Nadia van Dyne explained

Character Name:Nadia van Dyne
Real Name:Nadezhda "Nadia" van Dyne
Species:Human mutate
Publisher:Marvel Comics
Aliases:The Wasp
Nadia Pym
Partners:Wasp (Janet van Dyne)
Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
Alliances:Avengers
All-New, All-Different Avengers
Champions
G.I.R.L.
Powers:
  • Flight via bio-synthetic wings
  • Bio-electric energy blasts
  • Size manipulation
  • Expert gymnast and acrobat
  • Expert martial artist
  • Genius intellect

Nadezhda "Nadia" van Dyne (née Pym) is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Mark Waid and Alan Davis, the character first appeared in Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II (July 2016), and was loosely based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe character Hope van Dyne, played by Evangeline Lilly. Nadia has notably been depicted as one of Marvel's rare asexual heroes. She is also diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

The daughter of Hank and Maria Pym, Nadia was raised as an assassin of the Red Room before escaping with the use of her father's Pym Particles and becoming the Unstoppable Wasp. Like her predecessor and stepmother, Janet van Dyne, Nadia is depicted as having the ability to shrink to a height of several centimeters, fly by means of insectoid wings, and fire bioelectric energy blasts, while like her biological father she has bipolar disorder. She is a founding member of G.I.R.L. as well as a longtime leader of the organization.

Publication history and creation

Nadia van Dyne first appeared in Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II in July 2016 and was "created as a comic version of Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne".[1] Mark Waid noted that they wanted to introduce a character who was "a nod to Ant-Man's Hope van Dyne without in any way minimizing Janet's role in the Marvel Universe".[2] The name "Nadia" is of Slavic origin and translates to "Hope".[3]

She briefly had her own comic, The Unstoppable Wasp, but it was cancelled after eight issues due. A second series with the same title debuted in October 2018 but was also cancelled after ten issues.[4] In May 2020, Disney Books published a young adult novel written by Sam Maggs titled The Unstoppable Wasp: Built On Hope.[5]

Fictional character biography

Nadia is the child of Hank Pym and his first wife, Maria Trovaya, who was abducted and supposedly killed by foreign agents. Nadia was raised in the Red Room until she obtained a Pym Particle sample and escaped.[6] Initially intending to meet her father, Nadia learns that he is believed to be dead, and instead uses parts of his costume and other materials to create a Wasp suit,[7] hoping to obtain the admiration of her father's allies. She later meets Janet van Dyne, and they get along quite well, with Janet feeling that she has the potential to become a true hero.[8] [9]

Nadia soon joins the Avengers and gains U.S. citizenship. Upon realizing that S.H.I.E.L.D.'s index of the world's most intelligent people doesn't list any women above 27th place, she starts the program G.I.R.L. (Genius In action Research Labs) to look for women with genius intellects.[10] When choosing a legal name, Nadia takes the surname 'van Dyne', as she does not know much about her birth parents and Janet has believed in and supported her.[11]

She also aids Scott Lang — who is in outer space at that time — in an attempt to return to Earth, which results in a sequence of bizarre adventures in the microverse. In the process, the two of them became quantum-entangled with each other.[12]

It is later revealed that Nadia has bipolar disorder, just like her father, and she eventually learns that he is still alive and merged with Ultron.[13] [14] [15] [16]

In an appearance in Marvel's Voices: Pride (2023), Nadia was revealed to be asexual.[17] [18]

What Nadia didn't know yet is that a copy of her father's conscious managed to split itself following All-Father Ultron's defeat and recreate his body which appeared older. When Nadia's Wasp appearance was among the superheroes that arrived to fight the Ultron-possessed Lethal Legion, Hank saw Nadia before her and quoted "You...you're Nadia, aren't you? Maria named you Hope". After Hank tells Nadia that Ultron isn't in him, she receives some code for the nano-ants from the future to use while Ultron is distracted. As Hank tells her to think big, Ultron-12 in Whirlwind's body agrees with her on it. After Ultron's defeat where the nanos leave the Lethal Legion and create a new body for Ultron-12 called Mark Twelve, Nadia witnesses her father and the Lethal Legion leave for Sub-Atomica to regroup as part of Protocol S. She would later accept Mark Twelve as a brother figure.[19]

Powers and abilities

Nadia can use the Pym Particles in her bloodstream to alter her size at will.[20] She has the ability to shrink down to subatomic size. She uses wasp like wings to fly at a tiny size.[21] She also possess Pym Particles in her gauntlets that allow her to change the size of people and objects. Nadia is also able to grow in size much like her father and adoptive mother, although it is not yet known what the limit of this ability is yet. She can generate strong bio-electric blasts from her hands.[22]

Additionally, Nadia is a skilled martial artist as a result of her Red Room training, particularly in Krav Maga.[23] She is an expert gymnast and acrobat.[24] Nadia also has a gifted intellect.

