Marvel Legends - WASP!

Marvel Legends - Avengers Classic Giant-Man and Wasp 2-Pack - Hasbro 2024

Way back in 2010 when the Avengers (2012) movie was first announced and rumors started to fly, I was very excited at the prospect of seeing Janet van Dyne as the Wasp on the big screen (and of course getting lots of cool toys). Janet was one of the original Avengers from 1963 so I (wrongfully) assumed her presence would be a given. But no, in her place was Black Widow, a non-powered espionage-based character who didn't join the Avengers until 1991. I was baffled and upset. I eventually grew to really like the MCU Black Widow, but Wasp was a glaring absence to me. The character eventually appeared in the Ant-Man movies (not donning a costume until 2018) but as a new character, Hope van Dyne, the daughter of Janet and Hank. Janet eventually appeared in the MCU played by Michelle Pfeiffer and got decent costumed screentime in Quantumania (but almost no merch). In the time, a classic helmeted Wasp figure rose to the top of my most-wanted Legends list. It took years but she is perfect.

Quantumania - WASP!

Marvel Legends - Wasp (Ant-Man & Wasp Quantumania) - Hasbro 2023

Sometimes I think I'm the only collector in the world who doesn't like metallic paint decos on my toys. Sure, in cases like Silverhawks or or Silver Surfer, it makes sense. But for the average superhero toy, I much prefer bold non-metallic colors. This Wasp figure is a great example. With MCU movie characters, I'm a bit selective. I don't need every iteration of Black Widows' costume in my collection. And honestly, Wasp's costume isn't a groundbreaking redesign in Quantumania. Yes, the helmet is sleeker and her torso patterns are more hornet-like, but the big change for me is that her coloring went from Gold and Red to bright Yellow and Blue. I love the change and now she pops so much more in my MCU display. Her overall look is suddenly more insectile too. The metallic deco and bulkier helmet on the last figure gave a distinct robotic/mechanical vibe (and was a little less threatening because of that). While this new design is like a warning that you are about to be stung. Let's check out Wasp below.

Marvel Legends - WASP!

Marvel Legends Series 15 (MODOK BAF) - Wasp (Red Variant) - Toy Biz 2006

One of my biggest wishes for the Marvel Legends line is to get a full-size classic Janet Van Dyne Wasp in her original red outfit and bullet helmet. The Wasp is actually a problematic character for me, because a big aesthetic of mine is for costume consistency. The majority of my favorite characters have had unchanged costumes for decades. Sure, all characters change it up occasionally, but most return to their original looks. But Janet van Dyne is a different story altogether. Her character evolved into a fashion fanatic and designer in the 70s and wore a different costume in practically every appearance. It became an endearing and unique character trait, but I crave consistency so this drove me nuts. I always wanted a classic full-size wasp in her 60's costume, and this 2006 Toy Biz version is the closest I could find (the 1999 miniature version is amazing too). In true Wasp fashion, this 2006 figure was intended to have three distinct variants, although only two were released. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Select - THE WASP!

Marvel Select - Ant-Man and the Wasp: The Wasp - Diamond Select Toys 2019

This year is set to be a record-breaking year for female figures in the Marvel Select line. Between now and June we should have a Captain Marvel, Psylocke, and Rogue in addition to this terrific Wasp. Up until now, the most females we've seen in a single year has been three (in 2005 & 2017). And considering the 17-year run of the line, 6 years had no females, and 7 had only one. So having four figures in the first six months is a great sign. It's also pretty amazing how far the quality of these figures has come. Back in the day they tended to be fairly pre-posed with limited (and often awkward) articulation. But now they are right up there (and sometimes better than) Hasbro's Marvel Legends. This Wasp figure is great. The Legends figure was pretty terrific so I wasn't particularly eager for another. But in all honesty, I like this second one better. The wings are nicer, the body seems more cinematic, and I love how smooth the ribcage articulation is (it makes for really dynamic poses). Let's check her out below!

Marvel Legends Vintage - THE WASP!

