Source: Courtesy of Marvel/Shanae Curry Craig / Marvel
Monica Rambeau and Moon Girl are coming! After classic comic runs, these two characters are being introduced in new ways this winter.
Marvel has been a pillar in the entertainment industry for over 80 years. From comics to cartoons and figurines to films, the brand is strong with a roster of over 8000 characters, not including the multiverse. Sure there was a time when it seemed that all heroes were white, but in 1966 that all changed with the introduction of Marvel’s first Black hero, the Black Panther.
With the widely beloved Marvel’s most recent rise to prominence with Marvel Entertainment (1998) and the phenomenon that is the MCU, it goes without saying that representation plays a huge role. We love Marvel productions, but when Black Panther, Into The Spiderverse, WandaVision, and Ms. Marvel hit our screens, the inclusion opened a new can of worms for fans of color. People of all ages have become increasingly enamored with all aspects of the Universe, and Marvel has stepped up with offerings for everyone.
But before we get into Dominique Thorne as Ironheart or Johnathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, we have some other projects you NEED to get into first.
Monica Rambeau and Moon Girl are coming! After classic comic runs, these two characters are being introduced in new ways this Winter.
Monia Rambeau: Photon
“Raise your hand if you’ve ever been that person in your family or friend group carrying a lot. It seems like maybe carrying more than other people, right? And folks rely on you a lot. They look at all the amazing things you’re able to do — maybe you can travel at the speed of light, maybe you can transform into any form of electromagnetic energy, or maybe you’re just like very organized. All of us are different on that spectrum. Pun intended,” Eve Ewing said at New York Comic Con 2022 as she introduced her latest project, Monica Rambeau: Photon, a new story, and perspective on a legendary character. This December, Photon hits comic book stores in her first-ever solo comic series!
Historically, Monica Rambeau was created and debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (1982). She has a long resume, but in short, Monica was introduced as the second Captain Marvel (the first woman with the title), was once the leader of The Avengers, and is also known under the monikers Spectrum and Pulsar. If you’ve watched Marvel’s Disney+ series, WandaVision, you should be familiar with the character played by Teyona Parish, who will reprise the role in 2023’s The Marvels.
A common theme in Marvel lore is the juxtaposition between the person in the costume and the one putting it on. This five-part series is about a Black woman who, like many Black women, has been carrying a lot, and because she’s able to do so seemingly effortlessly, she’s often rendered invisible.
Monica Rambeau: Photon hits stores Dec. 14. Eve Ewing has also written Marvel’s Ironheart comics but cites this upcoming release as her “first foray” into the cosmic world. “It’s going to be cosmic, as you can see! So if that’s your bag, either like thinking about emotional labor or people traveling at the speed of light through space, hope you’ll read it and enjoy it.”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
During his regular Wednesday comic store visit, Laurence Fishburne found a comic that stood out to him. After grabbing it and reading through it, he knew he had touched gold. After making some calls to Cinema Gypsy Productions (Black-ish, Mixed-ish) with the idea of a show, Disney and Marvel were tagged in. Soon after, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur came to life!
After 13-year-old super-genius Lunella accidentally brings a 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur, into present-day New York City via a time vortex, the duo works together to protect the city’s Lower East Side from danger.
While Lunella doesn’t have powers of her own, she falls into the category of Marvel science geniuses who use knowledge to help the greater good. “Her brain is her superpower,” actress Diamond White says of Lunella, aka Moon Girl. “She is the girl to say that one girl can make a difference, and it’s okay to be into quantum physics and science and to be a little weirdo because I relate to that as well. That’s why I love this character so much.” The show also stars heavyweights like Alfre Woodard and Gary Anthony Williams and is scored by the legendary Raphael Saadiq.
The animation of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is like no other and is completely stunning.
During the show’s introductory panel at NYCC, supervising producer Rodney Clouden describes the graphics as very New York art-centric. “New York is not slick. It’s not shiny. It’s grit. It’s got an edge. It’s got history, architecture, and everything. So we thought about the best way to represent New York — the graphic style, the graffiti, the street art, and the idea of Basquiat and Andy Warhol. So you see there’s little bit of an offset, a kind of screen printing thing that’s going on with all the color design and everything. So we want it [the animation] to be a character, but we didn’t want to distract from the actual characters but be just as fly.”
You can catch Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur in February 2023 on Disney+.
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