One of the founding members of the Avengers published by Marvel Comics.
Janet Van Dyne was the daughter of Vernon Van Dyne, a scientist who brought an alien to Earth during one of his experiments. The alien killed Van Dyne and his daughter fled, seeking help from one of his colleagues, Henry Pym. After telling Pym that she wished to bring her father's killer to justice, Pym revealed to her his secret identity as Ant Man. Van Dyne underwent a procedure performed by Pym to give her the ability to shrink in size, shedding excess mass. When in her diminutive form, Van Dyne sprouted wings which allowed her to fly and grew antennae that allowed her to communticate with insects. The procedure also granted Van Dyne the ability to fire bio-electric blasts from her hands. Calling herself the Wasp, Van Dyne partnered with Pym in defeating the alien.
The two continued their partnership, becoming charter members of the super-hero team the Avengers. Their partnership blossomed into romance and when Pym left the team to pursue his scientific career, Van Dyne went with him. They later rejoined the team and during that time, the two were married. During this time, Pym became emotionally unstable and began to abuse his wife. The two eventually split and were divorced.
Van Dyne continued with Avengers, serving as chairwoman for the group for a number of terms. She eventually reconciled with her former husband and they recently remarried.
For a short time in the mid-90's, the Wasp underwent a procedure that further mutated her form, giving her a butterfly-like appearence. She has since reverted to her more normal form.
Wasp has been portrayed on film by Michelle Pfeiffer in Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018). A second version of Wasp was portrayed by Evangeline Lilly in Ant-Man (2016) and Ant-Man and The Wasp (2018). The two versions were written into the story. Both films are parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.