Captain Marvels Monica Rambeau tease, explained
In the comics, Monica already glows like her superpowered Aunt Carol.
When Carol Danvers, a.k.a. Captain Marvel, returns to Earth in next months Avengers: Endgame, shell be coming back to a different world, in part because itll be 23 years older than when she left it in 1995.
The pager she amps up in the movie Captain Marvel will look clunkily out of place. The internet will thankfully be much faster. Shell no longer have to rely on CD ROMs, pay phones, or maps to point her where she needs to go.
But, most importantly, the people will be different too.
Nick Fury will be gone she finds out hes missing in Captain Marvels post credits scene . Maria Rambeau, Carols best friend, will be older if she hasnt been dusted by Thanoss snap . And Monica Rambeau, Carols adopted niece of sorts in the film, Monica says that she and her mother were Carols family, because Carol had problems with her own family will no longer be a precocious kid but a grown adult again, if she survived the snap .
Whats coming next in Monica Rambeaus story is arguably the most intriguing tease in Captain Marvel.
The movie, quickly and briefly, foreshadows Monicas comic book origins as a superhero capable traveling at the speed of light. The stark difference between the comic books and the movie is that in Captain Marvel, Monica is still just a child — something Endgames 23 year time jump fixes easily. And her introduction could easily be Captain Marvels next story, because in the comic books, she too is known as Captain Marvel.
In one of the films final scenes, after she saves the Earth from the Kree bombing raid, Carol has a conversation with the Rambeaus, Skrulls, and Fury about, among other things, how Monica wants to be like her superpowered, fearless aunt and go to space to help beings like the Skrulls.
Fury tells Monica that maybe she will one day learn to glow like Aunt Carol — a huge wink to comic book fans.
The glow Furys referring to is seen in the movies third act, when Carol accepts and harnesses her photon powers to become more powerful than she ever thought possible. But its curious that Fury is specifically referring to Carols glow, as opposed to her photon beams or superpowered punches; glowing is exactly what Monica does in the comic books, indicating that this might be a deliberate choice of words that reference Monicas comic book life.
In the comic books, Monica is a grown woman who has existed as a superhero since her first appearance in 1982s Amazing Spider Man Annual No. 16, written by Roger Stern and drawn by John Romita Jr.
In that story, Spider Man notices Monica on the street and tries to help her after she is assaulted by a couple of ruffians. It turns out she doesnt need his help because she has superpowers of her own, granted to her by wayward energy rays from another universe:
These rays have given her the ability to manipulate and transform herself into different wavelengths of energy, which means she can travel at the speed of light and, as Fury puts it, glow:
When it comes to more recent comics, writer Al Ewing has some of the most exciting depictions including the one above in Mighty Avengers of just how powerful Monica is and what shes capable of. During Ewings run on The Ultimates 2015 , a series about a band of superheroes including Monica and Carol who are dealing with cosmic threats, Monica manipulates her energy form to actually enter Thanoss brain to try to kill the Mad Titan:
It appears that Furys seemingly offhand comment about Monica learning to glow is actually a reference to her awesome powers in the comic books. Of course, she does more than just glow, like wielding the power and speed of energies on the electromagnetic spectrum. But theres one more major tie between Monica and Carol that Captain Marvel doesnt quite get into: their shared code name.
In the world of comic books, code names and titles are important. A code name like Storm or Spider Man can easily describe someones superpowers or abilities. Sometimes it describes a personality, like Wolverine. And then theres the legacy title — where other characters assume the code name of a hero that they didnt originate, more recently in play with Captain America and Thor see: Jane Foster becoming Thor .
For the comic book versions of Monica and Carol, the title of Captain Marvel was actually the source of some discontent between the two, and gave them both feelings of impostor syndrome.
Monica had the title first, back in that 1982 issue of Amazing Spider Man, calling and introducing herself as Captain Marvel to fellow heroes. Unbeknownst to her, she had taken the title from a deceased hero.
