The Unstoppable Wasp #2 Review

Nadia Pym is determined to gather female geniuses and make the world a better place.  But will Moon Girl be interested in her pitch?  Your Major Spoilers review of The Unstoppable Wasp #2 awaits!

THE UNSTOPPABLE WASP #2
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Artist: Elsa Charretier
Colorist: Megan Wilson
Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Editor: Alanna Smith & Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in The Unstoppable Wasp: “Nadia has a new mission: To recruit female geniuses to her lab and use their combined knowledge to change the world for the better.  But the path before her won’t be easy: She still doesn’t have American citizenship, and the Russian Red Room is eager to reclaim their star scientist.

Plus, she’s got a lot of donuts to eat.”

AN UPBEAT HERO

There was a time, not so long ago, that all heroes had to be grim, angry and preferably bladed before they got their own series.  As this issue opens, I’m happy to find that those rules no longer apply, as Nadia Pym is happy, upbeat and energetic in her plan to recruit new geniuses and create a think-tank to fix what’s wrong with the world.  Unfortunately, she also has an appointment with an immigration lawyer, as Edwin Jarvis reminds her, which makes for a difficult decision.  After finding her first young genius, The Wasp is shocked to realize that Lunella Lafayette, aka Moon Girl, the catalyst for her new plan, wasn’t on her recruiting list, leading to this issue’s team-up.  With last issue’s interactions with Ms. Marvel and Mockingbird, it’s clear that Nadia is going to be part of the larger Marvel Universe.  Before she can offer Moon Girl a place in her lab, though, they are attacked by a giant rodent, which is powered by something very familiar: A device that Nadia herself built in the Red Room, with her friend Ling, leading to the reveal that Ling has been sent to defeat her and bring her back to Russia…

A FACE FROM THE PAST

There are a lot of charming touches in this issue, such as Nadia trying to explain the extended Pym family to her new friends, and I really enjoy Jarvis in a more active role than his usual butler activities allow.  There are some plotting issues with this comic, such as the sudden reveal of Ling’s presence, and some of the pacing feels pretty frenetic, but that seems to be intentional, driven by Hope’s manic pixie nature.  Once again, Elsa Charretier delivers charismatic art, and even moments that by rights should be annoying (like Nadia’s discovery of the existence of land lines, depressing Jarvis and me alike) are instead charming.  I’m really hoping that this book lasts long enough for Hope’s plan to become something, as I don’t want another Mockingbird situation where a really lovely book goes down fast due to low sales, and also the idea of a group of young women saving the world from itself.

THE BOTTOM LINE: I’M LIKING THIS

In short, it’s not a perfect comic book, but it’s a well above average one with a lot to offer, leaving The Unstoppable Wasp #2 with a better-than-average 3 out of 5 stars overall.  If you’ve been avoiding this book because of weird promotion, I can tell you that it’s much better than the strange hype would make it feel, and I suspect it could be another Ms. Marvel-style success story given some time for the creative team to sharpen their skills and for Nadia to make her name in the superhero world…

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