The Ultimate Universe Just Switched Up Marvel's Biggest Romance

After two long years of epic storytelling, Marvel’s hit Ultimate Universe has begun its endgame. The dark and twisted Earth-6160 was created by the villainous variant of Mr. Fantastic, the Maker, who prevented many people from becoming the superheroes they were meant to be. However, his plan fails, and the heroes of this world, the Ultimates, finally band together to stop the villain and his enforcers, the Maker’s Council. Two members of the Ultimates are the iconic superhero married couple Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man, and Janet Van Dyne, aka Wasp. However, it’s revealed that Wasp is a spy for Nick Fury, who is the director of H.A.N.D. and a member of the Maker’s Council. With this development, the Ultimate Universe offers a unique new incarnation of Marvel’s biggest couple.

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In the main Earth-616 Universe, Hank uses his genius to create the size-altering Pym Particles that give him and his assistant Janet the power to become the Ant-Man and Wasp superhero duo who eventually get married. However, in Earth-6160, the Maker causes a car crash in which Hank suffers extensive brain damage, ensuring that he wouldn’t be able to complete his Pym Particle research. Hank and Janet instead are forced by their financial circumstances to become common exterminators. It was only when the time-travelling hero Iron Lad arrived that the couple received their size-altering suits and became superheroes. However, Janet’s character changes in ways that make her a far more morally gray hero than any prior incarnation.

Wasp’s Betrayal of the Ultimates is Finally Explored

Six months ago, it was revealed in Ultimates #12 that Wasp was working as a double agent for Nick Fury. It wouldn’t be until Ultimates #19 that we saw the result of Janet’s espionage. H.A.N.D. obtains the location of the Ultimates’ secret satellite hideout and then promptly shoots it out of the sky. However, despite her role in the revelation of the location of the Ultimates’ headquarters, Janet is shown to be genuinely shocked and horrified by its destruction. She’s even more shaken when a terribly mangled member of the Ultimates’ satellite crew dies in her arms. It’s here that we learn Janet’s past and her motivations as a hero and spy.

A flashback shows that Janet didn’t want to get married because she wanted to make a mark on the world. Her attitude changes, though, after she met and fell in love with Hank. She stays with him after his accident even though it causes her to give up her ambitions and instead for financial pressures to take an ordinary job. Despite this set back, she still dreams of a grander life with a sense of purpose. That becomes possible when a mysterious figure offers her a role in project that she has to keep secret from her husband. It’s then that she learns how to be a spy and is prepared when Iron Lad arrives and gifts her and Hank their size shrinking super suits.

We’re initially led to believe that the mysterious figure who trained Janet to become a spy against the Ultimates was Nick Fury. However, as Janet begs for Fury to let Hank live, the shocking truth is revealed. Before Fury can kill him, Hank is saved by Janet’s real mentor: the android Vision. It turns out Janet is a triple agent working against Fury. And although the origin of this version of Vision hasn’t been revealed, it’s heavily implied that Vision like the Ultimates wants to stop the Maker. Although this revelation means that Janet isn’t a villain, she still has betrayed the trust of her friends and husband, as well as caused the death of several innocent people, for what she believed to be for the greater good.

Marvel Turns the Classic Ant-Man and Wasp Dynamic on its Head.

Not only is the reveal of Wasp’s triple agent status an interesting twist, but it also completely reverses Hank and Janet’s dynamic as a couple in a way no previous incarnation has done. In the Earth-616 continuity and in all other prominent versions, Hank is portrayed as a morally gray, sometimes abusive member of the pair. His scientific genius and untreated bipolar disorder lead him to prioritize his work over Janet, to keep secrets from her, and, of course, to accidentally create Ultron in a misguided ambition to push the boundaries of AI. Meanwhile, Janet is oftentimes portrayed as a kind and sociable hero who tries to ground Hank, even if they do eventually end up divorcing. However, the Maker’s machinations alter this dynamic.

Although Hank still has his bipolar disorder in the Ultimate Universe, it’s far more manageable, and he prioritizes his love for Janet above all else. He trusts Janet with all his heart and often even sees himself as unworthy of someone so intelligent and courageous. Of course, Janet is revealed to have taken on the role Hank usually occupies: a morally gray hero who keeps secrets and whose ambition and desire to help people leads him to cross ethical lines. And just like how Earth-616 Hank’s ambition led to the creation of Ultron and the loss of countless lives, Janet’s actions in the Ultimate Universe as a triple agent get innocent people killed for the sake of her bigger mission of defeating the Maker.

Janet’s espionage also inadvertently led to Hank being shot by one of Fury’s Helicarriers. Injured and surrounded, Hank is shocked when he learns that Janet is apparently in cahoots with the Fury. But, just before he was killed, Vision saves Hank and reveals Janet’s role as a triple agent. In many ways, Janet’s betrayal in the Ultimate Universe mirrors how Janet in Earth-616 was the victim of Hank’s lies and ethical downward spiral. Although Ultimate Universe Janet never did anything as abusive as striking Hank, she still violates his trust in a way that leaves him heartbroken. Janet’s actions may have helped in the war against the Maker in the long run, but she also hurt Hank in the process.

The fallout of all these revelations will undoubtedly heavily impact Hank and Janet’s relationship, and it will never be the same. The Ultimate Universe successfully altered the standard formula for Hank and Janet’s relationship, making it compelling and unique. Instead of retreading old ideas about Hank’s genius and mental disorder causing a rift between the two, Janet is now at the forefront of their disfunction, whose actions will no doubt have significant ramifications for how the final battle against the Maker plays out.

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