These two scenes came out of my thinking about how Janet van Dyne (a.k.a. The Wasp) might feature in a subsequent Avengers movie. I have assumed that there won’t be time/budget to do an Ant Man & Wasp movie, so that characters of Janet and Henry Pym will need to be introduced here. That in turn suggests that their super powers will be another of those things that Nick Fury will keep secret until his team need to know.
The first scene introduces Janet as a financial expert brought in to help Pepper manage the team while the boys do science and fight.
Location: The top floor of the Stark Tower
Present: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts
Enter Nick Fury and Janet van Dyne.
Nick: Stark, I want you to meet someone I think can help with the Avengers initiative, Janet van Dyne.
Tony: The fashion magnate, are you serious? This is a high-tech science operation, Fury. I don’t need to be told what color my armor should be.
Janet: My father was a top scientist, Mr. Stark. So is my husband.
Tony: Your husband, Ms. van Dyne, plays with bugs. I do physics.
Janet: And both of you spend money like water, without much idea where it comes from. Am I right, Pepper?
Pepper: [nods sadly]
Tony: What? You know this woman?
Pepper: Remember that Top Women In Business conference I was a guest speaker at last month?
Tony: Vaguely…
Pepper: One of Janet’s little side projects. She also owns 7% of Stark Industries, and has a seat on our board, as you’d know if you ever bothered to attend board meetings.
Janet: Shall we do lunch?
Pepper: I’ve reserved a private table. All of the Avengers financials are on my tablet so we can brainstorm. Also I want to hear more about that young shoe designer you found in Angola.
Exit Janet and Pepper.
Nick: [looks at Stark and raises an eyebrow quizzically]
Tony: I think I’m gonna need a drink.
Janet’s skills, however, are not limited to high finance. Having been brought into the team in a back-room management position (as opposed to Steve Rogers who is in charge in the field), she proceeds to take over responsibility for media relations. Here she briefs the team for their first ever press conference.
Location: An office
Present: The Avengers, having a meeting.
Janet van Dyne moves around the table, briefing each member in turn.
Janet: Steve, your role is the humble soldier. Your place is on the battlefield. Deflect any questions to me. And leave the mask off, it looks silly.
Steve Rogers: Yes ma’am.
Janet: Thor, duck any questions about religion. You are here to protect the Earth from danger, not to ask people to worship you.
Thor: I understand. I am not my father.
Janet: Bruce, you’ll need to sit this out. The journalists won’t turn up if they think the Hulk might be there.
Bruce Banner: He doesn’t like them much either.
Janet: Natasha, some of these people will have come with an agenda. I want to know who takes notes at what point, what their body language tells you. We can correlate with the video later.
Natasha Romanoff: I won’t need that, but da.
Janet: Clint, I’m sorry, no one will be asking you questions. But that’s useful. Just because this is a press conference doesn’t mean no one will try anything. We’ll be busy with the media. You keep your eyes open.
Clint Barton: Understood.
Janet: Everyone OK?
Tony Stark: Hey, what about me? Don’t I get instructions?
Janet (smiling): Oh, just be yourself.
Cut to scene of Stark leading the team into the press conference, smiling and posing for photos.
So now all I need is a scene in which Janet turns up in a fight and saves the day, but that needs knowledge of who the villains are so I’ll pass on that for now.
It’s likely to be Thanos again, of course. I can haz Adam Warlock?