Didja Know... The Original Ant-Man and the Wasp

Didja Know digs into the fun facts, strange stories, and divine details that helped build the hallowed halls of the House of Ideas!

For all you Didja Know Diehards, get ready for some deets and discourse about the couple formerly known as Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne. Let’s head down into the ant-hill!

Didja Know… Jan gave the Avengers their name?

Uh-huh! Fresh from their vigorous victory over Loki in the ultra-legendary AVENGERS (1963) #1, the Wasp tossed out the little sobriquet “Avengers” for the newly formed group while the blustering boys busted their chops to come up with a suitable signet of their own. Would “Champions” or even “Defenders” have been truer tags for the team? Could be, but “Avengers” stuck and we’re still using it til this dazzling day, chums!

One of the other fabulous facts about Jan and the Avengers is that she went on to be the likable leader of the band, a position she held almost as long as Captain America himself!

As for Hank, well, all we have to howl about at the mo’ is that he changed his Super Hero moniker in the Avengers about as much as the Wasp changed her costume…which is to say quite a lot!

Didja Know… Ultron wasn’t the only android arch-enemy of Hank and Jan?

By now you know us well enough to realize we love the obscure, the odd, and the oh-so outrageous here at Didja Know Central, and if the Para-Man doesn’t rank right up at the top of that list, we’ll hand in our Merry Marvel Marching Society 45 rpm record!

Back in MARVEL FEATURE (1971) #7, a bumbling, bashful big boy named Boswell stumbled across insect-size Hank and Jan—they were stuck that way, don’t ask—and ferried them off to his master, a robot named Ren-Zee. Why? ‘Cause this mechanical monstrosity wanted to gain bug powers, that’s why. Doesn’t everyone?

Long story short, Ren-Zee dubbed himself the Para-Man and started throwin’ his considerable weight around until he literally lost his head… Or, at least, he lost the battle with Ant-Man and the Wasp, and he and Boswell were never, ever seen again. Frankly, friends—we’re kinda hopin’ for a revival of the Para-Man!

Didja Know… Hank once became the Wasp?

Well? Didja, Danny? Not too long ago Hank Pym took on the name and equipment of the Wasp! Hmm, still sounds a little silly, doesn’t it?

Anyway, when Jan seemingly bought the farm in SECRET INVASION (2008) #8, her ex-hubby decided taking her tag would be the best way to honor her memory, see? So, in SECRET INVASION: REQUIEM (2008) #1 he debuted the new Wasp—himself in a new uniform, Jan’s sting, but with decidedly less style.

For a while it worked, and Hank hunkered down to some serious Avengering, first with the actual Avengers and then as the creator and consultant of Avengers Academy, a sort-of school for youngsters yearning to be Super Heroes. He dropped the Wasp name in AVENGERS ACADEMY (2010) #7 to re-adopt the crowd-pleasing Giant-Man codename, and Janet Van Dyne returned to the land of the living and everything was well again.