One of the heroes in 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 of Cassie Lang, Ant-Man’s daughter, known as both Stature and Stinger in the Marvel universe, but also always known as a kickass hero.
The Marvel Comics History of Cassie Lang
Just as in the MCU, Marvel Comics 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. The future Ant-Man 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 save Cassie, 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 Lang 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 Lang not only figuring out her dad was secretly a superhero, but she became exposed 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 Cassie Lang’s 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 Lang continued to hero worship Ant-Man, putting a strain on her relationship with her mom and police officer stepdad.
Cassie Lang, a.k.a Stature, and the Young Avengers
When the Scarlet Witch killed Scott Lang in the 2004 event Avengers Disassembled, the android Vision’s security protocols activated as 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 Lang 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 in Marvel Comics.
As Stature, Cassie honored her late father Ant-Man. Stature also 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 Lang 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 Lang, but this romance never really went anywhere.
Cassie Lang’s Marvel Comics Death, Resurrection, and Stinger Hero Name
After an untimely death in Avengers: The Children’s Crusade (the event that brought her father back to life), Cassie Lang was eventually resurrected. 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. Doctor Doom brought Cassie Lang back, and she emotionally reunited with her Ant-Man, himself a resurrected Marvel hero. But Cassie’s mother fought for sole custody of her daughter, 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.
Cassie Lang left Stature behind and adopted the new name of Stinger in Marvel Comics, donning wings and a new costume and becoming Ant-Man’s partner in crime-fighting in earnest.
Cassie Lang’s Powers in the Marvel Comics
Cassie Lang could grow in height to about 40 feet tall and shrink down to about the size of an ant. While Ant-Man 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 Lang went with the superhero name of Stature. Meanwhile, in her identity as Stinger, she wore wings like the Wasp, and used bio-electric blasts just like Janet Van Dyne. She also now had a helmet that allowed her to control over 5,000 species of insects.
Cassie Lang in the MCU
Scott Lang’s daughter 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 nine years old. When Scott got lost in the Quantum Realm, he reemerged five years later, and Cassie was now 14 years old. Cassie Lang was played briefly by Emma Fuhrmann in Avengers: Endgame.
Cassie Lang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
For her larger role in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Cassie was recast once again. She’s now played by Kathryn Newton. She’s 18 years old in the film, and following in her father’s footsteps as an activist. She even lands in jail because of it, just like her Pops. She also takes after her “Grandpa” Hank Pym, and is a science wiz. It was her science expertise that accidentally landed her and her family in the Quantum Realm. While there, she helped her family fight Kang, and proved she has what it takes to be a superhero.
We don’t know yet what her superheroic identity will be. Will she go by Stature? Stinger? She doesn’t choose a superhero name in Quantumania. And 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.
Marvel Studios even recently released a featurette all about Cassie Lang and her MCU journey. It sounds like Cassie Lang is ready to be a hero.
Whether she’s microscopic or gigantic, we expect Cassie Lang to have a sizable role (sorry) in the MCU’s future.
Originally published on January 25, 2023.
