Monica Rambeau Photon #4

[Cable]

X-fans take note, we might have quite a retcon here!

Full Spoilers:

Spoiler: show

Karla Sofen and Yesenia Rosario try to convince Monica Rambeau that she has broken the universe, but she is skeptical because she knows them as their villain identities Moonstone and Hinge. Rosario explains in this reality they are just researchers at the Ravencroft Interreality Project. Upon entering this facility Rambeau immediately notices they have the Stone of Hala. Rosario says they are studying it, along with what they refer to as the Rambeau Event: Photon is the source of the current fracturing of the multiverse, but they don't know why. Something recently has been "off" about her and they believe the only person who can find the solution is Monica herself. Rambeau just wants to take the Stone and return to Charos but Sofen grabs her, showing she can manifest the powers she saw her villainous other version use. She won't let Photon leave. Rosario doesn't agree with this violent method and then turns into her own powered alter-ego. While those two squabble Photon uses the opening to grab the Stone, and then she blasts Moonstone when the villainess gets in her way. She travels back into space but when she gets there the Charans are gone. There is only a device that transmits a neural message that they have relocated and don't want to be found. Their archival research has suggested the Stone cannot be the source of their issue but it must just be reflecting something else more fundamentally broken. Rambeau literally punts this machine and it explodes. She is annoyed with the suggestions that she is the problem; yes she has not taken time to figure out who she is with all this power and what it means to her, but she doesn't have the luxury of taking a break when there is more to be done and people who need help. She wipes away her tears and in her frustration decides to just give up. She ends up teleporting to her cousin Caleb's apartment and flops into a chair. This version of her cousin seems more well-adjusted and she explains at length her situation to him. He says that everyone seems to be telling her the same thing: she has to figure out what she wants. She says she can't see past what other people need her to be. He gives her jewelry from their great-grandmother and says it is good energy for her. His two daughters then walk in and they are older than they should be. She is exasperated again by the dimensional shifts and she shouts that she demands to see the Beyonder. She wants an explanation for why he said he was drawn to her. He says he once took notice of a cosmic energy piercing through reality: from her knowledge of the Avengers Files she recognizes he is speaking about Molecule Man. He says that was only one incidence that he took notice of, and she was another. There is then a vision of when Monica was young and her parents were upset about Maria being passed over for a promotion, and young Monica took to heart her mother saying to not let anyone give you a reason to doubt yourself. As young Monica thought about this in her bed she produced a glowing orb in her hand. But she didn't use these abilities until one day she was literally shocked into doing so...In the present with the Beyonder, Monica cries as she says she hid what she was for so long. She gets back on topic though by saying what she really needs to know is what she truly desires now. She says they both know who can help her answer this question. He says consider it done and with a wave of his hand they appear outside a spaceship. A spaceship piloted by Starfox!

So further discussion now of the big shocker reveal so turn back if you haven't read the series and want to go in fresh (and I do recommend the series for a delicous deep-dive into this particular character):

Did anyone else read this and if you so did you come to the clear conclusion that Eve Ewing just made Photon into a mutant? (well she would now always retroactively have been a mutant but you know what I mean). Beyonder says "You don't even want to say the word?" What other word could this be than the M word?!

WHAT IS HAPPENING

[Holland Oates]

She kind of was one in the Nextwave book. I don’t know that the change was necessary. But it’s not a deal breaker for me.