Captain Marvel 2 Must Fix Carol Danvers’ Worst MCU Crime

With Monica Rambeau confirmed to appear in Captain Marvel 2, the sequel needs to address and rectify Carol Danvers’ worst MCU crime — abandoning Maria in her time of need. Monica’s personal connection with the powerful hero could’ve helped them in dealing with Scarlet Witch’s hex, not to mention S.W.O.R.D’s sketchy dealings. But as it turns out, even Carol was still on Earth during the Maximoff Anomaly, there’s a very small chance that she’ll be involved with WandaVision hinting that there’s an unexplored falling out between Captain Marvel and her best friends’ grown-up daughter.

Originally introduced in Marvel Studios’ 1995-set Captain Marvel, Monica was a young, vibrant girl when she first appeared in the MCU. In the period movie, Carol’s close bond with Maria was established; after spending time on Hala with the Kree, the hero accidentally found her way back to Earth with no recollection of the life she lived here. Her fellow Air Force pilot was the closest she had to a family, and Maria and Monica helped Carol remember her lost memories following Yon-Rogg’s brainwashing. At the end of the film, however, Captain Marvel decided to leave Earth again to help the Skrulls finally find their new home planet.

Since then, the assumption is that Carol was never back on Earth until Nick Fury sent her the SOS message at the end of Avengers: Infinity War. Even following the death of Thanos at the beginning of Avengers: Endgame, she couldn’t really stay to help the Avengers, as other planets were in chaos and needed help as well. But while she’s too busy helping a lot of people, she forgot to be there for her friend who was battling for her life. As revealed in WandaVision, Maria was in treatment for cancer; she was in the hospital for an operation when Thanos’ decimation happened. She was spared, but Monica wasn’t, and in the five years that she was essentially dead, her mother’s illness returned, until it claimed her life three years after the blip. While both Rambeau women are incredibly strong, Carol Danvers being there for both of them would’ve been a great help. As such, it’s no wonder that Monica feels her aunt abandoned them at their time of need — something that Captain Marvel 2 needs to properly fix either by having the two reconnect, or by revealing that Carol potentially visited in the interim and Monica merely wasn’t aware of this.

For what it’s worth, it seems like this is Marvel Studios’ plan, considering that Monica is confirmed to appear in Nia DaCosta’s upcoming MCU directorial debut. Plot details for the sequel are still scant at the moment since production isn’t geared to start anytime soon, but it’s curious what Monica and Carol’s imminent reunion in Captain Marvel 2 will pan out. Perhaps Captain Marvel doesn’t even know what Maria was going through since she’s been out in the galaxies trying to help other planets. In Captain Marvel, only Nick Fury was given any means to communicate with her, which means that the Rambeaus didn’t have any way of calling out to her. While Maria would be understanding, Monica would understandably be more resentful, especially considering that she had to see her mother suffer without anyone else supporting them.

Depending on how this is tackled moving forward, it creates an interesting dynamic among the main players for  Captain Marvel 2. Monica isn’t exactly impressed with her auntie Carol considering what happened to her mom, while Kamala Khan, as seen in Ms. Marvel set photos, appears to be a big fan. Whatever Marvel Studios’ plans are, the sequel needs to resolve this brewing conflict as this is the only way that Carol and Monica can move forward and become true allies, which seems to be what the future holds for them. This is particularly true after Monica got her superpowers in WandaVision, effectively setting up her superhero persona as Photon.