Legacy is a term almost synonymous with superheroes. While not every hero has a successor or even someone who just takes the name, many do. In all of Marvel, there is perhaps no title more associated with this idea as Captain Marvel. While we’ve already discussed the possibility of Cassie Lang following in her father’s footsteps, that’s nothing compared to the legacy of this title. Over the years, Captain Marvel was a title held by a whopping seven character. The first wasn’t Carol Danvers. In fact, she’s the last person on that not-so-exclusive list. The first was a Kree military officer known as Mar-Vell. It was from him that Carol got her powers and eventually became the superhero, Ms. Marvel. The second person to take up the title, back in 1982, was Monica Rambeau. And that’s who we’re here to talk about.
Monica was introduced in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16. She had absolutely no relation to Mar-Vell or Carol Danvers. None whatsoever. But she was a mainstay on the Avengers for years, even becoming the leader of the team for a period. With all of that in mind, and Marvel’s claims that the future of the MCU is female, that sets up rather well for Monica to make her big screen debut at some point. But what does it, even more, is the Captain Marvel First Look that just dropped. In the images from the film, one picture stands out. A picture revealing Lashana Lynch’s character, sitting in a fighter jet. The jet says “Maria ‘Photon’ Rambeau.” And that’s a big clue.
As stated, Monica went through a number of name changes, throughout the years. She obviously couldn’t keep being Captain Marvel with the Vell legacy floating around. It’s something that was directly addressed in the comics in an interaction with the third successor to the title, Genis-Vell. The next name Monica took up was – you guessed it – Photon. Maria is a military pilot, using the callsign Photon. She also happens to be Monica’s mother. And that aligns well with the timeline. Based on what we’ve been told so far, Captain Marvel takes place in the 90s. Meaning that by the time of Avengers 4, Monica would be an adult. It’s entirely possible that, at some point in the not-too-distant future, Monica could make her debut in the MCU, using her mother’s callsign as her superhero moniker. And that’s an exciting prospect.