Wasp Appreciation

[DebkoX]

Wasn't that page that began Sue's She-Mullet?

Anyone else hating how Remender is writing Jan right now? She's coming off as a anti-mutant bigot, and now she's throwing herself at Havok? Don't use her if you don't know how to properly write her.

Yup, nothing like her.

[Ravin' Ray]

Nope, it's actually the end of it as Byrne gives her the winner of the design-a-new-hairdo-for-Sue contest.

As for Jan, yeah, I don't quite agree with her current characterization.

[DebkoX]

The first fault for UA ;L

[XPac]

Wasn't that page that began Sue's She-Mullet?

Anyone else hating how Remender is writing Jan right now? She's coming off as a anti-mutant bigot, and now she's throwing herself at Havok? Don't use her if you don't know how to properly write her.

I think the fact that she's making a move on Alex (which IMO isn't really that out of character for her) shows that she's clearly not anti-mutant.

She just has problems with Rogue, the same way Rogue has some problems with them. It's a bit of two way chick drama. And honestly I'm not sure Rogue, Jan, or Wanda are necessarily coming off looking great out of it. But I do think the bit of team drama makes things a bit more interesting.

[Confuzzled Mutie]

I think I might be falling in love with you.

Aw.

And yeah, I don't see why Jan has to be such an Avenger purist and anti-Rogue in UA. Years ago, she was the one who wanted to recruit more women into the team and extended the invitation to even mutants like Dazzler. On the plus side, RR knows she is a strategic mind and Jan using Cyclops's popularity among college going youngsters by designing visor influenced goggles is actually a brilliant idea for what the Avengers Unity Team is supposed to be doing, bridging the gap between mutants and the rest of the society. Which, thanks to the catty infighting on the team so far, has been left on the backburner for the most part.

About the Havok thing.. yeah, I hate this pairing and I was dreading it right from the instant Remender said there would be romance for Jan in UA. But to be fair, she has just lived about an entire year (MU time) in the Microverse, so she probably cannot wait and wants to live in the NOW. And yeah, she has always had a thing for blue eyed, blond men. So it makes sense, I guess. And that scene between Havok and her was kind of funny. Jan being Jan. This is still far better for her than being dragged down by Hank.

[Talisman]

I think the fact that she's making a move on Alex (which IMO isn't really that out of character for her) shows that she's clearly not anti-mutant.

She just has problems with Rogue, the same way Rogue has some problems with them. It's a bit of two way chick drama. And honestly I'm not sure Rogue, Jan, or Wanda are necessarily coming off looking great out of it. But I do think the bit of team drama makes things a bit more interesting.

Making blanket statements about mutants isn't really a way to prove that you're not anti-mutant tho. Some of the most homophobic people have been known to dabble in homosexuality. And Jan's never been shy to approach a person if she has a problem with them. Remender has her acting very passive agressively towards Rogue, and that is just not her style.

[pepper]

Making blanket statements about mutants isn't really a way to prove that you're not anti-mutant tho. Some of the most homophobic people have been known to dabble in homosexuality. And Jan's never been shy to approach a person if she has a problem with them. Remender has her acting very passive agressively towards Rogue, and that is just not her style.

Unless I'm mistaken, she made blanket statements about the X-Men, not mutants.

[Miss Britain]

Anyone else hating how Remender is writing Jan right now? She's coming off as a anti-mutant bigot, and now she's throwing herself at Havok? Don't use her if you don't know how to properly write her.

No complaints, aside from her getting dragged down into the childish thing with Murderwoman. Very happy to have her getting some plot development again, and the flirting scene was so her.

