Stature: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Cassandra Lang

First Appearance: Marvel Premiere #47 (April, 1979)

Powers: Much like her father, Scott Lang, Cassandra Lang has the ability to shrink and grow her size. She is able to do this through the use of Pym Particles.

Affiliation: Young Avengers

Did You Know? Cassandra Lang first appeared as herself 27 years before appearing as the superheroine, Stature.

A Little History

Cassandra (Cassie) Lang was created by John Byrne and David Michelinie. Stature, on the other hand, was created by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung. 

At a young age, Cassie was diagnosed with a congenital heart condition. In the sequence of events leading to him saving her life, Scott Lang (her father) stole the Ant-Man costume from Henry Pym. After he saved her, he turned himself over to the authorities for stealing the suit. Luckily, Henry Pym was there to clear him of all wrongdoing and let him keep the suit.

Fast foward to Cassie…

As the daughter of the superhero, Ant-Man, Cassie grew up idolizing and wanting to be her father. Unfortunately, her father and mother didn’t see eye-to-eye and wound up getting a divorce. Her mother, afraid of the fact Scott was Ant-Man, fought for, and successfully won custody of Cassie. Now living with her mother, Cassie was only permitted time with her father once a month. On one of their visits, Cassie steals some Pym Particles from her father in hopes that she too would become a hero.

After her father died, Cassie would be granted her wish. Her father’s death caused a rift between her and her mother. This was primarily due to her stepfather, Blake Burdick. As a police officer, Blake had a natural disdain for superheroes. Because of this and who Scott Lang is, Blake does everything in his power to keep her from her father. This prompted Cassie to run away from her family to California to join, you probably guessed it, the Runaways. That is, she joined them until she saw the Young Avengers on television.

Iron Lad, the eventual Kang the Conquerer, learns what he will become as he grows older. To prevent this, he uses Vision’s database to recruit young superpowered people who had connections to the Avengers. Because Cassie has yet to show any sort of power, she was not sought out. 

Cassie and her now friend, Kate Bishop, make their way to Avengers Mansion and ask to be included in the team. Showing no powers, Cassie is not accepted. Worse yet, the team also tells her that her father’s Ant-Man gear doesn’t belong to her. Cassie is angered by this and immediately lashes out at the team. What nobody foresaw was that as she verbally blasted them, her size grew. She then confessed that she had been stealing Pym Particles for years. Iron Lad assures her that if he had known of her ability he would’ve had her on the team. 

Eventually, Cassie takes the name Stature and develops a costume that closely resembles her fathers. It is later revealed that Cassie shrinks and grows with her emotions.