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3[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Wasp_debut_5509.jpg]]
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5''The Wasp'' is a superhero created by Creator/StanLee and Creator/JackKirby, first appearing in ''[[ComicBook/TalesToAstonish Tales to Astonish]] #44'' (June, 1963). The title has been used by three major characters; Janet van Dyne, Hank Pym, and Nadia van Dyne. One of the founding members of ComicBook/TheAvengers, the Wasp famously gave the team its name after the heroes take down the villain Loki. Aside from solo adventures in the split-book anthology ''Tales to Astonish'', until 2023 Janet was the only original Avenger never to receive her own series.
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7The original Wasp was Janet van Dyne, the socialite daughter of a wealthy scientist. When her father was killed by an alien attack, Janet turned to his colleague Hank Pym aka ComicBook/AntMan. After revealing his secret identity to her, Hank gave her access to the same [[SizeShifter size-changing]] Pym Particles that he used, plus genetic augmentation for insect wings that would allow her to fly once she shrank small enough. Over time the size-changing would become an innate power (and, like with Ant-Man, began retaining her strength despite how small she gets, resulting in proportunate super-strength; at an inch in height, she's capable of bending steel), plus she developed the ability to fire bio-electric "stings" from her hands.
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9Though initially presented as a flighty, somewhat typical token female character at the time, with the same trappings as Lee and Kirby often struggled with at the time, Janet later went through considerable CharacterDevelopment. After her volatile marriage to Hank ended, Janet (humiliated by the events), returned to the Avengers and became their new chairperson and taking over as Leader, in order to try and prove herself a serious superhero. Under her leadership, the Avengers expanded their roster's gender ratio and recruited several heavy-hitters, and survived Baron Zemo's siege of the Avengers Mansion; during which, Janet herself took on Absorbing Man and Titania, [[TookALevelInBadass demonstrating just how much her combat ability had improved by this point]].
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11While she took a leave of absence after this, she returned to active duty several times over the years, and after some time eventually returned to leading the Avengers when Captain America stepped down. Her leadership here continued (with Captain America eventually rejoining when the Avengers restructure themselves into a larger unit, the two becoming Co-leaders), lasting throughout the ''ComicBook/TheKangDynasty'' storyline (during which Janet's leadership again proves vital for Kang's final defeat).
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13After ''Disassembled'', Janet stepped back from the Avengers, but eventually rejoined following ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'', as part of the pro-Registration Mighty Avengers. However, her return didn't last long, as Janet was seemingly killed during the ''ComicBook/SecretInvasion2008'' storyline.
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15Distraught, the Wasp name was used by Hank Pym himself in Janet's memory, during which he would co-lead the limited series ''Ant-Man & Wasp'' with then-current Ant-Man Eric O'Grady. In the last arc of Creator/BrianBendis' ''Avengers'' run, Janet was revealed to have been trapped in the [[ComicBook/MicronautsMarvelComics Microverse]], and returned to the Avengers under the new ''ComicBook/UncannyAvengers'' title.
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17In 2016, a new Wasp based on Hope van Dyne from the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse was introduced as part of the ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel relaunch. This new Wasp was Nadia Pym, the daughter of [[ComicBook/AntMan Hank Pym]] and his late wife Maria Trovaya, a Hungarian political refugee.
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19Maria was abducted and supposedly killed by Russian foreign agents before he met Janet. However, unknown to Pym, Maria had given birth to a daughter, Nadia, who was taken and raised in the Russian "Red Room" program that had produced the ComicBook/BlackWidow, being raised as an orphan. When it became apparent that she inherited her father's knack for inventing, Nadia was placed in the Red Room's science division, where she reverse-engineered his famous [[AppliedPhlebotinum Pym Particles]].
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21Upon escaping from the Red Room, she turned up at Pym's door in the hopes of a father-daughter reunion but was disheartened to learn he'd very recently sacrificed his life to stop ComicBook/{{Ultron}}. Deciding to assume her father's legacy, Nadia then created her own Wasp suit and sought out the Avengers, hoping to earn their approval.
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23After a brief misunderstanding with a mind-controlled [[ComicBook/TheVision Vision]], their long-serving butler Jarvis introduced Nadia to her step-mother Janet van Dyne --the original Wasp herself-- with whom she quickly bonded, readily endorsing her identity as the new Wasp.
