The Marvels: How did Monica Rambeau get her powers? Explained

Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau (Image via Marvel)
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau (Image via Marvel)

The Marvels is where MCU fans will get to witness the full extent of Monica Rambeau’s abilities. Before that, viewers only got a glimpse of how her powers work in WandaVision. At the moment, she is among the strongest and most versatile superheroes in the MCU. However, it’s worth noting that her origin story in the comics is different compared to how she got her powers in the MCU.

WandaVision started the continuous pattern of adding a new superhero to the MCU by giving Monica Rambeau her origin story. In the source material, she was yet another superhero who got her abilities because of an accident. However, the MCU used a unique way to grant her light-based powers.


Monica Rambeau got her powers when she came across a strange device in the comics

Monica Rambeau, aka Photon (Image via Marvel Comics)
Monica Rambeau, aka Photon (Image via Marvel Comics)

Monica Rambeau first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 in 1982. She was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr. Since then, her origin story has been revised a few times as she went on to take different superhero names, including Photon, Pulsar, Spectrum, and even Captain Marvel.

However, in her first story, she was a lieutenant in the New Orleans harbor patrol and was sent to investigate an unusual energy phenomenon. At this point, she came in contact with a device that was designed to tap into an otherworldly dimension and was bombarded with extradimensional energy from it.

Monica Rambeau in the comics (Image via Marvel)
Monica Rambeau in the comics (Image via Marvel)

From this incident onwards, she emerged with the ability to transform herself into various forms of energy and was also able to maintain her superhuman strength, speed, and durability in her energy forms. The exposure to extradimensional energy completely changed her body.

Then, as she took on the title of "Captain Marvel," her abilities grew even further. She could manipulate and transform into any form of energy within the electromagnetic spectrum, such as light, electricity, radio waves, and more.


WandaVision was a life-altering phase for Monica and her abilities

Monica's MCU origin (Image via Marvel)
Monica's MCU origin (Image via Marvel)

Like the comics, Monica started off as a non-powered human. However, the events of WandaVision pushed her through Wanda’s hex barrier multiple times. First, she was pulled in accidentally. Then, as Wanda threw her out, she went through the barrier a second time.

However, when she willingly went into the Hex for the third time, it rewrote her cells and DNA from scratch, after which she was able to see through different forms of light and energy. From here on, she gained the ability to see through the electromagnetic spectrum.

Monica Rambeau becomes intangible (Image via Marvel)
Monica Rambeau becomes intangible (Image via Marvel)

Among her other abilities, she can transform into different forms of energy, which allows her to either appear as an intangible individual or someone who’s completely invisible. Fans have already witnessed Rambeu's intangibility in WandaVision. Apart from that, she can even fly at super speeds and can shoot energy blasts similar to Carol Danvers.

But, one of the craziest abilities that she has is energy duplication. When she encounters a new or unfamiliar energy, she can often duplicate it given enough time for analysis. Despite all these powers, she may not be as strong as Carol Danvers. However, she could still prove to be almost equally impactful in the MCU because of the versatility of her abilities.


The Marvels arrives on November 10, 2023.

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Edited by Priya Majumdar
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