and flexibility to give the team direction without exerting too much control." After the Destiny War, Janet returns to work with the Avengers once more, taking up leadership of the team and commanding the team through a number of conflicts, including Kang's invasion of Earth.

Janet and Hank's relationship remains strong for some time. On a trip to Las Vegas, however, she turns down Pym's proposal, saying she wouldn't marry him again. She has a brief fling with fellow team member Hawkeye, but returns to Hank.

Avengers Disassembled

While discussing her fling with Hawkeye with the Scarlet Witch, a slightly tipsy Wasp confesses to a pregnancy scare and inadvertently mentiones Wanda's own children, whose unnatural existence Agatha Harkness has erased from the Witch's memory. The Wasp's slip of the tongue, combined with the Scarlet Witch's increasingly unstable and growing powers, cause Wanda to suffer a mental breakdown which leads to the events of Avengers Disassembled. Janet is knocked into a coma by a rampaging She-Hulk during an attack on Avengers Mansion by the Scarlet Witch. Hank watches over her in the hospital, and when she recovers, they reconcile. The two retire from the Avengers in order to pursue a new life together in Oxford.

Beyond!

Janet is pulled into space and placed in a situation where she is expected to fight to the death with other heroes and villains. Instead of following the wishes of the Stranger—who they thought to be the Beyonder—Janet falls into the leadership position for the group, giving tactical orders in battle and calling upon her years of experience with the Avengers to handle the threats thrown at them. After tension between her and her ex-husband, Janet explains to Medusa why she can't reconcile with him, despite an attempt to do so while in London. Upon learning that the Space Phantom has taken on the form of Spider-Man, Janet leads the group against him and keeps one of the team from being trapped in limbo when the Space Phantom attempts to take his form.

Civil War

Main article: Civil War (comics)

During the superhuman Civil War, Janet is pro-registration and suggests that they push forward the fifty-state initiative to get things under control after the Thor-Clone kills Bill Foster, an event which she is very upset by. She also becomes the host of a pro-registration reality show called America's Newest Superhero.

Mighty Avengers

Janet is selected as a member of the Mighty Avengers by Carol Danvers and Tony Stark as part of the Fifty State Initiative. During its attempt to destroy humanity, she correctly determines that Ultron has taken over Iron Man's body. When alien symbiotes attack New York, Janet uses a refined growth formula given to her by Hank Pym—who, unbeknownst to her, is actually a Skrull impostor—which allows her to shift to giant-size without side effects. During the beginning of the fight, she is briefly turned into a symbiote monster before a cure is created by Stark.

Secret Invasion

Main article: Secret Invasion

Janet is among the Mighty Avengers who are fighting heroes from the Skrull ship. She is later seen with the rest of the Avengers heading to New York to confront the Skrulls. While fighting the Skrulls, the true purpose of the serum that the Skrull Hank Pym has given her is revealed. After Queen Veranke is thought to be dead, Skrull Pym presses a button that makes Janet increase in size rapidly. She realizes that the "new" particles Pym has given her are turning her into a bio-bomb. Janet is seen growing to a huge size, emitting lethal amounts of black-purple energy, and about to explode. Janet tries to flee the battlefield, trying to take as many Skrulls with her as possible. Thor uses Mjolnir to create a spatial warp in order to save both the heroes and the city, apparently dispersing her into nothingness. Thor is devastated by the act and vows to avenge her. After accepting her death, Hank Pym resolves to take up his fallen ex-wife's mantle and becomes the Wasp.

Return

Following the Avengers vs. X-Men storyline, it is revealed that Janet has not died after all, but has been shunted into the Microverse by Thor's spatial warp in the same spot that she appears to have died in Secret Invasion, where she claims to have been trapped for 10 years. Using her Avengers communication card she is able to send a signal with help from a local being called Cru-Sani. Giant Man, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man go into the Microverse to rescue her and find her alive and fighting against an evil despot called "Lord Gouzar", who has conquered the Microverse. After defeating him and liberating the Microverse from his tyranny, Janet and her fellow Avengers return to their normal universe.