The original Captain Marvel is the Kree alien known as Mar Vell, who, in the comic books and in the movie, was involved in an explosion that granted Carol Danvers her powers. In the movie adaptation, Mar Vell was gender swapped and incorporated traits of a woman named Helen Cobb, a female fighter pilot Danvers admires.
In these comics, though, Mar Vell is male — and, back in the day, was also Carols main love interest. Or, more specifically, Mar Vell was the central hero, and Carol was his girlfriend.
Mar Vells comic was eventually canceled in 1979 Captain Marvel No. 62 , and his comic book death The Death of Captain Marvel happened the same year as Monicas emergence in 1982.
Comic Book Monica was unaware of Mar Vells existence and just so happened to take on his abandoned title of Captain Marvel — following Mar Vells death, it seemed that Marvel wanted to continue the legacy with a new hero. The Thing, a member of the Fantastic Four, actually points out to her that she took Mar Vells name in her comic debut. Shes remorseful and apologetic, but he assures her that its okay:
So Monica is Captain Marvel decades before Carol takes the title — without consulting Monica — in writer Kelly Sue DeConnick and artist Dexter Soys Captain Marvel run in 2012. In the comic books, Monica and Carol are peers and team members but do not have the same family relationship established in the movie.
Carol taking over the Captain Marvel name from Monica is actually a point of contention in the larger context of comic books and representation, primarily because of the lack of visibility for black female superheroes in comic books. Here you have a white female superhero just taking the title from an existing black female character — and one who has a history of losing the Captain Marvel status and getting other, less flagship code names like Pulsar, Photon, and Spectrum in exchange.
DeConnick actually addresses this split in issue 7 of her Captain Marvel run, with Monica peeved at Carol for taking her name. Monica is mad that there was no call, no contact, no consideration for her when Carol took the title of Captain Marvel. Carol claimed that the name wasnt even hers to begin with:
The two patch things up, and DeConnick gets to tell a story about the pressure to live up to a legacy that can resonate with anyone, but especially women and minorities, who have experienced impostor syndrome — the internalized feeling that one isnt good enough compared to his or her peers. In this specific story, DeConnick explores Carols and Monicas inner strength and fortitude, but also how much they revere the title of Captain Marvel.
By making Monica a child instead of Carols peer in Captain Marvel, Marvel eliminated this fight over the title. Monica also isnt superpowered. But the studio left the door wide open for the future.
Heres why: Captain Marvel takes place in the 1990s, and Monica is a child in 1995. While Carol is out exploring the universe and helping Talos and the Skrulls find a place to live, time has continued on Earth. And when Carol returns in next months Endgame, shes coming back in the year 2018, when the movie takes place — some two decades after she left Earth.
To be clear, there could be a few time jumps in between, as the Endgame trailer features Avengers sporting all kinds of different haircuts, indicating an indiscernible passage of time. But should the MCU follow its timeline — that the Monica in 1995 is now 23 years older during Infinity War, which takes place in 2018 — Monica should now be in her 30s. And an adult Monica would be around the age of Marvels other superheroes.
Granted, the MCU is pretty big already, and there might not be enough space for a superpowered Monica Rambeau story. One of my biggest complaints about Infinity War, after all, is that there are so many characters in so many disparate locations that heroes like Black Panther and Captain America barely get any lines. And with the X Men and Fantastic Four presumably in the mix thanks to the Disney/Fox merger, that roster grows even more.
Its hard to see where a Monica Rambeau story would fit other than as part of a Captain Marvel sequel. But it seems like with all this talk about glowing — and how warm the reception to the character has already been — the idea of turning Monica Rambeau into a superhero who has dreams of punching holes in the sky like her aunt is already there. And should Marvel decide to do it, there is a rich comic book history of the character to dive into.
Related: Every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, ranked from worst to best [Business Insider]