Cassie Lang
Cassandra Lang | |
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Jonas / Vision | |
Notable aliases | Giant-Girl Ant-Girl Stinger Stature |
Abilities |
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Cassandra "Cassie" Lang is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by David Michelinie and John Byrne, the character first appeared in Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979).[1] Cassandra Lang is the daughter of the superhero Scott Lang / Ant-Man.[2] She has also been known as Stature, Stinger, and Ant-Girl at various points in her history.[3]
Since her original introduction in comics, the character has been featured in various other Marvel-licensed products, including
Publication history
Cassandra Lang debuted in Marvel Premiere #47 (April 1979), created by writer David Michelinie and artist John Byrne.[5] She later appeared under the codename Stature in the 2005 Young Avengers series, by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung.[6] She appeared in the 2008 Young Avengers Presents Stature one-shot, her first solo comic book.[7] According to Diamond Comic Distributors, it was the 81st best selling comic book in May 2008.[8] She appeared under the codename Stinger in the 2015 The Astonishing Ant-Man series, by Nick Spencer and Anna Paola Martello.[9][10]
Fictional character biography
Ant-Man's daughter
Cassie Lang is introduced to the Marvel Universe as the ill daughter of Scott Lang. Her congenital heart condition forces her father to steal Hank Pym's Ant-Man equipment and Pym Particles, which he uses to rescue Doctor Sondheim, the only doctor able to cure Cassie's condition, from Cross Technological Enterprises.[11][12]
After the divorce of her parents, Cassie lives for most of her childhood with her father, whom she loves and admires greatly. Although Scott tries his best to keep his superhero life secret, Cassie gradually finds out that he is Ant-Man, and secretly experiments with his Pym Particle supplies on her own.[13] She is fascinated by her father's life as a superhero, and generally has a good relationship with her father's colleagues; when she was younger, she even called Tony Stark "Uncle Tony."[14]
Scott's time as an engineer for the Fantastic Four brings Cassie to the team's then-headquarters of Four Freedoms Plaza. In the spectacular environment Cassie calls home, she forges a strong friendship with the former ward of Doctor Doom, Kristoff Vernard. During the time they share a home with the Fantastic Four, Cassie helps Kristoff adjust to life outside of Doom's castle, and she develops a crush on him.[volume & issue needed] It is also during this time that she meets her father in his Ant-Man identity, and confesses that she had known about it for a long time.[15]
After the Fantastic Four go missing and Cassie's father finds himself without a job, Scott takes employment at Oracle, Inc. with the
As a result of Cassie being kept away from her father Scott, she grows more and more bitter toward her mother, and even more so toward her stepfather Blake Burdick. As a police officer, he cannot stand the world of superheroes the young girl loves, and he unsuccessfully tries to keep Cassie and Scott apart. For years, Cassie visits her father whenever possible, much to her mother and stepfather's chagrin, until the events of "Avengers Disassembled," when Scott is killed due to the actions of an insane Scarlet Witch.[16]
Cassie retreats into herself, blaming Blake for being unable to understand her as her father always did. Blake tries unsuccessfully to be a caring stepfather, despite being sometimes distant toward her, seeing his stepdaughter as a "less than brilliant" girl. Some time after her father's death, and after another confrontation with her mother and stepfather, Cassie decides to run away to Los Angeles to join the Runaways, but after seeing the "Young Avengers" on television just before leaving, she subsequently changes her plans, as she later tells Jessica Jones.[17]
Young Avengers
Iron Lad, a younger version of classic Avengers foe Kang the Conqueror, desperate for help against his future self after learning what he will become, uses the Vision's database to track and recruit young superpowered individuals connected to the Avengers' history; however, Cassie Lang is not one of the individuals on the list. Wishing to join the Young Avengers, she and Kate Bishop meet the young heroes at the Avengers Mansion; when they refuse to let them join or to let her take her father's gear, she angrily rebukes them, only to discover much to her own shock that by doing so she had increased her size. She later confesses that she had repeatedly stolen Pym particles from her father for years, but until then it seemed they never had any effect on her. Cassie later displays the ability to also shrink.[18]
Iron Lad assures her that if Vision had known she had developed powers, she would have been part of his plans for the Young Avengers, thus accepting her as a teammate; she then takes part in the battle against Kang, which ends in the villain's defeat. However, as the altered timeline causes several of them to disappear, Iron Lad realizes that he must return to his own time and accept the fact that he will become Kang, much to Cassie's sorrow, as she had fallen in love with him.[19]
