MC2 Influences in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

 

I have just watched Marvel Studio’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and naturally, instead of a review, my mind leapt at the notion of discussing the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s adaption of Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Lang, particularly as I feel many of these influences can be linked to her counterpart in the MC2. Spoilers ahead, though only mild ones, I promise!

 

I am sure by now readers already know that Hope Pym was lifted directly from the pages of the MC2’s A-Next #7 when the first Ant-Man film adapted her into Hope Van Dyne, complete with matching hairstyle and something of chip on her shoulder. Of course, instead of a villainous role, the Marvel Cinematic Universe made Hope a heroine as the present-day Wasp rather than the Red Queen. This on-screen version in turn was adapted back into the comics in the form of Nadia Van Dyne/Pym, the daughter of  Hank Pym and Maria Strovaya, introduced as the Main Marvel Universe's answer to Hope Pym from the MC2 after the release of the first Ant-Man movie (Free Comic Book Day 2016 Civil War II). What a tangle, but regardless, we have touched on Hope quite enough for now. Let us instead look at the Cassie Lang.

 

Many years ago, I mentioned that it was too early to tell where the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of Cassie would be headed in terms of influences; would she be closely modelled on the Young Avengers iteration known as Stature or take cues from the MC2’s Stinger? Well, as it turns out, it is a bit of both, with the usual adaptational differences of all MCU characters.

 

Let’s talk visuals: Kathryn Newton’s Cassie has longer hair which recalls the Main Marvel Universe’s Stature. However, Cassie’s apparently self-designed suit is very much inspired by her Stinger identity with it’s purple colour scheme. I have mentioned before that even the Main Marvel Universe Cassie now uses both the codename and costume of Stinger as of Astonishing Ant-Man #6. An obvious case of brand synergy, sure, but the costume and codename Stinger all originates in the MC2 with A-Next #1 by Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz.

 

Speaking of Tom Defalco and Ron Frenz, both gentlemen received a ‘With Special Thanks To’ in the end credits for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is consist with the previous two films in the trilogy. Quite right, too. Presumably this time it is not only for Hope but also the as-yet-without-a-codename Cassie clad in purple. I wonder if they got a cheque in the mail?

 

Another MC2 influence, and one I think is quite important, is Cassie Lang’s great intelligence, demonstrated in the film by her development of a device which can make contact with the Quantum Realm. Unless I am mistaken, the Main Marvel Universe Cassie has not demonstrated any scientific skill or interest. Meanwhile the MC2’s Cassie is an established scientist with at least one doctorate who runs a think tank at Lang Labs, improved on the original Ant-Man and Wasp designs with her father Scott Lang including implanting wings in herself and was working on a cure for diabetes using insect DNA (A-Next #1-#2, #7).

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Cassie Lang also demonstrates a passion for social activism, defending the homeless and has a strong desire to help those around her, inspired by her father, Scott Lang aka Ant-Man. While it is not a 1:1 parallel, I think MC2 Cassie’s scientific efforts show a similar passion for selflessly helping others. Furthermore, Scott and Cassie first teamed up as superheroes in A-Next #7, much as they do on the big screen. Still, I must concede that Quantumania does not give Cassie her wings and does show her growing to giant-size, which is most certainly more akin to the Young Avenger’s Stature.

 

I look forward to seeing Cassie Lang develop into her own unique hero in future film (and possibly television) appearances. It seems almost inevitable that some form of the Young Avengers is coming in the years to come, but it would be a mistake to ignore the MCU Cassie’s ties to the MC2. I have not found any official merchandise that gives Cassie a codename, Stinger, Stature, or something else entirely, but I am sure they will acknowledge her MC2 roots eventually.

 

Until I find Marvel merchandise calls Cassie Lang ‘Stinger’ and feel validated, I remain

 

 

 

Hank Pym in the MC2

 

This one is probably well over due, so with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on the horizon I had better finally cover some of its prominent characters as they appear in the MC2. Today let us look at the original Ant-Man, Giant-Man, Goliath and Yellowjacket aka Dr Henry 'Hank' Pym in the MC2.

