Secret Invasion’s Biggest Comics’ Victim Deserved So Much Better

When Marvel Comics’ 2008 crossover Secret Invasion happened, it claimed the life of a founding Avenger, the Wasp, which was especially heartbreaking because she was barely even involved in the story. This “shock death” is emblematic of several problems with major comic crossover events of the era, and the carelessness with which female characters are often treated in comics. It’s also a metatextual examination of Marvel’s most contentious relationship, though that’s still no excuse for what happens.

In Secret Invasion #8,Janet Van Dyne aka the Wasp dies after having a bomb implanted in her by the Skrull posing as her estranged husband Hank Pym aka Ant-Man. When the Skrulls begin to lose, the Ant-Man Skrull activates the implanted biological weapon, which he previously claimed was a new growth formula for Janet to use.

To prevent her from killing everyone in the area, Thor is forced to strike Janet down. She becomes the superhero face of those killed in Secret Invasion, with her death pushing the heroes to fight even harder.

The Wasp’s Death in Secret Invasion Makes No Sense

One of the main problems with this twist is that Janet’s death feels somewhat arbitrary and unfair. The event comics of the 2000s billed themselves on having “real consequences,” which usually meant one or two shocking character deaths. Within the story, Janet doesn’t even get much to do before her death. Just about anyone else could have died and had as much impact. It leaves a sour taste that the one chosen is a random female character with little agency who’s killed mostly to make readers surprised and make the other heroes feel sad.

Like so many characters in Marvel Comics, Wasp doesn’t stay dead for long. In fact, it’s Secret Invasion writer Brian Michael Bendis who also brings her back only a few short years later in Avengers vol 4 #31.

It’s entirely possible that Bendis felt more comfortable “killing” Wasp because he already had a story in mind where she’d return. However, this doesn’t stop the actual moment in Secret Invasion from feeling cynical and pointless, not to mention misogynistic.

There is an interesting metatextual read of Janet’s fate, even if it doesn’t excuse what happened to her. So much of Ant-Man and the Wasp’s relationship is focused on Hank’s infamous moment of domestic violence against Janet in Avengers vol 1 #213, and Wasp’s death has parallels to this moment. In both cases Hank Pym, or his duplicate, are complicit in physical abuse of the Wasp, which violates the trust that should exist in any relationship. This feels pointed in Secret Invasion, as the “growth formula” that the Skrull gives Janet is supposedly a “good-will offering” for the couple’s anniversary.

Even if this is Brian Michael Bendis commenting on how poorly Wasp is treated again and again, the story is still just replicating Wasp’s abuse without giving her any agency. It also feels like Wasp’s death is more important for Hank Pym’s story, as he grapples in the aftermath of Secret Invasion with the horrific actions of his Skrull counterpart. In this way, Janet’s fate is a classic case of “fridging,” where a female character dies in comics specifically to impact a male character’s story. Wasp deserved so much better in Secret Invasion, regardless of the moment’s intent.