Summary
Warning: contains spoilers forThe Ultimates#1!
TheWaspis a founding member of theAvengers, and now she has received a permanent power upgrade, but it comes with bloody and gruesome consequences. Marvel is forging a new team of Avengers inThe Ultimates#1, along the way giving fans some genius takes on classic members–including the Wasp, who quickly learns her awesome new powers are not for the faint of heart.
The Ultimates#1 is written by Deniz Camp and drawn by Juan Frigeri. On Marvel’s new Ultimate Earth, Janet Van Dyne is far from her usual socialite status. Instead, she works as an exterminatoralongside her husband Hank Pym. Iron Lad and Reed Richards appear to them, telling them what their lives would have been had the Maker not interfered. Almost immediately, Janet activates her suit for the first time.
Then, Captain Britain attacks and Wasp flies through the head of one of his soldiers, killing him.
The New Ultimate Wasp Is Just as Crucial to the Avengers as Her 616 Counterpart
The Maker Almost Robbed the Wasp of Her Destiny
Regardless of which universe she is in,the Wasp is crucial to the Avengers. On Earth-616, Janet Van Dyne was a founding member and gave the team their name. However, in the new Ultimate Universe, Janet never received her powers thanks to the machinations of the Maker. One of the last survivors of the original Ultimate Universe, he escaped prison, seeking a world in the multiverse he could mold in his image. When he found it, the Maker prevented Earth’s age of heroes from getting off the ground.
And judging from Janet’s status inThe Ultimates#1, the Maker’s plan for her worked well. On this Earth, Janet works as an exterminator. The issue does not say how Janet went from a burgeoning socialite to a lowly hourly worker. Despite these differences, she is still married to Hank Pym and she still has her adventurous spirit. Janet leaps at the opportunity Iron Lad gives her, and when she powers up for the first time, can barely contain her excitement. The celebration turns sour quickly as she brutally kills one of Captain Britain’s goons.
Marvel’s New Ultimate Wasp Gives a Shout-Out to the Original Incarnation
The New Ultimates Are Fighting For Their Lives and Their World
The original Ultimates were a government-sanctioned team, but the new incarnation are viewed as terrorists, fighting to liberate their world from the clutches of a tyrant.
The Wasp’s actions inThe Ultimates#1 are a callback to her original Ultimate counterpart, who did something similar. Here, however, it is reframed and given a new purpose, more in line with the mandate of the new Ultimate universe. Theoriginal Ultimates were a government-sanctioned team, but the new incarnation is viewed as terrorists, fighting to liberate their world from the clutches of a tyrant. TheWasp’spower upgrade, along with her brutal slaying of the soldier, shows just how high, and deadly, the stakes are for Marvel’s newAvengers.