Marvel Legends: Vintage (Toy Biz) Series 02 - The Wasp - Hasbro 2018

I was a little bitter when this figure was announced. I'm a sucker for classic impractical costumes and I thought for sure the rumored vintage series Wasp would be her red and black helmeted original Avengers costume. But instead we got this obscure blue outfit that she only wore in two issues in the early 2000s. I'm fairly certain the only reason fans really love it is because this was intended to be a variant in the 2006 Marvel Legends MODOK wave. That variant was never released, so she instantly became a holy grail for most collectors. Personally, I couldn't stand female Marvel Legends figure back then. They were gangly and awkward and I always found them so disappointing. So, I literally viewed the cancelled variant as one less sub-par figure to be tempted by. My opinions are pretty harsh, but at the same time I am a little jealous of the enthusiasm everyone else seems to have for their ToyBiz nostalgia. But in the end, this figure ended up looking so great that I don't even have to pretend. Let's check her out below!

Marvel Toybox - WASP!

Toybox - Marvel Action Figures #11 Wasp - Disney Store Exclusive - 2018

This Disney Store Exclusive Toybox line is impressing me so much. In eight short months I've already picked up four pretty awesome female action figures (Rey, Black Widow, and Leia), plus a few I haven't picked like Jesse from Toy Story and Elastigirl and Violet from the Incredibles. I like the articulation, I like the playable quality, and I like the overall design. This Wasp figure marks a departure from the line in that (I'm pretty sure at least) this is the first figure that didn't exist in the Disney Infinity realm. All the other figures so far are direct copies from that style, but this is a new design done in the same aesthetic. It really opens the possibilities for the future of the line. I think the next marvel ladies we'll see will be Gamora, Captain Marvel, Storm, and She-Hulk. But I'm actually most looking forward to a great Tinkerbell figure. She's just one of those iconic characters that surprisingly has never had a true action figure made. Playing with Wasp's wings got me thinking about Tink. Let's check out the Wasp below!

Marvel Mini-Bust - WASP (RETRO)!

Marvel Mini-Busts - Wasp (Classic / Retro Version) - Bowen Designs 2007

I just bought my tickets to see Ant-Man and the Wasp this coming Saturday and I'm suddenly feeling super nostalgic for the classic Janet van Dyne with her red shoulderpads, pointy helmet, antennae and mouthpiece. I'm hoping there will be some flashback scene showing Michelle Pfeiffer's Janet in this costume. IMDB lists her as "Wasp" so the chances are pretty good. Then, of course, my follow-up wish is for a Marvel Legends figure in this outfit. Considering she was one of the founding Avengers, it's shocking that there are only a couple pieces of merchandise of her in this outfit. In fact, I think we are owed a Legends figure with a pack-in 3.75" figure as an accessory. And while we're at it a Nadia van Dyne as the Unstoppable Wasp would be welcome as well. I'm really curious to see the impact of this film when we see new product unveiled at SDCC in a few weeks. I'm always overly optimistic, but I think some of my wishes are a good bet this time. Let's check out this classic styles Wasp bust from Jim Maddox and Bowen Designs.

Ant-Man & the Wasp Marvel Legends - WASP!

Avengers Infinity War: Wave 2 (Cull Obsidian BAF) - Wasp - Hasbro 2018

I was already really looking forward to Ant-Man and the Wasp in July, but something about this figure launched my excitement to a whole new level. The Wasp I am familiar with is Janet Van Dyne, the original Avenger who will be portrayed by Michelle Pfeiffer in this movie. The Wasp played by Evangeline Lilly in the movie is Janet's daughter, Hope Van Dyne (her father is Hank Pym / Michael Douglas). Hope was originally introduced in the MC2 comic universe (where we were introduced to Spider-Girl (Mayday), Stinger, American Dream, Wild Thing, etc). She was a villain known as the Red Queen who was the nemesis of Stinger (Cassie Lang) - who is coincidentally a young character in the movie played by Abby Ryder Fortson. I doubt these characters will have the same dynamics as portrayed in the comics over the years, but I'm curious to see how they all fit into the MCU. This Marvel Legends figure gives me the first really detailed look at the costume and I think it's amazing. Let's check her out below!

Ant-Man and the Wasp Titan Hero Series - WASP!

