Darren Agonistes Cross is a fictional

supervillain A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero. Supervillains are oft ...

appearing in

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

. He is the

archenemy In literature, an archenemy (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) is the main enemy of someone. In fiction, it is a character who is the protagonist's, commonly a hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional cha ...

of Scott Lang (the second

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

to be called

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...

), and the cousin of

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

. In the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

, the character was portrayed in live-action by

Corey Stoll Corey Stoll (born March 14, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Congressman Peter Russo on the Netflix political thriller series ''House of Cards'' (2013–2016), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination in 2013 ...

in the 2015 film ''

'' as

Yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

(a concept later integrated into the comics with the character as the third version of Yellowjacket in the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Super-teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardians of ...

), and in the 2023 film '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' as

M.O.D.O.K. MODOK (also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first MODOK is George Tarleton, a former e ...

Publication history

Created by John Byrne and

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he create ...

, Darren Cross debuted in ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own seri ...

'' #47 (April 1979). The character made his first appearance as Yellowjacket in ''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #12 (September 2016), which was written by

Nick Spencer Nick Spencer is a comic book writer and former politician best known for his Image series '' Morning Glories'', his collaborations with artist Steve Lieber on the comedic series ''Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' and '' The Fix'', a three-year run o ...

and illustrated by Brent Shoonover.

Fictional character biography

Darren Cross is a millionaire and the founder of a successful corporation, which rivals its top competitors. Cross was diagnosed with a heart condition due to overwork, and had to use an experimental nucleorganic pacemaker in order to save his life. The pacemaker was a success but enhanced Cross's circulatory system, mutating his body and giving him superhuman abilities. With a side effect that overuse causes the burning out of his heart, Cross went through various heart transplants, which led him to capture surgeon Dr. Erica Sondheim to replace his heart and to abduct "donors" from the slums. This attracted the attention of the second

looking for Sondheim in order to save his own daughter's life. The resulting battle with Ant-Man burned out Cross's heart, as Sondheim had reimplanted his old, worn-out heart prior to Ant-Man crashing the surgery.''Marvel Premiere'' #48. Marvel Comics. After his death, the family company created by Darren was controlled by his cousin William Cross, and later his son

Augustine Cross Tatiana Caban Bethany Cabe Caber Caber is one of the Celtic gods of Avalon, a warrior god. Caber is a good friend to Leir and usually accompanies him in battle. Cable Danielle Cage Danielle "Dani" Cage is a fictional character in Marvel ...

. Darren's body is later revealed to have been kept in a cryonic state as Augustine was obsessed with bringing Darren back to life and eventually forces Dr. Sondheim to help. Enlisting Crossfire's assistance, Augustine orchestrates Cassie Lang's capture as the girl's heart is required to withstand the unique conditions when transplanted into Darren. While infiltrating Cross's company to rescue Cassie, Ant-Man came across his restored nemesis. Darren engages in combat against Ant-Man while Ant-Man buys time for Sondheim to transplant another heart to Cassie. Darren is ultimately forced to flee with his son when the Pym Particles now in his body cause him to shrink down. As part of the "

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline " Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched w ...

," Darren Cross is later approached by Power Broker to demonstrate his latest "Hench" App by hiring

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a weather phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow (current) gradients. Whirlwinds occur all over the world and i ...

to kill Ant-Man. However, Cross is unwilling to give Power Broker the 1.2 billion dollars demanded for investment in the Hench app, causing Power Broker to cancel the demo and cancel Whirlwind's assassination on Ant-Man. Cross later represents his own company when he attends a meeting at the Universal Bank with

Tiberius Stone Sabra Sabreclaw Sabreclaw is a character in the MC2 universe who first appeared in '' J2'' #8 (May 1999). He is the half-brother of Wild Thing and the son of Wolverine. The character has claws (similar to Sabretooth), a healing factor, enh ...

Alchemax Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually depicted as part of the 2099 universe. Publication history The Earth-928 version of Alchemax first appeared in '' Spider-Man 2099'' #1 ...

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 19 ...

of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries,

Zeke Stane Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics as the son of Obadiah Stane and an enemy of Iron Man. Created by writer Matt Fraction and artist Barry Kitson, he first appeared in '' The Order' ...

of Stane International, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discuss Dario Agger's and

Roxxon Energy Corporation The Roxxon Energy Corporation (otherwise known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation or simply Roxxon) is the name of a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in Americ ...

's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. Cross also sees the arrival of Exterminatrix of the Midas Foundation who knocks out Dario and declares herself a new member of their assembly. In order to combat Ant-Man, Cross recruits

Egghead In the U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. It wa ...

to work for his company. Egghead helps Cross control his Pym Particle abilities with the Yellowjacket armor.''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #12. Marvel Comics. Yellowjacket, Egghead and Crossfire attack during his nemesis's trial in Cassie's place, but are engaged by Ant-Man, She-Hulk (Scott's defense attorney), Miss Thing,

Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horri ...

Machinesmith Machinesmith (Samuel "Starr" Saxon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably as a regular enemy of Captain America. He specializes in robotics, and is able to make convincing robotic doubles ...

and Stinger. Yellowjacket is defeated by Stinger, which leads to Peggy Rae's final approval of Scott's superhero life and Scott's acquittal in court. During the "Opening Salvo" part of the " Secret Empire" storyline, Yellowjacket appears as a member of

Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly as an adversary of the superhero Captain America and the Avengers. He is the son of Baron Heinrich Zemo and the thirteenth Baron Ze ...

's Army of Evil. During the " Hunted" storyline, Yellowjacket is among the animal-themed characters that were captured by Taskmaster and Black Ant for

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Кравинов) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' issue #15 (August 1964) as an adversary to ...

