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Monica Rambeau: Photon #1-5
Monica Rambeau: Photon
It's up to Photon to put the universe back together! From the New Orleans Harbor Patrol to the Avengers, the Ultimates and beyond - Monica Rambeau, the hero known as Photon, has been a leader and team player her entire life. Now, as Monica faces a reality-shattering crisis in her first-ever solo series, readers will explore the outer reaches and wildest vagaries of the Marvel Universe through the eyes of one of its most powerful heroes! Charged with making a very special, very cosmic delivery, this should be light work (get it?) for Monica - if family drama doesn't hold her back! But when she runs into someone from her past who she really can't stand, it'll lead to an unexpected - make that impossible - Avengers reunion. Collecting MONICA PHOTON #1-5.
112 pages, Paperback
First published September 26, 2023
3 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Eve L. Ewing
100 books1,208 followersDr. Eve Louise Ewing is a writer and a sociologist of education from Chicago. Ewing is a prolific writer across multiple genres. Her 2018 book Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism & School Closings on Chicago's South Side explores the relationship between the closing of public schools and the structural history of race and racism in Chicago's Bronzeville community.
Ewing's first collection of poetry, essays, and visual art, Electric Arches, was published by Haymarket Books in 2017. Her second collection, 1919, tells the story of the race riot that rocked Chicago in the summer of that year. Her first book for elementary readers, Maya and the Robot, is forthcoming in 2020 from Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Her work has been published in many venues, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, and the anthology American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, curated by Tracy K. Smith, Poet Laureate of the United States. With Nate Marshall, she co-wrote the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, produced by Manual Cinema and commissioned by the Poetry Foundation. She also currently writes the Champions series for Marvel Comics and previously wrote the acclaimed Ironheart series, as well as other projects.
Ewing's first collection of poetry, essays, and visual art, Electric Arches, was published by Haymarket Books in 2017. Her second collection, 1919, tells the story of the race riot that rocked Chicago in the summer of that year. Her first book for elementary readers, Maya and the Robot, is forthcoming in 2020 from Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Her work has been published in many venues, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Washington Post, The New Republic, Poetry Magazine, and the anthology American Journal: Fifty Poems for Our Time, curated by Tracy K. Smith, Poet Laureate of the United States. With Nate Marshall, she co-wrote the play No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks, produced by Manual Cinema and commissioned by the Poetry Foundation. She also currently writes the Champions series for Marvel Comics and previously wrote the acclaimed Ironheart series, as well as other projects.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
July 10, 2023
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Monica Rambeau has had one of the most volatile careers in the super-hero comics genre in all of the Marvel universe and more than most in similar comics across the medium.
She had her hero-birth by not just a simple accident or twist of fate - she was a security officer who tried to stop a villain but instead of being blown up, she ended up getting powers that were unique and that have evolved extensively over the decades. She has been called Captain Marvel, Spectrum, Photon and more over the years - she's been obscure and partly forgotten at times and then been a powerhouse of awesome and beloved by fans (me being amongst them) in series such as Nextwave (which ruled!) and Ultimates (the 2015 series, not The Ultimates from the alternate universe) which saw some of the biggest evolutions of her as a character and of her fluid and versatile powers. Personally I think she's rarely been as amazing and as fun a character as she was on that team - a book I was sad to see end.
NOW, she's been getting a bit of a push as Marvel has been making a lot of efforts to push diversity both in terms of characters' backgrounds but also to give mini-series and such to more obscure characters in general the past some years - which brings us to this series. I was excited because Eve L. Ewing has shown herself to be a capable writer + I have been a fan of Monica when she's been done right and I was hoping they would keep doing her justice.
The series essentially follows Monica as she delivers a powerful MacGuffin device to the right science-y folks and then after a brief encounter with a low-level-baddie, gets back to her life - in which she's shown to be both happy because she's got good people and a lot going well, but she's feeling a bit over-stretched and worn thin because she pre-occupies herself too much with what others want instead of thinking about herself. Next thing you know, there's visits from dangerous entities like a Beyonder, there's reality hopping, alien encounters, dimensional damage and a race to figure out how to use her vast and universal powers to save all of reality… that's assuming she even could at all.
