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origin and 1st app of the Wasp; Kirby cover + Ditko art; COMIC BOOK IMPACT rating of 8 (CBI)
Tales to Astonish #44 introduces possibly one of the most prominent females in Marvel Comics with Janet Van Dyne aka Wasp. At first Van Dyne appeared as a partner to Hank Pym, the Ant Man, on a crusade to avenge her father's death, but later she would become Pym’s love interest and hero counterpart. Like Ant Man, Wasp is able to shrink in size while retaining normal human strength, however, unlike Pym, Janet can fly via wasp wings as well as shoot bio-electric blasts from her fists. In the 1970s artist George Perez revamped the character’s design several times to the point where it became an in-joke and part of her persona to be a superhero fashionista. Wasp is most notable for being a founding member of the Avengers, giving the team their name, and currently serving as their longest active affiliate. In the early days Wasp was painted as the weak link of the team but was later deemed one of its craftiest members, and eventually became the leader of the Avengers for a number of years. In 2013 Wasp was rated the fifth-greatest Avenger of all time by Marvel.com, claiming "she not only became chairperson of the Avengers, but perhaps the most potent and resourceful leader Earth's Mightiest Heroes had ever seen." In 2015's “Ant Man” Janet Van Dyne's Wasp made a cameo appearance and was later portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in “Ant Man & the Wasp,” currently in the MCU, Janet and Hank’s daughter Hope bears the mantle of the Wasp and no doubt the character’s popularity is at a peak thanks to the mega-success of the Marvel movies. It goes without saying that Tales to Astonish #44 is a must have book for collectors as Wasp is one of the most iconic female heroines in Marvel history.