Summer’s in full swing! And it’s a Young Avengers season, which means all our favorite messy little super-adolescents get to run amok.
(Super-teens? Super-young-adults? Super twenty-somethings? The Marvel sliding timescale is a fickle, convoluted thing.)
Either way, what better way to pass some time than to rate some fits— so let’s talk about Marvel Snap’s variants for both an iconic Young Avenger AND one of my personal favorites: Cassie Lang, AKA Kate Bishop’s bestie, AKA veteran Avengers Mansion Bring-Your-Daughter-To-Work-Day attendee, AKA Stinger, AKA Stature!
So why waste time? Let’s chat about My Top 3 Stature Variants (And 3 More That Aren’t Here Yet)!
Part 1: The Top 3
Francesco Tomaselli’s Stature
Original Cover: Marvel Snap Commission!
Artist: Francesco Tomaselli
Admittedly, I sometimes start these articles a bit more excited about the covers I want in the game than I necessarily am about what we’ve got already— but in this case, Francesco Tomaselli’s Stature is an original variant that I’ve been excited about in datamines for a long time.
Featured in all the Spotlight variants for the Eternals in June, Tomaselli’s work has already hit the game in a big way; his work has been some of the best any of these characters have ever looked! And like with them, Tomaselli brings a lively compositional eye to Stature. Ant-character pieces are at their best when they make use of the novelty of size-changing, whether it be with small objects or big ones: Cassie leaning bored on a skyscraper like it’s a school desk (while sitting on another) is simple but effective and more than anything Tomaselli executes so well. His work is stylized but still recognizably rooted in comic realism, and his colors and lighting feel fresh. This piece has so much personality, and it’s my favorite of Cassie’s in the game.
(It’s currently datamined with the Promo tag— I hope it’ll be attainable for free and not for, like… not free.)
Helen Jee’s Stature
Original Cover: Marvel Snap Commission!
Artist: Helen Jee
Brand new from the recent patch is work from an artist new to Snap: Helen Jee, who specializes in a particularly chibi-inspired style that feels like paper dolls— with beautiful colors to boot. It’s not hard to clear the “better than a Chibi Variant” bar (fight me), but these variants genuinely do anime-cute justice. Perhaps that’s because the variant isn’t just “I want X character but in Y style”: there’s precise composition and thought behind the piece, too, from the quiet nighttime setting and the fun idea of Cassie holding clouds in her hands. It’s wonderful and sweet, and I’m both excited it’s coming to the game and bummed it seems it’ll be behind a bundle— but just because I like it so much. Here’s hoping it’s for gold; otherwise, keep your eyes peeled, whales!
Dan Hipp’s Stature
Original Cover: Marvel Snap Commission!
Artist: Dan Hipp
And here we are, once again, with the savior of obscure characters with few covers under their belt— the man, the Hipp, the legend! Dan Hipp always manages to capture the charm of characters both recognizable and not in his style, and it is a massive win that he seems to be a “when not an if” for lots of characters in the Snap roster. Cassie doesn’t have as many prominent covers unlike her father, so Second Dinner commissions will make up more of her variant catalog. However, where a house-style variant colored by Ryan Kinnaird might put Stature in a slightly different outfit, Hipp brings his trademark vibrant colors and dynamism in an actual interpretation of the character. He manages to capture the scale of the character in a style that might ordinarily suggest smallness; the reaching down, the trees in the background, and the general composition all let us know Stature is no small matter.
Part 2: The Aren’t Here Yet
Big Shoes To Fill
Original Cover: Astonishing Ant-Man (2015) #6
Artist: Mark Brooks
But I said few covers, not none! There are a few standout covers that Cassie has made her way to; this particular cover from Astonishing Ant-Man #6 in 2015 is by Mark Brooks. I love the perspective work and how Cassie is pressing up against the confines of the piece and compositionally bursting out of the frame. At the same time, Brooks’ warm palette and lush rendering style make getting stepped on by a girl the size of Godzilla seem downright sunny and wholesome. I love the tradition of stylized realism in comics, and it doesn’t get much better in the business than Mark Brooks. There might be some compositional challenges to bring this to Snap— you’d likely want a textless version without the title on her foot (which is probably floating around), but you might need to finish out her hip and arm for Snap’s frame break design for cards. This is basically the first cover that comes up when you google “Marvel stature cover,” and it’s well-deserved exposure. I expect that if we get any existing covers for Cassie, this one will be at the top of the list.
Dylan Burnett’s Stinger
Original Issue: Ant-Man (2020) #1
Writer: Zeb Wells
Pencils: Dylan Burnett
Colors: Mike Spicer
But I want more! And one of my favorite takes on Cassie came from Zeb Wells and Dylan Burnett’s Ant-Man miniseries in 2020, starring our favorite hapless father-daughter duo as they do Ant-Things. (It’s a delightful read; total recommendation.) And Dylan Burnett’s design modernizes Cassie’s Stinger costume in a fun, punchy way— I love the yellow eyes, purple scheme, and general personality Dylan packs into the character. There’s so much of it! And while there aren’t covers spotlighting the outfit quite the same, there are a couple of interior panels that I would love— this above one has so much energy and dynamism in it and highlights Cassie. It’s also got her in giant form, which might help sell her connection to her identity as Stature (even though here, as she’s letting the bad guys know, she’s going by Stinger). If Second Dinner can get their hands on a textless version of this splash, I think it’s got the makings of a great Snap variant.
Runner-up, for kicks?
The left panel might also look great as a splashy interior turned variant. The right is just the energy I want to see more from Cassie. Take notes, MCU!
Mini-Size Selfie From Marcos Martín
Original Cover: Ant-Man (2020) #1 (Variant)
Artist: Marcos Martín
And if converting interiors is too tricky a proposition, the same issue from the same series has a variant cover with just as much personality— coincidentally from another all-time favorite artist of mine, Marcos Martín! Fun fact: when I did one of these articles for Cassie’s dad, I considered this variant one of my picks— I only decided against it because it seemed more like a spotlight for Cassie over Scott. This is why it’s here— the simple premise of Cassie taking a selfie in the palm of her exasperated father’s hand is fun, and we don’t even necessarily know: is she small, and he regular? Or is he giant, and her regular? Who knows? What fun Pym Particles are. Either way, Martín’s strength for gesture and emotion in his character art is on full display here, and I love both Scott and Cassie as depicted in this piece— but I think, much like some other ‘group photo’ type variants we’ve seen, there’s a clear star here.
But Those Are Just My Picks!
So, for any Young Avengers enthusiasts, let me know what you think of these picks. What covers would you think work as variants for our favorite skyscraper-tall gal? I became familiar with Cassie a bit later than some of the OGs out there, but I quickly came to love the character, so I want to hear all opinions! Let me know in the comments.