Monica will make her debut when Teyonah Parris (Dear White People) plays her in WandaVision, the mysterious and highly stylized Disney+ show that seems to be taking on a version of the “House of M” comic storyline, while also taking some cues from I Love Lucy and The Brady Bunch. Notably for Carol Danvers fans, “House of M” is when Carol first truly saw herself as a hero. She retained her memories from the alternate universe, and the experience inspired her to get her life together and become the mighty Captain Marvel we all know and love. Audiences first saw Monica as a kid in Captain Marvel, where she was played by Akira Akbar. Her mother, Maria Rambeau, was Carol’s best friend and had the call sign Photon, Monica’s heroic alter ego. In the comics, Monica and Carol have a longstanding friendship and a history of serving alongside one another in many team-ups, including the Avengers and the all-woman Ultimates. They also have something of a good-natured rivalry. The first time they came across one another after Carol started using the mantel Captain Marvel, Monica gave her friend a hard time for not giving her a head’s up – though admittedly, Monica hadn’t used it in quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the MCU translates that relationship to the screen, given that though Carol’s intergalactic travel and possible time-hopping will make them appear roughly the same age, she’s known Monica from birth and was considered like family before her disappearance shown in Captain Marvel. Monica has been immortal in the comics and doesn’t age, but perhaps that will be jettisoned or have a more creative angle, like a slowed down aging process. Kamala Khan made history as a Muslim-American superhero, but mostly fans just find her funny and charming. Her friendships with her best friends Bruno and Nakia are authentic and complex, and they hold her accountable for being a good friend even though she’s a hero. Kamala Khan was created by a team that includes editor Sana Amanat, writer G. Willow Wilson and artist Jamie McKelvie. Ms. Marvel and Photon broaden the possible power sets available for Captain Marvel 2 in a big way. Captain Marvel has been referred to as the most powerful hero in the MCU, but so far she can’t “embiggen herself” as Kamala likes to put it. While there’s always some wiggle room in how things are adapted to the screen, it feels safe to say that Kamala’s signature power, her ability to change her own size and shape, from larger than her own house to small enough to float through an air duct, will play a role. Monica, on the other hand, can use her ability to turn into any form of energy to effectively become invisible. She can also use her energy manipulation to make a hologram of herself or even split herself into smaller versions. Both Photon and Ms. Marvel have powers relating to energy absorption, which dovetails nicely with MCU Carol’s abilities so far. Perhaps in Captain Marvel 2 they’ll be taking on a villain or an intergalactic event of catastrophic energy levels – maybe even a binary star, like one of Carol’s comic book alter-egos? Many of Monica Rambeau’s powers complement Captain Marvel’s, including the ability to fly, travel through space, and shoot energy from her hands – princess sparklefists bffs! If Carol wants to hang out in space, as she often does in the comics and we saw her head off to do at the end of her first movie, Monica could easily join her and hold her own.
