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| M | |
|---|---|
 Panel from Generation X #48, art by Terry Dodson | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Uncanny X-Men #316 (Sept. 1994) |
| Created by | Scott Lobdell Chris Bachalo |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix |
| Species | Human mutant |
| Team affiliations | Generation X X-Corporation: Paris X-Corps X-Factor Investigations X-Men Hellfire Club Weapon X-Force |
| Notable aliases | M-Plate, Penance, White Queen, Monet St. Croix |
| Abilities | Superhuman strength, speed, agility, dexterity, reflexes, coordination, balance, vision, hearing, and endurance Genius level intellect Intuitive aptitude Accelerated healing factor Supersonic Flight Telekinesis Telepathy Ability to perceive mutant auras |
M, orPenance (Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix), is amutantsuperheroine appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The character is primarily depicted in association with theX-Men.
Created by writerScott Lobdell and artistChris Bachalo, Monet first appeared inThe Uncanny X-Men #316 (Sept. 1994).[1][2] She was a member of the teenage mutant groupGeneration X and laterX-Factor Investigations and the X-Men. Monet is aMuslim superhero and has illustrated the struggle of accepting "different" people central to X-Men stories.[3]
Monet St. Croix was born inSarajevo,Bosnia, during a family ski trip and is the second child of Afro-Monégasque ambassador Cartier St. Croix and his Algerian wife.[4] Monet was raisedMuslim and grew up pompous and spoiled as a result of being the favored child of her father.[5] Monet's brother Marius, also known asEmplate, is banished from the St. Croix home shortly after his mother's death, but returns after learning dark magic and requests that Monet join him in conquering another dimension. Monet rejects Marius' offer, leading him to transform her into a creature dubbed Penance. Monet's younger twin sisters, Nicole and Claudette, banish Emplate to another dimension. Monet follows Emplate in an attempt to return herself to normal, but is enslaved, becoming a regular source ofbone marrow for him.[6]
Afraid their father will break down after the loss of his favorite child, the twin sisters fuse with one another and impersonate Monet. Claudette'sautism occasionally causes Monet to enter a catatonic stupor.[7]
While impersonating Monet, the twins battle thePhalanx until she and the other teenage mutants are rescued byBanshee (Sean Cassidy) andEmma Frost.[8] The teens join theGeneration X team, with Banshee and Emma acting as their teachers. AfterGateway rescues her, Penance escapes onto the school grounds beforeChamber calms her down.[9][10]
Emplate resurfaces and recruits a team ofHellions to do his dirty work. Gayle Edgerton, Chamber's former lover, helps Emplate because she wants revenge on Chamber, but once Generation X is captured, he betrays her.[11] Monet manages to escape and contact the X-Men for help before the Hellions find her.[12]
While visiting the school,Beast deduces that Monet is autistic and attempts to get her treatment.[13] However, she abruptly destroys the school's cars and refuses to go. Sean chases her into the sky, where she tearfully describes having been poked and prodded by numerous doctors as a child and begs him not to make her go through that again. Sean agrees, though Emma insists that Monet simply manipulated him to avoid her problems.[14]
Skin leads the team throughEast Los Angeles in search of his cousin Gil. Skin's ex-girlfriend Tores, tipped off byOperation: Zero Tolerance, corners the team in hopes of killing Skin.Prime Sentinels soon destroy the house, with Generation X, Gil, and Tores barely escaping. Meanwhile, Sean, Emma, and Penance intercept a distress call from the X-Men, who have been shot down by Operation: Zero Tolerance, and head to Emma's home. They are met by Emplate's henchman D.O.A., who arranges a deal: Emplate will reveal Monet's location in exchange for Penance.[15] After being attacked by Prime Sentinels,Synch syncs with Monet and learns her nature as a gestalt being. Gil sets off a huge explosion to destroy the hideout and the Sentinels, which separates Nicole and Claudette and leaves them comatose.[16]
Soon after, Emplate returns and fuses with the M-twins, creating a new persona called "M-Plate". When the three of them separate, the twins finally learn what their brother did to Monet. Synch convinces Nicole to reveal the truth to the rest of the team. Immediately after Nicole's story, the twins merge with Monet, restoring her human form.[6]
Returning to normal, the traumatized M becomes self-reliant and outwardly harsh and defensive to make up for her fear and insecurity, causing her to clash with many of her Generation X teammates. The only person she allows to see her vulnerabilities is Synch, with whom she starts a brief romantic relationship. When Emplate returns,Jubilee causes an explosion which separates the twins and transforms the Penance body into a separate entity.[17]
