The WandaVision finale saw Monica Rambeau demonstrate her powers by saving Billy and Tommy from being gunned down – but how did she block the bullets? WandaVision picked up where Captain Marvel left off with the Rambeau family, revealing they had been fundamentally transformed by their encounter with Carol Danvers, Skrull shapeshifters, and Kree invaders. Maria had founded an organization called S.W.O.R.D., and Monica had grown up to become one of their top agents.

In the comics, Monica was granted superhuman powers after she was exposed to an interdimensional energy field. Something similar happened in WandaVision, with Monica's body altered on a fundamental level after repeated exposure to the Hex, the boundary that marked the barrier between Wanda Maximoff's Westview reality and the real world. The show never really explored the precise nature of these powers, but their most dramatic demonstration came when Monica intercepted bullets in WandaVision episode 9. They flew through her body in a shimmering blur, losing their kinetic energy and dropping to the ground harmlessly behind her. Monica's action was instinctive - she hasn't even begun to understand her newfound powers - and so she was as surprised as everybody else, and thus WandaVision shows Monica Rambeau beginning her superhero transformation, as she starts to morph into Spectrum, her comics alter-ego.

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Monica's powers are more fully explored and explained in the comics. She is no longer a being of flesh and blood, but rather has been transmuted into an energy form, which is why the bullets flew straight through her. This is actually a power Spectrum has displayed many times in the comics. As she reflected in Mighty Avengers #5, "You can't actually put a bullet through the electromagnetic spectrum."

Spectrum Bullets

There is, however, one crucial difference between Monica's actions in WandaVision episode 9 and the traditional portrayal of her powers in the comics: the bullets lose their kinetic energy. This is fortunate because if the bullets had not slowed down they would have still killed Billy and Tommy. This was foreshadowed in episode 7 of WandaVision when Scarlet Witch attempted to slam Monica against the ground but Monica absorbed the kinetic energy in a perfect "superhero landing". In the comics, Spectrum is able to absorb energy into herself in order to boost her own strength. She normally deals with energy that is part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but there have been a number of occasions where she did this with kinetic energy as well. It's safe to assume that was what happened here.

It will be interesting to see how Spectrum's powers develop over the next few MCU installments. Right now, she's been converted into an energy form but she has yet to absorb much energy into herself, meaning she's not especially powerful. But the more energy she absorbs into herself, the more phenomenal feats she will capable of - including all the energy projection abilities she traditionally displays in the comics. The future is certainly bright for Monica Rambeau after WandaVision.

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