In the Marvel Universe, it’s a relatively recent phenomenon that has seen supporting characters from the Silver Age and the Bronze Age of Comics rise to become superpowered heroes and heroines in their own right. For example, Flash Thompson became Agent Venom, General “Thunderbolt” Ross became the Red Hulk, and Betty Ross — after offering a sneak preview of this future trend via her brief stint as the Harpy — went on to become the Red She-Hulk. Yet somehow, she also couldn’t avoid becoming the Red Harpy. And folks like Flash and Red Hulk even joined the Avengers!
But there’s one young woman who has been poised for a heroic destiny since she first entered the Marvel Universe in 1979: Cassandra “Cassie” Lang, the daughter of the second Ant-Man, Scott Lang. The only reason that Scott became a hero was to save Cassie’s life, and she has strived to follow in his footsteps ever since. As a member of the Young Avengers, Cassie has created her own heroic legacy. And she’s about to make a major impact in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, as she dons a superhero costume herself for the first time onscreen.
Given that many of the other Young Avengers were already introduced during Marvel’s Phase Four, it seems likely that Cassie and her teammates are destined to come together in the MCU as well. If so, Cassie is poised to have a big role for several years to come. To celebrate the emergence of the MCU’s newest heroine, we’re taking a look back at Cassie’s comic book origins and how she became such an important part of the next generation of heroes.
The Heart of the Ant-Man
When David Michelinie and John Byrne created Cassie in Marvel Premiere #47, they may not have realized her full potential. After all, that issue was built around introducing Scott Lang as the new Ant-Man, since Hank Pym had abandoned that heroic identity years before. Like many of the best comic book origins, Scott’s tale was reliant on chance and coincidence. After seeking out heart specialist Dr. Erica Sondheim to treat Cassie’s rare heart affliction, Scott arrived just in time to see Sondheim abducted by goons who were working for Darren Cross.
At this point in his life, Scott was an ex-con who had only recently been released from prison. So his solution to this problem was to break into another house and rob it for some quick cash. The house in question just so happened to be Hank Pym’s home, where he helpfully left his Ant-Man suit and helmet unattended. Scott proved to be a quick study with the Ant-Man costume, and he soon used it to mount a rescue for Dr. Sondheim.
Scott had his superhero trial by fire while facing a mutated Cross in battle, but he ultimately prevailed and convinced Dr. Sondheim to save his daughter. Scott even decided to return the Ant-Man suit and turn himself in to the authorities. Thankfully, Hank had been monitoring the situation from afar and he was genuinely impressed by the way that Scott handled himself. Instead of sending Scott to prison again, Hank allowed him to become the new Ant-Man.
Raising Cassie
Since Scott’s ex-wife left him, he was largely left to raise Cassie on his own. And given Scott’s increasing prominence in the world of costumed heroes, that meant that Cassie had a rare first-hand look at places that most kids could only imagine, like Avengers Mansion and Four Freedoms Plaza.
Although Scott never formally joined the Fantastic Four , he and Cassie lived in Four Freedoms Plaza for an extended period. During this time, Cassie befriended Kristoff Vernard, the exiled heir of Doctor Doom. Cassie and Kristoff were both too young to explore a romance with each other, but they did seem to have a strong bond.
When Scott joined the Heroes For Hire, Cassie was once again in his orbit as she experienced the benefits and the drawbacks of living with superheroes. For example, an encounter with the Super-Adaptoid left Cassie traumatized and afraid. But even during these years, Cassie was planning ahead. In Young Avengers, Cassie even admitted that she had been exposing herself to Pym Particles for years in the hopes of developing powers of her own. Cassie got her wish, but under less than ideal circumstances.
Growing In Stature
During Avengers Disassembled, the Scarlet Witch went insane and orchestrated events that were designed to destroy the team. Among other things, Wanda Maximoff reanimated the corpse of Jack of Hearts and sent him to Avengers Mansion as a living bomb. Scott Lang was caught in the blast, and he was only the first Avenger to perish that day.
Several months later, Iron Lad, Patriot, Hulkling, and Wiccan formed the Young Avengers, which quickly got the attention of both Cassie and a socialite named Kate Bishop. After the makeshift team saved the Bishop family, Kate and Cassie tracked them down and demanded to be added to the group. It was at this point that Cassie’s Pym Particle exposure manifested as an actual power. However, it caused her to grow uncontrollably.
