Avengers Origins: Ant-man & The Wasp #1

Marvel Comics
Avengers Origins: Ant-man & The Wasp #1
By Hervé St-Louis
November 26, 2011 - 02:05

Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
Penciller(s): Stephanie Hans
Inker(s): Stephanie Hans
Colourist(s): Stephanie Hans
Letterer(s): Daqve Lanphear
Cover Artist(s): Marko Djurdjevic
$3.99 US

The origin of Ant-man and the Wasp is retold with better background information and a fight to the finish that highlights both the characters’ prowess. Janet Van Dyne, rich daddy’s girl has a crush on Hank Pym, but he barely notices her, as he’s captivated by his research on ants and size-changing. Will he get a clue?

This origin tale is magnificently plotted with enough characterization to last for a year. If a series is in the works with this team in the future, they could make Ant-man and the Wasp a formidable pair. I guess it’s easier when they can work with older material that has had years to mature up. Here, Aguirre-Sacasa adds the right amount of drama and makes the crazy and somewhat unremarkable origin of both characters seem credible for the first time. He’s also dealt with the issue of how Pym transformed Van Dyne into a test monster by giving her her wings and antennas. It’s creepy, but in the context of this story, it makes sense. This book will make the two loser original Avengers great again.

The artwork is just right even if painted. Often painted comics feel stiff. Janet Van Dyne has never looked better. Even the wacky costumes look decent with very little updates needed. The price of this comic book is a bit steep though. I would encourage readers to only pick up issues they are interested in as opposed to all of those coming out. For example, I skipped the one on Luke Cage because I don’t really care about the character.

Rating: 9/10