After a brief hiatus, Janet returns to the team as a member of the Avengers Unity Squad. In addition to serving on the roster, she privately funds the team in order to avoid the problems that would come with government sponsorship.

Powers and abilities

Making use of the cellular implantation of sub-atomic Pym particles, the Wasp possesses the power to alter her physical size, causing her body's mass to be shunted to or gained from an alternate dimension known as Kosmos. She is able to shrink to a minimum of several centimeters or grow to a maximum of several hundred feet. Smaller or larger sizes are possible but the exertion puts a strain on her body. Initially, these abilities stemmed from use of a Pym particle gas released from special capsules, and later biochemical augmentation by Henry Pym. Over time, however, her body absorbed enough particles to cause cellular mutation due to repeated exposure to Pym particles to allow her to alter her size at will.

At miniature size, her strength level increases as her body's mass is compacted. At giant size, her strength and endurance increase geometrically with her height, reaching superhuman levels. Despite the advantages of giant size, Janet usually prefers to remain the diminutive Wasp, calling on her growth power only in times of extreme emergency.

At miniature size, the Wasp grows a pair of translucent insect wings from her back, a result of genetic modifications provided by Hank Pym. These grant her the power of flight, at speeds up to 40 mph (64 km/h).

The Wasp is able to harness and augment her body's natural bio-electric energy, releasing it from her hands in powerful electrical force bursts, which she called her "stinger blasts", "stingers", or "wasp's stings". Originally, she required special wrist devices to produce these but again, Pym particle absorption allowed her to create the ability unaided.

The Wasp's genetic modifications also grant her the ability to sprout small prehensile antennae from her temples which allowed her to telepathically communicate with and control insects. However, this is an ability she rarely uses.

Van Dyne displays several non-superhuman abilities that garnered her special fame and attention, foremost of which is her fashion sense; in nearly all of her early appearances, she sported a new costume, presumably designed and manufactured on her own as she was a gifted fashion designer. She is also a skilled amateur screenwriter. The Wasp was trained in unarmed combat by Captain America and in combat utilizing her special powers by Henry Pym. In addition, the Wasp is one of the most intuitive, if not deductive, members of the Avengers, and was an experienced leader and strategist. She effectively deduced that a chemical accident created a schizophrenic break in Henry Pym, the relationship between the Scarlet Witch and the Vision was the result of the infused personality of Wonder Man, and guessed the identity of Iron Man at a time when Tony Stark faked his own death.

Reception and legacy

IGN ranked Wasp as the 99th greatest comic book hero of all time, stating that she remained one of the core Avengers members for much of the franchise's history, and her extensive wardrobe rivals even the likes of Wolverine's.

Other versions

MC2

In the alternate future of the "MC2" universe, Hank and Janet would end up giving birth to two children: Hope Pym/Red Queen and Henry Pym, Jr./Big Man. Giant-Man would later perish on the last mission of the original Avengers, with the Wasp dying of a broken heart. Their parents' deaths motivated Red Queen to form the Revengers. Big Man, a one-time member, however, joined a government reform team.

Marvel Adventures

Janet Van Dyne as Giant-Girl. From Marvel Adventures: The Avengers #13 (July 2007). Art by Leonard Kirk

