With the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes the innevitable influences on the comics they are adapted from. Characters such as Black Panther and Doctor Strange receiving their first solo comics in years. And with the release of Ant-Man and its upcoming sequel, Marvel has decided to give one of the founding Avengers their own title: The Wasp!
However, this isn’t the same Wasp that battled Loki all the way back in Avengers issue 1. The newest iteration of the character is a young Woman by the name of Nadia. No last name. Her parents didn’t give her one. And who are her parents you mighty ask!? Well, her father is Hank Pym, but her mother is not his ex-wife and original Wasp Janet Van Dyne.
Before Janet, Hank was married to a woman by the name of Maria Pym née Travoya; an asylum seeker who fled to the United States, and was subsequently murdered on their Honeymoon. Yikes. The details of this event can be found in issue 44 of Tales to Astonish.
We learn about Nadia’s origins in this week’s Avengers #9, where she has come to Avengers Hangar (they don’t have a mansion or a tower anymore. Long story). She also goes onto reveal that she never knew her parents, and learned about her heritage from Hydra, who recruited her using everyone’s favorite assassin, The Winter Soldier.
Put through the same training as Black Widow, as well as forced to study Hank’s research, Nadia eventually created her own Pym particle which she used to escape. She sought after her father, but in learning of the events of Rage of Ultron, discovers that he… we’ll he’s not quite dead, but may as well be.
She has spent her time since building her own costume, and waiting to prove herself worthy to Iron Man and the Avengers in hopes of joining their ranks. To find out if she succeeds, check issue #9 of All-New, All-Different Avengers!
