Jonathan Frahm
Staff Writer
Marvel’s upcoming Ant-Man film can’t seem to catch a break. After expansive issues with finding a director and a suitable script, the movie branch of the world-renowned comic book company has been coming under fire for days following news that Janet Van Dyne would not be involved in the incoming film.
Janet, perhaps better known as superheroine The Wasp, had a tremendous part in the original Avengers comics… Namely, she named and founded them. Otherwise known as “The Winsome Wasp”, Janet becomes renowned for her abilities to shrink down to a miniature size only to grow back to human measurements on demand, as well as her abilities to fly by means of insect-like wings and shoot bioelectric energy blasts.
Sounds like a high-flying good time well-suited for the movies, doesn’t it?
Well, apparently the big wigs over at Marvel don’t think so, with Evangeline Lilly playing Janet’s daughter (and supervillainess) Hope Van Dyne instead of the oft-speculated role of Wasp.
Considering how important Hope’s mother is to the overarching Marvel mythos in many of its universes, one would expect Janet to have at least a passing reference as Wasp in the upcoming film, though those hopes have been dashed as well. Michael Douglas, who plays Janet’s husband Hank, recently unveiled that part of the movie’s backstory will have to do with “a tragic personal accident [that] happened with my wife.”
In retaliation, comic fans from across the Twittersphere have made the hashtag #JanetVanCrime go viral, even going as far to call Marvel out on their attempts to embrace the feminist movement by developing strong women characters ala Black Widow. She’s great, but at this point cannot carry the torch alone as the film series expands. It’d feel a little more like a token than anything else, if so.
https://twitter.com/polande/status/496441912979496960
Marvel not only won't give us a movie with a female lead they're killing off the first female Avenger as a plot point. #JanetVanCrime
— DC Women Kicking Ass (@dcwomenkicknass) July 29, 2014
Are you still looking forward to Ant-Man? Why or why not? Let us know!
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