The following contains major spoilers for Monica Rambeau: Photon #4, available now from Marvel Comics.

If there is anything that has come to define Monica Rambeau's comic book career, it is the fact that change is constant. Whether it be her place in the world, her superhero moniker, or the team she fights alongside, it seems as if nothing in Monica's life is meant to stay the same for very long. Yet somehow, this doesn't make it any less surprising that the origins of her powers have just been rewritten. This new version of her incredible journey might make the former Captain Marvel into one of the world's most secret mutants.

Since the arrival of her latest nemesis in the form of Doctor Yesenia Rosario, aka Hinge, the titular hero of Monica Rambeau: Photon #4 (by Eve L. Ewing, Luca Maresca, Carlos Lopez, and VC's Clayton Cowles) has seen her life change in both unfathomable and horrifying ways. After hopping from one dimension to another and losing more of her grip on reality at every turn, Monica calls out to the one being she knows has his eye on her - the Beyonder. Though the Beyonder isn't able to answer all of Monica's questions on his own, he is more than capable of getting her to come to terms with the part of herself she has kept hidden for decades.

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Did Marvel Just Make Monica Rambeau a Mutant?

Monica Rambeau Discovered Her Powers As a Child

In her first appearance in 1982's Amazing Spider-Man Annual #6 (By Roger Stern, John Romita Jr., and Joh Romita Sr.) Monica was bearing her bold black and white look as what the press would describe as the latest Captain Marvel. At the time, it was believed that Monica had gained her astonishing abilities after helping to destroy an energy-draining device with her bare hand. This supposedly exposed her to all the power held deep within. With her newfound powers, Monica made a name for herself as one of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, even going on to take on the role of Chairperson of the Avengers for some time.

Over the years Monica's powers have gone through some changes of their own, including a period during which Monica was a being of pure energy thanks to an unfortunate encounter with Blue Marvel. But where they come from has never been called into question. At least, that was the case until now. Not only has her conversation with the Beyonder made it clear that Monica's abilities existed long before her supposed transformation, but she hid them for fear of what others would think. In particular, she didn't even want to say the word for what she may have been. On one hand, there are plenty of reasons for a child to hide superpowers from their parents. On the other is the fact that in Marvel Universe there is just one that comes to mind, mutant.

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How Being a Mutant Changes Monica Rambeau

Monica Rambeau Doesn't Want to Say She's a Mutant

Assuming it is true that Monica Rambeau was born a mutant, the nature of her abilities is only the first of many things that have been reframed entirely. From her childhood traumas to the very trajectory of her career, the presence of an X-Gene changes everything there is to know about Monica's life. That is, aside from the parts that matter the most.

This change certainly leaves something to be said about Monica being one of the few mutants to come through M-Day with her powers intact or what her relationship with Krakoa could be. But it in no way changes her accomplishments or her place in the wider Marvel Universe. If anything, being a mutant would only serve to further endear Monica to both her fans and her peers. Considering how many of her fellow heroes have lived with secrets all the same, there are few if any who couldn't empathize with her experience. There is almost assuredly no one who would think any less of her for the way she has lived through it.