When director Edgar Wright departed Marvel Studios' "Ant-Man" film, Marvel Cinematic Universe fans everywhere held their breath, waiting to see what would happen. After all, the film was one of the earliest announced by Marvel Studios, two years before "Iron Man" arrived in theaters and kicked off the MCU's "phase one" of films, and through it all, Wright spoke about how he was continuously developing a story, characters and ideas for the diminutive superhero's big screen debut. Slowly, as production picked back up, details trickled out, revealing one big change and revelation after the other, including the biggest of all: the film would feature Scott Lang, the successor to the elderly Hank Pym's original Ant-Man. What, then, of Pym's wife Janet van Dyne, who -- in the comics -- is not only a superhero but an Avenger in her own right?

She's not in the picture at all, it turns out. Multiple interviews have revealed that a great tragedy happened to Jan in Pym's early days as Ant-Man, bad enough for him to hang up the suit once and for all and to put a nail in the coffin of the relationship between him and his daughter, Hope. There was a swift and immediate outcry among the fans, who called "fridging" on the film through the #JanetVanCrime hashtag on Tumblr and Twitter -- and rightfully so, as Jan will reportedly appear in the film in only a minor role, in order to die and provide a source of angst for Pym.

But what if Jan -- the original Wasp -- doesn't actually die? Both comic book characters and their film adaptations have a funny knack of worming their way out of certain death; take, for instance, Captain America's seventy-year ice nap, Loki's illusion work, Groot's splintered offspring and Agent Coulson's miraculous resurrection via Kree blood injection. This wouldn't be a first for Jan, either. In "Secret Invasion," she literally exploded -- at least, for all appearances. When a Skrull disguised as Pym used her size shifting abilities to create a bomb, she uncontrollably grew in size, before snapping back to a size so small she entered the Microverse, where she stayed trapped for a brief while.

And what, pray tell, is a Microverse? According to the Marvel Comics Wiki, "a dimension that can be reached from the Earth dimension by compressing one's own mass to a certain point, thereby forcing it through an artificially created nexus into the other universe." Essentially, the Pym particles to which Jan had been exposed plus the Skrull serum and a little Thor magic allowed her to travel between dimensions following an explosion created by her own body. She was never dead -- just misplaced.

Feige Promises Janet van Dyne's Wasp in "Ant-Man"

As mentioned earlier, Feige divulged that some bad thing happens to Jan, but "we will see Janet van Dyne in action in this film, and sort of what happened to her." He also revealed, "She factors in a number of spoiler-ish ways." However, he wouldn't share much more than that, though this information hints that Jan, like her daughter, had an action-oriented career and may even have been a superhero in her own time, just like her comic book counterpart. If Jan has an explosive or bodiless "death" in the film, it's entirely possible that Pym's technology enabled her to escape by means of Microverse -- one that she hasn't managed to work her way out of quite yet. What's more, Feige's noncommittal admission -- "sort of what happened" -- hints that there's more to the tragedy than meets the eye.

What makes me jump immediately to the Microverse, you may wonder? I'm glad you asked. The MCU has gone all over the earth and into the farthest reaches of space; logically, the Microverse is the next step. In another interview, Feige shared this tidbit when he tried to explain the importance of "Ant-Man" to the MCU: "Ant-Man getting on the Avengers' radar in this film and even -- this is the weirdest part, you shouldn't really talk about it because it won't be apparent for years -- but the whole notion of the quantum realm and the whole notion of going to places that are so out there, they are almost mind-bendingly hard to fathom." His phrasing, "quantum realm," is incredibly interesting; he uses the word "realm," so he's certainly speaking about a place rather than some device or mode of travel. Further, he links the quantum realm directly with "Ant-Man" and, thereby, Pym particles -- just like Jan's inadvertent escape route in the comics. As in the comics, Pym may not even realize this alternative exists. And, if we're lucky, time might function differently in this quantum realm, potentially allowing Jan to stay young despite the passage of time, just like a certain World War II super soldier.

There's also the little matter of Feige's testament that "[the quantum realm] won't be apparent for years." At the moment, a no-name actress is cast in the role of Jan; all we'll see is her face behind a set of goggles before the tragic event (her alleged death, we're led to believe). If the quantum realm -- this potential Microverse -- doesn't fully surface for another few years, it could be that Marvel Studios either hasn't nailed down what they hope to do with the character, haven't located an actress to lock into a multi-picture contract or want to bide their time to find the right fit for the character. Nonetheless, this doesn't have to spell the ultimate end of Janet van Dyne, opening up the possibility for her to appear in an "Ant-Man" sequel or another MCU film.

What's more, this isn't the first place that the Wasp was intended to appear. She was in early drafts of Joss Whedon's first "Avengers" film, making it as far as the concept art. The plans for the "Avengers" role changed, perhaps considering Wright's original plans, but the fact remains: the character was intended for a wider MCU presence. It's entirely within the realm of possibility that Hope, Jan's daughter, will take over the role and become the Wasp herself so that the moniker has life outside the "Ant-Man" film; however, there's an equally good chance that Hope will be a red herring or a developed character unto herself.

But why all the fuss about Jan van Dyne's Wasp when the role may very well end up being filled by Hope? For one, Jan is integral to the Avengers team; she's the one that coined the name, as a matter of fact. Further, Jan was one of the earliest female heroes in Marvel Comics and, for a while, was the only female Avenger. She's a formative member of the team and, with Ant-Man now receiving his own feature film, it feels as though she is the only original Avenger to get swept under the rug, appearing on screen only to die moments later. With Marvel Studios' rather poor track record of including female characters, such disrespect for an integral character stands out more than ever, as if they couldn't be bothered with one of the longest standing members of the team. As Hank is the only other person to have assumed the Wasp mantle, she isn't so easily swapped out and replaced by another character, even if it is by her own daughter (who only appeared oh-so-briefly in comics continuity). If Jan is truly dead in the MCU, it speaks volumes to the studio's past and continuing mistreatment of its female characters, regardless of the upcoming "Captain Marvel" film, which is seen by many as too little, too late as it is. There's simply no excuse for the erasure of Jan van Dyne, a bubbly, quip-spitting character who would be able to hold her own against snarky Iron Man and Captain America.

By including Jan as the Wasp, Marvel Studios would truly honor the Avengers legacy. With all of the hints Feige continues to drop surrounding the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe installment, he opens up this possibility by teasing the Microverse -- an alternate dimension that has already proven to save Jan from certain death once before. It would be a shame to see the studio close a door as open as this one for Jan, particularly considering her significance in the Avengers' history. Here's to hoping that Wasp stars in her very own post-credits sequence sometime soon.