The Wasp, it seems, might not even appear in the upcoming Ant-Man movie, or at least not in her present form. It was revealed that Evangeline Lily will be playing Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne’s daughter, Hope. It can be assumed that she’ll end up playing a modern iteration of The Wasp, like how Paul Rudd is playing the Scott Lang iteration of Ant-Man. Michael Douglas heavily implied, when talking about his role in the movie, that Janet is either dead or seriously injured because of something he does during his run as Ant-Man.
Now, a lot of people are pissed off. Rightfully so. Janet is a founding member of the Avengers, and one of the more inspirational heroes in the Marvel universe. That said, we also don’t know if she isn’t in the film at all. All we know is that Janet is seriously hurt, if not killed, because of Hank Pym’s mistake. We also know that Yellowjacket isn’t just crazy wife-beating Hank Pym this time around, either.
This movie is playing VERY loose with a character with a fairly obscure set of characters. While these characters do have fan bases, let’s be fair: few people were talking about The Wasp before the Ant-Man movie gained traction. People were more concerned with Black Widow, Captain Marvel, etc. If there is a silver lining to this bad news, it’s that, now, Janet has more attention than ever. She’s regaining her status as a major player in the superhero community.
Really, for better or worse, most younger fans know her from her role in Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, as a super sassy, super awesome superheroine.
Evangeline Lilly will probably play SOME role in the Marvel Universe. In the alternate MC2 continuity, where Peter Parker and Mary Jane’s baby was not killed by the Green Goblin, Hope is actually a supervillain. In this continuity, she’ll probably end up being the new Wasp. It could lead to a very compelling character arc in and of itself.
Also, it’s funny that fans are complaining about The Wasp being eliminated, but no one complained about Black Widow, Hawkeye, and The Hulk, who were not founding members of the Avengers, but rather their enemies, becoming founding members. Hell, Captain America didn’t even join the Avengers until issue 4!
The Wasp will appear in some form. Since the theme of this movie seems to be “passing the torch,” it is highly probable that Hope will take up her mother’s mantle as The Wasp. The Wasp will appear, though maybe not in the same form as comic fans are accustomed to. The important thing to keep in mind through all of this is that Janet van Dyne is still an active superhero in Marvel Comics. She is still a major character. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is still a cartoon that features a badass Janet. Just because Janet van Dyne is not The Wasp in every continuity does not mean that she is not a cool character worthy of merit.
There are TONS of problems with Ant-Man right now. This is but another thing that ticks off comic fans, but, before anyone starts rioting, just remember: we have yet to see the film. If The Wasp gets screwed over in the movie proper, then I will join you with your pitchforks and torches. But, until then, let’s wait to see how they plan on pulling this off. Please.
