Marvel Universe Wasp

Presenting the diminutive Winsome Wasp from the Marvel Universe Infinite Series.

Born Janet Van Dyne; Once married to the most unstable of Avengers, Hank Pym - who was soooo sick he used her dead and literally bloated carcass as a Headquarters for an Avengers team (Not really quite sure we understood how that happened); Chairwoman of the Avengers during which the Avengers Mansion overrun by the Masters of Evil; eternal flirt (she actually once used the code-name Pixie); and fashion icon - We don't believe we've ever seen her with long hair (Janet Van Dyne has keptm- short hair in style since  1963).

The Wasp was the single biggest casualty of the Skrull Invasion series where she was unwittingly transformed into a pym particle powered bomb. She died, but apparently just shrank down and entered the microverse. It took a while for her to contact the Avengers and for them to bring her back to the real world.

So she's back.


The Marvel Universe Infinite Series Wasp's blister card reads: "Although she's capable of storming into battle as a hundred-foot giant, Janet Van Dyne prefers to flit through the fight at insect scale. Many villains have underestimated the Wasp, but few have escaped the excruciating blast of her sting."

I'm so glad that they took the time to explain that Janet Van Dyne has an almost identical powerset as her ex-husband's. Like her Ultimates counterpart, the regular Marvel 616 Universe Wasp could theoretically grow up to 100 feet and reduce her size to 1/2 inch - though recently boosted by weird Skrull energies she went waaay past that - while maintaining and in fact gaining strength.

Originally, the Wasp could not maintain her wings at full size - though that doesn't seem to be the case today. It seems like she can spurt them out anytime.

But unlike her Ultimates counterpart, the 616 Wasp is not half-asian, not a mutant, and does not lay eggs.

What's to like about the Marvel Universe Wasp?

We love the articulation of the wings. They are peg mounted so you can remove them or fold them, and they are jointed so you can actually move them away from her body.

I'm not sure when the 616 Wasp was able to attain her full height and maintain her wings - which seems to be common for her nowadays.

Originally she had to shrink down to around 3 feet to maintain them, which makes the Marvel Universe wasp an actual fine addition to any Marvel Legends collection.

If that's not small enough, the Marvel Universe Wasp comes with a tinier version of herself:

And did you see that bodacious behind?

Articulation for the Marvel Universe Wasp is excellent and she can kneel - though my particular piece was a bit stuck up at the hip level:

But we're particular fond of the pixie-ish face of the Marvel Universe Wasp. It's a unique and quite nicely painted sculpt that's quite expressive - naughty and nice at the same time.

What's NOT to like about the Marvel Universe Wasp?

Not much, it's a pretty straight foward and simple figure with excellent articulation and nice detailing.

We're not particularly happy with her costume since she keeps changing it and she's had this particular version for years. There was a time she was changing costumes what? Per issue?

We also don't like this particular black sheen. It makes the Wasp look like she has excess flash.

Lastly we don't like the lack of detail on her tiny version. A stand would also have been nice.

This particular Marvel Universe Wasp was purchased as part of a set from Toy Kingdom Megamall here in the Philippines for PhP 750. She is available on Amazon for US$ 34.95 (Roughly PhP 1,572.75 plus shipping)