Overall it's a briskly written and fast-paced book that never quite lets you sit back and is supported by some wonderful art by Michael Sta. Maria and Luca Maresca who share art duties. They have very different styles but somehow it's not jarring when we switch between them across these issues and the overall look is very much in a Marvel-house-style and more importantly, it's balanced in its depth and colouring, i.e, in more mellow moments and spaces, the look and colour is more down to Earth and in grander moments or characters, you can feel the vibrancy and difference in tone. I hope to see more from these dudes.
The story however, was more of a "meh" for me.
It's not a bad story but it follows a trend that I've been seeing in Marvel more than anywhere else in comics, wherein the powers of characters are being explored and pushed to be more and more. It's happening the most in the X-books (which I commented on in my Legion of X review) but over there it's a whole society of super-people working to explore cutting-edge science, bio-magic, techno-Gaianism and such. But here, we have a character that was already quite over-powered by the time she was done with Ultimates and yet there seems to be a need to show her as even more universally powered/powerful and frankly it's a bit overkill because in my view, it shifts a lot of focus in stories from who she is to what she can do - FOR EXAMPLE: a core part of this story itself is Monica's inability to deal with things in her life beyond a point and her willful denial (in a way) of what SHE wants instead of trying to do for others and ignoring herself. But that was lost for me because the big-moments and power and super-bits became such a thing that I honestly had a hard time buying that she had that problem in the first place outside of the writer TELLING me she did - show, don't tell. You're in a comic folks!
The character also felt quite uneven to me and not totally like a Monica I've known and frankly this felt like they were trying to "redefine" her and make her into something new that they thought she needs to be for some plan down the road maybe where her ultra-super-powerful-ness will be needed. But that's annoying. We're ending up with more and more heroes for short bursts unlocking these godly power levels and then having neither basis for them being at all challenged by mundane things without seeming silly (to me) or just writing it off or some such. Or they get downgraded shortly after.
I find that to be a disservice to characters who earned and grew into people readers knew and loved and had watched evolve naturally and chaotically in a way that was at least somewhat organic - this book is sadly a bit of the excessive, forced kind of change with the identity crisis thrown onto Monica. I felt little to no real empathy for my protagonist because I did not have any basis for her angst to be there to the degree it was and the stakes that it spawned.
Evern her family is only mildly engaging and we barely get any time of substance anywhere to build a connect or even anything more than passing interest with any of them, especially her cousin who somewhere it felt like should have had more play or relationship exploration with her or something. This was all very sorely lacking as if there was a desire to tell a story but they chose to focus on the cosmis stuff and the pretty and cool things but that means at one level it all feels shallow and like a dated kind of comic that is fast moving but rarely carrying much depth to it. It was message and idea shovelling.
Oh and I'm sad to say it but there were things like suddenly the Beyonder is referred to pointedly as "they" for no reason with no precedence and it's treated like a fact arbitrarily with no questions asked. I don't care whose pronoun is what but I like some context, some build, something that gets me from (a) to (b) and this kind of thing, like Icemans arbitrary and abrupt gay-ness just because and with no real build to show his journey of awakening to the idea… these are choices that I'm sorry to say feel like someone made a mandate and also run the risk of giving fuel to the people who feel like "wokeness" is being shoved into their face. Not everything needs to be socially corrected and adjusted to fit the new normal and be the most rainbow-inclusionary thing - old characters can remain a thing and you can make a new thing, they do it all the time. It's such a small thing in this series but it's typical of a thing I've seen in TV shows and comics at random where the people in charge feel the need to push an agenda perhaps that one bit too hard. The more organic such changes, the easier they are for audiences to absorb - in its own way, it's like a character arc which can also be a short one and not spread out over a year or more.
Overall, the comic was a passable one but at the end of issue #2 I was struggling a bit and though there were great pieces of artwork that I enjoyed from start to finish, the narrative structure, character development and frankly, the overall plot, were underwhelming - the truth is that the vast majority of whatever score I give here comes from the art and a little from some decent ideas in the midst of all the other stuff happening. The result is that I don't really recommend this most anyone except the most hardcore fans of the character.
