Wasp (
Janet van Dyne), also known as the
Winsome Wasp, is a
fictional superheroine that appears in comic books published by
Marvel Comics. Created by
Stan Lee and
Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in
Tales to Astonish #44 (June 1963). She is usually depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters, grow to giant size, fly by means of insectoid wings, and fire bioelectric energy blasts. She is a founding member of the
Avengers as well as a long time leader of the team.
In May 2011, the Wasp placed 99th on
IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time,
and 26th in their list of "The Top 50 Avengers" in 2012. The character was also ranked 94th in
Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list. In 2013, she was ranked the fifth greatest Avenger of all time by Marvel.com.
The character makes a cameo appearance in the 2015 film
Ant-Man.