One of the next entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to expand the recently confirmed Multiverse Saga will be Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Among other things, the next chapter in Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne’s continuing adventures seems to be setting up Cassie Lang to become Stinger in the MCU.
But the presence of Kang — the Multiverse Saga’s primary antagonist — in the film might also suggest the plot could take inspiration from her brief stint as Stature, and actually set up a romance between Cassie and a time-displaced, younger version of Kang.
The teaser poster for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania shown at SDCC 2022 confirmed that Cassie Lang will be following in her father’s footsteps and gaining access to her own size-shifting suit. It also cemented that Kang will serve as a primary antagonist for the film. Little else has been confirmed about the project — but given the circumstances that befell Cassie Lang in the original comics, it’s entirely possible that the MCU is heading towards an introduction of her short-lived love interest Iron Lad, aka Nathanael Richards — who in fact was actually a young Kang.
Iron Lad was introduced in Young Avengers #1 by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung as one of the titular heroes. Each member of the founding team — consisting of Patriot, Hulkling, Wiccan and Iron Lad — took on the monikers of other notable Avengers. In reality though, the team had been formed by Iron Lad out of desperation. A version of Kang from early in his personal timeline, the young genius was horrified by the future that awaited him as a time-traveling supervillain. He traveled to the past in hopes of allying with the heroes who’d always found a way to prevent his future, and when he discovered the Avengers had splintered he formed his own team. But the terrifying impact of his alterations of the timeline resulted in Iron Lad accepting his fate and returning to his proper place in the timeline in (at least for the time) Young Avengers #6.
In that short time though, Iron Lad had forged a surprisingly sweet rapport with Cassie Lang. Still reeling from the death of her father during Avengers: Disassembled, Cassie arrived at the ruins of Avengers Mansion and ended up donning her own costume to become the hero, Stature. The pair flirted repeatedly throughout the story, and Cassie even shared a couple of kisses with him during the height of the conflict. Cassie was heartbroken when he had to return to his timeline — and eventually forged a romance with a new incarnation of Vision, who was based on Iron Lad’s brain scans. While it’s unlikely the Vision element will be brought to the MCU, it actually might be a perfect chance for Cassie to establish a lot about herself.
Cassie’s status as a teenager (as opposed to the younger girl she was before half the world lost five years to The Blip) means she’ll have plenty of possible directions to go in her personal life. Cassie having a personal connection to Kang could serve as a way to ground the time-hopping conqueror and give him a defined connection to the core heroes. It could also help further establish more members of the Young Avengers, a concept that’s become increasingly central to the growth of the MCU thanks to characters like Kate Bishop, America Chavez and Kamala Khan. Cassie’s boyfriend being a time-displaced Kang could be a great twist at the heart of Quantumania and help establish Cassie Lang as one of the most important young heroes going forward.
To see if the romance unfolds, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters Feb. 17, 2023.
