Can you imagine that Ant-Man could have one of the saddest moments in Marvel Comics? Hank Pym, the original Ant-Man, was always a tragic figure. He created Ultron, the murderous robot who destroyed an entire country. Blinded by his desire to redeem himself, he attempted to stage an attack on the Avengers. He was married to Janet Van Dyne at the time and she would never allow him to go through with it. When she tried to stop him, he hit her. He spent the next several years slowly working towards his redemption and eventually earned his way back on the Avengers.
Now Hank’s story of guilt, domestic abuse, and redemption was one of Marvel’s darkest stories. It really made Marvel a bit more “real” and reminded us that even superheroes are still heavily flawed human beings. The story of Hank Pym also speaks clearly that it is not really the kind of thing you would see in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Domestic abuse? Yeah, not something they would be okay with. That’s probably why they chose Scott Lang to be their dominant Ant-Man. When I first heard that would be the route they were going with, I was a bit disappointed.
I initially preferred the original Ant-Man to be the main Ant-Man of the MCU. However, what they did with Hank Pym in the first movie was a rather interesting take on the character. He wasn’t nearly as flawed as the comic version, but he had several of the qualities that made him Hank Pym. The most notable one is his ego. Like the comic version, the MCU’s Hank Pym was obsessed with his experiments. As it was confirmed by Bill Foster in Ant-Man and The Wasp, Hank Pym pursued his experiments for his own ego. As long as he completed his goals, the welfare of others didn’t matter much to him.
We saw just small specs of this in the movies, and like the comic version, Hank Pym had to live with it. He made enemies because of his ego, he alienated his only daughter, but much like the comic version, he had undying love for Janet. Even after the domestic abuse incident, comic version Hank Pym never gave up on loving Janet. They never remarried, but she eventually forgave him and they remained friends for years. The MCU’s Hank Pym had a much healthier marriage with his Janet Van Dyne, but he lost her to the Quantum Realm during a mission. He spent the next three decades looking further into the Quantum Realm so he could rescue her. Even with all of his flaws, he still loved his wife.
As I said, Hank Pym’s story is tragic, but if we’re looking at the story of Ant-Man, the saddest moment wasn’t with Hank. It was actually with Scott Lang. Speaking of Scott, his daughter Cassie is now a fully grown teenager in the MCU. This sets up for a much bigger story that greatly expands the ranks of the MCU heroes. If you’re a comic fan, you’d be familiar with Cassie Lang’s career as a teenage superhero.
At one point in the comics, Cassie decided to experiment with some of Scott’s Pym particles and she eventually obtained the same powers he did. The young Cassie loved the idea of her father being a superhero and figured she could do the same. With her newly found powers, Cassie became the teenage superhero called Stature. She spent most of her time in Marvel Comics fighting with her fellow teenage heroes called The Young Avengers.
Since the time jump happened in Avengers: Endgame, the MCU’s Cassie Lang is now older. She’s pretty much old enough to actually become Stature in the MCU. We know that’s happening. I mean, heck, they casted Kathryn Newton, so you know they got plans for Cassie. Not only will she become Stature, but there’s a big chance she’ll join the Young Avengers. They’e not a team yet, but it seems like they’re slowly building to that. If they’re going to introduce Cassie as Stature and introduce Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, I’m willing to bet money that they’re going to become besties and form the Young Avengers.
If that happens, I’ll be stoked, but if they follow Cassie’s story like the comics, they might have to cut out a devastating moment. Spoiler alert if you’re not a comic fan but watch the movies. Stop reading now or just prepare yourself. Cassie Lang had a long and good run as Stature. She fought on both sides during the superhuman civil war and had a thing with one of Doctor Doom’s lackeys. Even when Scott Lang was killed by Scarlet Witch, she continued her crimefighting career as a hero.
However, things took a turn for the worst during the Children’s Crusade storyline. It was a largely a redemption story for Scarlet Witch, but she’s not the hero who got it the worst in the end. In typical comic book fashion, things got weird, but Cassie got to reunite with Scott. Their reunion, however, was short-lived, as Cassie was brutally killed by Doctor Doom in a subsequent battle. She died while trying to avenger her father, as she mistakingly believed that Doom literally squashed her father. Doom was eventually defeated, but after he retreated, the heroes realized that it was too late for Cassie. They, too, believed that Scott was dead, but he was revealed to be alive with only minor injuries.
All the heroes, including the Avengers and the X-Men, were gathered around Cassie’s dead body as Scott revealed himself to be okay and approached the scene. When he discovered the horrible truth, he broke down in tears and cradled his daughters lifeless body. The Avengers and the X-Men just watched with broken hearts and tears in their eyes. Afterwards, the Young Avengers built a monument to forever honor the memory of Cassie.
Out of all the saddest moments in Marvel Comics history, the death of Cassie Lang is ranked among the top saddest. If you don’t keep up with comics, however, don’t fret. Cassie was eventually resurrected and by Doctor Doom on top of it. Hey, it’s the world of comics, crazy things happen all the time.
The point being, Cassie’s death might be too dark for the MCU. Can they actually pull it off? It’s possible, but having Paul Rudd break down and cradling her corpse would be a dark scene. If they were going to kill off Cassie, I’d imagine they’d do it in a less graphic way than the comics. I mean, Doom literally blasted her when they were both in giant form. Boy, that was really something.
Killing a teenage superhero would probably be going too far for the MCU. My guess, they’re not going to go that route. Cassie as Stature just sets up too many opportunities for the MCU and they’ll probably let her live for a very long time. But seriously, how about the Young Avengers?
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