The Marvel Adventures: The Avengers series (set in its own continuity) features Janet Van Dyne as Giant-Girl, showcasing her ability to grow rather than shrink, which she uses in combat. She is younger than her main universe counterpart and she cracks jokes along with her teammate Spider-Man. Issue 13 of the series reveals her origin as a wealthy socialite given access to size-changing Pym particles by scientist Henry Pym (here an employee of Janet's father, rather than a superhero). Her maximum size is unknown, but she has grown tall enough to catch a school. Instead of having her powers naturally, Janet requires a suit powered by Pym particles to change her size. Like her Earth-616 counterpart, Janet seems to change her costume regularly. The first costume was purple and black with a mask adorned with antennae that looks remarkably similar to the Giant-Man costume worn by Hank Pym in the mainstream universe. This costume allowed her to grow while having the added effect of letting her control insects (though she never uses this power). This costume is later destroyed, and Janet wears a second costume that allows her to grow that does not include a mask, as her secret identity had been revealed. Finally, Janet gained a third suit that allows her to both grow and shrink, with the suit changing in appearance depending on her size. While using this suit to shrink, she calls herself Wasp and has powers similar to her mainstream counterpart, such as flight, proportionally superhuman strength, and the ability to project bio-electrical stings. A recent preview of Marvel Adventures the Avengers 19 has shown her wearing a costume which is primarily blue but has gold-yellow accents. Whether this costume increases her maximum size is yet to be seen. She has also mentioned that she has at least two brothers, although they have never been seen or given any names (see Marvel Adventures the Avengers #3).

Marvel Zombies

The Marvel Zombies series features an alternate Wasp as one of the main characters. She is now a zombie, another victim of the virus that has infected nearly all her world's superhumans. After Earth's human population is almost entirely devoured, Wasp is one of the zombies who finally kills (and consumes) Magneto.

Around this time Wasp is part of a sub-team that makes its way to the Marvel Apes universe. A collection of heroes manages to reverse the dimensional tear and send them back, but not before Wasp secretly infects the local version of Iron Man, Iron Mandrill.

The Wasp then discovers that Hank Pym has kept a secret food supply—a sedated and maimed Black Panther, held prisoner in Hank's lab. She confronts Hank, but he decapitates her by increasing in size and biting her head off in the struggle that follows. When the Black Panther later escapes the lab, he also takes the Wasp's head—still 'alive', but helpless. He eventually reaches safety, encountering Magneto's surviving Acolytes. The Acolytes announce that they will study the Wasp, seeking a cure for the virus.

An epilogue, five years later, shows the Wasp exploring the deserted Earth alongside the Acolytes. Her severed head is now sealed within a liquid-filled helmet, controlling a robotic body.

Forty years later in "Marvel Zombies 2", her head is fixed on a more advanced machine with her head exposed to the air. She also develops romantic feelings toward one of the Acolyte survivors, a scientist named Reynolds. As she indicates, forty years with the Acolytes is far longer than the time she has spent with Hank. At one point, the two share a kiss.

A long period without feeding seems to have cured her completely of the hunger. Now Black Panther's adviser and friend, she is forced to infect him when an Acolyte assassin attempts to kill him. This incident is orchestrated by Malcolm Cortez, the son of Fabian Cortez, who wants to take leadership from Black Panther. When the hunger resurfaces, she nearly eats Panther's wife before being stopped by him. Instead, they eat the assassin and they state they will go into isolation in order to control their hunger. This is a success. Multiple powered zombies soon threaten the colony. Wasp fights alongside Panther, Hawkeye (who had also been decapitated and inhabits Janet's own former cybernetic body), Forge, and a reformed Luke Cage and Spider-Man to save the people of New Wakanda from Firelord, Giant Man, Wolverine, Gladiator, Hulk, Jean Grey, and Iron Man, who are seeking to finish off humanity and retain the inter-dimensional portal so they can enter a new universe. Eventually the zombies discover, as Janet did, that the hunger fades with time, and they stop their rampage only to have their numbers halved by the Hulk. Janet, along with the other remaining zombies (the new Colonel America, Spider-Man, Luke Cage, Giant Man, Wolverine, and Black Panther), end up teleported to another universe by Malcolm Cortez.

The Wasp ends in the dimension of 'Earth Z'. She leads an alien invasion of the zombie-infected Earth in an effort to quash the flesh-eating threat. She fails at this and is destroyed.