 

Hank Pym first appeared in Tales to Astonish #27 and first assumed the super hero nom de guerre Ant-Man in Tales to Astonish #35, with many more costumed identities to follow. In the MC2, Hank Pym was first referenced and glimpsed in flashback in the pages of A-Next #2, first with a mention of Cassie Lang utilizes Hank’s process to implant bio-synthetic wings on herself and next when discussing Bill Foster’s connection with him. Later in the same issue, we see a flashback featuring Hank alongside Captain America and the original Thunderstrike. Here, Pym is depicted in a version of his 90’s Giant-Man costume, which he wore during the events of The Crossing and Onslaught. This issue is also where we learn Hank is dead, a hint to later revelations in the series.

 

We next see a flashback of Hank Pym in A-Next #6 in the memories of the mentally ill Hercules, who tragically recalls his former Avengers teammates’ final mission which lead to more than half of them dying. Hercules blames himself for this loss, which drove him to madness. Once again, Hank is depicted in his 90’s Giant-Man costume which he first wore in Avengers (vol. 1) #366.

 

In the following issue, the new team of Avengers seek answers for what occurred to the original Avengers. Their questions are answered by Edwin Jarvis, who recalls their final mission to a alternate universe. Here we learn that the Avengers became aware of an alternate reality in which Victor Von Doom wielded a Universal Cube which would allow him to travel to other universes via portals to conquer them. With all of reality at risk, the Avengers held an emergency meeting. Many attended this urgent summons including (but not limited to) Captain America, Firebird, Firestar, Hawkeye, Hercules, Iron Man, Justice, Living Lightning, Scarlet Witch, Tigra, Vision and the Wasp. Perhaps ironically, it is Giant-Man aka Hank Pym himself (this time dressed in a version of his Goliath costume first seen in Avengers (vol. 1) #28) who is the first to speak up and agree to the mission without delay (A-Next #7).  

 

 We learn through Jarvis that this was around a year and a half prior to the Avengers officially disbanding. Sadly, many of the heroes did not return, with only Hawkeye, Hercules, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision and the Wasp re-emerging from the portal. Dr Pym is among the fallen, leaving Janet Pym distraught (A-Next #7).

 

When Hope Pym learns the new Avengers team has travelled to the alternate universe, we discover she blames the Avengers for the death of her parents, Hank and Janet, and she launches her revenge plot (A-Next #10). As the Red Queen, Hope uses her parents’ old security codes to sneak her team of Revengers into the Avengers Compound. Among the Revengers is her twin brother Henry Pym Jr, who objects to Hope’s change of plan, which involves not just capturing but killing the new Avengers in revenge for her parents’ deaths. Fortunately, Henry intervenes to stop Hope when she attempts to self-destruct the Avengers Compound, telling her their father Hank gave his life protecting the world and their mother Janet never blamed the Avengers (A-Next #12). Hope would continue to blame the Avengers for her parents’ death in future appearances.

 

 

Next time we see Pym depicted is in Last Hero Standing #1 during a symbolic flashback depiction of the Avengers’ earliest members when Uatu the Watcher is recounting the History of the MC2 like a sad little blogger. Here, Hank is seen in his second Giant-Man costume which first appeared in Tales to Astonish #50.

 

While he does not actually appear, it is worth mentioning that a ‘zombie ‘or ‘magical clone’ of Hank Pym’s Yellowjacket identity does appear in Avengers Next #1. These duplicates were created when the villainous Asgardian daughter of Loki, Sylene combined magic with stolen blood and tissue samples of various former and present Avengers. The first time the Yellowjacket costume identity appeared was in Avengers (vol. 1) #59.

That is all I have on Doctor Henry Pym in the MC2. While he is long dead, Pym’s legacy remains strong, ranging from the good to the bad. Be it Cassie Lang aka Stinger, Bill Foster’s faith in the new Avengers, Hank’s children Henry Junior and Hope Pym, the lingering threat of Ultron or the use of Pym Particles, the MC2 is full of Hank’s influence.

