Wasp Fact — November 4, 2026

Today's Fact

The Skrulls did not plant a bomb in the Wasp. They planted the bomb’s recipe in her husband — and let her body become the weapon.

THE WASP WAS TURNED INTO A LIVING BOMB — AND THOR HAD TO STRIKE HER DOWN TO SAVE NEW YORK!

The Featured Fact

In Secret Invasion Vol. 1 #8 (2008), the final battle for New York turned on a horror planted years in advance. The “Hank Pym” who had stood beside Janet van Dyne was a Skrull impostor, and the growth formula he had given her had been altered in secret. When the Skrull queen gave the word, the formula activated — and Janet began to grow.

She did not grow like Giant-Man. Her body swelled into a towering, unstable mass of bio-energy, a living weapon designed to take every hero on the field with her when she burst. Janet understood what was happening to her even as it happened, and there was no switch to throw and no time to shrink the reaction back down.

Thor made the call no one else could. As Janet begged the others to run, the thunder god summoned a massive storm and struck her with everything it held, dispersing her body across the battlefield before the detonation could consume the assembled heroes. The founding Avenger who had named the team died a giant, saving the city by letting a friend destroy her.

Why It's Obscure

Janet has been presumed dead before and come back stranger. This death was different — her own powers, gift-wrapped by an impostor, were the murder weapon.

The plant

Years in the making — the Skrull wearing Hank Pym’s face altered Janet’s growth serum long before the invasion began, a trap with no visible tripwire.

The trigger

Growth as a fuse — the same Pym-particle power that made her a founder became an uncontrolled reaction consuming her body from inside.

The call

Thor’s mercy — the killing blow was an act of rescue: dispersing Janet saved every hero in range, at the price of doing it himself.

The return

Not the end, eventually — Janet was later found alive in the Microverse, but for years of real publication the founding Wasp was simply gone.

Gallery

Janet van Dyne in flight, an Avengers cover from her era, and Thor — the friend who had to end her.

Wasp Janet van Dyne in red and black costume with wings comic art — **The founder in flight**Janet van Dyne with her wings spread and sting ready — the hero whose own growth power would one day be turned against her.

Wasp in yellow and black costume comic art — **Wasp-sized, giant stakes**Janet in her classic colours; the smallest Avenger on the roster died the largest figure on the Secret Invasion battlefield.

Avengers issue 340 comic cover with the team in action — **Her team, her years**An Avengers cover from Janet’s long service — the team she named, and the friends who had to watch her final battle.

Thor holding his hammer amid lightning comic art — **The friend who acted**Thor, who answered Janet’s last crisis with the storm — the hardest order the Wasp ever gave, carried out by the god who loved her team.

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against at least two independent sources before publication.

Bullpen Bulletins

Secret Invasion Vol. 1 #8 — Marvel Database The 2008 finale: Janet’s transformation into a living weapon and Thor’s intervention.
Janet Van Dyne (Earth-616) — Marvel Database Janet’s history, including the Skrull Pym’s altered formula and her apparent death.