The Avengers #1 (1963).
Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, first graced the pages of Marvel Comics in Tales to Astonish #44, published in June 1963. She was co-created by the legendary team of editor/writer Stan Lee, scripter H. E. Huntley (a pseudonym for Larry Lieber), and penciler Jack Kirby. Her creation came at the height of the Silver Age, a period defined by science-fiction-inspired heroes. The Wasp was conceived as a female partner and romantic interest for the recently introduced hero Hank Pym, the first Ant-Man.
Initially, her characterization reflected the gender tropes common in comics of that era. She was often portrayed as flighty, fashion-obsessed, and occasionally a damsel in distress, more concerned with her hairstyle than the supervillain at hand. However, her inclusion in The Avengers #1 (September 1963) just a few months later set her on a different trajectory. As a founding member of Earth's Mightiest Heroes—and the one who brillianty names the team—Janet was immediately positioned as a key player in the nascent Marvel Universe.
Over the decades, Janet underwent one of the most significant character evolutions in comics. Writers like Roy Thomas, Steve Englehart, and especially Roger Stern in the 1980s, stripped away the superficial elements of her personality to reveal a core of immense strength, intelligence, and leadership capability. Her fashion sense evolved from a character quirk into a legitimate career as a world-class designer, giving her agency and an identity outside of superheroics and her relationship with Hank Pym. Her ascension to the role of Avengers Chairperson in the 1980s was a landmark moment, cementing her transformation from “girl sidekick” to a commanding leader respected by all.
The origin of the Wasp differs significantly between the core comic book universe and its cinematic adaptation, reflecting the different narrative needs of each medium.
In the primary Marvel continuity, Janet van Dyne was the clever, vivacious, and wealthy daughter of world-renowned scientist Dr. Vernon van Dyne. While she enjoyed the life of a socialite, she possessed a keen mind and a deep admiration for her father's work. Her life took a tragic turn when her father, during an experiment to contact other dimensions, accidentally brought a murderous, gelatinous alien creature from the planet Kosmos to Earth. The creature killed Dr. van Dyne before escaping. Devastated and seeking vengeance, Janet turned to her father's colleague, the brilliant but socially awkward Dr. Henry “Hank” Pym. She had known Hank through her father and was aware of his groundbreaking work with size-altering particles. Pleading for his help, Janet's determination impressed Hank, who in turn revealed his secret identity as the incredible shrinking hero, Ant-Man. Seeing her resolve, Hank offered to make her his partner. He subjected Janet to an advanced biochemical process utilizing his “Pym Particles,” granting her the ability to shrink in size. He then went a step further, using advanced cellular grafting to implant bio-synthetic wings under her shoulder blades, which would only manifest when she shrank to a certain height. To complete her arsenal, he equipped her with wrist-mounted compressed air blasters, her first “Wasp's Sting.” Inspired by her new abilities, Janet chose the codename “The Wasp.” Together, the new duo of Ant-Man and the Wasp tracked down and defeated the Kosmosian creature, avenging her father's death. The experience forged a powerful bond between them, leading to a crime-fighting partnership and a blossoming, albeit often troubled, romance. Shortly thereafter, when a call for aid went out to combat the rampaging hulk, Janet and Hank were among the heroes who answered. Alongside iron_man, thor, and the Hulk himself, they formed a new team. When deliberating on a name, it was Janet who declared, “We need a name that's colorful and dramatic… something like… The Avengers!” With that, a legend was born, with the Wasp as a charter member and its christener.
The MCU presents a radically different origin for Janet van Dyne, reimagining her as a figure of legend from a previous generation of heroes. Here, Janet (portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer) was a brilliant scientist and a top agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Cold War. She operated as the original Wasp alongside her husband, Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), who was the original Ant-Man. They were not just a superhero duo but a highly effective team of spies, undertaking critical missions for the agency. Her defining heroic act, and her “origin” as a lost legend, occurred in 1987. During a mission to stop a rogue Soviet nuclear missile from reaching the United States, the duo found their path blocked by the missile's titanium casing. Realizing they could not breach it conventionally, Janet made a heroic sacrifice. Overriding Hank's desperate protests, she disabled the regulator on her Wasp suit, allowing her to shrink to a subatomic size. This allowed her to pass between the molecules of the missile's casing and successfully disarm the warhead, saving millions of lives. However, the cost was immense. By going subatomic, she became lost in the infinitely vast and dangerous Quantum Realm, a dimension beyond space and time. For three decades, she was presumed dead by the world, and her apparent death left deep scars. It caused Hank Pym to resign from S.H.I.E.L.D., fostering a deep distrust for organizations like it and particularly for the Stark family, whom he blamed for trying to replicate his Pym Particle technology. Her legacy became the driving force for both Hank and their daughter, Hope, who grew up resentful of her father for not being able to save her mother. It is Janet's suit and legacy that Hope eventually inherits, becoming the modern-day Wasp. Janet's story did not end there. As revealed in Ant-Man and the Wasp, she survived for 30 years in the Quantum Realm. Her prolonged exposure to its energies fundamentally changed her, granting her advanced powers, including the ability to channel and manipulate quantum energy. She was eventually rescued by Hank, Hope, and Scott Lang, emerging not as a victim, but as a powerful, wizened figure who had adapted and conquered a hostile dimension.
