The Birth: The Wasp made her debut in Tales to Astonish #44.

The Legend: Janet Van Dyne was with the Avengers since the team's inception. She also heads her own business firm.
Wasp was formerly married to Dr. Henry Pym; another avenger, but divorced him after too many beatings from him. Later, she also had a romance with Paladin but that soon fizzled out.
Jan can control her physical size. When small, she displays her grafted wings; when larger, she prefers to keep her wings hidden although she can use them when she's at regular height. Originally she wore her "wasp's sting" externally around her wrists; however, a series of biochemical alterations later allowed her to generate bioelectrical bursts from her hands. These bursts are stronger when she is at wasp size. Before Onslaught she underwent a strange physical metamorphosis. But Onslaught returned her to her original look.

Tales to Astonish #50