JLA/Avengers

Janet is shown as a member of the Avengers and aids them during the battle with Starro. She also gives Iron Man the idea to create a dimensional alarm and rallies other Avengers to defend the artifacts. After the final battle in the Savage Land against the Justice League, Janet ends up as an Avenger in the new merged world that the villain Krona created and is unaware of the changes. In this world she and Hank are good friends with Elongated Man and his wife Sue Dibny. When the two teams decide to team up against Krona, the Wasp fights alongside the Avengers until the battle is over.

Deathlok Wasp

During the period when Jan was presumed dead, a cyborg version of the Wasp appeared in the Core, an underground city populated by robots. During a battle between the Descendants (the residents of the Core) and the Secret Avengers, Hawkeye encountered the cyborg Wasp. He mused that the cyborg must have been the reanimated corpse of Jan, and found himself unable to harm her. This Wasp was later revealed to be from an alternate future where most of Earth's superheroes had been killed and rebuilt using Deathlok technology. After the death of her timeline's version of Hank Pym, the Deathlok Wasp attempted to kidnap and assimilate his Earth-616 counterpart.

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel continuity, Janet Pym is a 26-year-old mutant and a member of the Ultimates. She holds two Ph.D.s (one known to be in molecular biology) and is portrayed as being of Asian descent. She is moderately fluent in German.

Her mutant status remains hidden from the public but is known by Hank Pym and S.H.I.E.L.D. She can generate a glittering wasp-like sting which she discharges through her hands. Her bio-electric blast, when applied from within the ear to the brain, reverted the Hulk to Banner during his New York massacre. Side-effects of her insectoid genetics include the occasional consumption of bugs, forming her own larval nests, and laying egg-like constructs.

During her college years, she shared a room with Betty Ross and started seeing Henry Pym. He was abusive to her early in their relationship and during college is known to have hit her at least twice, putting her head through a door on one occasion and splitting the roof of her mouth on another. Betty Ross can also recall instances where Janet was missing chunks of hair. Jan also suffered from severe bulimia prior to joining the Ultimates.

Hank's attempts at change through medication and enlistment in the Ultimates did not improve his behavior. As a result of his humiliating loss against the Hulk and simmering jealousy against Jan's friendship with Captain America, Henry and Jan fought viciously until Janet resorted to stinging him and Hank commanding an army of ants against her. Janet was found in a state of anaphylactic shock, caused by receiving multiple ant stings she received while at wasp-size. Captain America, upon learning of Hank's violence, tracked him down and beat him unconscious. Captain America's visits to Jan after the fight left her exasperated and angry, stemming more from embarrassment of her personal life becoming public.

After stopping the Chitauri invasion, Captain America and the Wasp reconciled as friends and slowly started dating, despite Hank Pym's attempts at making amends. On one of their secret meetings, Jan later confessed to Hank, now classified as a security risk by S.H.I.E.L.D., that the generation gap between Captain America and herself, along with the elderly status of his friends, put a large strain on their relationship. She recently walked out on Steve and met up with Hank in a bar.

The invasion of America by the Liberators failed to take Janet into account. They discounted the possibility that someone whose only ability is to make herself "smaller and weaker" could be a threat. By the time they found her, Janet had made her way to the cells in the Triskelion where Captain America was being held under suspicion of murdering Hawkeye's entire family. Soldiers working for the Liberators entered his cell and found two metahuman signatures. At first, Janet was easily subdued, but they failed to realize that she had already liberated her boyfriend. Captain America easily beat the Schizoid Man, but stopped fighting when several super soldiers threatened to tear Jan apart. However, Jan surprised them all by using her stinging powers at her normal size for the first time, killing or incapacitating all the super soldiers at once.

At some point, Hank gave the Wasp a dose of the Giant-Man Serum, giving her the power to grow to gigantic proportions. Larger in size, Janet helped turn the tide in favor of American forces and crushed Swarm with one stomp of her foot. It is yet to be seen whether Janet can grow at will or whether this was a one-off experience.

