IS THIS THE END FOR MONICA RAMBEAU? Monica is pretty sick of navigating topsy-turvy fractured realities and their strange denizens — who keep insisting she’s the problem! Unfortunately, the only way out is by doing the one thing she wants to do least: Look inward… Monica Rambeau: Photon #5 is written by Eve L. Ewing, with art by Luca Maresca, colors by Carlos Lopez and letters by VC’s Clayton Cowles.
The issue begins with The Beyonder and Monica on Starfox’s ship, which appeared when Monica stated she needed to go to someone who could help her with the multiverse fracturing problem. After explaining the situation, Starfox analyzes the current state of things with his ship’s computer and says that while the fractures haven’t reached them yet, every moment they delay allows the fractures to creep closer.
To put it simply, there is a chance that Monica and company will either disappear or be teleported somewhere else in the multiverse if Monica can’t figure out what is causing her powers to affect the multiverse. When Monica states that there is a desire of hers that is going unmet, Starfox initially thinks she means a desire of the body and offers to solve her problem. Monica politely refuses and The Beyonder explains that it is a desire of the spirit that Monica needs to fulfill.
As amusing as this scene is, it would’ve been even more interesting to see The Beyonder offer to sleep with Monica. It has been delightful to see the personal tension between them gradually become amicable throughout the series. Anyway, Starfox makes another offer to use his abilities to tap into Monica’s subconscious and link her brain to a computer known as the Integral Synaptic Anti Anionic Computer. This will allow Monica to dive into her own subconscious and sort out her shit.
Of course, this scares Monica more than anything because she has been stubbornly ignoring her own needs to the point where it affected her powers and the entire multiverse. In fact, Monica’s deep dive into her own subconscious shows just how much she defined her worth by trying to prove herself to others as a superhero. This is symbolically represented by Clayton Cowles’ lettering, which highlights Monica’s inner thoughts with black lettering with a white outline that is a callback to Monica’s past and superhero costumes.
As flashes of Monica’s time as a superhero are shown alongside her inner thoughts, Starfox encourages her to consider what Monica wants for herself. In a lovely page colored by Carlos Lopez and illustrated by artists Luca Maresca and Ivan Fiorelli, Monica speaks aloud and declares that she wants to know she is enough “all by her damn self.” Eve Ewing did a great job with this epiphany because Monica already proved she is enough throughout this mini series, especially when she helped The Charans in issue 3 through a minimal use of her powers and her own empathy.
As a result of Monica’s epiphany, the multiverse has been put on pause, no longer collapsing on itself, but not yet returned to normal. In a beautiful display of her powers, Monica closes her eyes and unleashes some light energy that reverberates throughout the multiverse. There is a gorgeous double-page spread that seems to have Monica almost floating in her own light wave energy to represent the lightness Monica now feels inside. It is enhanced by some memorable dialogue from Starfox as he states, “I don’t think I ever truly reckoned with how powerful you are, but then again, I don’t think you did either.”
When Monica opens her eyes again, she finally is back home in her own universe. The series ends with Monica calling her cousin Caleb to ask if she can visit. Not only does he say yes, but tells her to take her time and Monica is fine with that. Monica may be a superhero but now she knows it’s okay to take her time with things and take time for herself. She is more than what she can give to other people and that’s something we all need to be reminded from time to time.
Latonya Pennington
Latonya Pennington is a freelance contributor whose comics criticism can be found at Women Write About Comics, Comic Book Herald, Newsarama and Shelfdust, among others.
