Until her appearance in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Cassie Lang was simply Ant-Man’s daughter to the general audience. But following the movie’s release, she’s now a superhero, with implications for future projects in the MCU, such as the widely rumored Young Avengers.
In essence, MCU’s Cassie Lang is no longer the cute young girl whose relationship with her ex-con dad brought heart to the Ant-Man films. Now a teenager who wants to save the world, and as a part of the Ant-family hero business, she’s set to be a pivotal character in the MCU and live up to her comic origins.
How Cassie Lang Becomes Stature (Or Stinger)
While it may appear the MCU is turning low-level characters into superheroes to keep the machine going, Cassie Lang’s origins actually go back to the bronze age of comic book history. She appeared for the first time in Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979) as the sick daughter of Scott Lang. Seeking her cure by any means necessary, Scott steals Hank-Pym’s Ant-Man costume and Pym Particles, setting him on the path to becoming a superhero. Scott’s Lang new life immersed Cassie into the world of superheroes. Over the years, her comic storylines included hanging out in the Baxter Building and Avengers Mansion and helping her father defeat the supervillain Master of the World in a big battle. All these added to a superhero experience for young Cassie, but she didn’t become Stature until the 2005 Young Avengers series.
In Young Avengers #6 (May 2006), after her father’s untimely death at the hands of the Scarlet Witch, Cassie Lang decided to follow in his footsteps and tried to join the Young Avengers. Her anger at the initial rejection caused her body to grow uncontrollably. Surprised at her newfound power, she later confessed to stealing and experimenting with Pym Particles over the years, unknowingly gaining size-altering abilities. Cassie Lang joined the team and, after considering Ant-Girl and Giant-Girl, chose Stature as her superhero identity because she prefered growing taller than shrinking.
As Stature in the comics, Cassie Lang had a busy superhero life. She was part of The Initiative, Mighty Avengers, fought on Captain America’s side in Civil War, and against Skrulls in Secret Invasion. Then it all came to a halt when she died fighting Doctor Doom in 2011’s Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8. But this is comics and death is temporary. Three years later, in Avengers World #16, a more benevolent Doom resurrects Cassie, though she returned without her size-changing powers. That is, until a deal with the supervillain Powerbroker helped change that, and she adopted a new superhero name, Stinger.
What Cassie Lang’s Powers Are In The Comics
Comic Cassie Lang’s core power, as Stature or Stinger, is the ability to increase and decrease her size. She can grow to a giant level and shrink to the size of an ant. It’s the same as her father’s, except her powers don’t require a suit. Her exposure to Pym Particles makes it possible to change her size without equipment.
The most interesting about Cassie’s ability, though, is how big she can get. In the Mighty Avengers series, Marvel established that she could grow as high as 250 feet, on par with Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man. Also, her Stinger suit has a helmet that allows her to telepathically communicate and control over five thousand species of ants and insects. The super suit also has bio-synthetic features that enable her to fly and fire bio-electric blasts from the wrists.
Where Does Cassie Lang’s Stature Gets Her Powers?
Cassie Lang’s powers as Stature comes from prolonged exposure of her heart to Pym Particles. This means her size is also an expression of her emotions. She grows taller when she’s angry and shrinks when she feels guilty. In contrast, in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, her powers rely entirely on a suit like everyone else in the Ant family.
Why Cassie Lang Was Recast In The MCU
Three actresses have played Cassie Lang so far in the MCU. The first, Abby Ryder Forston, played Scott Lang’s daughter as a child in the first two Ant-Man films. But the five-year time jump between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame made a recast necessary. So, Emma Fuhrman, a then-teenage actress, played Cassie in Endgame.
While Emma could have continued playing Cassie the teenager in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel allegedly wanted a recognizable name in the role based on their future plans. This brings us to current Cassie, Kathryn Newton, who has appeared in popular titles like Big Little Lies, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Blockers. She’s a rising Hollywood star with the experience to handle the demands of big productions.
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