Of the Widow and the Wasp

It's officially 65 days until the movie hits local shores. That's just a little more than two months away and I have to fill that time up with this weekly blog about anything and everything Avengers.
For this week's edition, I wanna tackle these two Avenging ladies.
One is a founding member. The other is in the movie.

From Black Widow and the Marvel Girls

Both are insect-themed heroes created by the man himself: Stan Lee.
Both debuted during the opening salvo that heralded the age of Marvels.
Of course I can just as easily be describing Marvel's flagship character, but what I've come to realize recently is that these two ladies occupied a certain niche position that Marvel didn't define for their first few female characters like Susan Storm or Jean Grey. Rather, their roles in the grand scheme of things were originally set by DC, not necessarily for female characters, and that's what makes them interesting.

First let's look at the Wasp.

From United They Stand

Sure, just like the two previously mentioned ladies above, she's the token founding female of the Avengers, but prior to that she was Ant-man's partner - in more ways than one.
Sure, she debuted as a heroine, but not in the way that Marvel, at the time, placed them: As the doting, more powerful paramour of the leader in a team.

Figures from the Toy Biz original Avengers boxed set

Rather, she performed the role of sidekick, distaff counterpart, and even romantic interest - tropes roles that DC markedly defined with Robin, Batgirl/Supergirl, and Lois Lane.
And Janet Van Dyne had to be all that for Hank Pym.

Now let's look at the Black Widow.

From Earth's Mightiest Heroes

She's only the third female recruit to the Avengers' rank whose career started off as a villainess to Iron Man. It would be easy to make the Catwoman connection at this point, but it's her role as Hawkeye's recruiter that makes her a curious case.

From the upcoming movie

She was the alpha female (Again, a rare occurrence among Marvel ladies at the time) - a mysterious, non-powered but lethal one at that - who went after an enemy with superior weaponry and took in an orphan from a circus.
Sound familiar?
In this light, all the roles that the Wasp played for Ant-man fall on Hawkeye.

From Ultimate Avengers

As for the Scarlet Witch, well, her character development is very Marvel. Just like the Invisible Woman and Phoenix, she was the all-powerful token female member, beginning with the villainous Brotherhood, then with the second wave of Avengers along with Hawkeye and Captain America. In both instances, her twin brother Quicksilver was with her. He may not be the leader of either groups nor her paramour, but he still fits the role of overly protective male like a glove.

The first three lady Avengers!

Thoughts?
Feel free to comment below.

For a related entry, please check out my post in my previous blog where I argue that the Invisible Woman is possibly Marvel's Wonder Woman.