While Captain America and Iron Man order the team to disband, both Cassie and Kate refuse and convince the others to keep the team active; after initially considering Ant-Girl or Giant-Girl, she ultimately adopts the codename Stature, along with a new costume based on her father's. Despite this, she feels guilty when overhearing her mother and stepfather discussing the possibility of her being a member of the team, also showing that rage or guilt make her respectively grow or shrink, metaphorically reflecting her being a shrinking violet about her family issues.[20] After deciding to continue her life as a superhero, Cassie overhears her stepfather talking to her mother. They suspect that she is secretly Stature, but refuse to believe it. Later, Jessica Jones talks to Cassie's mother and confirms Cassie's dual identity. Cassie's mother is overwhelmed by this news and begs Jessica not to tell her husband about this due to his hatred of superheroes; she also worries that although Cassie was cured of her heart condition, her heart might not be able to handle the strain of continuous size-changing.[21] When Jessica Jones asks Cassie if there is not even a small part of her wishing for a normal life, Cassie replies, "Ms. Jones, my dad was Ant-Man. I never had a normal life."[22]
In the
The Initiative
Cassie Lang joins the
Her time at
Later, the
Cassie accidentally injures her stepfather Blake while stopping the
Secret Invasion
Stature fights against the Skrull invasion of Manhattan as part of the Initiative.[29] She grows larger than the Skrull Yellowjacket and punches him out.[30]
Dark Reign
In the aftermath of the Skrull invasion, Cassie Lang leaves the Initiative at the start of the
Heroic Age
At some point, Cassie applies for a babysitter job with
The Children's Crusade and death
When Wiccan's uncontrolled magical energy nearly kills several members of the Sons of the Serpent, the Avengers begin to fear that he might become another Scarlet Witch; they explain to the Young Avengers how the Scarlet Witch went insane after the loss of her twin boys, resulting in the death of the original Vision and Scott Lang, and rendering nearly all of the world's mutants powerless. When Wiccan feels unsure about what to do, Cassie suggests that they try to find the Scarlet Witch, believing that if they can show her that her children are alive, she may be able to reverse everything she has done, including her father's death.[39]
During the team's search in Latveria, Cassie is reunited with Iron Lad, and, when he takes the team back to the period of Avengers Disassembled, she is able to bring her father forward in time to the present, avoiding his original death from the attack by Jack of Hearts. After she manifests her powers in front of him, Scott tells her he's proud of her.[40]
After the Scarlet Witch is found, Dr. Doom steals her reality warping powers and fights the combined forces of the Avengers and X-Men. As Doom seemingly kills her father (who actually managed to shrink down and escape with minor wounds), a distraught Cassie charges the super-powered dictator, gaining time for Scarlet Witch and Wiccan to prepare a joint spell to remove his new powers; however, Doom retaliates by blasting Cassie with an explosive spell, killing her.[41] Although Iron Lad offers to take her into the future to save her, his offer is rejected by the other Young Avengers, as it is more in line with what Kang would do than what an Avenger should do. While contemplating rebuilding the Vision (who Iron Lad destroyed in rage when he protested against his plans to save Cassie), the Young Avengers realize that they would have to tell a restored Vision about Cassie's death, and thus decide not to follow through with the rebuilding. Kate expresses her desire to believe that Vision and Cassie are somehow together in the afterlife. The team disbands and a statue of Cassie and the Vision's is built in their honor in the gardens of the mansion.[42]
Resurrection
Bentley 23 (a clone of Wizard) of the Future Foundation later postulates that, due to the unstable nature of Pym Particles, Cassie's body could conceivably regenerate into an ionic form similar to the resurrection of Wonder Man; he suggests digging up the corpse to check, stating that he is sure his classmates are thinking the same thing.[43]
During the AXIS storyline, Doctor Doom is transformed into a more heroic, altruistic form as a result of the battle with the Red Skull that involved a spell that inverted heroes and villains' personalities.[volume & issue needed] Seeking redemption for his past crimes, but only able to draw on enough power to alter one key event, Doom chooses to use that power to resurrect Cassie. She is then seen tearfully reuniting with her father and his new girlfriend Darla Deering.[44]
In the Ant-Man ongoing series, she is shown living a normal life as a middle-school student. Worried that Scott's lifestyle and actions might attract more danger to her, Cassie's mother decides to relocate to
A now depowered Cassie struggles with her everyday activities, while feeling frustrated by her current status; feeling resentful over Scott's seeming disappearance, she is later shocked and outraged to find out that he was secretly following her around, watching over her. One day, she is reunited with Kate, who has found out about her resurrection; despite her lack of powers, she follows her friend to a
Powers and abilities
Cassandra Lang possesses the ability to increase and decrease her size.[51][52] She can become roughly 40 feet (12 m) tall and can shrink to the size of an ant. Her abilities seemed to be fueled by her emotions.[53] She grows when she gets angry and shrinks when she feels guilty. Cassie seems to have become more powerful since first demonstrating her powers, as she has in recent issues surpassed her previous growth limit. At first she struggled to shrink to 6 inches and grow to 10–15 feet.[54] She has been seen growing larger than the Skrull Yellowjacket, who could grow to at least 100 feet (30 m) tall.[55] It was established that she and Hank Pym share an upper limit of somewhere around 250 feet (76 m) in height, and that, if she keeps her bigger dimensions for too long, Cassie will suffer from strains that will eventually force her to shrink back down.[56]
