It’s disheartening to read that writers - Gail Simone, other female writers, writers in general - have an aversion to writing for the character Janet Van Dyne because of the history of her portrayal rooted in less enlightened times.
My first exposure to Jan as the Wasp was in a 2 parter in “Spectacular Spider-Man” #105-106) and simply put, in the parlance of current day: Janet Van Dyne was “F*ck with the Patriarchy AF.”
Did she play into the perception that she wasn’t taken seriously? Yep and used it to bite the other characters in the arse. And, yes, she’d rather have been on vacation than dealing with the mafia having infiltrated her business holdings - the horror.
Layered characterization and subverting expectations and stereotypes has fallen out of favor because of the “well why should said character HAVE to take a less than direct approach? factor. I get it. Every blonde doesn’t have to play dumb (or be lacking in some areas) to show they’re smart. It’s called PATRONizing for a reason.
But the writing it took to bridge the gap from the old ways to the new woke approach to characters was, at times, brilliantly entertaining. That writing, nor the characters it serviced, should be devalued for having taken the journey.
And I if I never have to hear Captain America or another character MANsplain how Jan “hides an adept tactical mind of a leader behind all that fluff and fashion”....