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Nadia van Dyne
Nadia van Dyne as depicted in The Unstoppable Wasp #1 (March 2017). Art by Elizabeth Torque.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	As Nadia Pym: Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II (July 2016) As Nadia van Dyne: The Unstoppable Wasp #8 (August 2017)
Created by	Nadia Pym: Mark Waid (writer) Alan Davis (artist) Nadia van Dyne: Jeremy Whitley (writer) Ted Brandt (artist) Rosy Higgins (artist)
In-story information
Alter ego	Nadezhda "Nadia" van Dyne
Species	Human mutate
Team affiliations	Avengers All-New, All-Different Avengers Champions G.I.R.L.
Partnerships	Wasp (Janet van Dyne) Ant-Man (Scott Lang)
Notable aliases	The Wasp Nadia Pym
Abilities	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". 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". The name "Nadia" is of Slavic origin and translates to "Hope".

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. In May 2020, Disney Books published a young adult novel written by Sam Maggs titled The Unstoppable Wasp: Built On Hope.

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. 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, 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.

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. 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.

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.

Nadia is later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, similar to her father, and learns that he is still alive and merged with Ultron. However, he later splits from Ultron by creating a separate body for himself.

In Marvel's Voices: Pride (2023), Nadia is revealed to be asexual.

Powers and abilities

Similar to Janet van Dyne / Wasp, Nadia can alter her size at will using Pym Particles, fly via bio-synthetic wings, and generate bio-electric blasts. Additionally, she is a skilled martial artist and acrobat due to her Red Room training, particularly in Krav Maga.

Reception

Accolades

• In 2020, Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Nadia van Dyne 6th in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Pym Family" list and 9th in their "10 Most Powerful Teen Heroes In Marvel Comics" list.
• In 2021, Screen Rant included Nadia van Dyne in their "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Champions" list and in their "Red Room's Most Powerful Members" list.
• In 2021, CBR ranked Unstoppable Wasp 5th in their "Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters" list.
• In 2022, Screen Rant included Nadia van Dyne in their "10 Asexual Icons In Comic Books" list.

In other media

Video games

• Nadia van Dyne / Wasp appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.
• Naida van Dyne / Wasp appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers Academy, voiced by Sandra Osborne.

Collected editions

References

1. Prom, Bradley (May 31, 2022). "10 Best Ant-Man Comics Characters Not Yet In The MCU". Screen Rant. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
2. Richards, Dave (May 17, 2016). ""Avengers'" Waid Explains All-New Wasp Inspiration, Cosmic Prison Breaks". CBR. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
3. ^ Terror, Jude (May 14, 2019). "Unstoppable Wasp Canceled After Issue #10.. But Is It Goodbye, or So Long For Now?". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 27 April 2021.
4. McMillan, Graeme (August 7, 2019). "Marvel Sets Unstoppable Wasp YA Prose Novel for 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
5. ^ All-New, All-Different Avengers #9 (May 2016). Marvel Comics.
6. Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II (July 2016). Marvel Comics.
7. All-New, All-Different Avengers #12 (July 2016). Marvel Comics.
8. All-New, All-Different Avengers #14 (September 2016). Marvel Comics.
9. The Unstoppable Wasp #1–2 (January–February 2017). Marvel Comics.
10. The Unstoppable Wasp #8 (August 2017). Marvel Comics.
11. Ant-Man and the Wasp #1–5 (June–August 2018). Marvel Comics.
12. Alliterator (February 24, 2019). "The New Unstoppable Wasp Gives Nadia a Problem She Can't Solve Alone: Bipolar Disorder". Kinja. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
13. The Unstoppable Wasp Vol. 2. #10 (July 2019)
14. Johnston, Rich (January 31, 2019). "Hank Pym - and Maybe Nadia Pym - Diagnosed as Bipolar in Unstoppable Wasp #4 (Spoilers)". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
15. Avengers Inc. #5. Marvel Comics.
16. Marieke Nijkamp, Pablo Collar, and Michael Wiggam. Marvel’s Voices: Pride #1. Marvel Comics, 2023.
17. Chanliau, Pierre (May 9, 2023). "The MCU Prevented an LGBTQ+ Reveal In the Comics, Confirms Marvel Writer". The Direct. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
18. ^ Budgen, Rebecca (August 31, 2022). "10 Asexual Icons In Comic Books". ScreenRant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
19. All-New, All-Different Avengers #14
20. Free Comic Book Day 2016 (Civil War II) #1
21. ^ All-New, All-Different Avengers #9
22. The Unstoppable Wasp #4 (April 2017)
23. Unstoppable Wasp #4
24. Allan, Scoot (March 27, 2020). "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Pym Family, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
25. Avina, Anthony (January 10, 2020). "Marvel Comics: 10 Most Powerful Teen Heroes In Marvel Comics, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
26. Lealos, Shawn S. (September 19, 2021). "10 Most Powerful Members Of The Champions, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
27. Lealos, Shawn S. (July 5, 2021). "Black Widow: The Red Room's Most Powerful Members, Ranked". ScreenRant. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
28. O'Brien, Megan Nicole (May 9, 2021). "Marvel: 10 Smartest Female Characters". CBR. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
29. Melrose, Kevin (February 4, 2016). "John Cena and Colton Haynes Lend Voices to Marvel Avengers Academy". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2016.

External links

• Nadia van Dyne on the Marvel Wiki

• Avengers (comics) characters
• Characters created by Alan Davis
• Characters created by Mark Waid
• Comics about women
• Comics characters introduced in 2016
• Fictional asexuals
• Fictional assassins in comics
• Fictional characters who can change size
• Fictional characters with bipolar disorder
• Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities
• Fictional female assassins
• Fictional female scientists
• Fictional immigrants to the United States
• Fictional Krav Maga practitioners
• Fictional people with acquired American citizenship
• Marvel Comics female superheroes
• Marvel Comics LGBTQ superheroes
• Marvel Comics martial artists
• Marvel Comics mutates
• Russian superheroes
• Superheroes who are adopted