[Mary Jay]

Some Wasp thoughts:

In other threads I've seen her place in the Avengers questioned: "What is she even doing there? What does she bring to the team? Get her out of there!" What's funny is, you can find the exact same negative sentiment toward her in the letters pages of early issues of The Avengers. It always seems to me that these writers are the same ones who are looking for Power with a capital 'P' on the team. In my opinion, not only do these fans not quite understand the Wasp, they don't understand what makes a good hero team. The Wasp from the earliest days of The Avengers was the team's heart. Cap was the soul, Thor the muscle, Iron Man the brain. (The Hulk was it's ass!) The Wasp was the heart. Full of love for her friends, adoration for the guys, concern for the weak, and free of most material concerns thanks to the inheritance which Stan wrote into her story. Later, particularly during Roger Stern's run, she had to step up and become even more of a den-mother to the group, yet still she was the apple of most of the team's eye. Her portrayal during the Siege of Avengers Mansion was fantastic; her guilt over Hercules being gravely injured (so badly he was actually pronounced dead) because she couldn't lead him was deeply moving. (In his early issues with the Avengers, the Wasp was actually Hercules' main point of loyalty to the team; she was the first to be truly kind to him in his banishment to Earth.) Another cool Wasp moment was one she wasn't actually in: the first issue of Mighty Avengers, when Stark and Danvers are picking the team members, and Carol actually picks her ahead of anyone else. "SHE was the best Avenger," she says, to which Stark replies, "I miss her the most." I also love that Carol suggests the Wasp could lead the team, and that Stark speculates it was the Hank/Janet dynamic that originally drove him to drink. (Hilarious.) I also like that just before that in the conversation, Tony points out that an all-powerhouse team doesn't work because villains are generally crazy, and crazy people aren't intimidated by power. Without the Wasp, there is a lot about the Avengers to be intimidated by, but not a lot to love.

As for her return, I was confused that she suddenly had red hair and blue eyes, but am hoping that she'll be back to her pretty brown-eyed brunette self when next we see her. I liked the way she was returned. I loved how the big four and Wonder Man all reacted on sight of her. There really is no brighter ray of joy and hope in the Avengers cast of characters. And while her black costume with the gold waspy outline up the front is indeed smexy, I really hope she goes back to changing costumes every few issues. C'mon, you know that's what a woman with some bucks to spend would be doing! Some she'd design herself, others she'd have created for her by top name designers. Personally I think this is a key area where comics get the ladies wrong. Like She-Hulk, superheroines would probably cycle through various cuts & styles every few issues which would each bear their signature color scheme. Can you imagine an A-list actress wearing the same dress to every party? Not likely.

My only other thought to add is that, while I'm not a big fan of retconning, I hope someday that Hank Pym gets retconned out of his despicable wife-beating history, and that he and Jan become a couple again. They really should be the Reed & Sue of the Avengers crowd; Vision & Scarlet Witch can be the screwed up divorcees. Particularly with the success of the Marvel Studio films, the potential of an Ant-Man film, and the fact that Fantastic Four is still in 20th Century Fox's stable, Marvel Studios would be well served to have Hank & Jan NOT go down the domestic violence path. They go together like nutty peanut butter & jelly, which might also be the best analogy ever for their personalities. I would love to see Hank return to the mold Stan wrote him in, the nutty professor, and Jan go back to being her happy, optimistic, flirty self. (As one poster said, Tigra will move on; it's what she does. Pretty sure the tiger striped woman in the bikini will never be hurting for a boyfriend.) (Also, for what it's worth, I liked both versions of the Mighty Avengers. Especially the post-Secret Invasion version, because finally Hank started to shine again.)

I completely agree with every word you wrote! I could not have said it better! Now, unfortunately for us, the last part of your comment doesn't seem like it's going to happen I haven't followed UA yet, and now I don't think I will.

[Confuzzled Mutie]

^A solid post by the Baron about what Wasp brings to the table and why her haters are clueless in a number of ways. However, I don't agree with the Hank/Jan thing. For me at least, Hank brings her down. Janet should be free to flutter around in the sun.

Oh, and Marvel's YouTube channel uploaded the AR video which gives us an exclusive sneak peek at Janet's sketch book for the mutant inspired fashion line she is developing in UA. Her designs not only draw inspiration from the X-Men, but also from Earth's Mightiest. Check it out if you haven't already-

[pepper]

Lol. I love Jan but she's not great at fashion illustration is she?