Cassie Lang (AKA Stature) Superhero Origins

Cassie Lang AKA Stature Origins

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re breaking down the origins of Cassie Lang, also known as the hero Stature.

For this list, we’ll be looking at how this side character grew big enough to shoulder the Lang family name.

What part of Cassie’s origins are you hoping to see in the MCU? Let us know in the comments below!

Scott Lang’s daughter debuted in the comics in 1979 as, well, just that: a daughter. Long before she grew in both popularity and size, Cassandra “Cassie” Lang was pretty much an average child character. In fact, her lack of superpowers played a major role in her father’s origin story. Cassie was born with a congenital heart disease, and the only doctor capable of operating on her was kidnapped by Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket. So, in the name of his daughter, Scott did some clever borrowing and became “Ant-Man” as we know him today. But, even though Cassie played an integral role in Scott’s story, she never quite got the chance to grow into her own character.

Luckily, Cassie wasn’t content sitting on the sidelines for long. So, over the course of her parent’s divorce, she slowly pieced together her father’s heroic alter ego. Then, after confronting him about the ant in the room, she even got to accompany him on a few missions. Though she still didn’t have powers of her own, Cassie proved that her quick wit was plenty valuable in a high-stakes situation. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t enough to convince Scott or the other Avengers that she deserved a spot on the team. Even worse, just after getting her first whiff of superpowered adrenaline, Cassie’s mother got joint custody of her.

Suddenly, Cassie was living with a hero-hating stepdad, a disapproving mother, and absolutely no access to the crime-fighting she so desperately craved. Naturally, the preteen wasn’t happy about being benched again. But there was little she could do besides huff the occasional Pym Particle and cross her fingers for a superpowered reaction. Alas, it was too little, too late. While Cassie sat at home, aimless, her father died in the line of duty battling a minion of the crazed Scarlet Witch. Cassie, grief-stricken and feeling she could’ve saved him, ran away from home more determined than ever to become a hero. Luckily, she wasn’t alone for very long before she found herself in front of the emerging Young Avengers.

The new team was spearheaded by Iron Lad, a time-traveling teenager who was destined to become Kang. But, before that, he was assembling his own roster of Earth’s mightiest filled with other youthful heroes. Cassie’s tryout didn’t quite go as planned, and after initially being turned away, all the years surrounded by Pym Particles finally paid off with her first real giant transformation. So, to keep her from utterly wrecking their base, the Young Avengers welcomed Cassie into their very first lineup. And their first order of duty? Fighting a futuristic Kang himself. Somehow, someway, they emerged victorious. Plus, along the way, Cassie and Iron Lad realized they liked each other as more than just teammates.

Unfortunately, by the end of the saga, Iron Lad returned to his own timeline, leaving Cassie with yet another heartbreak. Without their original leader, Cassie took up the reins as the ostensible captain of the Young Avengers. Except, now, under the mantle of a new hero: Stature. So, despite warnings from the varsity squad, Cassie and the others continued to fill in the crime-fighting cracks across the globe. Then, after fighting Skrulls and participating in Marvel’s Civil War, the team was enlisted for their biggest mission yet. Wiccan’s powers had gone haywire, so the Young Avengers had to seek out the one person Cassie could never forgive: the rehabilitated Scarlet Witch.

But Cassie managed to put the mission above her feelings - and it really paid off. In the middle of the operation, Iron Lad made his grand return to the team. And, with the help of his time-traveling abilities, he managed to bring Cassie’s father back to life. For the very first time, Scott got to see Cassie as the hero she always wanted to be. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to last, and just as they tracked down Scarlet Witch, Dr. Doom crashed the party. Instead of letting her father sacrifice himself yet again, Cassie forfeited her own life in order to subdue the villain. Despite Iron Lad’s time-hopping abilities, the Young Avengers decided it would be too dangerous to mess with history yet again.

Instead, they erected a statue of their late leader, and disbanded the team seemingly for good. Later, after some worthwhile soul-searching, the newly-sympathetic Dr. Doom decided to right one of his biggest wrongs by bringing Cassie back to life. However, just as soon as she returned to the living, she was kidnapped by one of Yellowjacket’s lackeys. They believed that Cassie’s Pym Particle-reliant heart made her the only donor capable of saving Darren Cross’s life. Scott eventually arrived to save her, but not before her heart, and her powers, had been forcibly transplanted to Yellowjacket. Scott blamed himself for Cassie’s fate, and abandoned her in hopes she’d be safer without him.

But, Langs aren’t ones to throw in the cape, and Cassie immediately got to work developing a new way to save the day - this time, as the vigilante named Stinger. Unfortunately, her vengeful crusade against Yellowjacket only got her in serious trouble with the law. Scott took the fall for her, and may have been charged with some serious negligence if villains hadn’t ambushed the trial. Luckily, Cassie was there to help, and finally got to show Yellowjacket that she still had sting even without a superpowered heart. After seeing her daughter in action, Cassie’s mom finally acknowledged her as a hero. So, with Scott’s charges dropped and Cassie free to follow her dream, the crime-fighting Langs decided to take on the world as a pair.

Outside of the comics, the first live-action iteration of Cassie appeared in 2015’s “Ant-Man,” where she was played by Abby Ryder Fortson. There, she was fairly accurate to the early comics - almost to a fault. Meaning, she lacked any real superpowers. Later, in “Avengers: Endgame,” the character was aged up post-Snap and recast as Emma Fuhrmann. However, in yet another cast shakeup, Kathryn Newton has settled into the role for “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” Rumor has it she’ll finally be picking up the Stature helmet, so fingers crossed this is the last Cassie Lang actor we’ll ever need.

Marvel’s definitely hedging their bets on Cassie, which makes sense given her precedent in the comics. Not only has she fought Kang the Conqueror before, but her relationship with Iron Lad means she has plenty to fight for. After all, it can’t be a coincidence that both Kang and Stature are allegedly making their big-screen debut in the same movie. To compound things further, the Young Avengers have been slowly but surely popping up all across the MCU. So, with both Kang the Conqueror and a teenaged teamup on the horizon, it seems like Cassie will be growing into quite the major player in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.