After ‘The Marvels,’ Monica Rambeau Deserves Her Own Movie

Editor’s Note: Spoilers ahead for ‘The Marvels’

The Big Picture

• Monica Rambeau’s character in the MCU has the potential for a starring role like Iron Man, but her backstory and development have often been overshadowed by other characters and storylines.
• Despite showing incredible potential and growth, Monica’s superhero journey has been integrated into other material rather than given a solo project, depriving her of the opportunity to shine.
• In The Marvels, Monica’s character once again takes a backseat as she is set up for more team-ups instead of getting the solo story she deserves, continuing the pattern of underutilization for this deserving character.

More than four years ago, fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe were introduced to the much-anticipated new Avenger, Air Force Captain turned hero, Carol Danvers, played by Brie Larson in the titular title, Captain Marvel. However, Danvers isn’t the only iconic Marvel character to make her big screen debut in the entry. Though only 11 years old during the events of Captain Marvel, the film introduces audiences to Monica Rambeau. In the comics, Rambeau was also familiarized alongside an iconic hero, when she made her debut in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. Since then, she has gone on to team up with iconic Marvel Comic heroes such as the Avengers, the Nextwave, and the Ultimates, before spinning off into her own comic series, Monica Rambeau: Photon.

Rambeau’s on-screen persona has followed a similar, yet more modest trajectory with one key progression missing. The character’s next appearance in the MCU came in the Disney+ series WandaVision, where she was played by Teyonah Parris. The series saw her fighting against and eventually with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff. Now, Monica is back with the MCU’s latest installment, The Marvels. While the film does honor the spirit of Monica’s team-ups in Marvel Comics, the film makes one thing glaringly obvious about the character, something that does not seem as though it will come to fruition anytime soon: Monica Rambeau is ready to lead her own story.

Monica Rambeau’s Character Is Ready for a Starring Role Like ‘Iron Man’

During the MCU’s humble beginnings, films such as Iron Man and Captain America: The First Avenger provided fans with extensive backstories for the emerging heroes and high anticipation as the stories built toward the cinematic universe’s first major team-up in 2012’s The Avengers. The buildup led to one of the most undeniably successful film franchises of all time. Yet, since 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, fans have felt the need for content, and universe expansion has replaced the excitement that made the early days of the MCU so special. Character backstories such as Monica’s have been crammed into content that is already so jam-packed, that it doesn’t give the character in question that same chance to shine, while team-ups such as The Marvels and Eternals are far more common.

Monica’s backstory is by far one of the best in terms of MCU tradition in this latest phase. However, the character’s heartfelt and well-planned story has always played second fiddle to whatever installment in which she’s featured. First introduced in Captain Marvel, Monica is the bright-eyed 11-year-old daughter of Carol Danver’s friend, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch). She considers Danvers family, even calling her Aunt Carol. She plays a key part in the arcs of both Carol and Maria throughout the film, which ends with Monica watching her beloved Carol, now Captain Marvel, soaring off into the night. It’s a moment that both shows Monica’s pride and also foreshadows her own super-arc to come. It’s an ending that makes perfect sense considering Rambeau’s comic book counterpart once owned the title of Captain Marvel herself.

Monica Rambeau’s Life Started in ‘WandaVision’

Fans began to theorize about Rambeau’s future in the MCU, but they would have to wait two years for the release of WandaVision for more of the character. Re-debuting in the second episode of WandaVision, Monica, now played by Teyonah Parris, is living in Westview, New Jersey, in a false life conjured by Wanda Maximoff’s hex. By the show’s fourth episode, Monica’s backstory begins to unfold. Viewers learn that Monica falls victim to the blip caused by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. When she returns, she is devastated to learn her beloved mother has passed away while she is gone. Monica becomes Captain Rambeau at S.W.O.R.D., an organization started by her mother. She plays a vital part in investigating Wanda’s hex, fighting to free the people of Westview, while also hoping to save Wanda from herself. It all seems to set the groundwork for Monica’s hero origin story. However, her gain of power is integrated into the show briefly toward the end of its run. Monica spends much of the show coming in and out of the story before returning to Westview to help Wanda defeat her foes in the finale. While Parris brings her A-game to every scene, Monica’s superhero journey feels lost among the other stories the show is telling.

While the comics also used other characters to launch Monica’s story, it paid off with a five-issue series that put the hero front and center. The series and character were both well received by fans in print, while her equally epic cinematic role has had her story crammed into other material when it would have benefitted from solo property that would have given it room to breathe while bringing back to the tradition of origin story projects that lead into the anticipated team-ups that made the MCU so successful in its early days.

‘The Marvels’ Sets Monica Rambeau Up for More Team Work Instead of Her Own Solo Story

Monica returned to the MCU with the November 2023 release of The Marvels. The film sees Monica teaming up with Ms. Marvel‘s Kamala Khan, brought to life by Iman Vellani and her estranged Aunt Carol. While the film further develops Monica’s past, having the character relive the trauma of losing her mother and expanding upon her mixed feelings regarding Captain Marvel, these stories and the further discovery of her powers are once again treated as side quests, rather than the heart of the film. Furthermore, while there are already some exciting developments in the future for Ms. Marvel as the leader of a new group of heroes on top of her other Marvels co-star getting her own solo project, Monica has once again been set up for a B story.

The Marvels finale sees Monica saving the day by closing herself into an alternate reality. The team is apparently finished by the film’s end with only Ms. Marvel and Captain Marvel remaining. The film’s mid-credit scene reveals Monica waking up in a hospital bed next to a woman, who bears an uncanny resemblance to her mother. Though Monica is overjoyed to see her, the woman does not recognize the hero and calls for a doctor, who turns out to be none other than X-Men‘s Beast portrayed once again by Kelsey Grammer. While this is an exciting development for fans of X-Men, it suggests that Monica’s character will once again be used as a member of a team-up, despite coming fully into her own through The Marvels, WandaVision, and Captain Marvel. Being the ultimate hero in the latest MCU entry seemed to imply that Monica was finally being given her own starring role in the same vein that her co-stars. However, The Marvels’ savior seems destined to continue the course she has already been on, despite the comic book counterpart being granted a successful solo fate.

Monica Rambeau has come a long way since her 2019 MCU debut. She has gone from 11-year-old admirer to S.W.O.R.D leader, to ultimate hero. Still, she has yet to be granted her own property in the vein of her Marvels co-stars, let alone MCU original heroes, such as the Avengers, and with the latest reveal that the X-Men will soon be joining the cinematic franchise via Monica’s heroic sacrifice, the character seems destined to remain a B story, when she should instead be in the starring role she has proven many times over that she deserves.

The Marvels is now playing in theaters across the U.S.

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