Yellowjacket is the name of several fictional characters appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

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 ...

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, ...

portrayed the

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 ...

incarnation of the character 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 ...

(MCU) film ''

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 ...

'' (2015), while

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

voiced the

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 to ...

incarnation of the character in the MCU television series ''What If...?'' (2021).

Fictional character biography

Hank Pym

Dr. Henry "Hank" Pym, who has had several other

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, ...

identies, including

Giant-Man Giant-Man is the alias used by several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Editorial Story Hank Pym, the first Giant-Man, with the Wasp, appeared in many superheroes stories published in the serial ''Tales to ...

and

Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) a ...

, is the first character to take on the Yellowjacket codename. The character has been associated with several superhero teams in the Marvel Universe, including the

Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...

and the

Defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

Rita DeMara

Rita DeMara is a

fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...

appearing in

s published by

. The second Yellowjacket, she is initially a reluctant

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 ...

ess and later

ine.

Publication history

Yellowjacket first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #264 (February 1986), and was created by

Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfor ...

and

John Buscema John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...

. Years later, she was featured as a regular character in the ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team fr ...

'' and ''Avengers'' titles. ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' writer/artist

Jim Valentino Jim Valentino (born October 28, 1952) is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publis ...

reminisced, "It was my group's first foray into the 20th Century. I knew they were going to meet the

Masters of Evil The Masters of Evil is a supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first version of the team appeared in '' The Avengers'' #6 (July 1964), with the lineup continually changing over the years. Publicatio ...

... She was a member of the Masters of Evil at the time and I liked her. I thought it would be nice to have someone see the 31st Century through present-day eyes. It would give a new perspective, so I asked if I could have her. They said yes, and even though I never got the chance to write her in, they put her in the group after I was gone." Yellowjacket was one of the feature characters in the 2011 three-issue limited series ''Chaos War: Dead Avengers''.

Fictional character biography

=Criminal career

= When first seen, Rita DeMara was a reluctant supervillainess who had stolen one of

's Yellowjacket costumes, and modified it, making it more feminine (and removing the insect emblem). However, when she clashed with the

Wasp A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

, she became terrified upon shrinking, and was captured. Yellowjacket participates in a takeover of the Avengers Mansion, assisting one of the more powerful versions of the

as a professional criminal. Defeated, Yellowjacket is sent to prison but is freed by the Fixer with amorous intentions. She flees and tries to gain revenge on the Wasp, but is distracted by the sight of

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

. Furious at being rejected, the Fixer tries to kill her. Black Knight helps Yellowjacket defeat him and the two part on possibly romantic terms. During a time when no Avengers were active, her costume receives a call for help from an automated system at an old Avengers base. She finds herself teaming up with the Beast, The Captain,

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and

Jocasta In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...

. They battle the

High Evolutionary High Evolutionary (Herbert Edgar Wyndham) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Chukwudi Iwuji will portray the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3''. ...

wishing to jumpstart humanity's evolution through worldwide catastrophe. Yellowjacket helps battle through the Evolutionary's underground submarine base, fighting against dozens of his soldiers. Eventually the Evolutionary is defeated by Hercules, the two evolving out of reality. She later briefly serves as a member of

Superia Superia (Dr. Deidre Wentworth) is a supervillain and criminal scientist appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history She first appeared in ''Captain America'' #387 (1991) and was created by writer Mark Grue ...

Femizons Femizon is the name of two fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Fictional team history Earth-712 Femizons The first group to be called Femizons were the women of Femizonia, a gynarchic future world in a ...

. Her second affiliation with the Masters of Evil begins and ends during the

Infinity War ''Avengers: Infinity War'' is a 2018 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to '' The Avengers'' ( ...

. Her team, led by

Doctor Octopus Doctor Octopus (Dr. Otto Gunther Octavius), also known as Doc Ock for short, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko and first appeared in ''Th ...

, confronts the

inside the Avengers Mansion as the Masters had wished to take it over. Yellowjacket is soon betrayed by her side. Moments later, both teams are overwhelmed by waves of evil aliens. These aliens were impersonating all the super-powered beings involved. Each double wishes to take over the relevant body. Despite many aliens being slain, more show up. The Guardians and the Masters both work together to stay alive. Events in the ''Infinity War'' series stop the flow of aliens. When Doctor Octopus desires to continue the fight, his men turn on him, not wanting to hurt those who had helped them. Yellowjacket is left behind and joined the Guardians.

=Guardians of the Galaxy

= Yellowjacket went to the 31st century with Guardians of the Galaxy. She further proves her worth when she saved the life of

Charlie-27 Captain Charlie-27 is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character usually appears in the Earth-691 timeline of the Marvel Universe as a member of the original 31st century incarnation of the tea ...

by shrinking, flying inside his throat, and performing "surgery" on a massive

blood clot A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...

with her stings. She forms a close friendship with

Nikki Nikki may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Nikki (Barbie), a fashion doll in the Barbie toy line * Nikki (comics), a Marvel Comics character * Nikki and Paulo, from the TV series ''Lost'' * Nikki, the mascot of Swapnote * N ...

