Darren Agonistes Cross is a

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

appearing in

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

properties. He is the

archenemy In literature, an archenemy, (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or nemesis is the main enemy of the protagonist — or sometimes, one of the other main characters — appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero. Etymolog ...

of Scott Lang (the second

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

to be called Ant-Man), the father of Augustine Cross, and the cousin of Crossfire. In the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on List of Marvel Cinematic Universe films, a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appe ...

(MCU), the character was portrayed in live-action by

Corey Stoll Corey Daniel Stoll (born March 14, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Congressman Peter Russo on the Netflix political thriller series ''House of Cards'' (2013–2016), for which he received a Golden Globe nomination in ...

in the 2015 film ''

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Publication history Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in '' Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) as Dr. Henry ...

'' as

Yellowjacket Yellowjacket or yellowjacket is the common name in North America for predatory social wasps of the genus, genera ''Vespula'' and ''Dolichovespula''. Members of these genera are known simply as "wasps" in other English-speaking countries. Most of ...

(a concept later integrated into the comics with the character as the third version of Yellowjacket in the

Marvel Universe The Marvel Universe is a fictional shared universe where the stories in most American comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Comics take place. Superhero teams such as the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Guardia ...

), and in the 2023 film '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' as M.O.D.O.K. (Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing).

Publication history

Darren Cross debuted in ''

Marvel Premiere ''Marvel Premiere'' is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own ser ...

'' #47 (April 1979), and was created by John Byrne and

David Michelinie David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and ''Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created or ...

. The character made his first appearance as Yellowjacket in ''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #12 (September 2016), which was written by

Nick Spencer Nick Spencer is an American comic book writer and former politician best known for his Image series ''Morning Glories'', his collaborations with artist Steve Lieber on the comedic series '' Superior Foes of Spider-Man'' and '' The Fix'', a three- ...

and illustrated by Brent Shoonover.

Fictional character biography

Darren Cross is a millionaire and the founder of a successful corporation, which rivals top competitors. He is the first cousin of Crossfire (William Cross), and the father of Augustine Cross. Cross was diagnosed with a heart condition due to overwork, and had to use an experimental nucleorganic pacemaker in order to save his life. The pacemaker was a success but enhanced Cross's circulatory system, mutating his body and giving him superhuman abilities. With a side effect that overuse causes the burning out of his heart, Cross went through various heart transplants, which led him to capture surgeon Dr. Erica Sondheim to replace his heart and to abduct "donors" from the slums. This attracted

Scott Lang Ant-Man (Scott Edward Harris Lang) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie, Bob Layton and John Byrne, Scott Lang first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #181 (March 1979) ...

's attention of the second Ant-Man looking for Sondheim in order to save his own daughter's life. The resulting battle with Lang burned out Cross's heart, as Sondheim had reimplanted his old, worn-out heart prior to Lang crashing the surgery.''Marvel Premiere'' #48. Marvel Comics. Darren's body is later revealed to have been kept in a cryonic state as Augustine was obsessed with bringing Darren back to life and eventually forces Dr. Sondheim to help. Augustine enlisted Crossfire's to orchestrate

Cassie Lang Cassandra "Cassie" Lang is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie and John Byrne (comics), John Byrne, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Marvel Premiere'' #47 (April ...

's capture as the girl's heart is required to withstand the unique conditions when transplanted into Darren. While infiltrating Cross's company to rescue Cassie, Ant-Man came across his nemesis. Darren engages in combat against Ant-Man who buys time for Sondheim to transplant another heart to Cassie. Darren is ultimately forced to flee with his son when the Pym Particles now in his body cause him to shrink down. As part of the "

All-New, All-Different Marvel All-New, All-Different Marvel (ANADM) is a 2015–2019 branding for Marvel Comics' entire main line of comics. Taking place after the crossover storyline "Secret Wars", it details the new Marvel Universe, with nearly 60–65 titles relaunched wi ...

