Created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr., the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (October 1982).

[4]Monica Rambeau debuted in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #16 (October 1982), created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita.

Following the cancellation of that series, Rambeau was seen briefly in Civil War, She-Hulk,[7] and as a main character in Marvel Divas #1–4 and Heralds #1–5.

After that, Rambeau temporarily lost her ability to transform back to human form during a battle against Dr. Eric Paulson, in which she fought alongside Spider-Man and Starfox.

[31] Moonstone and Blackout returned as members of Baron Zemo's Masters of Evil, participating in an occupation of Avengers Mansion and trapping Rambeau in the Darkforce dimension.

[33] Captain Marvel also took part in battles against the Beyonder,[34] a confused Jean Grey,[35] Kang the Conqueror,[36] Attuma,[37] and Grandmaster.

[42] She spent a lot of time refereeing squabbles between Hercules and the Sub-Mariner, and dealing with the duplicitous telepath Dr. Druid, who sought to supplant her as Avengers chairman and undermined her authority at every opportunity.

When honorary Avengers member and wife of the Sub-Mariner Marrina transformed into the gigantic sea monster Leviathan, Captain Marvel led the hunt for the creature.

She made contact with the water and accidentally conducted herself across the surface of the ocean, dispersing her atoms so widely that she barely regained physical form.

[43] After retiring from the team,[44] Rambeau regained first her physical health, and eventually her powers, initially developing the ability to manipulate mechanical energy for various effects.

[45] Rambeau stayed connected with the Avengers and served as a reservist, sometimes assuming leadership duties in the absence of the current chair.

She helped repel an Atlantean invasion of the surface world[46] and assists in the Acts of Vengeance, which involved a concentrated, multi-villain attack on Earth's superheroes,[47] or in the Terminus Factor.

[50] When a group of aliens calling themselves Starblasters tried to push the moon away from Earth, Quasar assembled a team with some of the most powerful heroes of the world, recruiting Rambeau, Carol Danvers, Black Bolt, Hyperion, Ikaris, Darkstar, Vanguard and Perun.

During this adventure, her original powers gradually regenerated, fully returning when the alien Stranger accelerates the process.

[58] After that, Rambeau helped the team in the deep-space monitoring station with Quasar and Living Lightning,[59] called into action in Kang's War,[60] (supporting also her friend Janet van Dyne and advising the new recruit Triathlon on his current issues as the newest member of the team),[61] in the world crisis caused by Zodiac,[62] and when the Scarlet Witch suffered a nervous breakdown and attacked the Avengers.

[70] She later attended Emma Frost's birthday party in Las Vegas where she helped solve a cosmic crisis involving Frankie Raye.

[72] She assisted Carol Danvers, in an investigation in the Gulf of Mexico, where Rambeau indicated that she was still fearful of using her powers under the water since her traumatic experience in battle against Marrina Smallwood,[10] and aided Iron Man in the Avengers' deep-space monitoring station against ancient Viking monsters who claimed to be the Emperor of Mars.

Spectrum returned to a specialist shop in New York where a man named Luc sells designer superhero costumes.

[76] However, right before she could successfully destroy the other Earth, she spotted a group of children who lived there, causing her to hesitate for only a moment, long enough for Ultimate Reed Richards to capture her.

[77] In the aftermath of the "Devil's Reign" storyline, Spectrum assists the newly elected Mayor Luke Cage in taking down a Thunderbolts unit led by Crossbones.

After Rambeau asked Reed Richards to examine these new abilities, he theorized that she accessed the same dimension from which she derived her energy powers to create the interface.

[45] Rambeau has strong leadership skills and law enforcement experience due to both of her time as a police officer and former leader of the Avengers.

Nick Hemming of Looper called Monica Rambeau a "spectacular heroine in her own right", writing, "Few understand just how monumental her contributions to the Marvel universe truly are, nor how massive her character potential remains, decades after her debut.

"[88] Deirdre Kaye of Scary Mommy called Monica Rambeau a "role model" and a "truly heroic" female character.

[95] Screen Rant included Monica Rambeau in their "10 Best Marvel Characters Who Made Their Debut In Spider-Man Comics" list.

[100] According to Diamond Comic Distributors, the Captain Marvel: Monica Rambeau trade paperback was the 112th best selling graphic novel in January 2019.

Ewing's work on the series is already character-driven with enough of a plot tease for what's to come that this first issue doesn't feel like a total exposition dump.

Photon is shown as a reservist member of the Avengers and aids them during the searching of the twelve items of power, fighting against the Green Lantern.[110][which?]

After the battle for the last item in the Savage Land, Monica takes part in one annual JLA-Avengers meeting at the Justice League Satellite in the new merged world that the villain Krona created, being unaware of the changes.

Monica Rambeau appears in media set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), portrayed by Akira Akbar as a child and Teyonah Parris as an adult.