. She later uses 31st century technology to redesign her costume, making it look less like Henry Pym's design (she even found a way to fly without installing wings on her costume). She used her powers as a valued member of the team, until, homesick, she attempts to return to the 20th century. On the way, she stops in the near future and learns that a disaster was about to happen to the Avengers in her target time. On her return to the present, she confronts

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

under the control of

Immortus Immortus (; Nathaniel Richards) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the future self of Pharaoh Rama-Tut, Scarlet Centurion, Kang the Conqueror, and Iron Lad / Kid Immortus, and a descenda ...

, a powerful time-traveling being in the guise of

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, seve ...

. Iron Man kills Yellowjacket.

=Resurrection

= During the ''

Chaos War "Chaos War" is a Marvel Comics storyline that began publication in October 2010 across nine comic book series: the five-issue miniseries ''Chaos War'', written by Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente, supplemented by seven branded miniseries or one-sho ...

'' storyline, Yellowjacket is among the dead people released by

Pluto Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...

to defend the Underworld from

Amatsu-Mikaboshi In Japanese mythology, (あまつみかぼし), also called (あめのかがせお), Hoshigami Kaseo (星神香香背男, ほしがみかがせお), Kaseo (香香背男, かがせお), Amenoseo (天背男, あめのせお), or Ame no Murakumo n ...

. Because of what happened to the death realms, Yellowjacket is among the dead people that return from the dead. Yellowjacket joins with the other resurrected Avengers as they fight

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

and

Nekra Nekra is a mutant supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Steve Gerber and Ross Andru for the 1973 comic book ''Shanna the She-Devil''. She is a mutant caused by an atomic explosion at ...

. Yellowjacket, along with the

Swordsman Swordsmanship or sword fighting refers to the skills and techniques used in combat and training with any type of sword. The term is modern, and as such was mainly used to refer to smallsword fencing, but by extension it can also be applied to a ...

, and the

Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Empi ...

warrior

Deathcry Deathcry (Sharra Neramani) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been depicted as a former honorary member of the Avengers and later revealed to be the niece of Lilandra Neramani ...

are given a second chance to live when the three of them survive Grim Reaper's attacks. After the defeat of the Chaos King, resurrected members of

Alpha Flight Alpha Flight is a fictional team of Canadian superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters premiered in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #120 (April 1979), and were created to serve as part of the X-Men member Wo ...

were seen having been fully restored to life but there has been no sign of Yellowjacket.

Darren Cross

Darren Cross is the third character to use the Yellowjacket codename, after gaining the costume thanks to

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 ...

, and also became a supervillain.

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The original

Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters in ...

incarnation of Yellowjacket is

Ultron Ultron () is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Roy Thomas and artist John Buscema, and initially made his debut as an unnamed character in '' The Avengers'' #54 (July ...

, a robot designed to be an expendable super soldier. Ultron is later killed by Hank Pym who later takes up the Yellowjacket mantle, wanting to make up for what his creation did.

In other media

Television

*The Hank Pym incarnation of Yellowjacket appears in '' The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes'', voiced by

Wally Wingert Wallace Eugene Wingert (born May 6, 1961) is an American voice actor. His roles include Almighty Tallest Red in ''Invader Zim'', Renji Abarai in ''Bleach'', Kotetsu T. Kaburagi / Wild Tiger in '' Tiger & Bunny'', The Riddler in the '' Batman: ...

. * 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'' franchi ...

. * The Darren Cross incarnation of Yellowjacket appears in

Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...

's ''

'' animated shorts, 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'', Rigby on '' Regular Show'' and Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in the 2018 video ...

Marvel Cinematic Universe

/ Yellowjacket appears in the 2015 live-action

(MCU) film ''

'', portrayed by

. * An alternate timeline version of

/ Yellowjacket appears in the 2021

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

animated series ''What If...?'' episode " What If... the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?", voiced by

Video games

* The Hank Pym incarnation of Yellowjacket appears as a boss character in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by

. * The Hank Pym incarnation of Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in ''

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 ''Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One on 14 November 2 ...

''. * The

incarnation of Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance'', '' Marvel: Contest of Champions'', '' Marvel: Future Fight'' and ''

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, Windows, ...

''. * The Hank Pym incarnation of Yellowjacket appears in ''

Marvel Future Revolution ''Marvel Future Revolution'' is an action RPG video game developed and published by Netmarble Games. It was released for iOS and Android on August 25, 2021. The game's storyline is based on the Secret Wars series and is set on the Primary Earth, ...

'', voiced again by

References

External links

* Marvel.com profile
Rita DeMara
{{Henry Pym Comics characters introduced in 1968 Comics characters introduced in 1986 Articles about multiple fictional characters Fictional characters who can change size Marvel Comics superheroes Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics female superheroes Marvel Comics supervillains Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics female supervillains Marvel Comics robots Characters created by Roy Thomas Characters created by John Buscema Characters created by Roger Stern pt:Jaqueta Amarela