Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)
Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau)
There's no one answer to that. The name changes each had their own reasons at the time.
The first name change was because they had introduced Mar-Vell's son Genis and wanted to make the name available for him. So they gave Monica a new name (Photon).
The 2nd name change came when the decision was made to take the CM name away from Genis because there were 'other plans' for it--although exactly what those plans were never seemed to materialize. Genis' writer at the time decided to play the "running gag" card because a) the name "Photon" actually worked for Genis too due to his powers and b) he liked Monica and it gave him an excuse to bring her in for a guest appearance. So that is when she got the short-lived Pulsar name.
The third name change came because Al Ewing wanted to bring Monica back in a big way as one of the lead characters of his MIGHTY AVENGERS run but he didn't like the Pulsar name. And a lot of people were never entirely happy with the Photon name either, so he decided to introduce a new name, Spectrum, which was a more accurate reflection of her power set.
This week WandaVision gave us some insight as to what happened to Monica in the MCU.
There is some speculation that she will gain her powers by the end of this series. It is suggested that this will be due to her interacting with Wanda's radioactive force field so soon after returning from the 'blip'.
It also seems that they will have her use the name 'Photon' as a form of dedication to her mother.
I don't hate the name Photon but I like the name Spectrum better.
Surprised there wasn't anyone commenting here yet considering the last episode!
Given that Doctor Spectrum had been around for much longer, I was initially concerned about them giving Monica the name Spectrum. That's not to say that Spectrum doesn't fit Monica perfectly. It explains her powers precisely. But the more they use the Squadron Supreme and Doctor Spectrum in major events, like they're doing now, there's always the possibility of dilution, or the misapprehension that Monica is somehow derivative of Doctor Spectrum.
Still, I hope the name sticks for the rest of her existence. Marvel has treated her like a doormat long enough.
I truly hope that they don't make Monica's powers attributable to Wanda or any other Avenger. They've mucked up her character enough by taking her father out of the home and turning her into a kid that idolized Carol.
As for the force field, remember, Agent Woo and others tried entering it, but it kept them out. Yet Monica walks right up to it and goes through without any resistance whatsoever. I take that to mean that there is already something special about Monica that the field let her pass through to the inside. I don't know if/when she'll get her powers, but I'm hoping that 2 years that she was MIA is when she become Captain Marvel/Spectrum, or whatever they want to call her in the show.
Last edited by JudicatorPrime; 01-31-2021 at 03:03 PM.
I hope that Monica's mother can be in Captain Marvel 2 as well as some kind of Marvel Plus series to explore what goes on in her time era. It would be a mistake to just ignore a talented actress like Lashana Lynch.
I really hope MCU Monica and MCU Wanda end the series as "real" (not sitcom) friends.
After the first scene in episode 4 I felt they didn't give Teyonnah Parris as much to play, while in episodes 2 and 3 she did a great job playing the confusion of a modern woman zapped into the world of old sitcoms and only partly aware of who she used to be. But it's still early. We do know that Parris can play pretty much anything they give her.
Last edited by gurkle; 01-31-2021 at 04:18 PM.
I agree. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out why Monica and Carol are bosom buddies in the comics, instead of Monica and one of the other Avengers women, like Wanda, Wasp and She-Hulk. If I recall correctly, Monica actually served longer stints on teams with Wanda and Jennifer than she has with Carol. Even on the Ultimates, it felt more like Carol and Monica were FBFs (fake best friends), instead of BFFs.
Not that I have a say, but I would prefer a true friendship between Monica and Wanda.
Because they've both shared the Captain Marvel mantle, on account of that when grouping characters into families, she makes the most sense as a close friend to Carol. Also helps that they both have powers that are cosmic in scope and served together as members of the Ultimates. I don't see anything wrong with building on the connections between Carol and Monica as long as the latter is written as an equal and not just a black best friend.
But I'd definitely like to see Monica develop her friendships with other characters like Wanda, but that requires her being on a major Avengers roster and being given genuine character work.
Yeah, once Carol took on the Captain Marvel title, that naturally led to Monica showing up. The shared title is almost certainly the reason why they chose to make Monica part of Carol's franchise in the MCU.
Unfortunately, even though Carol and Wanda were friends going all the way back to Carol's first comic series, the writers and editors of "Captain Marvel" have never had Wanda show up, because I think there's this idea that "modern" female heroes like Carol have friends who are similar, while they don't really get what someone like Carol would have in common with a more old-fashioned pre-feminist heroine like Wanda.
Which is why I hope "Wandavision" will let Monica and Wanda share something in common instead of just contrasting them. I never get my hopes up too high, though, when it comes to how writers use Wanda.
Yeah, that's it. Rick Remender wanted her and Rogue to become friends in "Uncanny Avengers" but he never sold us on that, and the two haven't met or talked since he left.
One of the writers of "No Road Home," probably Ewing, lampshaded this in an issue narrated by Monica, where she says: "Wanda's been through so much and I haven't been there to help her with any of it." It could have been referring to what happened in that story but it also fits in with the last decade and a half of Marvel comics.