Characters / The Wasp

The Wasp

Janet van Dyne

The Wasp

Alter Ego: Janet van Dyne

Notable Aliases: Winsome Wasp, Giant-Woman

First Appearance: Tales to Astonish #44 (March, 1963)

The socialite daughter of a wealthy scientist, when her father was killed by an alien attack, Janet turned to his colleague Hank Pym, aka Ant Man. After revealing his secret identity to her, Hank gave her access to the same 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 proportionate 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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• Action Fashionista: Probably has the largest wardrobe in comic book history. Justified, as she actually is The Fashionista. See portrayals of and information about each costume here.
• Arch-Enemy: In as far as her own solo adventures get focus, Whirlwind takes this role - being a villain who is obsessed with her and who most commonly faces her specifically. In true Marvel fashion, the two have something of a complicated relationship in that she'll put up with his presence if she has to, or even get jokey towards him, but the second he starts getting creepy, it's time for a "New Jersey beatdown."
• Badass Adorable: Depending on the Writer, but Jan can kick ass and her quirky personality makes her adorable as she does so.
• Battle Couple: With Hank Pym, and later with Havok.
• The Beastmaster: Rarely used, can communicate with and control insects via tiny implants she received when she first became a hero.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Janet really wanted to be the second Mrs. Pym, and in a moment of extreme selfishness took advantage of his unstable mental state to finally get hitched. The marriage failed, due in no small part to her methods.
• Bio-Augmentation: The origin of her wings; they were added to her by Hank Pym when she volunteered for his experimentation.
• Brain Uploading: The Killer Robot Ultron tried to upload Janet's mind into Jocasta, his newly-built female companion. Though the Avengers intervene before the procedure is complete, Jocasta retains enough of Janet's brain engrams to turn against her creator.
• Casual Kink: Uncanny Avengers establishes that Janet and Hank used to visit the Hellfire Club "to spice things up".
• The Chessmaster: A very downplayed example, but she has learned a lot over her history about how important connections can be, and has learned multiple languages to use them more effectively.
  "My superpower is I get things done."
• Cute Bruiser: Jan is so very, very, very much this, especially on Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
• Death by Origin Story: The death of her father at the hands of the creature from Kosmos is what inspired Janet to contact Hank Pym, resulting in her transformation into the Wasp. Jan herself supposedly died during the early days of Hank Pym as Ant-Man in the Ant-Man film.
• Death Is Cheap: The Mighty Thor gave Jan a Mercy Kill during Secret Invasion. Years later, after Avengers vs. X-Men, the Avengers learned that Jan did not really die, but got transported to the Microverse.
• Depending on the Artist/Writer: A number of aspects of her character have varied depending on who's drawing and writing her:
  • Her competence, maturity, and intelligence varies depending on how much the writer likes her.
  • Her hair varies from being reasonably long, short and springy, to even boyishly cut.
  • Her abilities also vary; usually she has to shrink to fly and use her hand blasts, but some writers let her fly and blast at full size.
• Domestic Abuse: Her relationship with Hank ventured into this, in a particularly infamous manner. Unlike most examples in fiction they worked through it and were eventually able to get to a healthy, stable relationship, and despite being the victim Janet has often accepted some of the blame for not minding Hank's mental state as well as she could to prevent things going the way they did. A lot of attention tends to be disproportionately drawn to the instance where Hank slapped Janet, which in itself was ambiguous as to if it was intentional, which has lead to real-life discussions on if the relationship was really abusive, and to some extent argued that Janet was the also at fault as she took advantage of his mental state by pushing him into marriage during a time where he was having a psychotic break, with everyone including himself believing he was another person entirely as the Yellow Jacket persona. On top of this ranting about Hank's focus on science and her wealth stood in the way of HER happiness and their relationship, one she pushed to even begin. Though there's a case it is a back and for as before this, Hank spent the majority of their relationship talking down to her and being emotionally and verbally abusive towards her (Values Dissonance was in play, given this was the 60s).
• The Fashionista: Janet is a fashion designer in her free time. Her constant Costume Evolution is justified by her making up new outfits all the time.
• Faux Action Girl: Depending on the Writer, some people just don't know how to write a competent Jan.
• Forced Transformation: For a very brief period in the late 1990s, Jan was stuck in a mutated insect-woman form.
• Giant Woman: She doesn't use it very often, but Janet can go giant like Hank sometimes.
• Good Stepmother: Janet is a kind and supportive step-mother for Nadia Pym. They're fond of each other, so much so Nadia eventually decides to officially take Janet's last name rather than Hank's, due to not really knowing much about Hank.