When Monet returns, she and Synch continue to grow close and began to intensify their relationship. Monet is devastated when Synch sacrifices himself to stop a bomb placed in the academy byEmma Frost's sisterAdrienne Frost.[18] After the incident, the team questions Emma's leadership abilities after learning that she killed Adrienne in retribution for Synch's death. The school closes when the students decide that their instructors are no longer fit to teach them.[volume & issue needed]
After Generation X disbands, M temporarily joins Banshee's militantX-Corps withHusk and Jubilee to keep an eye on him. However, the X-Corps are soon destroyed byMystique, leaving M to join theX-Corporation's European branch inParis.[volume & issue needed]
Following the events of "House of M" and the shutdown of X-Corporation, M joinsX-Factor Investigations, aprivate detective agency run byJamie Madrox, who she has a romantic fling with.[19] During a trip to Paris withSiryn, Monet encounters an anti-mutant mob marching on Paris'Mutant Town and is arrested by thegendarmerie for breaking the riot up. However, Monet crucifies the mob leader and escapes prison with Siryn.[20][21]
M buys all the women of X-Factor Investigations aniPhone, but destroysRahne Sinclair's phone when she finds out she is leaving. She tells Rahne about how she is always telling her to feel and claims that since Layla is not coming back, she will keep her iPhone in mint condition until Rahne returns. She leaves, telling Rahne to not be a stranger, or stranger than she already is. She then goes to a bar with Siryn, where Theresa reveals she is pregnant. Monet offers to be with her if she chooses to get it aborted, only to be told she is not taking that option. M also states that Theresa has embryos more mature than Jamie Madrox, and that "he would make a crap father." Later, Siryn tries to tell Madrox of her pregnancy, but Monet realizes Siryn still loves Madrox.[volume & issue needed]
Shortly after the events of "Secret Invasion",Darwin's father sells him out to a group of people called the Karma Project. While he is in a coma, Monet is called in to read his father's mind, but finds nothing. Later,Longshot shows up to help and Monet shows an attraction to him.[22] She then teams up with Madrox,Strong Guy, and Longshot in finding Darwin and is present at the birth of Siryn's child, Sean.[23]
Valerie Cooper sends Monet, Strong Guy, and Darwin to acquire a shipment of weapons designed to take out mutants, though instead they sink it to the bottom of the ocean.[24] In the aftermath of the battle with Cortex (an evil duplicate of Jamie Madrox), X-Factor unofficially splits due to tensions between Madrox and Siryn. Strong Guy and Madrox move back to New York while Monet, Darwin, and the others stay in Detroit to work under Siryn.[volume & issue needed]
Monet is shown to be dying from a serious brain injury when she battlesPluto, who almost beats her to death until Wolfsbane's son Tier arrives and kills Pluto. M dies from her injuries,[25] but is resurrected by Strong Guy shortly afterward when he becomes Lord of Hell.[26]
In the wake of the M-Pox crisis, Monet joinsMagneto's team of X-Men, with the goal of protecting mutantkind at any cost. During this time, she developed a love-hate relationship with the reformedSabretooth, whom she frequently teases.[27] While investigating a mysterious illness and series of abductions that befell theMorlocks,[28] M and Sabretooth encounter Emplate.[29] She tries to distract him long enough so he would fade away, but as he did, he manages to possess M, cursing her with the hunger he suffered. Sabretooth tells M that her secret is safe with him and that she can feed on him whenever she needs.[30] M eventually breaks free from Emplate's control, curing herself of her condition.[31]
M is later seen living in the sovereign nation ofKrakoa, constructed byProfessor X as a mutant homeland. She is among the X-Men selected to battleOrchis before they can bringMother Mold online. M is killed in battle with Orchis, but is resurrected bythe Five along with many other mutants.[32]
Monet exhibits superhuman prowess in virtually all aspects. She boastssuperhuman strength, enabling her to lift heavy objects such as automobiles and boulders. Her other physical attributes include invulnerability, agility, dexterity, speed, swift reflexes, and impeccable balance. X-Men'sBishop highlighted that Monet holds a "superior rating" across all human physical categories. She is almost invulnerable, capable of enduring direct hits from firearms at a distance and even powerful strikes from characters likeHulk. Much like Hulk, Monet has enhanced healing abilities, allowing her to rapidly recover from injuries. She also displays a heightened resistance to toxins, diseases, and aging. Additionally, Monet has telescopic and night vision, complemented by heightened auditory senses.