She is the new leader/co-leader with Ultimate Captain America of the team in The Ultimates 3 miniseries, and now sports a crimson-and-gold outfit and a mask, similar to her 616-Wasp counterpart, and she begins to reconcile with Hank (who begins a new identity as "YellowJacket"), and later with the Ultimates and Wolverine stop the plans of Hank's android, Ultron. She and Hawkeye frequently clash thanks to his almost suicidal nature after his family is killed. After the flood from the Ultimatum Wave, she is missing. Both Hank Pym and Hawkeye search for her. Hawkeye finds her being eaten by the Blob, who is later killed by Hank, but is killed by an army of mutant suicide bombers, the Multiple Men. The comic came out one month after her mainstream Marvel Universe counterpart's death.

Before his death, Pym tells Hawkeye, and Iron-Man to take Janet's body to his lab and activate "the Jocasta project".

In Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, shortly after the Death of Spider-Man story arc, Thor gives a eulogy at Spider-Man's funeral claiming he has seen Spider-Man dining in Valhalla with other deceased superheroes, including Wasp.

In the Ultimate Comics: Avengers a new Wasp appears (called Red Wasp). She is revealed to be a former Liberator soldier previously known as the Insect Queen, now reformed with an obedience chip and serves as a member of the Avengers. In Ultimate Comics: Avengers #5, a flashback reveals that she was Petra Laskov, the wife of a Georgian activist. One day the Red Skull kidnapped them, held the couple's child at gunpoint, and forced her to kill her husband to save her child. She does so, only for the Red Skull to throw her infant out a window, and then order his men to rape her. Along with the rest of the Avengers, she fights the Red Skull only to be overpowered until he was fatally injured by Captain America. A short while later when the Red Skull was in the hospital, Petra, dressed like a doctor, walked into his room and shot him in the head, killing him.

She appears to have the same powers as her predecessor.

In other media

Television

File:WaspAvengersUTS.jpg

Wasp, from The Avengers: United They Stand episode "What a Vision Has to Do".

• The Wasp appears in The Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Peg Dixon.
• The Wasp makes a cameo in the Fantastic Four episode "To Battle the Living Planet".
• Wasp appears as one of the main characters in the animated series The Avengers: United They Stand, voiced by Linda Ballantyne. Her look was radically redesigned to include insect-like armor.
• The Wasp is featured in The Super Hero Squad Show, voiced by Jennifer Morrison.
• Wasp appears in the animated series The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey. She is the only character who is a member of the Avengers throughout the entire series. She has a flighty and flirty personality reminiscent of her early days in the comics. Her teammates sometimes underestimate her but over the course of the series (as in the comics) she proved her dedication to the team as well as her potential as a hero. She also has a relationship with Hank Pym (Ant-Man) that is similar to their comic counterparts. Despite her flirty personality she is always supportive and dedicated to him and is the one who tries the hardest to keep him on the team with her. Her costume is a black and yellow skirt with a yellow antenna-like head piece.

Film

• In the animated direct-to-video movies Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Avengers 2, the Wasp is voiced by Grey DeLisle. This version is adapted primarily from the Ultimate Universe continuity.
• Janet and Hank's son, Henry Pym, Jr., appears in the film Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow.

Video games

• The Wasp appears as an NPC in the video game Captain America and the Avengers, briefly helping the player attack enemies.
• The Wasp is a playable hero in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.
• The Wasp is a playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.

Toys

• Wasp is the 137th figurine in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection.
• Wasp first appeared in wave 2 of the Marvel Super Hero Squad line, packaged with Hulk. The same figure has since been re-released in the Avengers Face-Off! 5-pack, packaged with Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man and Thor.
• A figure of Wasp was released in wave 15 of Toy Biz's 6" Marvel Legends line. There were four costume variations. A 1" version of the character was also released with the Goliath figure from wave 4.
• A figure of Wasp was released in the Avengers boxset of the Marvel Minimates line.
• A 1" figure of Wasp was released with the two-pack with Doctor Doom and Absorbing Man in the fourth wave of Secret Wars figures from Hasbro's 3.75" Marvel Universe line.

External links

• Wasp at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Earth's Mightiest Heroines, a fansite for the Women of the Avengers