FROM COOL TO STOOL: CAPTAIN MARVEL
THE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION OF MONICA RAMBEAU
Some comic book characters get ruined by bad costumes.
Some get ruined by terrible storylines.
And then there’s Monica Rambeau, who got buried under a never-ending game of “Guess My Superhero Name.”
The original Captain Marvel was Mar-Vell, a Kree soldier who betrayed his people to defend Earth and eventually the galaxy. One of Marvel’s greatest heroes, he tragically died from cancer in one of the most respected comic book stories ever published.
Monica Rambeau entered the Marvel Universe in Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982). A lieutenant with the New Orleans Harbor Patrol, she was exposed to extra-dimensional energy while trying to stop a dangerous experimental weapon. The media dubbed her Captain Marvel and, having never heard of Mar-Vell, she simply kept the name.
And she earned it.
Monica quickly became one of Marvel’s brightest rising stars. She joined the Avengers, fought in legendary battles like the original Secret Wars, and eventually became chairwoman of the Avengers. That’s a pretty impressive résumé for someone who had only recently discovered she could literally become living energy.
Then came the slow decline.
After being injured, Monica left the Avengers, and Marvel gradually pushed her further down the roster. She drifted from A-list superstar to “Oh yeah…I forgot about her.”
Then things got weird.
In the mid-1990s, Mar-Vell’s son Genis-Vell debuted. He initially called himself Legacy, but eventually decided he wanted to honor his father by becoming…you guessed it…Captain Marvel.
Monica wasn’t thrilled but after teaming up with Genis, she gave him the Captain Marvel name and adopted a new codename: Photon.
So now she’d lost both her spot as a premier Avenger and the legendary name she had spent years making her own.
Unfortunately, Marvel wasn’t finished playing musical chairs.
Genis-Vell eventually lost his mind thanks to his uncontrollable Cosmic Awareness and nearly destroyed the universe. Naturally, after all that, he decided he needed a fresh start. His new codename? Photon.
Seriously. He stole Monica’s second superhero name, too.
When Monica confronted him, Genis began randomly throwing out replacement names for himself like he was trying to create an AOL screen name that wasn’t already taken. One of those names was Pulsar. Monica immediately claimed it for herself before Genis got the chance.
So now she had another new costume. Another new codename. Another fresh start.
Not long after that, Carol Danvers, formerly Ms. Marvel, officially became Captain Marvel, inheriting the title that Monica had already spent years honoring.
At this point, Monica probably should have started copyrighting her aliases.
Eventually, Monica dropped the Pulsar name and reinvented herself yet again as Spectrum. Under that identity, she joined the Mighty Avengers, the Ultimates, and even Blade’s supernatural team, Strikeforce, a series that apparently no one remembers. We’re pretty sure Doctor Strange just wiped our memories of that series.
But clearly, someone in the Marvel Cinematic Universe remembered how great Monica Rambeau was. The character was introduced into the WandaVision Disney+ series before returning in The Marvels, where she was known once again as Photon.
As often happens these days, the comics followed the movies. Marvel dusted off the Photon codename and gave it back to Monica in a five-issue miniseries appropriately titled Photon, bringing her comic book identity in line with the MCU just ahead of The Marvels. Unfortunately, the film failed to generate the momentum many fans had hoped for, and Monica still hasn’t returned to the level of prominence she enjoyed during the 1980s.
And that’s a shame, because if you ask me, Monica Rambeau never should have lost the name Captain Marvel in the first place.
She wasn’t borrowing the name.
She earned it.
Yet after all the costume changes, codename changes, and superhero identity theft, Monica Rambeau deserves one thing more than anything else:
A name she doesn’t have to give back.
Just keep an eye on Genis-Vell.
If history has taught us anything, he’s probably already searching for his next codename to “borrow.”
Thanks for reading!
Now it’s your turn. Do you think Monica Rambeau should have remained Captain Marvel, or did Marvel make the right call? Agree? Disagree? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so leave a comment and join the discussion.
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