Monet possesses aneidetic memory and demonstrates intuitive skills. An instance showcasing this ability is when she rerouted one of Arcade's robots to trace the signal back to its origin, even without knowing the robot's exact specifications. Psionically, she can levitate and propel herself through the air, achieving supersonic flight speeds close to Mach 3. She has occasionally displayed telekinetic abilities, such as deflecting bullets[33] and emitting thought waves as concussive blasts.[34]
As atelepath, Monet can read minds, project her thoughts into others, and shield her mind against telepathic intrusions.[35] Offensively, she possesses limited capabilities such as mind control and memory manipulation. However, the range of her telepathy spans only a few feet around her. She can also perceive mutant auras.
Monet and her siblings have the unique ability to merge, forming different combinations with varied powers. The twins, Nicole and Claudette, find this merging process particularly seamless.
In addition to her powers, Monet is adept in hand-to-hand combat and possesses a genius-level intellect.
| Hollow | |
|---|---|
 Penance, Generation X #5 Art byChris Bachalo | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Generation X #1 (November, 1994) |
| Created by | Scott Lobdell Chris Bachalo |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human Mutant |
| Team affiliations | The Loners Generation X Avengers Academy |
| Notable aliases | Penance, Penny, Yvette |
| Abilities | Razor-sharp and diamond-hard skin, nails, and hair Has super-long claws for hands and feet animalistic agility and dexterity |
Hollow (formerly calledPenance) is a character associated with the St. Croix family who first appeared inGeneration X #1 (November, 1994), and was created byScott Lobdell andChris Bachalo.[36] It is a mindless body in which three members of the St. Croix family, all members of thesuperhero teamGeneration X, have been trapped in for some time. Hollow has red skin and rarely speaks.
The powers of the different hosts/prisoners of the Penance form vary, but the hollow Penance form's powers are diamond-hard skin and large claws. Hollow also possesses superhuman agility, as she usually moves around by crouching and padding and leaping on all fours; she has been shown on occasion to use her feet to grab and grip objects and people.
Hollow appeared as a supporting character inAvengers Academy, beginning with issue #21 (Jan 2012), making occasional appearances throughout the series.
The original creative team behindGeneration X,Scott Lobdell andChris Bachalo, intended Penance to be a girl called Yvette fromYugoslavia.[37] This was never directly revealed in the comic, with the character's connection to Monet St. Croix being made by the subsequent creative team.
Monet never made a proper appearance in the harsh world known as theAge of Apocalypse. A girl referred to in the book as "Claudia" (which may be one or the two merged St. Croix twins) was known as Know-It-All and was part ofGeneration Next, having merged herself with the team's computer system. She risked her life to search the databases ofApocalypse, a task which ended in her destruction at the hands of theShadow King.[volume & issue needed]
Claudette along with Nicole also appeared working alongside their brother in Apocalypse'sElite Mutant Force, going by the name "The Monets".[volume & issue needed]
Age of Apocalypse took place before Scott Lobdell, Monet's creator, left the X-books.
After the fall of Apocalypse and the ascension of Weapon Omega to power as the new Apocalypse, he began resurrecting deceased Alpha mutants. The operation was interrupted by Prophet, who stopped most of the resurrections with the exception of Monet's.[volume & issue needed]
In the alternate future in theX-Men: The End series written byChris Claremont, M is a member of theXSE and a critical part of the hastily marshalled forces attempting to defeatMister Sinister.[volume & issue needed]
| Founders | |
|---|---|
| Government Team | |
| X-Factor Investigations | |
| Serval | |
| Supporting | |
| Enemies | |
| Publications | |
