Monica was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita, appearing first in “Amazing Spider-Man Annual” #16 in 1964. It’s in this issue that Monica first harnessed her powers and became the superhero known as Captain Marvel … almost 50 years before Carol Danvers inherited the mantle.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Monica actually possessed some power over the electromagnetic spectrum as a child. She suppressed those powers as she came of age, eventually forgetting that she ever possessed them. Her latent abilities would return in adulthood, in a manner not unlike Carol Danvers’ MCU origin story.

Monica ascended the ranks at the New Orleans Harbor Patrol, a sort of maritime police force, becoming a lieutenant and angling for the role of captain. Sexist discrimination would prevent her from climbing the ladder, but fate had other plans anyway. Monica ultimately crossed paths with Professor André LeClare, an old friend of her grandfather’s. He was on the hunt for an energy-draining device he’d built for the very evil Roxxon Oil Corporation.

Monica assisted LeClare in locating the weapon on a nearby oil rig — and in order to prevent Roxxon from using it for its own dubious goals, she destroyed the mechanism with her bare hands. That unlocked her suppressed powers anew, and Monica later learned that she could not only manipulate light but could transform herself into any form of energy on the electromagnetic spectrum.