Eventually, Cassie got a handle on her newfound abilities and took on the codename Stature. She and Kate formally joined the Young Avengers, against the wishes of the older Avengers. Cassie also developed romantic feelings for Iron Lad before learning that he was a younger version of the man destined to become Kang, Nathaniel Richards.
I Fell In Love With a Teenage Vision
Iron Lad fled the present in a bid to protect Cassie and his teammates from the looming threat of his future self. But he left something important behind: A new incarnation of the Vision who was created in part by the brainwaves of Iron Lad himself. This was not the same Vision who married the Scarlet Witch and fathered her two sons. Instead, the new Vision called himself Jonas, and he had romantic feelings for Cassie as well.
Although Cassie was initially put off by Jonas, she came to accept and reciprocate his feelings. Jonas’ persona was also much more like a teen than the previous Vision was. While they were a couple, both Cassie and Jonas joined Hank Pym’s Mighty Avengers while maintaining their affiliation with the Young Avengers. This was the first time that Cassie got to play in the big leagues, so to speak. But her time in the limelight was destined to be short.
Killing Cassie
When the reunited Young Avengers found the long-missing Scarlet Witch, they traveled back in time to jog Wanda’s memories. Cassie took the opportunity to change the past and save her father, Scott, from his grisly fate.
Unfortunately for the Langs, their reunion was short-lived. Doctor Doom claimed credit for Scarlet Witch’s previous rampage and attempted to steal her powers. Cassie lost her life trying to stop Doom. In the aftermath, the team and Iron Lad were bereft. Iron Lad insisted on changing time to save Cassie, and he destroyed Jonas when he tried to intervene. That left the team to mourn two of their members.
The Girl Who Lived
But in the realm of comic books, almost no one stays dead forever. And you’re not really a superhero until you’ve died one or two times. During Axis, Cassie escaped her fate because one of Scarlet Witch’s spells inverted several heroes and villains. This meant that their moral centers were flipped, and the suddenly virtuous Doctor Doom was wracked with guilt over Cassie’s demise. To make amends, Doom brought Cassie back to life and reunited her with her father, Scott.
Cassie didn’t immediately jump back into the life of a hero. Yet her attempts at living a normal life were shattered when she was kidnapped by Augustine Cross, who blackmailed Dr. Sondheim and forced her to transplant Cassie’s heart into the body of Augustine’s father, Darren Cross. With Scott’s help, Sondheim was able to put another donor heart in Cassie’s body before she could die again.
The Rise of Stinger
Although Cassie seemed to be more than ready to leave the life of a superhero behind, she adopted a new identity, Stinger, when she got a chance to get payback on Augustine Cross. For the record, Cross was running a mobile app for henchmen, of all things. As Stinger, Cassie’s powers are closer to the abilities of the Wasp, including shrinking and artificial wings that allow her to fly when she is the size of a bug.
Since then, Cassie has fought alongside her father and resumed her heroic journey.
It should be noted that Cassie becoming a character named Stinger was first introduced as a concept almost two decades earlier in one of Marvel’s alternate futures, albeit one that was featured for longer than most. In A-Next #1, an adult Cassie was reintroduced as one of the next generation of Avengers. By this point in time, Dr. Cassie Lang is one of the world’s foremost experts in Pym Particles. She’s also one of the key members of the team. Since the Quantumania trailers suggest that Cassie has already at least been dabbling in science herself, it looks like some aspects of this incarnation are already incorporated into the MCU.
Scott’s Little Girl
Within the MCU, Cassie made her first appearance as a young girl in Ant-Man. Despite the fact that her mother had remarried another man and Scott himself had ended up in prison, Cassie remained devoted to her father. Their close relationship carried over to the next film, Ant-Man and the Wasp. However, Thanos’s successful attempt to wipe out half the universe left Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm for five years. By the time Scott got out, five years had passed since he had seen Cassie.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania appears to be repositioning the older Cassie as both a burgeoning scientist and as a heroine herself. Whether Cassie will have any romance with a younger version of Kang and/or Vision down the line remains to be seen. But she already seems to be ready to join the Avengers, Young or otherwise.
