'The Marvels' Theory: Will Kamala Help Heal Carol And Monica's Fractured Relationship?

WARNING: SPOILERS for Ms. Marvel finale.

By now, MCU fans will have seen the finale of Disney Plus's Ms. Marvel series, including its cliffhanger post-credits sequence. The scene, which sees Kamala Khan suddenly switch places with Carol Danvers, acts as a lead in to The Marvels, due to hit theatres sometime next year.

The upcoming film, in which Brie Larson and Iman Vellani reprise their roles as Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel and Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel, will also star Teyonah Parris, reprising her role as the adult Monica Rambeau from WandaVision. As seen in Ms. Marvel, Kamala idolises Carol. While Monica idolised Carol as a child, a few scenes in WandaVision hint that their relationship has deteriorated in the years since the first Captain Marvel film.

Now, some fans speculate that Kamala may be the one to draw the three Marvels together. Here's a quick timeline of Carol and Monica's relationship so far, and how Kamala may help heal the rift between the two.

Aunt Carol

Before the accident that granted Carol Danvers her powers, leading to her amnesia and years among the Kree as Vers, Carol lived with her best friend Maria Rambeau, and Maria's young daughter, Monica. According to the Captain Marvel film, Carol's relationship with her family was a troubled one, and so she made a new surrogate family with Maria and Monica.

Prior to her disappearance, Carol shared a close bond with Monica, whom she affectionately referred to as Lieutenant Trouble. Monica, in turn, knew her as Aunt Carol, and seemed to view her as a second Mother figure. The pair's bond is reforged when Carol returns to Earth and eventually regains her memories. In one memorable scene, Carol requests Monica's help to redesign her suit after learning the truth about the Kree-Skrull war, and subsequently rejecting the suit's original Kree colours.

The pair share a sweet goodbye in the film's final scene, before Carol departs with a ship full of Skrull refugees, and the goal of leading them to a new home. The outcome of said quest is currently unknown, but may possibly be revealed through flashback in The Marvels, or the upcoming Secret Invasion series for Disney Plus.

Estrangement

Unfortunately, between the events of Captain Marvel and WandaVision, something has happened to sour Monica's relationship with her once beloved Aunt Carol. In WandaVision's fifth episode, a discussion between Monica, Jimmy, and Darcy over the growth of Wanda's powers briefly becomes a debate over whether Wanda or Captain Marvel came closer to defeating Thanos. Monica is clearly uncomfortable when the conversation shifts to Carol, soon cutting her two companions off.

"We are not talking about her, we are talking about Wanda."

Whatever has caused Monica's childhood love for Carol to deteriorate to the point that she dislikes talking about her is unknown, but there are a few possibilities. It is hinted in the later episodes of WandaVision that Monica's association with Captain Marvel may have hindered her career with S.W.O.R.D, but most fans believe the reason for Monica's estrangement from Carol is much more personal.

Working alongside her Mother as an employee of S.W.O.R.D, Monica likely witnessed events such as the Battle of New York, and Ultron's attack on Sokovia. She would have seen the damage these events caused, knowing this damage could have been lessened dramatically had Captain Marvel been there. As each disaster on Earth passed with no sign of Carol, Monica probably became more jaded regarding her Aunt, all leading up to the events of Avengers: Infinity War. Monica, as we see in episode four of WandaVision, was not aware of the Decimation as it happened, as she was at Maria's hospital bedside after she had undergone Cancer surgery.

When Monica is restored five years later, she discovers that her Mother's Cancer returned, and that she had since died. It is possible that Monica is upset with Carol for failing to be around when Maria was sick, but others have taken this further, claiming that Monica's disdain for Captain Marvel stems from her failing to arrive in time to stop Thanos, which in turn cost Monica the chance to say Goodbye to her Mother.

Despite the troubles in their relationship, Carol's voice is still one of the most prominent among those Monica hears both when she is restored following the Blip, and when she obtains powers of her own while passing through the Hex. It is also worth noting that Monica appears pleased, not troubled, when a Skrull Agent invites her into space in the mid-credits scene of WandaVision's final episode, so whatever personal issues Monica may have with Carol does not seem to extend to them.

How can Kamala Khan help heal the rift?

Carol Danvers, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan are in fact the Marvels of The Marvels title, so it stands to reason that we will see the three characters interact in the film. On a surface level, Kamala can be a bridge between Carol and Monica via the simple fact that she is not a part of the personal history or conflict between the two, and will therefore be able to communicate with both with a clean slate. However, Kamala will likely also help her fellow Marvels bury the hatchet in other ways.

As mentioned earlier in this article, and repeatedly referenced throughout the Ms. Marvel series, Kamala Khan idolises Captain Marvel, and in the comics, Carol becomes a mentor to Kamala, driving Kamala's decision to officially take on the codename Ms. Marvel. Witnessing the growth of such a relationship between Kamala and Carol, and possibly being part of this dynamic as well, could soften Monica towards Carol, helping her remember her own childhood admiration of her Aunt.

Alternatively, Kamala’s simple willingness to understand the extent of Carol’s responsibilities as Captain Marvel. If some of the above theories are true, then Monica is not the only one to have wondered where Captain Marvel has been during some of the big events of the MCU’s past. This is taken a little further in the first episode of Ms. Marvel, which suggests that some members of the general public have questioned where Captain Marvel disappeared to after the events of Avengers: Endgame. Kamala shrugs this off, suggesting that Carol is simply away dealing with trouble in another part of the universe. Carol herself confirmed this back in the opening scenes of Endgame, when her whereabouts prior to that film are questioned by the surviving Avengers.

"There are a lot of other planets in the universe, and unfortunately, they didn't have you guys."

While the Earth has Nick Fury, S.H.I.E.L.D, S.W.O.R.D, and the Avengers to protect it, Carol has taken responsibility for the rest of the Universe, a responsibility Kamala seems to understand, even without yet meeting her idol in person. Seeing Carol's actions through Kamala's more understanding eyes may help Monica realise that her own perception of herself, her Mother, and Earth being abandoned by Carol may not be entirely fair. This, followed by taking part in her own off-world adventure with Carol and Kamala, may go along way towards healing Carol and Monica's once close bond, and allowing the three Marvels to present a united front in the future.

The Marvels hits theatres in July, 2023.