Warning, this article contains spoilers for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania introduced us to Scott Lang’s daughter, Cassie, now as a superhero.
The broad concept of the Ant-Man franchise is about size — scaling down and growing up. Cassie’s relationship with her father and wider family has been the literal counterpoint to Scott scaling up as Giant-Man. She’s grown from the young girl the villain Yellow Jacket threatens in Phase Two to the superpowered hero who helps overcome the exiled Kang in Phase Four.
The Lang-van Dyne-Pym dynamic is packed with generational parallels, and Cassie is fast emerging as the perfect combination of her immediate family. That’s helped by a few tweaks and twists on her comic book roots.
Comic book stinger
Cassie has been part of Marvel Comics since the 1970s and has undertaken a roller-coaster journey to become a superhero and Young Avenger. Her MCU journey looks roughly the same, although her live-action version has one distinct difference from her comic counterpart. Cassandra Lang is undoubtedly smart in the comics, but she has a genius-level intellect in the movies.
The MCU isn’t afraid to stack up its super-intelligent heroes and villains. It’s a crucial part of the comic book adventure, after all. But Cassie currently lacks the on-paper qualifications of some of her peers and inspirations.
Joining the line of MCU super geniuses
Iron Man Tony Stark was the original super scientist of the MCU. The first movie of the saga tracked his journey from head of a defense contractor to a philanthropic superhero. In Phase 4, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever introduced Ironheart Riri Williams as Stark’s natural successor. She is presented as a science prodigy enrolled at MIT, her talent clearly recognized by American authorities. In that movie, she teams up with Shuri, the head of Wakanda’s Royal Family and its chief scientist and inventor. Even 13-year-old genius Lunella Lafayette, introduced to the MCU in Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, hangs around with a noticeable red-horned Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Closer to home, Cassie has been studying with her surrogate grandfather, Hank Pym, who it’s fair to say is the primary scientific influence on her life. Pym was the original Ant-Man and a former S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant. Cassie’s arc with Darren Cross/M.O.D.O..K. may be a particularly weak part of Quantumania, but it works as a reading of her relationship with Pym. In the first Ant-Man movie, Cross is a wasted genius. Although he was a protégé of Hank Pym and noted MIT valedictorian, his genius couldn’t match his ambition. His journey led to him threatening Cassie just before her father defeated him, and, as we later realized, he was transformed by Kang in the Quantum Realm.
Cassie is a protégé the older Pym gets right. Add in the more stable influence of Hope van Dyne and a less reticent Janet van Dyne now that the horrors of the Quantum Realm have been revealed, and Cassie has an impressive support network to develop her gifts.
Just how smart is the MCU’s Cassie Lang?
There’s no doubt that Cassie Lang is one of the most intelligent characters in the MCU, but we can’t currently categorize her on its scale of genius. Her scientific focus has followed her grandfather’s specialties, mainly focusing on the Quantum Realm and miniaturization tech but probably with less emphasis on ants.
In Quantumania, we see her develop a plan to send a signal into the Quantum Realm, intending to remotely map the universe before she and her family are dragged into it. Although she takes a while to reveal it to her father, it’s implied that Cassie also helped develop her own Ant-Man suit. Her rescue of Scott and Hope when Kang nearly trapped them in his world looked all too easy. However, that worked as an indication of her calm-under-pressure ability and intelligence.
She may need more combat practice, but the true kicker makes her late advice to M.O.D.O.K. particularly relevant: She has Scott Lang in her life. Cassie’s moral compass and love of family are a strong part of the third Ant-Man film, and she overcomes the plot problems that hinge on her newly revealed abilities. Although we can’t condone it (too much), her three stays in the cells and knowledge of her father’s background make a crucial difference.
Her development is all the more impressive, considering she lost these influences for five years during the Blip. Kudos has to go to Cassie’s mom, who at least gets a name check in Quantumania.
Finding her place in the Young Avengers
What’s clear is that should the Young Avengers ever form in the MCU, Cassie will be an invaluable member, especially alongside Riri Williams. Cassie is currently credited with a genius-level intellect and as a master scientist and engineer. While her father continues his book tour, her assets will undoubtedly become known to a broader audience.
With Ironheart and Stature/Stinger (whichever mantle Cassie picks up from the comics), the Young Avengers will have a pleasingly female take on original Avengers geniuses Tony Stark and Bruce Banner. All we need is for them to assemble.