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25Shortly after introducing herself to the superhero community, Nadia joined the new Avengers roster as a full member and, with the advice of fellow crimefighting scientist [[ComicBook/{{Mockingbird}} Bobbi Morse]], decided to become a champion for the smartest (and oft-ignored female) minds of the Franchise/MarvelUniverse -- making her the ''Unstoppable'' Wasp.
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27Janet van Dyne/The Wasp appears as one of the main characters in ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes'', voiced by Creator/ColleenOShaughnessey. Despite the fact she was mostly the same as her comic book counterpart in this adaptation (only without the destructive overtones of her relationship with Hank, or the resulting emotional baggage, which allowed her to remain TheHeart of the team throughout the series), it still managed to increase her popularity with the fans.
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29Janet appears --[[TheLostLenore briefly, via flashback]]-- in ''Film/AntMan1'', one of the many properties that form the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. In that film's {{stinger}}, Hank gives his daughter Hope van Dyne (played by Creator/EvangelineLilly) a suit he designed with Janet prior to her death. She surely enough donned the suit in ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'', but she wasn't alone -- her mother Janet appeared in the film as well, played by Creator/MichellePfeiffer. ''Ant-Man & The Wasp'' was also be the first MCU film with a female character in the title -- fittingly, since The Wasp was also the first female Avenger in the comics. Hope also appeared, fairly briefly but heroically, in ''Film/AvengersEndgame'', and both mother and daughter appeared again in ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania''.
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31Not to be confused with [[ComicBook/TheWaspLevGleason the Golden Age hero]].
32
33!! The Wasp appears in the following works:
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35[[AC:Notable Comic Books]]
36* ''ComicBook/TalesToAstonish'' (The original Silver Age stories)
37* ''Ant-Man & Wasp'' (2011-2011) (featuring Hank in the role of Wasp instead of Janet)
38* ''Avengers Origins: Ant-Man & the Wasp'' (November, 2011)
39* ''ComicBook/TheUnstoppableWasp'' Vol 1 (2017)
40* ''Ant-Man & the Wasp: Living Legends'' #1 (2018)
41* ''Marvel and Dell Present: Ant-Man & Wasp'' #1 (2018)
42* ''Marvel and Synchrony Present Ant-Man and the Wasp: Saving Time'' #1 (2018)
43* ''Ant-Man & the Wasp'' (2018)
44* ''ComicBook/TheUnstoppableWasp'' Vol 2 (2018–2019)
45* ''ComicBook/{{Wasp|2023}}'' (2023)
46
47[[AC:Anime]]
48* ''Anime/MarvelDiskWarsTheAvengers''
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50[[AC:Live-Action Films]]
51* ''Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse'' (2015 -- present), with Creator/EvangelineLilly playing Hope van Dyne. Janet also appears in a supporting role, played by Creator/MichellePfeiffer.
52** ''Film/AntMan1'' (2015) (Hope is a major supporting character but does not yet take the role of the Wasp; Janet's Wasp only appears briefly in flashback.)
53** ''Film/AntManAndTheWasp'' (2018)
54** ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' (2019)
55** ''Film/AntManAndTheWaspQuantumania'' (2023)
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57[[AC:Video Games]]
58* ''VideoGame/CaptainAmericaAndTheAvengers''
59* ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''
60* ''VideoGame/MarvelHeroes'' (Non-playable combat pet)
61* ''VideoGame/SuperHeroSquadOnline''
62* ''VideoGame/AvengersAcademy'': While Janet is a regular fixture in the game, Hope was added in 2018 as a limited-time recruit to tie in with ''Ant-Man and the Wasp'' and Nadia was added a few months afterward.
63* ''VideoGame/MarvelFutureFight'': Janet was added in 2015 as part of an update loosely based on the ''Ant-Man'' movie, and Nadia was added in 2018 for ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''. Hope doesn't directly appear, but Janet can get her appearance as an alternate costume.
64* ''VideoGame/LEGOMarvelSuperheroes2'': Janet serves as the game's MissionControl, and is also playable in a couple stages of the story mode and in Free Play. Nadia is available as part of the ComicBook/{{Champions|MarvelComics}} DLC character pack, and Hope was included in another DLC pack based on ''Ant-Man and the Wasp''.