• Head-Turning Beauty: The original pin-up girl of the Marvel Universe. One of her earliest appearances has her drooled over by the residents of a veterans' hospital.
• The Host: Janet was the host of two TV shows in the Marvel Universe: "America's Next Superstar" & "America's Newest Superhero".
• Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Exaggerated in the years that she was still The Wasp, but Hank was Giant Man. Most of her other relationships tend to be this too, since even at normal height she's usually dwarfed by everyone.
• Improvised Clothes: On the occasion that her clothing has failed to change size with her, either because she forgot it hadn't been treated, or the chemical process that was supposed to cause the change had somehow been disrupted.
• Instant Costume Change: Depending on the writer and artist, Jan's costumes and clothes can work like this, as there's no way she could simply hide the costumes under the outfits without someone noticing (i.e. a full bodysuit under a short sleeveless dress.)
  • Generally explained - on the rare occasions that it is explained - as to do with her shrinking powers, although the explanations are never long on specifics.
• Jerkass Ball: Occasionally she'll grab this in order to make her butt heads with someone or do something to cause trouble.
• Jerkass to One: In the early Stan Lee stories, mainly in The Amazing Spider-Man, she seemed to really not like Spider-Man, purely on the basis that "wasps and spiders are natural enemies."
• Joisey: Averted. She was born and raised in Creskill, but years and years of finishing school left her with a no detectable accent. She's perfectly willing to go full New Jersey on a villain's ass, though, especially if that villain is Whirlwind.
• Jumped at the Call: She was much more excited at the prospects of forming a team than the others, and was even the one who coined the name "The Avengers".
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: in the What If? story "What if the Yellowjacket Died?", the titular event causes Janet to lash out at the other Avengers for badmouthing her husband, before going through a Darker and Edgier Significant Wardrobe Shift as "the Black Wasp", a Crusading Widower who beats up low-level crooks.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery: While she'd rather have a second to switch to a costume if possible, she will not hesitate to throw a hell of a right hook in her wedding dress or chuck a table in a short skirt if necessary.
• The Leader: Janet's been leader of the Avengers three times in total, for very long stretches of time. Her tenures combined, she's actually the second-longest serving leader, only behind Captain America himself.
• Mama Bear: Alternate Bad Future timelines notwithstanding, she has absolutely no desire for biological children. Adoption, as is the case with Nadia, is not off the table, however, and she will move mountains for anyone she takes under her wing.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: For Hank. Eventually becomes a deconstruction of the trope, considering how that relationship ends up.
• Missing Mom: While her father suffered Death by Origin Story, nothing was known about her mother for decades, as was common in comics at the time. It was eventually revealed in Avengers Academy that her mother was in a car crash when Janet was very young, and spent years essentially braindead before finally succumbing. Her fate and the fate of Jan's father are the root of most of her issues with becoming a parent, as she's very aware of the danger in her life and wouldn't want to leave a child in the same position she was in when she was little.
• Most Common Superpower: Under most artists, she has a very nice bust.
• Ms. Fanservice: Not nearly as much anymore, but her most common role in the original line-up; her role as a fashion designer was used to justify as many bikini, clothes changing and skimpy outfit scenes as possible. She also tends to change size in civilian clothes more than her husband, which leaves her naked since the clothes don't change with her.
• My Suit Is Also Super: Janet's various outfits can shrink and grow with her thanks to the Pym Particles.
• Non-Idle Rich: Her fashion empire is such that she could live comfortably without lifting a finger. Instead she's personally involved in designing new lines, funding new projects, and social/political networking on top of her heroing.
• Operation: Jealousy: Back in the 60s, whenever Hank expressed interest in something scientific, Jan would start hitting on the nearest pretty boy (unless they were masked, or Spider-Man). This trait went away after the pair took a leave of absence from the Avengers.
• Power Perversion Potential: More than just potential. Janet and Hank have used their powers to pleasure each other in creative ways.
• Rich Bitch: Janet's personality when she was first introduced. Hank Pym cited this as one of the reasons he was so hesitant to marry Janet in the first place. After Character Development beginning in the 70's, she eventually Took a Level in Kindness.
• Science Hero's Babe Assistant: Janet started out as not much more than a source of fanservice and a Sidekick to Dr. Hank Pym, genius inventor, before decades of Character Development got hold of her. She frequently served as Damsel in Distress and target for Hank's Insufferable Genius tendencies.
