What’s next for Monica Rambeau?

One of the breakout stars from Marvel Studios’ WandaVision was the vigorous S.W.O.R.D. agent Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Paris). First introduced into the MCU as a child during Captain Marvel, Monica is now all grown up and has taken on a more serious character after the death of her mother. During WandaVision we explored the grief Monica has while also providing the origin for how she has developed her powers. This is set to be explored more during the Captain Marvel sequel as we expect for Monica to take her full comic book form as either Photon or Spectrum.

Despite not being the central character in WandaVision, lots of parallels were made between what Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Monica was going through. Both were experiencing grief, with Monica’s being for her mother who passed away during the blip. This provided the motivation for Monica throughout the series and will likely continue during her journey in the MCU as she tries to make her mother proud.

While grief was Monica’s motivation to help Wanda and everyone within Westview, travelling through the hex on numerous occasions caused the development of Monica’s energy manipulating powers she has in the comics. Although not yet on full display, we got a glimpse of the extreme power Monica holds as she was able to absorb a bullet from Tyler Haywood (Josh Stamberg). With Monica’s powers starting to shine; excitement builds for what is next for the badass agent. The post credit scene which featured Monica built up this hype even more.

Once everything is resolved, Monica complements everyone’s favourite agent Jimmy Woo (Randall Park) for his leadership ability. While this was a nice moment for the two characters that discovered the hex, it was the next scene during the credits which gave fans of Monica a buzz.

Called into the theatre Monica is greeted by an agent whom changes into a Skrull. Like Monica the shapeshifting aliens were introduced during Captain Marvel, so a pre-existing relationship between Monica and them already existed. But, what makes the scene key is that the Skrull says to Monica that an old friend of her mother’s wants to meet. We know this to be Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) due to their relationship during the Captain Marvel, what confirms this even more is the fact that Nick Fury during Spider-Man: Far From Home which is set after WandaVision, was on a space station filled with Skrull’s. When Monica asks where, the response she gets is a point upwards which makes it clear that Monica will soon meet the godfather of the MCU on the space station that looks like The Peak from the comics, as we prepare for the Captain Marvel sequel.

It has been confirmed that Teyonah Paris will reprise her role as Monica in the Captain Marvel sequel which is why we are excited to see what will happen. However, there is a question as to what the relationship between the characters will be like. Due to how Monica moves on quickly from talk about Carol Danvers and Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) in WandaVision there is something that needs explaining there. Monica doesn’t seem to have the same relationship with her auntie that she had when she was younger. She isn’t excited by her name and actively seems discouraged by it. Questions regarding this will need answering.

A clash between the two heroes could be intriguing as it is possible Monica may blame Captain Marvel for the death of Maria. During Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel makes it clear that her appearances on Earth will be rare. This implies that Carol wasn’t there for her best friend when she needed her the most. The relationship between Monica and her mother is key for Monica’s character. Therefore Monica may blame Carol for what has happened in the past, which will show the anger side for Monica’s grief.

Tensions between the two heroes will be an intriguing aspect to the Captain Marvel sequel, but across the movie the pair may rekindle the relationship they had in the past. Like we have said no reason was given for Captain Marvel’s absence from Earth other than she had other worlds to help. There could be a hidden reason behind this that hasn’t been explored yet, which may explain Carol’s absence as her grieving response. As such in the upcoming Captain Marvel sequel we expect a clash between the pair to be resolved, especially as they will need to join forces to take down whatever threat reveals itself. What seems to be a theme for the sequel will be the grief for Maria Rambeau as everyone involved would have had a relationship with the founder of S.W.O.R.D.

Also, due to Monica meeting with Nick Fury and the Skrull’s, the next time we see her it is likely that her powers will have developed further. Monica will be learning how to use her powers and we are likely to understand what she can and cannot do. Similar to how the ending of Captain Marvel gave Carol her name, we expect that by the end of the sequel we will get the full comic version of Monica’s character. Whether that is Photon or Spectrum the reveal will put Monica on the level with all the heroes within the MCU.

Without question Monica’s role in WandaVision was important in establishing her as one of the new heroes within the MCU. What the series did well was provide a backstory for her without taking attention away from Wanda’s journey. Thinking of what is next for Monica, she won’t just forget about her mother and her death will continue to be her motivating factor, but her development of powers will give her the hero story that we come to expect from the MCU.

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