I haven’t performed an actual count, but it seems to me that the Avengers have more female team members than the Justice League. Not that I don’t admire the hell out of Wonder Woman (I totally do), it’s just nice to see a wider variety of personalities on the table. The number of women isn’t even to the number of men, but there’s a nice sampling of attitudes and powers between Scarlet Witch, Ms. Marvel, Hellcat, and my personal favorite: The Wasp.
Janet Van Dyne (married name Janet Pym) is one of the founding members of the Avengers. She went a long way from a shallow sort of girl to the tiny and mighty Wasp. As a member of team, she impressed me most with her reliability. Though she takes breaks from superhero life from time to time she’s always ready to jump into action when the team calls. Her ability to change size makes her a valuable asset, and her personality makes her fun.
Don’t you even think about calling her too girly. It’s one reason I especially like her. She is a vital part of the team (admittedly a little weak at first but her craftiness is nothing to be scoffed at) and helps kick the collective asses of their enemies, but she also likes lipstick. She has an affinity for clothes and even hosted a fashion show at one point. She changes the design of her costume on a semi-regular basis just because she likes having a different look, and she completely owns it when they’re on the skimpy side.
She is not shy about her love for her husband Henry “Hank” Pym (Ant-Man a.k.a. Giant-Man a.k.a. Goliath a.k.a Yellowjacket a.k.a. seriously? Pick a hero identity and stick with it), but she also doesn’t hesitate to fawn over Thor. Granted, she does it to make Hank jealous, but it’s also just realistic. I mean, have you seen Thor?
I think I connect so much to her because I can see that people would pick on her for caring about something “silly” like her outfit, and it relates to a problem geek girls have today. Every few months the geek girl debate will pop up around the internet, and it spreads like wild fire. Some idgit has the nerve to say that girls don’t read comics or enjoy TV shows like Game of Thrones, and eventually the argument will turn to how girls who like to wear high heels can’t be geeks. Surely it is an impossibility for a woman who likes lip gloss and sparkly nail polish to also enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons. Girls who are into Star Wars, Star Trek, or any other Star things can’t care about fashion or make-up. Just like a woman who is girly can’t be a superhero.
You’d be amazed at how often the above comes up. It seems so obvious that being geeky and girly or being a superhero and girly aren’t mutually exclusive, but I have to point it out time and time again. It may sound silly, but The Wasp encourages me to own who I am and to just be myself. And on top of that, she doesn’t mind flying into the ear of a villain and getting ear wax on her boots:
If Janet Pym were a real person, you can bet I’d be inviting her over to drink wine, read comics and talk about Captain America’s muscles.
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