• Sexy Backless Outfit: A number of Janet's costumes have holes in the back for her wings, which are too tiny to see when she's at normal height.
• Shapeshifting Excludes Clothing: Most versions of The Wasp have this; Janet van Dyne usually has a tiny superhero outfit to wear when she turns into the Wasp. If she doesn't? Well, then she has to fight starkers.
• Shapeshifter Mode Lock: Janet became trapped at insect size for a time after leaving the Avengers.
• Sidekick Graduations Stick: Janet was generally treated as Ant-Man's young, flighty sidekick/partner at the beginning of her career. As a member of the Avengers, the Wasp gained considerable experience working alongside Iron Man and Captain America, eventually becoming Chairman and, later, leader of the Avengers.
• The Smurfette Principle: The only female member of the original Avengers.
• Stalker with a Crush:
  • David "Whirlwind" Cannon developed a romantic obsession with Jan way back in Marvel Feature #6, and has held the torch all the way through her supposed death and return. Any time Whirlwind shows up in a book, usually some attention is drawn to it, either by having other villains chastise him for his Wasp obsession or comment on how much it creeps them out, and whenever he gets a girlfriend, they usually mention how uncomfortable they are about him wanting them to dress like her. As of Wasp (2023) he's still harassing her - but it's promptly subverted with the reveal that he's in therapy and is only attacking the Wasp because the real villain of the story scared him into it.
  • Even Marvel Adventures wasn't exempt. Erik Josten (Atlas in the 616-verse) was a coworker of Hank's who noticed her whenever she would come visit the lab and became infatuated enough that he was willing to make Hank disappear and fight the Avengers just to have her.
• The Story Teller: Many solo stories feature "the Wonderful Wasp" in Tales to Astonish showed her entertaining in various venues by performing as a raconteur. One of the stories had her using Hank to evaluate her story. She was really upset when she learned he wasn't listening.
• The Tease: She always flirts with every member of the team, especially the male ones. In general though, she's more like their little sister most of the time. In Tony Stark: Iron Man, when her and Tony began dating again, she outright claims one of her main talents is being able to flirt and fight at the same time.
• Took a Level in Badass: Janet received a power-up in the early 1980s in a Marvel Team-Up plotline, due to Hank Pym refining her particular formula of Pym Particles, receiving more powerful "stings" and higher strength when she was shrunken down, and again in the early 2000s when she gained the ability to grow to giant size as well as shrink. She also spent much of the 1980s as the chairwoman of the Avengers, where she scored several impressive wins one right after the other. During this time, she also learnt that her powers advanced enough that she could bend steel while at Wasp size due to her strength being compressed, and at the cost of mobility could keep her wings at higher sizes, up-to 4 feet.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Eventually grows into a better person from her original Rich Bitch persona, gladly funding ventures by both superheroes and civilians. (Notably, her Giant-Girl persona in Marvel Adventures was this from the very beginning.)
• Unbalanced By Rival's Kid: Completely averted. Jan and Nadia hit the ground running (quite literally, as Nadia arrives at Jan's house just as Jan is rushing off on a hero mission and is swept up into it with her), and fall into a Happily Adopted situation quite easily.
• Unfinished Business: Hercules and Amadeus Cho encounter Janet's soul in Erebus, stubbornly trying to win resurrection on one of the slot machines. This created a Plot Hole when Bendis later established that Jan had never really died in the first place.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: The Wasp has hundreds of different costumes thanks to her career as a fashion designer. almost all the costumes she's made are listed here.
• Vague Age: How old she's actually meant to be, even by superhero comics standards, varies. Sometimes she's written like a 20-something, usually when writers emphasise her ditzy side. However, other times, she's written to be in her 30s if not older, such as in Uncanny Avengers, when Rogue — who is definitely in her 20s in modern stories — insults Jan regarding her supposed old age.
• Wardrobe Malfunction: Frequent, given that her clothes need to be specially prepared to change size with her.
• Wealthy Philanthropist: She bankrolls an entire laboratory to help girls in STEM and is often called on to help with funding for superhero matters.
• Weapon of Mass Destruction: The Skrulls turn Janet into one of these during Secret Invasion, prompting Thor having to seemingly Mercy Kill her to save the planet.
• Wedding Smashers: Janet nearly died when the Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime attacked during her wedding to Hank Pym.
• Willfully Weak: Janet is fully aware of the power and durability that come with growing to giant size, but she prefers to fight at insect size. She'll only break out the big guns when the shit really hits the fan.
• Working with the Ex: Happened quite often given the "on again, off again " nature of her relationship with Hank Pym. Also with Tony Stark, who remained one of her closest friends after they briefly dated.