Monica Rambeau has had one of the most volatile careers in the super-hero comics genre in all of the Marvel universe and more than most in similar comics across the medium.
She had her hero-birth by not just a simple accident or twist of fate - she was a security officer who tried to stop a villain but instead of being blown up, she ended up getting powers that were unique and that have evolved extensively over the decades. She has been called Captain Marvel, Spectrum, Photon and more over the years - she's been obscure and partly forgotten at times and then been a powerhouse of awesome and beloved by fans (me being amongst them) in series such as Nextwave (which ruled!) and Ultimates (the 2015 series, not The Ultimates from the alternate universe) which saw some of the biggest evolutions of her as a character and of her fluid and versatile powers. Personally I think she's rarely been as amazing and as fun a character as she was on that team - a book I was sad to see end.
NOW, she's been getting a bit of a push as Marvel has been making a lot of efforts to push diversity both in terms of characters' backgrounds but also to give mini-series and such to more obscure characters in general the past some years - which brings us to this series. I was excited because Eve L. Ewing has shown herself to be a capable writer + I have been a fan of Monica when she's been done right and I was hoping they would keep doing her justice.
The series essentially follows Monica as she delivers a powerful MacGuffin device to the right science-y folks and then after a brief encounter with a low-level-baddie, gets back to her life - in which she's shown to be both happy because she's got good people and a lot going well, but she's feeling a bit over-stretched and worn thin because she pre-occupies herself too much with what others want instead of thinking about herself. Next thing you know, there's visits from dangerous entities like a Beyonder, there's reality hopping, alien encounters, dimensional damage and a race to figure out how to use her vast and universal powers to save all of reality… that's assuming she even could at all.
Overall it's a briskly written and fast-paced book that never quite lets you sit back and is supported by some wonderful art by Michael Sta. Maria and Luca Maresca who share art duties. They have very different styles but somehow it's not jarring when we switch between them across these issues and the overall look is very much in a Marvel-house-style and more importantly, it's balanced in its depth and colouring, i.e, in more mellow moments and spaces, the look and colour is more down to Earth and in grander moments or characters, you can feel the vibrancy and difference in tone. I hope to see more from these dudes.
The story however, was more of a "meh" for me.
It's not a bad story but it follows a trend that I've been seeing in Marvel more than anywhere else in comics, wherein the powers of characters are being explored and pushed to be more and more. It's happening the most in the X-books (which I commented on in my Legion of X review) but over there it's a whole society of super-people working to explore cutting-edge science, bio-magic, techno-Gaianism and such. But here, we have a character that was already quite over-powered by the time she was done with Ultimates and yet there seems to be a need to show her as even more universally powered/powerful and frankly it's a bit overkill because in my view, it shifts a lot of focus in stories from who she is to what she can do - FOR EXAMPLE: a core part of this story itself is Monica's inability to deal with things in her life beyond a point and her willful denial (in a way) of what SHE wants instead of trying to do for others and ignoring herself. But that was lost for me because the big-moments and power and super-bits became such a thing that I honestly had a hard time buying that she had that problem in the first place outside of the writer TELLING me she did - show, don't tell. You're in a comic folks!
The character also felt quite uneven to me and not totally like a Monica I've known and frankly this felt like they were trying to "redefine" her and make her into something new that they thought she needs to be for some plan down the road maybe where her ultra-super-powerful-ness will be needed. But that's annoying. We're ending up with more and more heroes for short bursts unlocking these godly power levels and then having neither basis for them being at all challenged by mundane things without seeming silly (to me) or just writing it off or some such. Or they get downgraded shortly after.
I find that to be a disservice to characters who earned and grew into people readers knew and loved and had watched evolve naturally and chaotically in a way that was at least somewhat organic - this book is sadly a bit of the excessive, forced kind of change with the identity crisis thrown onto Monica. I felt little to no real empathy for my protagonist because I did not have any basis for her angst to be there to the degree it was and the stakes that it spawned.