's Great Hunt that was sponsored by

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

's company Arcade Industries. When the Great Hunt is over, Yellowjacket finds Black Ant in the bushes as he, Human Fly,

Razorback The feral pig is a domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorback and wild hog are Americanisms applied to feral pigs or boar-pig hybrids. Definition A feral p ...

Toad Toad is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. A distinction between frogs and toads is not made in scientif ...

, and

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! ...

plan to take revenge on him. Cross would join the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...

on an assault on Krakoa.

Powers and abilities

Darren Cross possesses a keen scientific mind and is a successful businessman. The experimental nucleorganic pacemaker that saved Cross from his heart condition also granted him superhuman abilities such as enhanced physical attributes, increased

sensory perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...

, and a regenerative healing factor. After acquiring

Cassie Lang Cassandra "Cassie" Lang is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The daughter of Scott Lang, the character first appeared in '' Marvel Premiere'' #47 (April 1979) as Cassie Lang, in '' Young Avengers' ...

's Pym Particle-equipped heart during a heart transplant, Cross gained near uncontrollable size-shifting abilities; he is at risk of growing when angered and shrinking when calm. Egghead later created the Yellowjacket suit for Cross to help him control his Pym Particle quantum powers. The armor grants Cross enhanced durability and flight, in addition to featuring "stingers" that can discharge powerful blasts of bio-electrical energy.

In other media

Television

The Darren Cross incarnation of Yellowjacket appears in ''

'' (2017), voiced by

William Salyers William Lewis Salyers (born August 16, 1964) is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his vocal performances, such as Reverend Putty on ''Moral Orel'', List of Regular Show characters#Rigby, Rigby on ''Regular Show'' and Doctor Octop ...

Film

* The Darren Cross incarnation of Yellowjacket appears in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled'', voiced by

Travis Willingham Travis Willingham is an American voice actor. His most notable roles include Roy Mustang in the '' Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Portgas D. Ace in ''One Piece'', Ginko in '' Mushishi'', Knuckles the Echidna in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franc ...

. *

Darren Cross Darren Agonistes Cross is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), and the cousin of Crossfire. The character was ...

appears in films set in the

(MCU), portrayed by

. ** Cross first appears in ''

'' (2015) as Yellowjacket. Stoll wore a

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap, for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robo ...

suit while performing as Yellowjacket, a decision that was made early on after the production team learned that creating and filming with a real Yellowjacket costume would be impractical. This version is

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan "Hank" Pym () is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, the character first appeared in '' Tales ...

's former protégé who becomes obsessed with Pym's

particle In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscule in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from ...

shrinking technology. However, Pym refuses to divulge his secrets out of fear of

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

fare, so Cross forces his mentor out of Pym Technologies, takes over as the company's new CEO which is converted into Cross Technologies. Despite possessing initially imperfect shrinking technology that, as a result, slowly altered his

brain chemistry Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience ...

to the point of making him insane, Cross manages to duplicate the Ant-Man suit designs and create his own weaponized "Yellowjacket" suit. He seeks to sell the Yellowjacket prototype to HYDRA and the Ten Rings, prompting Pym to recruit Scott Lang as the new Ant-Man so the two of them and Pym's daughter

Hope van Dyne Hope van Dyne (née Pym) is a fictional character portrayed by Evangeline Lilly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Hope Pym. Portrayed as the daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van ...

could intervene. While Cross anticipates their plan and nearly captures them, they succeed in destroying Pym Technologies and Cross' resources. With his plans ruined, Cross lividly dons the Yellowjacket suit himself to fight Lang until the latter shrinks to a size small enough to disrupt the Yellowjacket's internal mainframe, causing Cross to shrink uncontrollably and disappear. ** Cross appears in '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' (2023) as

(Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) due to the uncontrolled shrinking and aligned himself with

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is most frequently depicted as an opponent of the Avengers and the Fantastic Four. A time-traveling entity, sev ...

. After

appeals to his better nature, Cross betrays Kang and gives his life to stop his former master.

Video games

* Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Contest of Champions''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a DLC playable character in ''

Lego Marvel's Avengers ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Wind ...

''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

Marvel Avengers Academy ''Marvel Avengers Academy'' was a freemium mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the characters featured in Marvel Comics. It was released on February 4, 2016. The game was shut down three years later. Despite the name, the game was not rel ...

''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Puzzle Quest ''Marvel Puzzle Quest'' is a video game released by D3 Publisher and Marvel Entertainment on October 3, 2013, and developed by Demiurge Studios. The fourth installment in the '' Puzzle Quest'' series, it is a free-to-play, match-three ''Bejeweled ...

''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

Marvel Snap ''Marvel Snap'' is a digital collectible card game developed by Second Dinner and published by Nuverse for Microsoft Windows, Android and iOS. The game features a collection of different Marvel characters from the Marvel Universe. The game was ...

''.

Merchandise

Darren Cross / Yellowjacket, based on the MCU incarnation, received a figure as part of

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer. The company is headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas), and is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operates 4,5 ...

-exclusive two-pack alongside Ant-Man in

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational conglomerate holding company incorporated and headquartered in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Hasbro owns the trademarks and products of ...

's ''

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC (originally known as Marvel Films from 1993 to 1996) is an American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios produces the Mar ...

: The First Ten Years'' Legends Series.

References

External links

Darren Cross
at Marvel Wiki
Darren Cross
at Comic Vine {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Darren Marvel Comics supervillains Characters created by David Michelinie Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Comics characters introduced in 1979 Superhero film characters Fictional business executives Fictional characters who can change size Fictional mad scientists Fictional mass murderers Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics scientists