Hank Pym

See Ant-Man: Heroes

Nadia van Dyne

Nadia van Dyne / The Wasp III

Alter Ego: Nadia van Dyne ^note Legally changed from solely Nadia.

Notable Aliases: Baby Wasp, Nadia Pym, Wicked Wasp

First Appearance: Free Comic Book Day' Vol 2016 Civil War #II (May, 2016)

The daughter of Hank Pym and his first wife, Maria Trovaya. Maria 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 Black Widow, 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 Pym Particles. Upon 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 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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• Adaptation Name Change: Her name is "Nadia", the Russian word for "hope", instead of the English one—though Mark Waid said this wasn't intentional.
• Adaptational Heroism: Red Queen, her MC2 counterpart, was a villain.
• Adaptational Nationality: Her inspirations were both natural-born Americans. Nadia is Hungarian on her mother's side and was born and "raised" in Russia.
• Age Lift: Nadia is younger than either Red Queen, her MC2 counterpart, or Hope van Dyne, her MCU counterpart. Then again, MC2 is set in an alternate future, while MCU!Hope undergoes Age Lift (older than her MC2 counterpart) since her father in MCU is also older than his Earth-616 counterpart.
• Beneath the Mask: When the villain Fantasma, who has a grudge against Nadia for reasons she doesn't adequately explain, accuses Nadia of being perpetually cheerful, Nadia responds it's a strain to be upbeat.
• Bilingual Bonus: "Nadia" is the Russian form of "Hope," which is the name of her counterparts in both the MC2 and Marvel Cinematic Universe continuities.
• Canon Immigrant: Nadia is basically the 616-version of the Red Queen and Hope van Dyne.
• Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Nadia can often seem off in her own world at times. Justified by being a Fish out of Water.
• Cute Bruiser: Cute as a button, but she was in the Red Room long enough to pick up fighting skills, so she can kick ass even without her science.
• Dark and Troubled Past: She was raised in the Red Room, the same one that produced the Black Widow. Fortunately, she got an easier time than Nat, since the minute her handlers noticed her smarts, they put her in a lab.
• Dark Is Not Evil: While Nadia's Wasp suit carries a black and dark red palette, she's easily one of the cheeriest characters in the Marvel Universe yet.
• Death by Origin Story: Her poor Hungarian mother's abduction and murder by the Russians was used to kickstart both her and her father's superhero career.
• Ditzy Genius: Nadia might be a genius like her father, but she can be a little air-headed at times.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Not only were Nadia and Riri Williams both seen in #1 of Champions (2016), Nadia actually appeared in every issue from #11 onwards except for #12. #11 was a Secret Empire tie-in, #13-#15 featured the Avengers, she was on that team at the time, and #16-#18 had her and Vision dealing with Viv Vision. After that was resolved at the end of #18, she joined the team.
• Happily Adopted: In a sort of reversal, Nadia asks for and receives permission to use Van Dyne as her last name instead of Pym, as she still hasn't gotten the chance to even meet her biological father, while she'd been taken in by and bonded with Janet.
• It Runs in the Family: Wasp suggests some of her obsessive tendencies don't come exclusively from Hank's bi-polar disorder alone, but also from her maternal grandfather.
• Meaningful Name: Nadia means "hope" and she is very much a optimist.
• Mad Scientist / Perfection Is Addictive: Nadia inherited her father's severe Bipolar Disorder, and when it goes out of control, she becomes this, convinced she can and has to fix every perceived problem in the universe (including the medical "flaws" of her friends, which they are hugely offended by when they find her notes).
• Master of Your Domain: As a result of her Training from Hell, she is able to shrug off an agonising energy surge that leaves an enemy debilitated, dismissing it as "only pain".
• Mental Health Recovery Arc: After a period of mania where Nadia isolates herself and drives away most of her friends (see above trope), Priya finally makes Nadia understand something is wrong and gets her to go to Janet for help. Having seen this all before from the years that Hank went untreated, Janet immediately finds Nadia medical care. In recent comics, Nadia still has some trouble, but is doing considerably better thanks to therapy and medication.
• Minored In Ass Kicking: While Nadia is absolutely a Science Hero and will always choose to use her intellect to solve problems if she can, she was still trained in the Red Room and is fully capable of laying out people much bigger than her if she has to or is sufficiently provoked.
• Mythology Gag: Nadia's Wasp suit is obviously inspired by her MC2 counterpart Red Queen. There are also nods towards Janet's classic Wasp costume and the Wasp costume seen in Ant-Man.
• Orphan's Ordeal: Finding a surrogate family was one of Nadia's major motivations in becoming the new Wasp.
• Perky Goth: Nadia prefers dark clothing and makeup, but her personality doesn't reflect that at all.
• The Pollyanna: How she comes across, in spite of her upbringing.
• Related in the Adaptation: Despite being based on the Red Queen from Marvel Comics 2 and Hope van Dyne from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Maria Trovaya, Hank's first wife, is her biological mother with Janet as a surrogate one.
• Robo Family: She's Hank's daughter, so Ultron is sort-of her brother. When the benevolent Ultron Mark. 12 is reborn, everyone treats him as her brother.
• What the Hell, Hero?: When Nadia Pym appears in All New All Different Avengers' crossover with Civil War II, she watches a news report about the event which causes her to start angrily asking why the hell heroes are fighting each other instead of talking things out.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist: Nadia is perhaps a bit too optimistic for her own good.
• Yank the Dog's Chain: At the climax of Avengers Inc. she actually gets to meet her father for a moment. Unfortunately, Hank is deep in the grips of bi-polar mania and refuses to be helped, taking off.

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