Wasp

Wasp

Janet Van Dyne was not only the first female Avenger, and a founder, but also the hero who named the team when they first formed. Though she started out as something of a sidekick to her on-again-off-again (currently off-again) paramour Hank Pym, Janet quickly became a hero in her own right, leading the Avengers several times, and often acting as the team’s moral center.
When crafting this list, it came down to putting either Wasp or Captain Marvel in this spot. And while Captain Marvel may be more prominent now, her trajectory has been spotty, taking her from being a damsel in distress, to a perpetual victim, to leading the Avengers and her own intergalactic defense team, while Wasp’s arc has been far more consistent. Add to that her historical significance, and it’s easy to see why she’s one of the greatest female heroes ever to grace the printed page.

And while viewers got a glimpse of Janet Van Dyne in action in Ant-Man, she's said to be taking on a more prominent (and eponymous) role in the sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp with Janet’s daughter Hope Van Dyne taking on the mantle.