The Wasp

The Great Forgotten

The Wasp (Janet van Dyne) is a fictional superhero 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 (June 1963). She 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 as well as a longtime leader of the team.

Janet van Dyne debuted in Tales to Astonish #44 (plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by H. E. Huntley, and drawn by Jack Kirby, June 1963) as Henry "Hank" Pym's partner, becoming the Wasp to avenge the death of her father, scientist Vernon van Dyne.[4] She co-starred in Tales to Astonish from issue #44 to issue #69 (1963–65). She was also the star of her own backup feature in issues #51–58 (1964).

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 anybody 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 (1972/73). 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 (1982), a position she held until #278 (1987), 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 (May 1988), becoming a full-time member in issue #42.