Marvel Titan Hero Series 12" - Ant-Man and the Wasp - Hasbro 2018

I'm very excited for the Ant-Man and the Wasp movie. When the first Avengers movie came out back in 2012 (seems so much longer ago), I was dumbfounded that they substituted Black Widow for the Wasp. Although Black Widow has proven herself to be a power player in the films, in my mind she will first and foremost be a solo espionage artist. I found myself constantly trying to explain to all my non-nerdy friends how the Wasp and Ant-Man were part of the original Avengers and how cool they would have been on the team. Well it's taken six years, but we're finally going to see the two on screen together, and hopefully by 2019 they'll be fully integrated into the next Avengers film. I'm really loving the Marvel Titan Hero line. They've really be incorporating some fantastic female characters into the lineup. So far this year we've got Spider-Girl, Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and now the Wasp. In the future I'm guessing we'll see a MCU Gamora and Nebula as well as an animated Spider-Gwen. Let's check out the Wasp below!

Marvel Legends - STINGER!

Marvel Legends Astonishing Ant-Man 2-Pack - TRU Exclusive - Hasbro 2018

Toys R Us has given us some amazing Marvel Legends exclusives over the years. Just in the past twelve months, we've got Mary Jane Watson, Dark Phoenix, five great figures in the A-Force box set, and the recent Shuri as Black Panther. I especially love them because the majority of the figures are characters we would never see in a big box store. The final two ladies, a Scarlet Witch redeco and this Stinger figure, are keeping up the high standard, but it's kind of a solemn affair knowing these are likely the last of their kind. When the description of this set was leaked several months ago, the description was "Scott Lang and Cassie Lang" and I think the collective nerd conscious instantly got excited for a Stature to add to our mix-matched Young Avengers lineups. Clearly, we were all mistaken, but I am super happy with her Stinger incarnation as a consolation. In the late 90s, the alternate universe of MC2 was created and featured the children of various heroes and villains all grown up and donning costumes.

Early 2018 Collection of MARVEL MINI-MATES!

Marvel Mini-Mates Series 74, Walgreens Wave 8, & Movie Exclusives - DST 2018

I could rant on forever about my love of Mini-Mates. If you can embrace the Lego-like blocky style, you will find this line to be the most collector-focused and thorough series out there. The obscure character selection and team-building rosters are like nothing I have ever dared wish for. I look forward to every interesting release and I can't wait to see what else the future brings. I have waxed poetic about Minimates over and over again, so I am just going to put my wishlist in writing. As far as spider-ladies, I would love Mania, Lady Spider, Scream, Madame Web, Madam Web (Hostess), Animated Anya Corazon, and Agony. Outside of the Spider-Verse, I would love Namora, Namorita, Jocasta, Skids (and Rusty), Hellcat, Sharon Rogers, Red She-Hulk, America, American Dream, modern comic Sif, Binary, Hebzibah, and a new Firestar. Whew. Now let's see how many of these come to fruition in the next few years. Most are a longshot, but so was Madame Masque, so there's hope. Let's check out the newest batch below!

Marvel Tsum Tsum - WOMEN OF POWER!

Marvel Tsum Tsum Series 2 - Women of POWer! Walmart Exc - Jakks Pacific 2016

I can't say I really understand the Tsum Tsum trend. They started in Japan (of course) as a cute stackable line of plush Disney character collectibles. I always thought they were supposed to be gerbils or something, but apparently they are shaped this way just to be stackable. Either way, between the fact that they were plush, large (7-11"), over-stlyistic (in my opinion), and centered on characters I wasn't interested in collecting, they were just completely off my radar. Then the Marvel characters started and I began to pay attention. But I still wasn't tempted because of the plush thing. Then along comes Jakks with a license to produce small vinyl versions. I honestly wasn't planning to get any until I came across this 9-figure Women of POWer set at Walmart. Getting an instant collection like that was quite an incentive. I actually think I will try to get all the ladies in the collection now that I'm only missing a few. They're pretty cute little additions to my collections. Let's check out the Women of Power below!

Miniature Classic WASP!

Marvel: Original Avengers Box Set - Classic Janet Van Dyne Wasp - Toy Biz 1999

I have a real fondness for "First Appearance" versions of comic heroes. I love retro styles, I like character histories, and I have great respect for the original visions of the artists and writers behind the heroes. I didn't even know this figure existed until I watched Ant-Man for the first time a few months ago (I'm always really behind on my superhero movies) and I was trying to explain to my better half who the Wasp is and how she was an original Avenger, etc, etc. Anyway, I couldn't think of any action figures of classic Janet until I discovered this little beauty. And it's a total bonus that she fits right in with my growing 2.5" action figure collection. I've been waiting for Janet to get some screentime ever since she was subbed out for Black Widow in the first Avengers movie. I'm hoping that 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp film will give us a handful of classic and modern figures like the male-centric movies seem to do. In the meantime though, this figure totally fits the bill for what I was looking for. Let's check out Wasp below!

