It’s Past Time For The Wasp To Shine

Monday would have been the 100th birthday of Jack “the King” Kirby. Evangeline Lilly, who be’ll starring in Ant-Man and the Wasp, tweeted this.

Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne in “Ant-Man”

With the problems Hollywood has with diversity, we’re delighted to see Wasp get a larger role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  It’s past time, too. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Captain America and Black Widow are founding members of the Avengers.  In Marvel comic book canon, the Wasp was not only a founding member of the Avengers, but the one who gave the group its name.  Captain America didn’t join the team until Avengers #4 (March 1964).   Black Widow (a former Soviet spy)  first appeared in Tales of Suspense #52 (April 1964) as a villain and didn’t join the Avengers until years later.

SCIFI.radio has discussed representation before, and the importance of female role models to girls and boys.  We’ve discussed the importance of racial and ethnic representation, and the importance of letting POC characters have bigger roles than Jack Benny’s Rochester or the Lone Ranger’s Tonto.

Marama White of Hypable pointed out some of the problems of the MCU’s lack of female representation.

It can be hard out here for a Marvel fan. There’s still no Black Widow movie, we have to wait until 2018 for Black Panther, and the recent Doctor Strange nonsense did nothing to assuage any of our fears that Marvel may in fact never get this right.  All of this to say: their lack of representation and diversity can be so disheartening — even for a committed and devoted fan — that when they do get it right, it feels so, so good.

Michelle Pfeiffer in LADYHAWKE {image via 20th Century Fox}

We’re hoping that Ant-Man and the Wasp will be one that director Peyton Reid gets right.  Since the new movie will feature both Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne and Michelle Pfeiffer as her mother, the missing and presumed dead Janet van Dyne, the MCU will have two opportunities to let the Wasp shine like a firefly. Ant-Man and the Wasp is scheduled to be released July 6, 2018.

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Susan Macdonald

Susan Macdonald is the author of the children’s book “R is for Renaissance Faire”, as well as 26 short stories, mostly fantasy in “Alternative Truths”, “Swords and Sorceress #30”, Swords &Sorceries Vols. 1, 2, & 5, “Cat Tails” “Under Western Stars”, and “Knee-High Drummond and the Durango Kid”. Her articles have appeared on SCIFI.radio’s web site, in The Inquisitr, and in The Millington Star. She enjoys Renaissance Faires (see book above), science fiction conventions,  Highland Games, and Native American pow-wows.