65* ''VideoGame/MarvelUltimateAlliance3TheBlackOrder''
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67[[AC:Western Animation]]
68* ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelSuperHeroes''
69* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersUnitedTheyStand''
70* ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperHeroSquadShow''
71* ''WesternAnimation/TheAvengersEarthsMightiestHeroes''
72* ''Ant-Man''
73* ''WesternAnimation/AvengersAssemble'': Featuring Hope van Dyne as The Wasp.
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75----
76!!Tropes seen in multiple versions of the Wasp include:
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78* ActionGirl: At first Janet was the weak link of the Avengers, but later on became one of the smartest and craftiest of its members. Nadia was trained in the Red Room all her life.
79* AnimalThemeNaming: As The Wasp.
80* AnimalThemedSuperbeing: Based on Wasps, obviously. Nadia is shown to take this to heart as she looks to real wasp's ability to build nests from paper for inspiration.
81* AppliedPhlebotinum: The Pym Particles.
82* {{Flight}}: When she shrinks, and can use her wings. Sometimes even at normal sizes, depending on the writer.
83** While Jan's wings are implanted in her back, both Hank and Nadia had/have mechanical wings in their suits. Nadia has since created a "portable" version of her wings, giving her more freedom to use them.
84* HandBlast: The Wasp can fire bio-electric energy blasts from her hands. At first Janet required special wristbands, but years of exposure to the Pym Particles allowed her to generate the blasts naturally.
85** Hank during his as Wasp time developed a gun version of this ability.
86** The gloves of Nadia's suit work similarly to Jan's old wristbands.
87* LegacyCharacter: Janet was the first and for over 40 years the only person in 616 marvel to take up the name.
88** Hank Pym as Wasp II, also Petra Larkov as Red Wasp in the ComicBook/UltimateMarvel continuity after the respective deaths of their versions of Janet. Janet got better in 616.
89** As mentioned above, [[spoiler: Hope van Dyne is the Wasp II in the movies]].
90** While Janet is still active as the Wasp, another girl has also taken up the mantle of the Wasp in ''ComicBook/AllNewAllDifferentMarvel''. This other girl is named Nadia Pym, the daughter of Hank and his first wife, Maria Trovaya. She's basically movie!Hope as a CanonImmigrant down to her name meaning hope.
91* MadeOfIron: The Wasp's density increases in her giant form, giving her greater durability.
92* PintSizedPowerhouse: The Wasp is actually stronger when she is at incest size than she is at her normal height.
93* SizeShifter: Initially someone requires doses of Pym Particles in order to change size, requiring them to carry special pills or gas canisters. Later, the body would start to generate Pym Particles on its own, allowing a person to change size at will. Every version of the Wasp so far has gotten to this point.
94* SuperStrength:
95** Most overtly in giant form. A portion of the strength goes to [[SquareCubeLaw supporting the Wasp's body]], leading to diminishing returns if she grows too large.
96** After a power upgrade in the Seventies, Janet's strength also increases as she ''shrinks''. Below a certain point reduction of her mass and leverage overwhelms any increase in raw power [[note]]her bend-steel-bars "sweet-spot" is around 12 inches/30 centimeters[[/note]].
97* TeamMemberInTheAdaptation: She's a member on Captain America's side in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAcademy'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelPuzzleQuest'' for the Team Iron Man/Team Captain America efforts whereas she was on Iron Man's side in the comics.
98* UnbalancedByRivalsKid: {{Averted}} Janet with her relationship with Nadia, who is the daughter of Hank Pym and his first wife. While Nadia fears this trope may be in play the two actually become extremely close.
99* UnlimitedWardrobe: Girl has got to have the highest amount of superhero outfits in her closet, never repeating a costume for any run in the ''Avengers'' comics.
100* UnrelatedInTheAdaptation: While Nadia is based on [[ComicBook/MarvelComics2 the Red Queen]] and [[Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse Hope van Dyne]], she's isn't the biological daughter of Janet like she is in those universes, instead being Maria Trovaya's daughter. That said, while not her biological mother, Janet is a surrogate one for Nadia.
101* WingedHumanoid: Hank Pym implanted two tiny wings on Janet's back, giving her the power to [[{{Flight}} fly]] when she shrinks to insect size. Nadia has mechanical wings built into her suits.
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