Evern her family is only mildly engaging and we barely get any time of substance anywhere to build a connect or even anything more than passing interest with any of them, especially her cousin who somewhere it felt like should have had more play or relationship exploration with her or something. This was all very sorely lacking as if there was a desire to tell a story but they chose to focus on the cosmis stuff and the pretty and cool things but that means at one level it all feels shallow and like a dated kind of comic that is fast moving but rarely carrying much depth to it. It was message and idea shovelling.
Oh and I'm sad to say it but there were things like suddenly the Beyonder is referred to pointedly as "they" for no reason with no precedence and it's treated like a fact arbitrarily with no questions asked. I don't care whose pronoun is what but I like some context, some build, something that gets me from (a) to (b) and this kind of thing, like Icemans arbitrary and abrupt gay-ness just because and with no real build to show his journey of awakening to the idea… these are choices that I'm sorry to say feel like someone made a mandate and also run the risk of giving fuel to the people who feel like "wokeness" is being shoved into their face. Not everything needs to be socially corrected and adjusted to fit the new normal and be the most rainbow-inclusionary thing - old characters can remain a thing and you can make a new thing, they do it all the time. It's such a small thing in this series but it's typical of a thing I've seen in TV shows and comics at random where the people in charge feel the need to push an agenda perhaps that one bit too hard. The more organic such changes, the easier they are for audiences to absorb - in its own way, it's like a character arc which can also be a short one and not spread out over a year or more.
Overall, the comic was a passable one but at the end of issue #2 I was struggling a bit and though there were great pieces of artwork that I enjoyed from start to finish, the narrative structure, character development and frankly, the overall plot, were underwhelming - the truth is that the vast majority of whatever score I give here comes from the art and a little from some decent ideas in the midst of all the other stuff happening. The result is that I don't really recommend this most anyone except the most hardcore fans of the character.
Read
December 11, 2023After the best part of forty years in the Marvel Universe, including a spell leading the Avengers, Monica Rambeau finally gets a solo (mini)series, but I suppose that shows the clout that comes with making it to the big screen. Alas, while efforts to have the comics track the films too closely were never a winner, this goes too far the other way; any kid who got excited by Teyonah Parris kicking arse, wants to read more and picks this up is liable to find themselves legitimately baffled by jokes at the expense of Dr Druid. Hell, even for those of us who know why he's funny, this is a struggle, with Monica finding herself in another universe, or maybe her usual universe except changed by the Beyonder, except possibly a Beyonder not the Beyonder...the supporting cast get revised and re-revised, and while I can understand the idea of showing us who a character is by seeing her remain a fixed point in a shifting world, mightn't that goal also have been achievable by giving her the starring role in a fun superhero adventure, rather than a hall of mirrors where the endless alterations make it tough to invest in stakes that never seem to settle down?
May 9, 2024
Monica Rambeau: Photon serves as an introduction for Marvel newbies to the character from The Marvels, except that instead of providing a fun, meaningful adventure for Monica Rambeau, we get a weird cosmic tale where even the most advanced Marvel readers will be hard-pressed to get the references.
I mean, the Beyonder shows up, and you know any time that cosmic being is on the scene, shit's gonna get weird. Eve L. Ewing is, unfortunately, not Al Ewing, so all the "outside the boundaries of known space and time!!!" stuff is poorly conceived. The actual bits of Monica's life that we see are somewhat engaging, but the overall adventure is not. Seems like it'll be a while before we get another solo adventure for this hero.
I mean, the Beyonder shows up, and you know any time that cosmic being is on the scene, shit's gonna get weird. Eve L. Ewing is, unfortunately, not Al Ewing, so all the "outside the boundaries of known space and time!!!" stuff is poorly conceived. The actual bits of Monica's life that we see are somewhat engaging, but the overall adventure is not. Seems like it'll be a while before we get another solo adventure for this hero.
November 6, 2023
3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.
A great comic about Monica, her responsibilities and how she views herself. I wish it had been longer, so we could see Monica taking time for herself and learning more about herself, but still a great comic!
The artwork was also wonderful!
