Captain Marvel: What to know about Maria Rambeau before watching

Before she was Captain Marvel, she was Carol Danvers, and she had a best friend and fellow pilot in Maria Rambeau. Here’s what to know about Photon.

Maria Rambeau has an interesting role to play in Captain Marvel. From what we can tell, she’ll be involved in both Carol’s past and present. Before the movie premieres, though, here’s what you need to know about her.

Unique characteristics

Maria isn’t really a huge character in the comics. She’s the mother of Monica Rambeau, who is definitely involved with the Avengers, though (more on that later).

In Captain Marvel, however, we’re getting a strong-willed best friend of Carol Danvers. She’s also a pilot in the Air Force, and from preview, it sounds like she and Carol are especially close. I mean, they’re both pilots in a male-dominated field; that’s certainly something to bond over.

Also, her call sign in the film, as seen on her jet, is Photon, which is awesome.

So where’s she been in the rest of the MCU?

If she plays a key role in Carol’s life, seeing all of this crazy superhero-y stuff go on, why hasn’t she popped up as some sort of field expert in the other MCU films?

You have to think that if this is SHIELD’s first rodeo, they tied up many of the loose ends. Witness protection, perhaps? Relocation far away from the potential dangers?

Or maybe she hasn’t shown up because she might not make it through this movie…

Will there be a tie to James Rhodes?

Every single side character doesn’t need a tie to the larger MCU. But if Captain Marvel wanted to give one to Maria, linking her to Rhodey isn’t a bad idea. He’s another member of the Air Force, and if you wanted a fun little cameo, that’s not a bad one.

Plus I just have this excellent mental image of these two sparring with one another, trading all sorts of jibes.