Avengers: United They Stand - WASP!

The Avengers: United They Stand - Series 01 - Wasp - ToyBiz 1999

Avengers: United They Stand was a very short-lived animated series from 1999. It lasted only 13 episodes, but it the first time that the Avengers were featured in their own series. It was essentially the Avengers version of X-Men the Animated Series. They had made previous appearances in X-Men, Iron Man, and Spider-Man, but for the most part the Avengers were unknown to the general public and the show was not a success. With only 13 episodes, I'm totally going to find it on YouTube and binge it all. It will be interesting to see how the earliest non-comic representation of Marvel's super-team was portrayed. The toys they made from the cartoon are pretty awesome. Hawkeye is a dud, but most are pretty sweet. I've always liked this Wasp figure and definitely thought it was way nicer than the first Marvel Legends Wasp from 2006. There is going to be a film titled Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018 so I'm curious to see how popular the character gets.  Let's check out this 1999 figure below!

Marvel Legends - WASP!

Marvel Legends Infinite Series - Ant-Man (Ultron Wave) - Hasbro 2014

Woohoo lookee what I found yesterday!  I wasn't paying attention to release dates for the Ant-Man wave (or any of the upcoming ML waves for that matter), so when I went into Toys R Us yesterday afternoon and saw this I thought I was hallucinating.  Buried there amongst the overstocked Avengers and Spider-Man figures was this lone Wasp. There wasn't another Ant-Man figure in sight.  I snatched her up and immediately started looking over my shoulder in paranoia as if her appearance was some mistake. But alas, she was real.  Janet van Dyne first appeared as the Wasp in Tales to Astonish #44 in the Summer of 1963 as a partner to Ant-Man.  Within a few months she would earn her permanent place in the Marvel universe by becoming one of the founding members of the Avengers in Avengers #1 1963.  I was a little upset that she wasn't included in the two previous Avengers movies, but then again I never thought there would ever be a solo Ant-Man film.  It makes sense that they saved her for this movie.

Marvel 3.75" Infinite Series WASP!

Marvel Infinite Series - Wave 1 - Marvel's Wasp - Hasbro 2014

Now here's a rebranding that I don't quite understand.  The newest incarnation of Hasbro's 3.75" Marvel Universe action figure line is now known as Marvel: Infinite Series (not to be confused with the Marvel Legends Infinite Series in a 6" scale.  Regardless of the name change, we are still due to receive plenty of great figures in this line.  Janet Van Dyne (aka the Wasp) is one of the original members of the Avengers and was a glaring absence from this series.  This figure is pretty awesome.  The sculpt is great, the wings are well-tooled, and the overall look just hits the bullseye.  I've even heard collectors excited to add her to their 6" figure collections.  One of the unseen benefits of making a size-changing character is that scale is suddenly completely unimportant.  Perhaps that's why this figure seems to be the hard one to get from wave 1.  I almost decided to hold out for one with better paint when I found her at Target this week, but I'm glad I didn't since she's not in any stores (and I've been a'huntin).  Let's check out Wasp!

Marvel's M2 1st Appearances STINGER!

Cassie Lang's Original Alter-Ego: Stinger  - M2 1st Appearances - ToyBiz 1999

Cassandra Lang is known to to most comics aficionados as the daughter of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang, who later grew up to become one of the original members of the Young Avengers as Stature.  This was the first time in mainstream Marvel continuity that Cassie became a superhero, but back in the late nineties in the M2 Universe, a twenty-something Doctor Cassandra Lang donned a modified Ant-Man helmet and became Stinger as a part of A-Next.  This same continuity introduced us to a lot of interesting female superheroes including May Parker as Spider-Girl, Thena (Daughter of Thor), American Dream, and Wild Thing (Daughter of Wolverine and Elektra), among others.  ToyBiz surprisingly jumped on this universe and created a series of four pretty cool action figures based on these characters.  It was an unexpected but much appreciated move.  Kudos ToyBiz!  If only Hasbro would do the same and release a female-centric Marvel Legends wave (I won't hold my breath).  Let's check out Stinger below!