TW for mentions of death of parents, burnout, violence, grief, serious illness.
A great comic about Monica, her responsibilities and how she views herself. I wish it had been longer, so we could see Monica taking time for herself and learning more about herself, but still a great comic!
The artwork was also wonderful!
TW for mentions of death of parents, burnout, violence, grief, serious illness.
May 18, 2023
the theme really got to me
May 12, 2024
Monica Rambeau começou a chamar a atenção dos "civis" depois de sua aparição na série de televisão por streaming WandaVision e depois foi utilizada no longa-metragem As Marvels, com Miss Marvel e com a Capitã Marvel. Foi por causa disso que a Marvel Comics resolveu desenvolver uma minissérie com Monica Rambeau nos quadrinhos, escrita por Eve L. Ewing e desenhada por diversos desenhistas. Uma pena que uma personagem que tenha tanta história na Casa das Ideias e com equipes como Os Vingadores e a Nova Onda precise receber uma minissérie que se usa do artifício das viagens no tempo e no multiverso como mote. Ela acaba ficando bastante aquém da importância da personagem, sem fazer jus a ela. Ela ainda flerta com uma versão não-binária do Beyonder, um personagem que a Marvel deveria se esquecer que cometeu, utilizando ele de uma forma bastante precária e boba. Os desenhos da minissérie também são qualquer coisa a despeito das belas capas desenvolvidas pelo brasileiro Lucas Werneck.
February 28, 2025
A great lesson is contained within on finding time for yourself among the heroic notion of always trying to help others!
This touches a lot on Monica's initial character roots, which for a fan of this character, a lot of her books do not touch that specific era of her life.
Eve Ewing does a great job of tying this integrally into Monica's powers!
This book feels often mature and reflective.
This touches a lot on Monica's initial character roots, which for a fan of this character, a lot of her books do not touch that specific era of her life.
Eve Ewing does a great job of tying this integrally into Monica's powers!
This book feels often mature and reflective.
November 14, 2025
This was fun, really the first Monica Rambeau comic I've read. I'm definitely interested in her past and what makes her this version of herself. I gotta go back and look up her first appearances.
Stunning artwork, stunning story. Fun time.
Stunning artwork, stunning story. Fun time.
January 31, 2025
I was kind of confused, there were a bazillion niche references that the plot hinged on… artwork was gorgeous though so high star rating for that
November 9, 2023
A good superhero story about expectations and mental health. It's a bit too short and quick for my taste, but I guess that's because the creators only had a six issue mini series to work with.
Read
May 26, 2023Monica being my absolute favorite marvel character and me being obsessed with her, I was over the moon when this limited series was announced. She has been round for nearly 41 years and other than two one shots this is her first series, which is ridiculous. I liked the theme of this with Monica having trouble focusing on herself and what she wants because she's too busy trying to help other people. It also showcased just how powerful she is by showing just because she's feeling conflicted internally, it created a whole shift in the universe. I won't lie, i was really underwhelmed as a whole because it just felt like not enough happened. I wanted more fights, an enemy (the one in issue 1 doesn't count), more fun, etc. I also didn't like that they
So yeah, I was underwhelmed but it was still decent. It kind of bothers me that her series debut wasn't explosive like it should have been.
So yeah, I was underwhelmed but it was still decent. It kind of bothers me that her series debut wasn't explosive like it should have been.
April 28, 2023
I loved this! I love Monica. TShe’s such a great character, being one of Marvel’s first major female characters of color is a lot of weight for a character to carry. But they never stopped using her and they just keep making her better. Her new costume is fantastic and now that she’s learned some more about herself I can’t wait to see how they use her next. She is such a powerhouse of a hero and I’m shocked it took so long to give her a new solo series. Not to mention the art of each cover is phenomenal and gorgeous.
November 11, 2023
I’ve been a huge fan of Ewing’s poetry since her first full length, so when she started working on marvel comics, I thought, ‘this is gonna be amazing.’ It ended up though that I just couldn’t connect with the writing in ironheart as much as I tried. It was a disappointment for me, but I’m glad to have checked this one out. I hate cheap sentimentality so the magic end Ewing pulls if with Luca Maressa transcends many superhero tropes. I wish this was an ongoing. Excited to see what Ewing goes for next.
