Real Name: Rita DeMara
Occupation: Professional criminal
Identity: Publicly known
Legal Status: Citizen of the United States with, a criminal record
Other Aliases: None known
Place of Birth: Unrevealed
Marital Status: Unrevealed
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Masters of Evil IV
Base of Operations: New York City area
First Appearance: AVENGERS #264

History: Little is yet known about the background of the costumed criminal calling herself Yellowjacket, a name previously used by Dr. Henry Pym when he was a costumed adventurer. The new Yellowjacket is Rita DeMara, who was previously a small-time criminal with some minor convictions, and who apparently has a good degree of skill with technology, including computers. Using technological resources apparently of her own invention, DeMara stole the original Yellowjacket uniform from Avengers Mansion, and modified it for her own use.

DeMara, as Yellowjacket, clashed with Pym's ex-wife, Janet van Dyne, the Wasp, when DaMara raided Henry Pyrn's former laboratory in van Dyne's New Jersey home. The Wasp easily captured the new Yellowjacket when DeMara became hysterical upon using her helmets cybernetic size-control devices to shrink herself to tiny size. At that time DaMara could not adjust psychologically to being so small, although she has learned to do so since then.

DeMara was sent to prison, but was freed by the Grey Gargoyle and Screaming Mimi on behalf of Baron Helmut Zemo. They also brought her either her original helmet and costume or duplicates. Yellowjacket became a member of Zemo's new Masters of Evil, and participated in their takeover of Avengers Mansion. However, the Avengers finally defeated Zemo and the Masters of Evil, and Yellowjacket was sent back to prison.

Height: 5 ft. 5 in.
Weight: 115 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Reddish blonde

Strength Level: Yellowjacket possesses the normal human strength of a woman of her age, height, and build who engages in moderate regular exercise. She retains her full-size human strength when she reduces herself in size.

Known Superhuman Powers: None

Weapons: Yellowjacket relies on the devices built into her helmet and costume for her superhuman abilities.

Yellowjacket's costume is equipped with "disruptor stings" similar to those Henry Pym had as Yellowjacket, which enable her to fire blasts of electricity from her gloves. One of these blasts has been observed to damage the side of an automobile severely.

Yellowjacket's costume also enables her to fly by means that are as yet unknown, but possibly involve antigravity devices.

Yellowjacket prefers to refrain from utilizing the ability her helmet gives her to shrink in size. Apparenfiy the size changes are triggered through cybernetic controls in Yellowjacket's helmet, although Henry Pym, as Yellowjacket, did not need artificial means of changing size, but simply did so through force of will.

It can be theorized that Yellowjacket's size changes are accomplished in the following manner. Cybernetic devices in her helmet detect her mental command to shrink in size, and trigger the release of a group of rare subatomic particles called "Pym Particles" after their discoverer, Dr. Henry Pym. These particles are stored in some fashion within the helmet. On being released, the particles penetrate Yellowjacket's skin and are transmitted by her nervous system to her brain. There they interact with the electrical impulses of her brain to create a body-wide "reducing field" which is energized by mental command. Thus activated, the field reduces Yellowjacket's entire body at a uniform rate to whatever size she wishes, down to a height of one-half inch. Yellowjacket's mass is not compressed into her reduced stature. Instead it is somehow extended into an extraphysical dimension that is opened by the activation of the Pym Particles, from which the mass can later be reclaimed.

To grow in size, Yellowjacket causes the helmet to release a different kind of group of Pym Particles, which interact with her brain to produce a bodywide "enlarging field" which is energized by mental command. Yellowjacket's body then enlarges at a uniform rate, reclaiming mass that was extended extradimensionally. As yet there is no evidence that Yellowjacket can grow to sizes larger than her normal size.

Yellowjacket's helmet and costume are also affected by the Pym particles and grow or shrink as she does.

The Wasp has caused Yellowjacket to enlarge in size by removing her helmet and manipulating its manual override controls while standing only several feet away from her.

It is not known whether Yellowjacket's helmet enables her to communicate with the higher insects as Henry Pym's helmet did.