Warning: spoilers for Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black #5!
Arguably the most important tie-in to the main King in Black event, Marvel’s Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black by Peter David revealed that the infamous Knull, the main antagonist of the King in Black saga, first attempted to invade Earth many years ago. However, a rag-tag group of heroes managed to thwart Knull’s plot, largely thanks to the abilities of WandaVision’s Monica Rambeau.
Created by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr., Monica Rambeau gained superhuman abilities after being exposed to extra-dimensional energy. With the power to generate and control various forms of energy, Monica can stop bullets, become intangible, move at super-speeds, and more. In the comics, Monica eventually became the successor to the original Captain Marvel - even before Carol Danvers took on the role - though she later gave up the mantle to his son and took on the name Photon instead. Over the years, Monica has been a member of the Avengers, even leading the team for a time, and fought alongside countless other Marvel heroes in defense of the planet. However, perhaps her most important victory is one that virtually no one in the Marvel Universe is even aware of.
In Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black, Kang the Conqueror tries to save earth by traveling to the past so as to prevent Knull from getting his hands on the Ebony Blade. Issue #3 shows that Kang didn’t come alone - on his ship is an injured Monica Rambeau, the Captain Marvel of a different time, whose powers make her uniquely capable of taking on Knull’s forces. While Knull and his shadowy minions derive strength from the darkness, Monica’s power comes from light, making her the perfect candidate to stop Knull’s invasion. In issue #5, as Knull attempts to cover Earth’s sun in darkness, Monica flies directly into the star wielding the Ebony Blade, and channels enough light to send Knull back into the abyss.
Unfortunately, since Uatu the Watcher erased everyone's memories of the event, Monica's victory will be all but forgotten within Marvel's world. Still, as the often overlooked iteration of Captain Marvel, it’s nice to see Monica Rambeau play such a vital role in Marvel’s epic King in Black event. The character’s introduction to the MCU in the WandaVision TV series on Disney+ has also helped advance her popularity amongst mainstream audiences, so giving her a pivotal part in this series was a smart move. With Monica set to continue her MCU journey in the upcoming Captain Marvel 2, it seems there are big plans for her in store, though whether or not Monica becomes Captain Marvel or her own hero under the Photon moniker remains to be seen.
Regardless of her role in the MCU, Monica proved herself to be incredibly capable in the Symbiote Spider-Man: King in Black mini-series as she dispatched Knull’s shadow entities with ease and even stopped the man himself almost single handedly. After witnessing that, one thing is clear - you don’t mess with Monica Rambeau.