March 26, 2024
Forewarning - As this long review can tell I have very mixed feelings on this. I want to stress however hard I can that I had no prior knowledge of Monica Rambeau and with Eve Ewing's tendencies to explore, delve, and comment on key aspects of the characters she writes it can be difficult for me to fully appreciate this. It's got clear literary intent behind it but I can't fully appreciate it due to my lack of knowledge with Rambeau.
Could have been better. 2.5 rounded up for the literary chops of Eve Ewing and her achieved goal and recognition of a loved character here. Its clear she wanted to write with a message and she delivered albeit with not the biggest oomph or impact due to the extreme breakneck pace and maybe a bit of an artistic one too.
Eve loves taking a Marvel character and expanding on what was there in the past to create something stronger. She keeps her characters roots in memory. She even said this in other words somewhere (her interview with Black Comic Lords iirc). She definitely does it very literally here with Rambeau both exploring the heart of Rambeau as a character as well as her role throughout Marvel's history. Its neat but definitely requires some background research to appreciate as Eve isn't the greatest at explaining as she expects fans to know a bit going in. I didn't so some of this was lost on me. Her writing chops are here but with the larger messages she likes to add while paying homage to the pasts of characters it leads to a tight book with sadly just not enough pages.
In some ways it being a cape story with a superhero hurts it. Superheroes are tied into so much ongoing stories especially a character like Monica meaning covering it is large and expensive which makes it tight to cover enough to feel like a Rambeau story without getting bogged down and having time for the message of self worth. But Eve does well I assume. Idk this is my first interaction with Rambeau.
It's all there but I don't feel invested. This is my first time with Rambeau and Eve writes this with an expectation of knowing the character. This feels more like a letter to Rambeau fans and readers than to the general Marvel readership. There is also the breakneck pace exploring so much and so many different avenues while also tying in the mental health breather lesson that its a bit of a whirlwind read that does a bit too much for its page space and quick pacing. But its still a fine character exploration of a character with a colorful and varied history not well-remembered that celebrates each of her periods and merges them to get at the heart of the character.
Its nice character work and I feel like its extending past Monica into the self worth of black women. Its nice. But with a character I know little about things come off weaker. Maybe if I was a bugger Rambeau fan I would like this more.
The art is done by Lucas Maresca throughout working with Ivan Fiorelli for issues 1-3. Its fine. I was here for Eve and not for the art. Its passable with pops of good bits with the powers and cosmic stuff. I wish the universe shifting was more see-able on page as it felt underwhelming with just the sudden shifting of people appearing or disappearing without some fun effect that would've added that oomph to it.
Could have been better. 2.5 rounded up for the literary chops of Eve Ewing and her achieved goal and recognition of a loved character here. Its clear she wanted to write with a message and she delivered albeit with not the biggest oomph or impact due to the extreme breakneck pace and maybe a bit of an artistic one too.
Eve loves taking a Marvel character and expanding on what was there in the past to create something stronger. She keeps her characters roots in memory. She even said this in other words somewhere (her interview with Black Comic Lords iirc). She definitely does it very literally here with Rambeau both exploring the heart of Rambeau as a character as well as her role throughout Marvel's history. Its neat but definitely requires some background research to appreciate as Eve isn't the greatest at explaining as she expects fans to know a bit going in. I didn't so some of this was lost on me. Her writing chops are here but with the larger messages she likes to add while paying homage to the pasts of characters it leads to a tight book with sadly just not enough pages.
In some ways it being a cape story with a superhero hurts it. Superheroes are tied into so much ongoing stories especially a character like Monica meaning covering it is large and expensive which makes it tight to cover enough to feel like a Rambeau story without getting bogged down and having time for the message of self worth. But Eve does well I assume. Idk this is my first interaction with Rambeau.