Reception

Accolades

In other media

Video games

Collected editions

Title Material collected Publication date ISBN
The Unstoppable Wasp Vol. 1: Unstoppable!The Unstoppable Wasp #1–4 and All-New, All-Different Avengers #14September 12, 2017
The Unstoppable Wasp Vol. 2: Agents of G.I.R.L.The Unstoppable Wasp #5-8 and Tales to Astonish #44March 13, 2018
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Lost & FoundAnt-Man and the Wasp #1-5November 20, 2018
The Unstoppable Wasp: G.I.R.L. PowerThe Unstoppable Wasp #1-8April 02, 2019
The Unstoppable Wasp: Unlimited Vol. 1: Fix EverythingThe Unstoppable Wasp (vol. 2) #1-5May 07, 2019
The Unstoppable Wasp: Unlimited Vol. 2: G.I.R.L. VS. A.I.M.The Unstoppable Wasp (vol. 2) #6-10September 11, 2019

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 10 Best Ant-Man Comics Characters Not Yet In The MCU. April 8, 2023. Screen Rant. 31 May 2022 .
  2. Web site: "Avengers'" Waid Explains All-New Wasp Inspiration, Cosmic Prison Breaks. April 8, 2023. CBR. 17 May 2016 .
  3. Web site: Terror . Jude . Unstoppable Wasp Canceled After Issue #10.. But Is It Goodbye, or So Long For Now? . Bleeding Cool . May 14, 2019 . 27 April 2021.
  4. Web site: Unstoppable Wasp Canceled After Issue #10.. But Is It Goodbye, or So Long For Now?. Bleeding Cool. May 14, 2019. 14 May 2019. Terror. Jude.
  5. Web site: Marvel Sets Unstoppable Wasp YA Prose Novel for 2020. The Hollywood Reporter. August 7, 2019. 7 August 2019. McMillan. Graeme.
  6. All-New, All-Different Avengers #9 (May 2016). Marvel Comics.
  7. [Civil War II#Titles involved|''Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II'']
  8. All-New, All-Different Avengers #12 (July 2016). Marvel Comics.
  9. All-New, All-Different Avengers #14 (September 2016). Marvel Comics.
  10. The Unstoppable Wasp #1–2 (January–February 2017). Marvel Comics.
  11. The Unstoppable Wasp #8 (August 2017). Marvel Comics.
  12. Ant-Man and the Wasp #1–5 (June–August 2018). Marvel Comics.
  13. Web site: The New Unstoppable Wasp Gives Nadia a Problem She Can't Solve Alone: Bipolar Disorder. Kinja. February 24, 2019. 24 February 2019. Alliterator.
  14. The Unstoppable Wasp Vol. 2. #10 (July 2019)
  15. Web site: Budgen . Rebecca . 2022-08-31 . 10 Asexual Icons In Comic Books . 2022-12-03 . ScreenRant . en-US.
  16. Web site: Johnston . Rich . 2019-01-31 . Hank Pym - and Maybe Nadia Pym - Diagnosed as Bipolar in Unstoppable Wasp #4 (Spoilers) . 2022-12-03 . Bleeding Cool News And Rumors . en.
  17. Marieke Nijkamp, Pablo Collar, and Michael Wiggam. Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1. Marvel Comics, 2023.
  18. Web site: The MCU Prevented an LGBTQ+ Reveal In the Comics, Confirms Marvel Writer. June 23, 2023. The Direct. May 9, 2023. Chanliau. Pierre.
  19. Avengers Inc. #5. Marvel Comics.
  20. All-New, All-Different Avengers #14
  21. Free Comic Book Day 2016 (Civil War II) #1
  22. All-New, All-Different Avengers #9
  23. The Unstoppable Wasp #4 (April 2017)
  24. Unstoppable Wasp #4
  25. Web site: Allan . Scoot . 2020-03-27 . 10 Most Powerful Members Of The Pym Family, Ranked . 2022-12-03 . CBR . en-US.
  26. Web site: Avina . Anthony . 2020-01-10 . Marvel Comics: 10 Most Powerful Teen Heroes In Marvel Comics, Ranked . 2022-12-03 . CBR . en-US.
  27. Web site: Lealos . Shawn S. . 2021-09-19 . 10 Most Powerful Members Of The Champions, Ranked . 2022-12-03 . ScreenRant . en-US.
  28. Web site: Lealos . Shawn S. . 2021-07-05 . Black Widow: The Red Room's Most Powerful Members, Ranked . 2022-12-03 . ScreenRant . en-US.
  29. Web site: O'Brien . Megan Nicole . 2021-05-09 . Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters . 2022-12-30 . CBR . en-US.
  30. Web site: John Cena and Colton Haynes Lend Voices to "Marvel Avengers Academy". February 4, 2016. February 4, 2016. August 12, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160812234803/http://www.comicbookresources.com/article/john-cena-colton-haynes-alison-brie-lend-voices-marvel-avengers-academy. dead.