 

Until I die on a parallel world and my body is left behind, I remain

 

frogoat  

Stinger in the MCU

This is a different kind of post, just something quick to talk about the news coming out of the San Diego Comic Convention. During the convention, Marvel Studios have released the first official look at upcoming movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. The piece of concept art was produced by Andy Park and features not only the titular Scott Lang’s Ant-Man and Hope Van Dyne’s the Wasp but also provides a glimpse of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Cassie Lang, depicted for the first time in full super heroic attire.

 

 

 

While it is not confirmed at this point what moniker Cassie will adopt in the film, judging by her costume’s purple colour scheme I think it is safe to venture a guess this is a version of the Stinger identity. The Stinger codename and costume first appeared in the MC2 with A-Next #1 and, many years later, the Main Marvel Universe version of Cassie would adopt both starting with Astonishing Ant-Man #6.

 

While all the Ant-Man related characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are required to wear a helmet that encases their head as mentioned in the first Ant-Man film, it is nice to see Cassie wearing one that retains at least some of the elements of her comic counterpart such as the coloured eye-pieces. Additionally, the costume also integrates the gauntlets used for offensive attacks. It is not comic accurate, but I must note the footwear, too.  I mean, look at them!

 

Since I started writing this post, it has apparently been confirmed Cassie’s heroic identity will in fact be Stinger, not Stature. I am going to be paying this movie more attention than other recent entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I find it amusing that the Ant-Man movie of all things was the first big screen adaption to use an MC2 character, and now its sequel is continuing the theme.

 

Until I stop giving a massive multinational corporation that does not care about my existence my disposable income, I remain

 

frogoat

 

 

The Evolution of Stinger in Video Games

Here's my latest addition to the MC2 Evolution video series over on YouTube. Naturally, the series is focused on MC2 characters and those who originate in this alternate universe. In the case of Cassie Lang, who first appeared in the Main Marvel Universe, I've focused on only the video game appearances of her MC2-originated alter-ego Stinger, because obviously kid Cassie appears in many other works and adaptions and there are derivatives of those derivatives. Basically, this allowed me to draw the line somewhere so I could focus on making the video. Hopefully my reasoning makes sense.

Anyway, enjoy and leave any suggestions below!

Until I find more time to produce these videos, I remain

frogoat

The Nanite Agenda

It’s time for one of those short, sweet, little posts where I pull at a strand of continuity until I find something that probably wasn’t intentional. This time, it’s a piece of info I found while researching my post A-Next Ages: Mainframe: The Nanite Agenda.

 

So, what the heck is The Nanite Agenda anyway? Well, as I’ve discussed briefly in both my Iron Man in the MC2 and History of the MC2:The Avengers, Iron Man (Tony Stark) and the Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) closed the portal to the alternate world which had claimed so many of their teammates and friends. The portal required Wanda to remain in stasis, holding the breach closed with her powers.

 

In an attempt to help Wanda, Tony designed and built a Nanite Agenda intended to super-charge the human body. Stark’s friend Jim Rhodes tests the Agenda on himself before Tony despite the risk. The process at first seemed to be a success, mutating Rhodey and gifting him with steel-hard skin, concussive energy blasts. However, with the Nanites continuing to multiply, this made Rhodey less and less human over time (Spider-Girl #95).

 

This information is all conveyed via flashbacks which further explain why the nanite-driven Rhodey goes on a rampage after accidentally being hit with a hex bolt cast by the recently-revived Scarlet Witch. Stinger notes that Rhodey was familiar enough with Starktech to disable Mainframe’s Lazarus Protocol, preventing the summoning of replacement armoured bodies. Tony responds that Rhodey is in many ways Starktech. Poor Rhodey. But the Nanite Agenda would seem to run deeper than just within James Rhodes.

 

That’s right, there are Nanites running about within Mainframe’s various mechanical bodies. We first learned this in A-Next #8, when Stinger (Cassie Lang) and Ant-Man (Scott Lang) journeyed inside Mainframe’s body in attempt to save the armoured Avenger following a system-wide shut down. It’s there that Stinger and Ant-Man encounter Nanites designed to repel foreign invaders within Mainframe’s robot shell. Fortunately, Scott is able to hold off the Nanite’s long enough for the heroes to save Mainframe.

