Merge:Wasp

The Wasp is a superhero in the Marvel Comics' universe, and is a central member of The Avengers. She was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in Tales to Astonish #44 (June 1963) and perhaps most well known for changing her costume in every issue she appears in.

Character biography
Janet van Dyne was a shallow, self-centered, flighty heiress, daughter of wealthy scientist Vernon van Dyne. During an experiment, however, an alien monster was unleashed and Dr. van Dyne was killed. Her father's associate, Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym, had created a substance called "Pym particles", which allowed the user to grow or shrink in size, and had become the superhero Ant-Man; when Janet's father died, she convinced Pym to help her, and he gave her a supply of "Pym particles" and subjected her to a procedure which granted her the ability to, upon shrinking, grow wings and fire blasts of energy, which she called her "wasp's stings". As Ant-Man and The Wasp, they defeated the monster and sent it to its own dimension, and had several more adventures together.

Avenger
Soon afterwards, the superhero team, which Janet herself dubbed the Avengers, formed, and the pair were among its founding members. Still shallow, Janet frequently commented or had thoughts on many males' physical appearance. Although they took occasional leaves of absence, the two have almost always remained members; during the course, Janet grew as a person and several years later would be elected leader of the team.

The relationship between Janet and Pym had always been one of loving squabbling, but her wealth and his research had always stopped him from proposing. One day a cocky new costumed crimefighter called Yellowjacket broke into Avengers HQ. He claimed to have disposed of Pym and even kidnapped Janet. To the outrage of her colleagues, Janet then married Yellowjacket. A tension-filled wedding was made even more edgy by an attack by the Circus of Crime. During the fight it was discovered that Yellowjacket WAS Pym. He had had an accident with some chemicals causing a severe case of schizophrenia. Janet had realised this from very early on and had taken advantage to finally tie the knot.

However, her relationship with Pym became rocky, as he suffered a further series of mental problems. A few years later, Pym had a complete breakdown, and became completely paranoid. During the course of this breakdown, he became overbearing and verbally abusive. At the nadir of his degeneration, he struck Janet, and then proceeded to concoct a plan to make himself look good in front of his teammates by staging an attack upon them which only he could stop. This plan backfired and Pym was exposed, disgraced, and expelled from the Avengers, and the couple divorced. She remained with the team despite these hardships, and after Pym's mental state returned to normal, the two became friends again and, some years later, resumed a romantic relationship. She had a brief fling with fellow teammember Hawkeye but returned to Hank.

Avengers Disassembled and Civil War
Recently, during the events of Avengers Disassembled, she was knocked into a coma by an attack on Avengers Mansion. Hank watched over her as she lay in the hospital, and when she recovered, they reconciled. The two retired from the Avengers in order to pursue a new life together in Oxford.

With the onset of Civil War, Hank has helped spearhead the pro-registration movement. Janet is also pro-registration and has become the host of a pro-registration reality show called America's Newest Superhero.

Wasp reappears with Pym in Beyond! as well. He is at this point still her ex-husband.