It's all there but I don't feel invested. This is my first time with Rambeau and Eve writes this with an expectation of knowing the character. This feels more like a letter to Rambeau fans and readers than to the general Marvel readership. There is also the breakneck pace exploring so much and so many different avenues while also tying in the mental health breather lesson that its a bit of a whirlwind read that does a bit too much for its page space and quick pacing. But its still a fine character exploration of a character with a colorful and varied history not well-remembered that celebrates each of her periods and merges them to get at the heart of the character.
Its nice character work and I feel like its extending past Monica into the self worth of black women. Its nice. But with a character I know little about things come off weaker. Maybe if I was a bugger Rambeau fan I would like this more.
The art is done by Lucas Maresca throughout working with Ivan Fiorelli for issues 1-3. Its fine. I was here for Eve and not for the art. Its passable with pops of good bits with the powers and cosmic stuff. I wish the universe shifting was more see-able on page as it felt underwhelming with just the sudden shifting of people appearing or disappearing without some fun effect that would've added that oomph to it.
June 3, 2025
It's kind of unbelievable that Monica Rambeau hasn't had even a mini-series to herself before now. Thankfully, Eve L. Ewing, Luca Maresca, and Ivan Fiorelli are here to rectify that.
The plot here is that something has happened to Monica that causes the universe to fracture around her. She travels to various different universes that are all kind of off-centre, and fights to understand herself enough so that she can rectify what went wrong. It's not a bad idea, and it's very ambitious for only five issues, but I don't think it's executed quite as well as it could have been.
Monica spends a lot of time yelling, either at herself or at other people, and her need to try and solve the problem all by herself causes more problems than it solves. The fact that there's no indication when the universe has changed also sometimes makes it a little difficult to keep up with where and when we are. I will say I do like the continuity draws, and Ewing makes a few deep cuts that I appreciated a lot, but overall the plot kind of doesn't hit great. It also just...ends, really, with Monica fixing the problem and walking off into the sunset without any actual resolution.
The artwork's decent, though nothing massively special. Both Maresca and Fiorelli have done some great work recently (Immortal X-Men and Fantastic Four spring to mind respectively) but neither of them seems to be on their A-game here.
Not bad, not great, not really where we want the first solo Monica series to land, but alas.
The plot here is that something has happened to Monica that causes the universe to fracture around her. She travels to various different universes that are all kind of off-centre, and fights to understand herself enough so that she can rectify what went wrong. It's not a bad idea, and it's very ambitious for only five issues, but I don't think it's executed quite as well as it could have been.
Monica spends a lot of time yelling, either at herself or at other people, and her need to try and solve the problem all by herself causes more problems than it solves. The fact that there's no indication when the universe has changed also sometimes makes it a little difficult to keep up with where and when we are. I will say I do like the continuity draws, and Ewing makes a few deep cuts that I appreciated a lot, but overall the plot kind of doesn't hit great. It also just...ends, really, with Monica fixing the problem and walking off into the sunset without any actual resolution.
The artwork's decent, though nothing massively special. Both Maresca and Fiorelli have done some great work recently (Immortal X-Men and Fantastic Four spring to mind respectively) but neither of them seems to be on their A-game here.
Not bad, not great, not really where we want the first solo Monica series to land, but alas.
August 31, 2025
I really wanted to like this because I like Monica Rambeau. The art is nice, but this story does not do her character justice. At all. It's clear Marvel pushed this out to have some synergy with the MCU at that time during The Marvels rollout. It feels rushed and corporate mandated, rather than organic. The writing is not good, and there's quite a few narrative choices I didn't care for (changing her codename yet again, breaking up her relationship with Adam Brashear/Blue Marvel, and alternate reality hopping which did not amount to much in the end.) This was disappointing; don't waste your time. For a better Monica Rambeau story, check out Nextwave, Mighty Avengers or Ultimates (2015).
September 2, 2023
What we have here is a character that's been EVERYWHERE in the MU. Her powers have always been massive and crazy OP. She can do just about anything. So what do you do with a character that's SO overpowered?
Give her a multiversal breaking case of angst.
This story could be given to any hero in the universe. It's not that it isn't good. It's just so generic that the cliche moments are just readily apparent.