Janet's powers and skills have evolved significantly since her debut, transforming her from a gadget-based heroine to a genuinely superhuman powerhouse.
Janet's personality is a study in contrasts. On the surface, she is bubbly, outgoing, and effortlessly chic. However, beneath this glamorous exterior lies a will of iron and profound emotional intelligence. She has endured immense trauma, most notably the mental and physical abuse from Hank Pym during his breakdown, and emerged stronger and more compassionate. She is fiercely loyal to her friends and serves as the Avengers' conscience, often reminding her more stoic or pragmatic teammates of the human element in their missions.
The MCU's Janet is a more serious and mission-oriented character, shaped by her life as a spy and her decades-long exile.
The MCU's Janet is defined by her quiet strength and immense sacrifice. Before her disappearance, she was a dedicated agent and a loving wife and mother. After her return, she is changed, carrying the weight of her three decades of solitary survival. She is more reserved and powerful, almost otherworldly. Her primary focus is reconnecting with the family she lost and protecting them from the dangers she now understands, such as Kang the Conqueror, whom she encountered during her time in the Quantum Realm.
This classic storyline solidified Ultron's deeply personal vendetta against the Avengers and Janet in particular. Ultron-8, having returned more powerful than ever, ambushes the Avengers and successfully kidnaps Janet. He reveals his master plan: to create a perfect robotic mate, Jocasta. To give her life, he intends to transfer Janet's life force and brain patterns into the synthezoid shell, a process that would kill her. The story is a tense race against time as the Avengers fight to save her. The climax sees Jocasta, imbued with Janet's heroic essence, turn on her creator at the last possible moment, helping the Avengers defeat Ultron. It's a critical arc that establishes the Jocasta character and highlights the depth of Ultron's psychological fixation on his “mother.”
Perhaps the most significant and controversial storyline in Janet's history, this arc deals with Hank Pym's complete mental breakdown. Growing increasingly paranoid and unstable in his Yellowjacket persona, Hank becomes verbally abusive towards Janet. Facing a court-martial from the Avengers for reckless behavior, he concocts a desperate plan to build a powerful robot to attack the team, which only he can defeat, thus proving his worth. When Janet discovers his plan, she begs him to stop, and in a fit of rage, he strikes her. This single panel became one of the most infamous in Marvel's history. Janet, refusing to be a victim, doesn't cover for him. She faces the Avengers alone and single-handedly defeats the very robot Hank built, exposing his plan. This leads to Hank's expulsion from the Avengers and their divorce. It was a harrowing, character-defining moment that showcased Janet's incredible strength and refusal to be defined by her abuser.
During this massive crossover event, it was revealed that the Hank Pym who had been a member of the Mighty Avengers was, in fact, a Skrull imposter named Criti Noll, who had replaced the real Hank years prior. In the final battle against the Skrull forces in Central Park, the Skrull-Pym revealed his final, horrific gambit. He triggered a hidden command that transformed Janet into a living bomb, filled with a new, deadly strain of Pym Particles designed to expand and engulf the entire planet. As she began to grow uncontrollably, screaming in agony, Thor was faced with an impossible choice. To save everyone, he was forced to seemingly kill Janet, using Mjolnir to create a vortex that dispersed her energy and essence harmlessly into the Microverse. For years, Janet was believed to be dead, a martyr who saved the world. She was eventually rescued by the Avengers and brought back from the Microverse, but her “death” was a major status quo change that hung over the team for a long time.
The Wasp of the Ultimate Universe is a significantly different character. Here, Janet Pym is a mutant with the innate ability to shrink and generate bio-stings. She is also a brilliant scientist, holding a Ph.D. in bioinformatics. She is a core member of the Ultimates, the Earth-1610 version of the Avengers. Her relationship with Hank Pym is portrayed as even more explicitly and violently abusive, culminating in a public incident where he attacks her in her Wasp form. This leads to Captain America hunting down and brutally beating Hank, and his permanent expulsion from the team. Tragically, this version of Janet is killed during the Ultimatum event, where she is graphically devoured by the Blob.
In this potential future timeline, Janet and Hank are deceased, having sacrificed their lives on an Avengers mission. Their legacy is carried on by their twin children, Hope Pym and Henry Pym Jr. Henry Jr. becomes the heroic Big Man, joining a new generation of Avengers. Hope, however, is twisted by grief and resentment towards the Avengers, whom she blames for her parents' deaths. She becomes the villainous Red Queen, using her parents' technology to form the Revengers and attack the next-generation heroes.
A truly horrifying version of the character appears in this reality. Janet is one of the first heroes to be infected by the zombie plague. Her zombified husband, Giant-Man, keeps her alive—or “undead”—after she is decapitated by a zombie Ant-Man. For much of the series, Hank keeps Janet's still-sentient zombie head with him in a bell jar, carrying on conversations with her and occasionally feeding her parts of their victims. It is one of the darkest and most disturbing portrayals of the character.
The Avengers #1 (1963).The Avengers #213 was reportedly a miscommunication. Writer Jim Shooter intended for Hank to accidentally strike Janet while wildly gesticulating, but artist Bob Hall drew it as a deliberate, backhanded blow. The result, while perhaps unintentional in its severity, became a pivotal moment in both characters' histories.