As Stinger, she has a helmet similar to that of Ant-Man, which allows her to communicate with and control "over five thousands species of ants and insects"; she also sports a suit with bio-synthetic wings that allow her to fly, and that can fire bio-electric blasts from the wrists.[57]
Reception
Critical response
James Hunt of Den of Geek stated, "Cassie’s parents weren’t killed forcing her to swear revenge. She didn’t grow up in fantastical circumstances. She doesn’t have a secret destiny to fulfil. In fact, it’s these unremarkable circumstances that make Cassie Lang an ideal choice of character to invest in, because she’s someone you can’t find anywhere else on screen: A normal child who wants to be a superhero because she’s seen how superheroes work. What kid wouldn’t relate to that?"[58] Deirdre Kaye of Scary Mommy called Cassandra Lang a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.[59]
Screen Rant ranked Cassandra Lang 9th in their "13 Best Avengers Members Who Joined in the 2000s" list.[60] Comic Book Resources ranked Cassandra Lang 2nd in their "10 Best Versions Of Ant-Man" list,[61] 6th in their "10 Strongest Pym Particle Users In Marvel" list,[62] and 8th in their "10 Young Avengers Ranked By How Good They Would Be As Leader Of The Avengers" list.[63]
Marvel Cinematic Universe
David Caballero of
Impact
In 2008, Cassandra Lang was referenced in the song "Nrrrd Grrrl" by American rapper and actor MC Chris.[66]
Other versions
Avengers: The Children's Crusade
An alternate version of Cassandra Lang appears in Avengers: The Children's Crusade.[67] Stature went with the Young Avengers on the search for the Scarlet Witch.[volume & issue needed] In the alternate future timeline glimpsed during the Children's Crusade, Cassandra Lang was shown as a member of the future Avengers under the codename Stinger.[68] It was later revealed that it had been Wiccan, now renamed Sorcerer Supreme, posing as Stinger to get Iron Lad to go back in time.[volume & issue needed]
Marvel Fairy Tales
An alternate version of Cassandra Lang appears in
MC2
An alternate version of Cassandra Lang appears in
Ultimate Marvel
An alternate version of Cassandra Lang appears in the
What If?
Multiple alternate versions of Cassandra Lang appears in What If.
- In "The Leaving," which takes place fifty years into an alternate future, Cassandra Lang is a nursemaid for the elderly Scarlet Witch.[77]
- In "What If Iron Man Lost the Armor Wars," Cassandra Lang is taken hostage by Justin Hammer to force Scott Lang's cooperation against his benefactor Tony Stark. When Hammer is later assassinated and his knowledge over the Iron Man armor claimed by A.I.M., Scott and Cassie are taken hostage by them as well, but are eventually freed by Stark clad in the Firepower armor.[78]
- In the "Sentinels during the first battle.[79]
In other media
Television
- Cassandra Lang appears in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes episode "To Steal an Ant-Man", voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessey.[80][81]
- Cassandra Lang appears in the Ant-Man (2017) episode "Science Fair",[82] voiced by Sky Alexis.[83]
Film
Cassandra "Cassie" Lang appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films Ant-Man (2015), Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers: Endgame, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, portrayed by Abby Ryder Fortson as a child,[84][85][86] Emma Fuhrmann as a teenager,[87] and Kathryn Newton as a young adult.[88][89]
Video games
- Cassandra Lang / Stinger appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.[90][91]
- Cassandra Lang appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.[92][93]
- Cassandra Lang / Stature appears as playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers.[94][95][96]
- Cassandra Lang / Stinger appears as a playable character in Marvel Avengers Academy.[97][98]
- Cassandra Lang / Stature appears in Marvel Snap.[99][100]
Merchandise
In 2023, Hasbro released an action figure of Cassandra Lang, based on the MCU incarnation, as part of the Marvel Legends line.[101][102][103]
References
- ^
- Johnston, Rich (March 19, 2023). "First Scott Lang Ant-Man, Cassie Lang & Darren in Marvel Premiere #47". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Cronin, Brian (February 20, 2023). "Cassie Lang's First Comic Book Romance Was With...Doctor Doom?!". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2023-04-23.
- Harth, David (2021-11-07). "Marvel: 15 Times A Child Took Over The Superhero Alias Of A Parent". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
- Fuge, Jonathan (2022-11-01). "Ant-Man 3 Star Kathryn Newton Teases Her Debut as Cassie Lang in the MCU Sequel". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Hood, Cooper (February 25, 2023). "Why Ant-Man 3 Recast Endgame's Cassie Lang". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Atkinson, John (2020-12-07). "Endgame Set Up Ant-Man's Avengers Replacement As A Better Villain". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Schedeen, Jesse (February 7, 2023). "Quantumania's Stature Explained: Cassie Lang Is the Next Step to the MCU's Young Avengers". IGN. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Burlaza, Angelica Denise (January 11, 2023). "'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania': Who is Cassie Lang's Stature?". Collider. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
- Sideshow (January 25, 2023). "Marvel Comics and the MCU: Who Is Cassie Lang?". Sideshow Collectibles. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
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