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Bonus: Doctor Druid is/was an ass
Bonus Bonus: Interesting how they swept her time in Ultimates under the rug. Same with her relationship.
Give her a multiversal breaking case of angst.
This story could be given to any hero in the universe. It's not that it isn't good. It's just so generic that the cliche moments are just readily apparent.
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Bonus: Doctor Druid is/was an ass
Bonus Bonus: Interesting how they swept her time in Ultimates under the rug. Same with her relationship.
November 16, 2023
I didn't love this book, and I'm not entirely sure I can put my finger on why. I'm not familiar enough with Monica's character to have a firm feeling of how she should be written, so it's nothing to do with that. I think it may be because the story felt kind of generic? This exact same storyline could have been given to any of the hordes of extremely powerful Marvel characters. The things that set Monica apart, like her family relationships, kept taking a backseat to a plot I wasn't terribly interested in. I'm kind of disappointed, because I've really enjoyed Ewing's writing in the past.
November 27, 2023
Monica feels like something is off with her, but she can't figure out what it is. She recovers an ancient artifact for Dr. Strange to keep in the Sanctum Sanctorum and then runs into the Avengers who say that she's their leader, but she hasn't led the team in years. Then her parents (who she just visited) are no longer living. She soon figures out that she's somehow slipping from one universe to another, and reality will soon tear itself apart if she can't figure out what's happening and how to fix it, but will the Beyonder or Starfox be able to help?
April 23, 2024
Bought this because I like Monica Rambeau (although I prefer her Spectrum or Captain Marvel names). Unfortunately I found this rather boring, spiced up a little by the appearance of Starfox towards the end. The whole Beyonder thing comes across a bit arbitrary.
Got a bonus point because it wasn't about the character 'passing on' her identity or dying which a lot of these minis about fringe characters are.
Got a bonus point because it wasn't about the character 'passing on' her identity or dying which a lot of these minis about fringe characters are.
March 16, 2024
This is obviously an effort to capitalize on things like Wandavision and The Marvels and I had rather low expectations. And while it wasn't terrible...it didn't feel all that great either. In fact, I think we got a better Photon in books like the Ultimates than whatever this was. Rather underwhelmed.
August 28, 2024
Monica gets involved in some cosmic weirdness that isn't really explained well or even resolved well. It just seems like an excuse to keep modifying her history for reasons. I did like how when Dr. Druid shows up, he's still a dick. I just don't get why they finally give Monica Rambeau her own book and it's this nonstory.
March 20, 2024
A bit underwhelming in its conclusion, Monica Rambeau Photon uses a multiverse jumping story to explore the protagonist’s sense of self in a comic universe where her legacy is commonly downplayed or forgotten.
November 6, 2023
I loved this book and hope Eve Ewing continues to write it.
January 4, 2024
I usually really like Ewing’s writing, but this one didn’t do it for me. For a good 80% of the book nothing of substance happens, just weird dreamlike alt-universe stuff that quickly became tedious.
April 22, 2024
Monica Rambeau <333
August 26, 2024
3,6 estrelas premissa boa, mas podia ter sido melhor executada
June 22, 2024
I've always thought Monica Rambeau could have been as big as Carol Danvers if given the same push. Perhaps that's naive and the world's racism would have continued to hold her back. That said, happy to see her get this 5 issue series. I hope there is more in the future.
The series itself though? It's just good, not great, in my opinion. It is a very "look inside yourself" sort of thing, for a hero who to many is not super well known. I don't know if it would be a fun read for people who don't already know about her, who I feel like is a lot of people.
I personally, would have like a more "fight a bad guy" story than a "introspection" story. At least to start out with. It's certainly by no means bad, it is just not exactly what I was looking for.
The series itself though? It's just good, not great, in my opinion. It is a very "look inside yourself" sort of thing, for a hero who to many is not super well known. I don't know if it would be a fun read for people who don't already know about her, who I feel like is a lot of people.
I personally, would have like a more "fight a bad guy" story than a "introspection" story. At least to start out with. It's certainly by no means bad, it is just not exactly what I was looking for.
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