Warning: the following contains spoilers for WandaVision episode 7, so turn back now if you haven’t seen the latest episode!
The newest WandaVision installment saw plenty of surprising revelations. For one thing, Vision now knows his history as an Avenger – including the time he died twice in Avengers: Infinity War – courtesy of Darcy Lewis' trip inside the Hex. We also discover that the big bad all along has been Kathryn Hahn's Agnes, whose real name is actually Agatha Harkness and who has her own excellent theme song.
The other major reveal, though, is Monica Rambeau gaining her powers. As she battles her way through the Hex’s force field, voices can be heard: her mother Maria Rambeau, Nick Fury, Agent Woo – and Carol Danvers.
Captain Marvel
We've already seen that there might be a bit of animosity between Monica and Carol, AKA Captain Marvel. When the superhero's name was floated a few episodes back, Monica shut down the conversation. This is probably because she hasn't seen Captain Marvel since she was a child, as Carol seems to spend a lot of her time out in space. Plus, when Monica was reconstituted after the Blip, she was stunned with the information that her mother had passed away in the five years she was ash.
As Monica breaks through the Hex, we hear some dialogue from Captain Marvel. Maria says "I can't, I can't leave Monica," and Monica reassuring her that she can stay with her grandparents, while Maria still convinced "it's too dangerous." This conversation comes when Carol tries to recruit Maria to join her in that movie's climactic battle.
We also hear Monica saying "I could fly up and meet you halfway," then Fury saying: "Only if you learn to glow like your Aunt Carol." This exchange happens towards the end of the movie, when Monica volunteers to help Carol find the Skrulls a new home. Maria's voice returns with, "And you were the most powerful person I knew" – directed at Carol in the movie – and then the doctor's voice follows, informing Monica that her mother died, with Woo calling Maria "truly an inspiration."
Then comes the Avengers cameo. We hear Captain Marvel's voice: "Your mom's lucky. When they were handing out kids they gave her the toughest one." Monica's eyes then turn bright blue, and she breaks into Westview at last.
Photon
In Marvel comics, Monica goes by the superhero name Photon (which WandaVision reveals to be her mother Maria's call sign). At one point, Monica even goes by the name Captain Marvel. The black and white outfit see in WandaVision while she breaks through to Westview closely resembles her comic-book costume, and her powers in the source material are all to do with energy, similarly to Carol's.
It makes sense that she'd hear Captain Marvel's voice as she powers up for the first time in WandaVision, presumably due to Wanda's own magic affecting her during her previous adventure inside the Hex. As she struggles through the force field, we can even see her alter ego Geraldine in her different outfits.
Monica uses her newfound abilities a few times in the episode, but it's unclear if she's doing it on purpose or not. She stops herself from getting injured when Wanda tries to slam her into the sidewalk, and in the mid-credits scene, her eyes are bright as she uncovers Agatha Harkness' purple powered lair. One thing's for sure: Monica really has learned to glow like her Aunt Carol.
We'll have to wait until next Friday to see if Monica goes full Photon, but until then, here's every Westview resident who could have a connection to the comics to keep you puzzling.
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