", Darren Cross is later approached by Power Broker to demonstrate his latest "Hench" App by hiring someone to kill Ant-Man. However, Cross is unwilling to give Power Broker the 1.2 billion dollars demanded for investment in the Hench app, causing Power Broker to cancel the demo and cancel

Whirlwind A whirlwind is a phenomenon in which a vortex of wind (a vertically oriented rotating column of air) forms due to instabilities and turbulence created by heating and flow ( current) gradients. Whirlwinds can vary in size and last from a cou ...

's assassination on Ant-Man. Cross later represents his own company when he attends a meeting at the Universal Bank with Tiberius Stone of

Alchemax Alchemax is a fictional megacorporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Originally depicted as a prominent feature of the Marvel 2099 alternate future universe, it has since been introduced into the present day com ...

Wilson Fisk The Kingpin (Wilson Grant Fisk) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr., and first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #50 (cover-dated July 196 ...

of Fisk Industries, Sebastian Shaw of Shaw Industries,

Zeke Stane Ezekiel "Zeke" Stane is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as the son of Obadiah Stane and an enemy of Iron Man. Created by writer Matt Fraction and artist Barry Kitson, ...

of Stane International, Frr'dox of Shi'ar Solutions Consolidated, and Wilhelmina Kensington of Kilgore Arms where they discuss Dario Agger's and

Roxxon Energy Corporation The Roxxon Energy Corporation (also known as the Roxxon Oil Company, Roxxon Oil Corporation, Roxxon Corporation, or simply Roxxon) is a fictional massive petroleum industrial conglomerate in the Marvel Universe appearing in American comic books ...

's plans to exploit the Ten Realms of Asgard. Cross also sees the arrival of

Exterminatrix Earth Lord Earth Sentry Earth Sentry (John Foster) was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz, and first appeared in ''A-Next'' #2 (1999) in the MC2 universe. When John and his father Bill were investigating a UFO crash site, they discovered ...

of the Midas Foundation who knocks out Dario and declares herself a new member of their assembly. In order to more effectively face Ant-Man in combat, Cross recruits

Egghead In U.S. English slang, egghead is an epithet used to refer to intellectuals or people considered out-of-touch with ordinary people and lacking in realism, common sense, sexual interests, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. A similar ...

to work for his company to help Cross control his Pym Particle abilities with the Yellowjacket battlesuit.''The Astonishing Ant-Man'' #12. Marvel Comics. Yellowjacket, Egghead, and Crossfire attack during his nemesis's trial in Cassie's place, but are engaged by Ant-Man,

She-Hulk She-Hulk (Jennifer Susan Walters) is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist John Buscema, she First appearance, first appeared in ''The Savage She-Hulk ...

, Ms. Thing,

Grizzly The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

Machinesmith Machinesmith (Samuel "Starr" Saxon) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most notably as a regular enemy of Captain America. He specializes in robotics, and is able to make convincing robotic doubles of ...

, and Stinger. Yellowjacket is defeated by Stinger, which leads to Peggy Rae's final approval of Lang's superhero life and acquittal in court. During the "Opening Salvo" part of the "

Secret Empire Secret Empire may refer to: * Secret Empire (organization), an evil organization in Marvel Comics ** Secret Empire (1974 comic), comic book storyline ** Secret Empire (2017 comic) "Secret Empire" is a 2017 Marvel Comics crossover storyline pu ...

" storyline, Yellowjacket appears as a member of

Baron Helmut Zemo Helmut Zemo is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Roy Thomas, Tony Isabella and Sal Buscema, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''Captain America (comic book), Captain America'' #16 ...

's Army of Evil. During the " Hunted" storyline, Yellowjacket is among the animal-themed characters that were captured by Taskmaster and Black Ant for

Kraven the Hunter Kraven the Hunter (Sergei Nikolaevich Kravinoff; Russian: Сергей Николаевич Кравинов) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, th ...

's Great Hunt that was sponsored by

Arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated video, pinball, electro-mechanical, redemption, etc., game ** Arcade video game, a coin-operated video game ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade video game's hardware ** Arcad ...

