One of the heroes in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is Cassie Lang, who has had quite a journey already in the MCU. We met her as an adorable child in the first Ant-Man, Now, she’s a teenager ready to go on adventures with her dad, Scott Lang (Paul Rudd). But what is the comic book history of this third-generation shrinking hero? Here’s the full story on Cassie Lang, known as both Stature and Stinger, but also always known as a kickass hero.
The Marvel Comics History of Cassie Lang
Just as in the MCU, they introduced Cassie Lang alongside her father, Scott Lang, in 1979’s Marvel Premiere #47. In that story, Scott Lang was a reformed thief who now worked for Stark Industries. He had a young daughter by the name of Cassandra (Cassie) who had a congenital heart condition. The only way he could save her was with the help of renowned scientist Dr. Erica Sondheim. However, industrialist Darren Cross had her kidnapped for his own ends. In order to get her, Scott Lang used his burglary skills to break into the home of the original Ant-Man, Hank Pym. He stole his Ant-Man suit to rescue the doctor, who in turn, was able to save Cassie’s life. Thus, Lang’s career as Ant Man II began.
Over the next few years, Cassie mostly lived with her father, who shared custody of her with his ex-wife. During that time, she lived with him when he was an engineer working for the Fantastic Four. This resulted in Cassie not only figuring out her dad was secretly a superhero, but it exposed her to Pym Particles during several adventures with her father. Because she was still a small child, it would take a few years for those particles to activate in her DNA, giving her powers like Ant-Man. Eventually, her mother, horrified at the danger Cassie was always in living with a superhero, got full custody of her. But Cassie continued to hero worship her dad, putting a strain on her relationship with her mom and police officer stepdad.
Cassie Lang and the Young Avengers
When the Scarlet Witch killed Scott Lang in the 2004 event Avengers Disassembled, the android Vision’s security protocols activate when the team dissolved. This set up the search for the next generation of Avengers to replace the old. This team became known as the Young Avengers. Cassie wasn’t on Vision’s list, but she ran away from home and joined the Young Avengers team anyway. They accepted her into the group when she displayed her size-changing powers. Focusing on her ability to grow large, Cassie Lang took the hero name Stature.
As Stature, Cassie honored her late father. She developed a close friendship with Kate Bishop, the second Hawkeye, and fell in love with fellow member Iron Lad. But that love story became a tragic one, when Cassie and the team discovered that Iron Lad was a young version of the villainous Kang the Conqueror. The younger Kang was hoping to become a hero, once he learned about his future as a villain. Ultimately, he realized he had to return to his time and let history play out. The Vision, whose brain patterns were based on Iron Lad’s also developed feelings for Cassie, but this romance never really went anywhere.
Cassie Lang’s Marvel Comics Death, Resurrection, and Stinger Name
After an untimely death in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (the event that brought her father back to life), Cassie was eventually resurrected as well. Doctor Doom (in a rare altruistic phase) discovered her Pym Particles powers transformed her life force into ionic energy upon death. This was similar to the Avenger Wonder Man. He brought her back, and she emotionally reunited with her father, himself a resurrected hero. But Cassie’s mother fought for sole custody of Cassie, fearful of losing her again to the dangers of a superhero career. But ultimately, no one was able to stop Cassie from living that hero life. She adopted the new name of Stinger, donning wings and a new costume, becoming her father’s partner in crime fighting in earnest.
Cassie Lang’s Powers in the Marvel Comics
Cassie could grow in height to about 40 feet tall, and shrink down to about the size of an ant. While her father and Hank Pym can grow smaller, Cassie struggled with this. However, she could grow just as big as, if not bigger, than both men. Her emotional state also often triggered her power set. She could grow tall as she got angry, and shrunk whenever feeling guilty. Because she preferred growing larger over shrinking, Cassie went with the superhero name of Stature. In her identity as Stinger, she wore wings like the Wasp, as well as bio-electric blasts just like Janet Van Dyne. She also now had a helmet that allowed her to control over 5,000 species of insect.
Cassie Lang in the MCU
Cassie first appeared in the original Ant-Man, played by Abby Ryder Fortson. She was six years old in that film, and much like in the comics, hero-worshipped her dad Scott. Although Scott briefly went back to crime for Cassie, it was to get more money to be a good father. It wasn’t due to any medical issues on her part. We saw her again in Ant-Man and the Wasp, now 9 years old. When Scott got lost in the Quantum Realm, reemerging five years later, Cassie was now 14 years old. She was played briefly by Emma Fuhrmann.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
For her larger role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Cassie has been recast once again. She’s now played by Kathryn Newton. She definitely will be taking after her father in all the footage we’ve seen in trailers. She’s wearing her own super suit and going on an adventure with him and her family. We don’t know yet what her superheroic identity will be. Will she go by Stature? Stinger? She may not choose a superhero name at all, at least not for a while. It seems like they are certainly setting Cassie up for a potential Young Avengers project, as they have set many other Young Avengers characters up for an MCU future recently. Whether she’s microscopoc or gigantic, we expect to have sizable role (sorry) in the MCU’s future.
The post Who Is Cassie Lang’s Stature? The ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA Hero, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.
0 Comments