WandaVision spoilers follow.
It's fair to say that five years have been weird for WandaVision's Monica Rambeau.. Having been one of the many victims dusted off by Thanos' "Blip", she rematerialized only to learn that her mother, Maria, had died in the meantime. Then, after returning to active duty as an agent in SWORD, her first job was a missing persons case in New Jersey that turned her into a sitcom character named Geraldine. Living a life of canned laughter is unlikely to have been part of her career path. Since its first episode, WandaVision has been the most unconventional story in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However,
the arrival (and departure of) Monica Rambeau in the retro suburb of Westview made the existence of the Wanda and Vision sitcom even stranger.
Here we explain the origins of Monica Rambeau's comicwhy is it a
such an important character in WandaVision and how he fits into the larger MCU.
Monica Rambeau is about to be sucked into a whole new world in WandaVision. (Image credit: Marvel / Disney)
Where did we see Monica Rambeau before WandaVision?
Monica Rambeau made her MCU debut in Captain Marvel, back in the 1990s., and is the daughter of Captain Maria Rambeau (played by Lashana Lynch, who will eventually be seen in the Bond film No Time To Die). Maria was a US Air Force pilot (callsign Photon) and
She was Carol Danvers' best friend before she became Captain Marvel.
11-year-old Monica was instrumental in persuading her mother to join Captain Marvel and Nick Fury in helping the Skrulls in their war against the Kree, she also helped Danvers choose the color scheme for his Captain costume. Marvel. While Monica refers to Danvers as "Aunt Carol", Danvers calls the boy "Lieutenant Problem". In the film, Monica was played by two sisters: Azari Akbar was the incarnation of five, while her older brother Akira Akbar played her at age 11.
The game is ready for Geraldine "Stranger and Stranger" in WandaVision. (Image credit: Marvel/Disney) The best Disney+ deals and bundles of the day
What happened to Monica Rambeau between Captain Marvel and WandaVision?
Having been caught up in a Skrull/Kree conflict during Captain Marvel, Maria Rambeau was aware of the existence of aliens and later founded SWORD (Sentient Weapon Observation Response Division), an intelligence agency with the mission of managing extraterrestrial activities.
She was also their director, SWORD's answer to Nick Fury on SHIELD.
Maria was diagnosed with cancer around 2018 but, despite being in remission after surgery, she died two years later. Monica grew up around SWORD and her home office, eventually following her mother into the family business. Like her mother, she became a captain in the US Air Force, before transferring to become a SWORD agent. Sitting at her mother's hospital bedside, Monica (now played by Teyonah Parris) was one of the billions who disappeared because of Thanos' infamous finger snap. When she returned from the 'Blip' five years later, she learned that Maria had passed away and that former colleague Tyler Hayward (who appears in the WandaVision episode "We Interrupt This Program") was now SWORD's interim director.
Only three weeks after the "Blip" he returned to active duty, but was disappointed to learn that his duties were limited to operations on Earth: Maria had introduced regulations requiring anyone to return to SWORD after being "Blipped".
Monica reluctantly accepted an assignment in the small town of Westview, New Jersey, where the FBI had asked for help with a very strange missing persons case.
Monica/Geraldine befriends Wanda in Episode 2, but the good times won't last (Image credit: Marvel/Disney)
Why is Monica Rambeau important to WandaVision?
One of the main plots of WandaVision is SWORD's efforts to locate and extract Monica from Westview.
While Monica's mandate was essentially to accompany a SWORD drone as it investigated a city cut off from the rest of the world, she found herself caught up in the case, literally.. When the drone disappeared, she decided to take a closer look and realized that a mysterious energy field was surrounding the city. When she went out into the field, she was dragged inside of her, leaving FBI agent Jimmy Woo to add Monica to his growing list of missing persons.
For some still inexplicable reason, Monica became Geraldine., a character from a vintage sitcom, dressed in period-appropriate clothing. The only evidence of her relationship with SWORD was the necklace that was part of her 70s ensemble.
But after befriending Wanda MaximoffInitially as an ally taking on the overbearing Dottie, Monica/Geraldine assisted in the birth of Wanda and Vision's twin sons, Billy and Tommy. This relationship took shape, however,
when Monica/Geraldine inadvertently blurted out that she knew Wanda's twin brother Pietro had been killed by Ultron (at the Battle of Sokovia in Avengers: Age Ultron). Realizing immediately that Monica/Geraldine was "a stranger and right now you're walking in here," Wanda banished the interloper from her idyllic sitcom existence. When Monica woke up, she was out of the energy field (although she was still wearing her 70s clothes) and immediately told Woo and astrophysicist Darcy Lewis: “She's Wanda! That's all Wanda! - alluding to the fact that Wanda seems to be in control of what happens to Westview. But,
How much did Monica's presence affect Westview? In episode 3, "Now in Color", Wanda and Vision's neighbors Agnes and Herb suspected that she was new in town, with no family, no husband, and no home. Herb also tried to add that "She came here because we" are all..." but he never quite managed to finish her sentence." Now that we know the people of Westview are real people with a sitcom character makeover,
Could Monica's brief presence in town be the catalyst for them to realize her weird vintage TV prison?
And as the only person on the outside with experience of life in the world of sitcoms, she's sure to have a big role to play in determining why Wanda has seemingly taken over the city, and how SWORD and the FBI can save the people. locals of his laughter.
Monica returns to the real world after immersing herself in the history of American comedy. (Image credit: Marvel / Disney)
How does Monica Rambeau appear in the Marvel comics?
The MCU has a long history of playing with the origins of comic book characters by bringing them to the big screen, and the Rambeaus are no exception.. In fact, Monica's backstory is drastically different, though the character's history in the Marvel comics may provide a hint of things to come. Maria, a resident of New Orleans, was not a pilot in the comics; instead, she was a seamstress who met Monica's firefighter father, Frank, when the two served in the military. In fact, possibly her biggest role was being Monica's mother. Monica made her first appearance in 1982, in the Amazing Spider-Man Annual. She was a New Orleans Harbor Patrol officer who acquired several superpowers related to the ability to transform into X-rays, ultraviolet, infrared, and other wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Among his long list of powers, he can deflect light to change his appearance, effectively giving him the ability to shapeshift; can pass through solid matter; turn invisible; and, of course, fly.
A skill set like this probably won't go unnoticed, which is why, after initially being dubbed Captain Marvel, she became a member of the Avengers for a time.
Over the next few years, he was given various names, including Pulsar, Spectrum, and Photon, his mother's call sign in the movie Captain Marvel.
What's next for Monica Rambeau in the MCU?
Monica is clearly going to live to fight another day after WandaVision, as Teyonah Parris is set to return in the upcoming (still untitled) Captain Marvel 2. The question is will she still be an ordinary human, or did she choose him superpowers to become Pulsar, Spectrum or Photon?
Sorry Monica, Captain Marvel is already busy.
New episodes of WandaVision are available every Friday on Disney Plus.