Wasp (Janet Van Dyne)

Janet Van Dyne, also known as the Wasp, Giant Girl and Giant Woman, is one of the major characters from the Marvel comics.

Genetically altered by Dr. Henry Pym, Janet Van Dyne gained the ability to alter her size, fly at rapid speeds and fire bio-electric energy "stings". Calling herself "the Wasp", she became Pym's superhero partner. Later, she became a founding member and the first female member of the Avengers.

Personality
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.

Abilities
Making use of sub-atomic Pym particles, the Wasp possesses the power to alter her physical size, causing her body's mass to be shunted to or gained from an alternate dimension known as Kosmos. She is able to shrink to a minimum of half an inch or grow to a maximum of several hundred feet. Smaller or larger sizes are possible but the exertion begins to put a strain on her body. Initially, these abilities stemmed from use of a Pym particle gas released from special capsules. Over time, however, her body has absorbed enough particles to allow her to alter her size at will.

At miniature size, her strength level increases as her body's mass is compacted. At giant size, her strength and endurance increase geometrically with her height, reaching superhuman levels. Despite the advantages of giant-size, Janet usually prefers to remain the diminutive Wasp, calling on her growth power only in times of extreme emergency. At miniature size, the Wasp grows a pair of translucent insect wings from her back, a result of genetic modifications provided by Hank Pym. These grant her the power of flight at incredible speeds.

The Wasp is able to harness and augment her body's natural bio-electric energy, releasing it from her hands in powerful electrical bursts, which she calls her "stinger blasts" or "wasp stings." Originally, she required special wrist devices to produce these but again, Pym particle absorption has allowed her to create the ability unaided. The Wasp's genetic modifications also grant her the ability to sprout small prehensile antennae from her forehead which allow her to telepathically communicate with and control insects. However, this is an ability that she rarely uses.

Janet Van Dyne has also displayed several non-superhuman abilities that have garnered her special fame and attention, foremost of which is her fashion sense. She possesses considerable talent as a clothing and costume designer, and in her early appearances she showcased many different costumes, all designed and created herself. She also helped her Avengers teammate Ms. Marvel create her own signature costume.

In addition, the Wasp is one of the most intuitive and deductive members of the Avengers. She effectively deduced that a chemical accident had created a schizophrenic break in Henry Pym. She was the first Avenger to realize that the relationship between the Scarlet Witch and the Vision was the result of the infused personality of Wonder Man, and also was the first to correctly guess the identity of Iron Man at a time when Tony Stark faked his own death.

As a founding member of the Avengers, the Wasp has learned a great deal by fighting alongside veteran heroes like Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and many others, and has grown into a strong and capable leader in her own right. She has served both as field leader and as chairwoman of the team many times during her Avengers tenure.

Trivia

 * Wasp chose the name Avengers for the team. The Vision also took his name from a description of him by the Wasp.