's company Arcade Industries. When the Great Hunt is over, Yellowjacket finds Black Ant in the bushes as he, Human Fly,

Razorback A feral pig is a pig, domestic pig which has gone feral, meaning it lives in the wild. The term feral pig has also been applied to wild boars, which can interbreed with domestic pigs. They are found mostly in the Americas and Australia. Razorb ...

Toad Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy ...

, and

White Rabbit The White Rabbit is a fictional and anthropomorphic character in Lewis Carroll's 1865 book ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''. He appears at the very beginning of the book, in chapter one, wearing a waistcoat, and muttering "Oh dear! Oh dea ...

plan to take revenge on him. Unfortunately, Black Ant is saved from the villains by Taskmaster. Yellowjacket later joined the

Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a term used to describe several exclusive Club (organization), clubs for high-society Rake (character), rakes established in Great Britain and Ireland in the 18th Century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood, 11t ...

in their assault on

Krakoa Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in '' Giant-Size X-Men'' #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. While often depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa later fe ...

Powers and abilities

Darren Cross possesses a keen scientific mind and is a successful businessman. The experimental nucleorganic pacemaker that saved Cross from his heart condition also granted him superhuman abilities such as enhanced physical attributes, increased

sensory perception Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

, and a regenerative healing factor on the same level of power (and physical appearance) as the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

, with a

pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

physical hue. After acquiring a Pym Particle-equipped heart during a heart transplant, Cross gained near uncontrollable size-shifting abilities; he is at risk of growing when angered and shrinking when calm.

Equipment

The Yellowjacket battlesuit helps Cross control his Pym Particle quantum powers. The Yellowjacket battlesuit grants Cross enhanced durability and flight, in addition to featuring "stingers" that can discharge powerful blasts of bio-electrical energy.

In other media

Television

Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

'' (2017), voiced by

William Salyers William Salyers is an American actor, best known for his vocal performances, such as Reverend Putty and Mr. Littler on '' Moral Orel'', Rigby on ''Regular Show'', Toranosuke Yoshida in ''Persona 5'', and Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus in the ...

Film

Darren Cross Darren Agonistes Cross is a supervillain appearing in Marvel Comics properties. He is the archenemy of Scott Lang (the second superhero to be called Ant-Man), the father of Augustine Cross, and the cousin of Crossfire. In the Marvel Cinemat ...

appears in films set in the

(MCU), portrayed by

. ** Cross first appears in ''

'' (2015) as Yellowjacket. Stoll wore a

motion capture Motion capture (sometimes referred as mocap or mo-cap, for short) is the process of recording high-resolution motion (physics), movement of objects or people into a computer system. It is used in Military science, military, entertainment, sports ...

suit while performing as Yellowjacket, a decision that was made early on after the production team learned that creating and filming with a real Yellowjacket costume would be impractical. This version is

Hank Pym Dr. Henry Jonathan Pym is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by penciller Jack Kirby, editor-plotter Stan Lee and writer Larry Lieber, Pym debuted in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (Ja ...

's former

protégé Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

who becomes obsessed with Pym's

particle In the physical sciences, a particle (or corpuscle in older texts) is a small localized object which can be described by several physical or chemical properties, such as volume, density, or mass. They vary greatly in size or quantity, from s ...

shrinking technology. However, Pym refuses to divulge his secrets out of fear of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

fare, so Cross forces his mentor out of Pym Technologies, takes over as the company's new

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

, and converts it into Cross Technologies. Despite possessing initially imperfect shrinking technology that, as a result, slowly altered his

neurochemistry Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience e ...

to the point of making him insane, Cross manages to duplicate the Ant-Man suit designs and create his own weaponized "Yellowjacket" suit. He seeks to sell the Yellowjacket prototype to HYDRA and the Ten Rings, prompting Pym to recruit

as the new Ant-Man so the two of them and Pym's daughter

Hope van Dyne Hope van Dyne (née Pym) is a fictional character portrayed primarily by Evangeline Lilly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film franchise, loosely based on the Marvel Comics character Hope Pym. Portrayed as the daughter of Hank Pym (Marve ...

can intervene. While Cross anticipates their plan and nearly captures them, they succeed in destroying Pym Technologies and Cross' resources. With his plans ruined, a livid Cross dons the Yellowjacket suit to fight Scott until the latter shrinks to a size small enough to disrupt the Yellowjacket's internal mainframe, causing Cross to shrink uncontrollably and disappear into the

Quantum Realm The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise features many fictional elements, including locations, weapons, and artifacts. Many are based on elements that originally appeared in the American comic books published by Marvel Comics, w ...

