Endgame Set Up Ant-Man's Avengers Replacement As A Better Villain

Cassie Lang took another step towards a heroic destiny in Avengers: Endgame — but everything that's happened to her could have also perfectly set up a villainous turn ahead of Ant-Man 3. Created by David Michelinie and John Byrne, Cassandra "Cassie" Lang first debuted in Marvel Premiere #47. Cassie eventually took up Scott Lang's superheroic mantle. Joining the Young Avengers, she adopted the name Stature in Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung's Young Avengers #6. With identical powers to her father (and his own predecessor, Hank Pym), Cassie has helped protect the world ever since.

The character made her MCU debut in Ant-Man. Played by Abby Ryder Fortson, Cassie also returned for the 2018 sequel, Ant-Man and The Wasp. The latter, however, culminated with Scott trapped in the Quantum Realm. It would be five years before he was able to make a miraculous escape and return to the world. Scott wasted little time in discovering that he was believed dead but that his daughter had been one of the few to survive. As Scott was reunited with her, she had understandably been aged up and was played by Emma Fuhrmann. The move seemed to serve as another piece in the puzzle towards assembling the popular Young Avengers team in Phase 4.

That fact would indeed make sense. After all, Fortson's iteration repeatedly expressed an interest in fighting alongside her father. However, an interesting alternate idea would be if she ended up on a more villainous path. A lot of her initial attitude came from idolizing her father, even when he was perceived as a criminal. That hero-worship often manifested in pushing back against more lawful ideals exemplified by her stepfather. Such tendencies were also likely fuelled by the suppressed trauma of her parent's divorce and Scott's multiple imprisonments. She would always side with Scott over everyone, no matter what. It was only after Scott officially became a superhero did Cassie's ambitions become more overtly heroic. Even then, however, she demonstrated a capacity for eschewing the rules. While that could be attributed to youthful exuberance and was portrayed as charming (given Scott was indeed the hero of the story), things could've easily taken a darker turn in the wake of Scott's seeming death.

Scott Lang reunites with Cassie in Avengers Endgame

The surprising development could be supported by the fact that nothing is known about Cassie's life between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. As such, Ant-Man 3 would have free reign to explore that time and flesh out Cassie's story prior to battling with the Young Avengers. One particular element that was never truly revealed was whether or not her mother or stepfather survived Thanos' snap. If they weren't so lucky, it would beg the question of how Cassie took care of herself and was able to hold onto her house. A life of crime would be understandable, if not even fitting, given everything. Without Scott, she could've either been led astray by preying forces or merely chose it as a survival technique. Even if her other parents did survive the snap, her grief over Scott alone could've seen her grow more rebellious and further alienated from them — to similar consequences. And she could've done so under her other comic book name: the more villainous-sounding Stinger.

It would certainly be a more interesting angle than merely following through on her being a straight-forward hero. A father having to reckon with his daughter's choices in his absence would be a rich metaphor to explore through a superhero lens. It would also add some serious personal stakes, as he battles to bring her back from the brink and anything she's gotten mixed up in. It would certainly tie her into the MCU villains of recent years being more understandable and even sympathetic. Equally, it would make any eventual turn into Stature even more meaningful — with Cassie, like Scott and others, having something from the past to make up for. As such, there is a wealth of potential set up in Avengers: Endgame that could be paid of in Ant-Man 3. By making her a villain, they would have an interesting story and potentially make Cassie Lang a more nuanced hero.

More: Every New MCU Super Team Rumored For Phase 4