 

This small detail about Mainframe’s Nanites, separated by several years of publication, actually makes some sense of the timeline for several smaller moments in the History of the MC2: Mainframe’s creation, the last mission of the Avengers, the team’s later official disbanding and the transformation of the James Rhodes. As mentioned, Spider-Girl #95 shows the creation of the Nanite Agenda after Mainframe’s own creation, so we can safely assume the Nanites within Mainframe are more rudimentary versions or precursors.

It’s also stated by Tony Stark himself that he built the Mainframe robot after retiring from super heroics (Spider-Girl #95). While Tony claims he retired ‘when the Avengers officially disbanded,’ we actually see the moment in A-Next #7, and Tony hangs up his armour and leaves the Avengers Mansion permanently shortly after sealing the portal with the Scarlet Witch. According to Edwin Jarvis, the interim team of Avengers that filled out the roster at that time continued on afterwards until finally the group fell apart and no one answered the call to assemble. Presumably, as Tony never joined this interim team following the loss of so many of his comrades, he isn’t speaking literally but instead poetically or emotionally.

Still further, we see that Tony apparently had plans in place to ensure ‘that whenever the need arises there will always be Avengers’ before embarking on the team’s fateful mission. I’ve always believed this to be a reference to Mainframe but with the Mainframe robot apparently only built after this mission, it raised further question.  Here’s what I propose: Tony had already at least begun designing the Mainframe program, perhaps even produced the encephalograms of himself and linked the Mainframe program to the Avengers distress call systems. I further suggest that it’s only after returning from his final mission and sealing the portal with the Scarlet Witch that Tony actually builds Mainframe a physical body in the form of the robot shells we know today. And, just to really stray into the realm of speculation, perhaps while developing the armoured robot bodies defensive Nanites, Tony hit upon the Nanite Agenda as a solution to help liberate Wanda from her comatose confinement.

The fact that the Nanites within James Rhodes went haywire after being struck by Wanda’s hex bolt is ironic considering they were intended to help the Scarlet Witch. But the fact that Mainframe was so easily defeated by the Nanite Agenda is due to being comprised of an earlier version of the Nanites.

 

Until I manage to devise a technology advanced enough to beat up its little brother, I remain

 

frogoat

 

                                                                                                                     

Stinger in Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2

Reddit user and founder of the delightful subreddit r/MaydayMemes, 'maydaymemer' recently brought it to my attention that Cassie Lang aka Stinger is a playable character in the Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 video game.

Stinger was released as part of the 'Ant-Man and The Wasp Character and Level Pack' DLC on the 3rd of July 2018 which added various Ant-Man related characters from both the original comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe films. In addition to Stinger, these including Ant-Man (Scott Lang), Wasp (Hope van Dyne and Ghost as they appeared in the Ant-Man and The Wasp movie, Egghead, Crossfire, Giant-Man (Raz Malhotra) from the comics, and for some reason The Human Fly.

Before anyone points it out, I did notice that that the Stinger costume depicted shares the same silver doodad's on the shoulder pads as the Cassie Lang of the Main Marvel Universe. While it's definitely likely this was no coincidence, I think given that the MC2 costume and identity predates and even inspired the MMU version it's fair to count this as an adaption. It's at least more clear cut then other examples.

It seems Stinger doesn't have any unique voice lines and I can find no voice actor credited, which is a shame, though not unsurprising for a bonus character. The more curious detail is the omission of any other MC2 characters in the game, considering the plot revolves around alternate universes and future and past timelines interacting. Other popular realities such as 2099 and Future Imperfect are represented along with more recent additions such as the character Spider-Gwen. But I wouldn't like to speculate about the reasons...


Luckily, good ol' maydaymemer has an answer to the lack of MC2 representation in the game, too:

Until we get a proper MC2 game, I remain

frogoat