. ** Cross later returns in '' Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'' (2023), having become

MODOK MODOK (; also written as M.O.D.O.K.; an acronym for Mental/Mobile/Mechanized Organism Designed Only for Killing) is a Character (arts), fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Ja ...

due to his uncontrolled shrinking and aligned himself with

Kang the Conqueror Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' Fantastic Four'' #19 (October 1963) as Rama-Tut, an ...

, who placed him in special armor. Cross assists Kang's Quantumnauts in capturing Scott,

, and the rebels with them. After Cassie appeals to his better nature, Cross betrays Kang and sacrifices himself to stop him. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in '' Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avengers Reassembled'', voiced by

Travis Willingham Travis Willingham is an American voice actor known for his character portrayals in video games and English anime Dubbing, dubs. His notable roles include Roy Mustang in the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' franchise, Cleo in ''Glass Fleet'', Ginko in ''L ...

Video games

* Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a boss in '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Contest of Champions''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in '' Marvel: Future Fight''. Additionally, his MODOK form appears as an alternate skin for MODOK. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

Pinball FX 2 ''Pinball FX 2'' (stylized as ''Pinball FX2'') is a pinball video game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows (Windows XP, XP and higher) and is the sequel to ''Pinball FX''. It was developed by Zen Studios and published by Xbox Game Studi ...

'', voiced by

Kyle Hebert Kyle Henry Hebert ( ) is an American voice actor known for his work in anime and video game series, such as the teenage/adult Gohan and the narrator in the Funimation dub of the ''Dragon Ball series'', Sōsuke Aizen in ''Bleach'', Ryu in the ...

. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in ''

Lego Marvel's Avengers ''Lego Marvel's Avengers'' is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the Nintendo 3DS, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Windows, ...

'' via DLC. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

Marvel Avengers Academy ''Marvel Avengers Academy'' was a freemium mobile game for iOS and Android, based on the characters featured in Marvel Comics. It was released on February 4, 2016. The game was shut down three years later. Despite the name, the game was not re ...

''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears as a playable character in ''

Marvel Puzzle Quest ''Marvel Puzzle Quest'' is a puzzle video game developed by Demiurge Studios and published by D3 Go! in 2013. The fourth installment in the '' Puzzle Quest'' series, it is a free-to-play, match-three battle game set in the Marvel universe. There ...

''. * Darren Cross / Yellowjacket appears in ''

Marvel Snap ''Marvel Snap'' is a digital collectible card game developed by Second Dinner and published by Nuverse for Android, iOS, and Windows. The game features a collection of different characters from the Marvel Universe. The game was released on Oct ...

''.

Merchandise

Darren Cross / Yellowjacket, based on the MCU incarnation, received a figure as part of

GameStop GameStop Corp. is an American video game, consumer electronics, and gaming merchandise retailer, headquartered in Grapevine, Texas (a suburb of Dallas). The brand is the largest video game retailer worldwide. , the company operated 3,203 stor ...

-exclusive two-pack alongside Ant-Man in

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

's ''

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

: The First Ten Years'' Legends Series.

References

External links

Darren Cross
at Marvel Wiki
Darren Cross
at Comic Vine {{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Darren Characters created by David Michelinie Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Comics characters introduced in 1979 Fictional business executives Fictional characters who can change size Fictional characters with electric or magnetic abilities Fictional mad scientists Fictional mass murderers Marvel Comics characters with accelerated healing Marvel Comics male supervillains Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics scientists