Monica Dawson

Background

Monica lived in New Orleans with her mother, Nana Dawson and her younger brother, Damon.

When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans, Monica's mother was killed. She continued to live with her Nana and Damon.

Monica works at Burger Bonanza.

Monica is cousin to Micah Sanders and

D.L. Hawkins.

Introduction

Monica is getting ready for work and comes. Damon asks can he have money to watch pay-per-view TV, because there's a wrestling match on that night, but Monica tells him no. She talks to her Nana, who's preparing breakfast for Micah and Damon. Monica glances breifly at a cooking show Nana is watching, and sees a tomato rose being cut.

Monica leaves for work. There she talks to her friend, Camille, about the management position she applied for. She then cuts a tomato into a form of a rose, as she saw on her Nana's TV show that morning.

Later at work, Monica's boss tells her that she didn't get the management position.

Monica goes back home, and sees that Damon has the wrestling on. As she begins to tell him off, Damon explains that Micah was some kind of genius and rigged the TV (actually he used his technopathic ability, but no one there knows he has this ability). Micah apolagizes, and Monica explains that his mom (Niki Sanders) asked Monica to look after him. In this scene, she quickly sees Ray Mystirio's "619" move on the TV.

Monica is later closing at work, but as she goes to close the front door, a man forces his way in and pulls a gun on Monica and the other employees. Monica is forced into a seat, and the robber walks past up to the counter. Monica suddenly runs up and performs the "619" move on the robber, knocking him through a layer of glass, and the robber flees.

Coming Into Her Abilities

Monica is questioned the next day by the police, and her friend asks how she performed the move the night before, but Monica has no idea at all.

Monica gets home and is greeted by Nana, who is happy because Micah is playing the piano. Monica goes and sits next to him, and the two talk. Monica is very protective of her mom's piano, and Micah asks if she can play, but she says she never learned. While the two talk, she begins playing what Micah's playing, and doesn't even realise until Micah tells her, and she pulls her hands away.

Micah realises that Monica has an ability, and shows him hers, believing it must run in the family, because he, his mother and father have abilities too.

The two decide to go and experiment with her ability. Micah suggests skateboarding or basketball, but Monica explains that she's always wanted to try double dutching, which she does after watching a young girl do it.

The two later return home, and after practicing some martial arts after watching some television, but soon after, Mohinder Suresh turns up and offers Monica help.

Tested

Mohinder takes Monica to a facility where he tests her abilities. She watches a gymnast flip on a balance beam on a wide screen TV and then copies it exactly as it was done. As she questions Mohinder about her powers and if there's others like her, Bob enters and takes Mohinder outside. He tells Mohinder to inject Monica with a new variant of the Shanti Virus.

Mohinder re-enters the room where Monica is, and prepares to inject her, telling her this is standard procedure. Mohinder then leaves, and shouts at Bob refusing to inject her, telling Bob that she's a sweet girl.

Monica is returned home by Bob, who gives her an iPod/iPhone, with any sort of move she'll need to mimic.

D.L.'s Funeral

Monica attends her cousin, D.L.'s funeral along with Nana and Damon.

St. Joan?

Niki returns to Micah in New Orleans. Micah goes to get his fathers medal from his backpack, but finds out that Damon took the backpack and it was stolen from him. Monica knows who the gang who took the items are, and later that night, she and Micah go to their base/house.

Monica is wearing a black hoodie and trousers, and Micah recognizes her as St. Joan, which she dismisses. After Micah turns the street lamp off with his power and Monica learns how to scale walls and free run (of sorts) from the iPod/iPhone given to her by Bob, she enters the house. She finds Micah's items, but as she's about to leave, the gang returns. She hides by climbing into a small box type thing on the ceiling, but drops Micah's comic and is dragged off by the gang.

Micah and Niki track down Monica, Micah using his ability to make Niki's phone trace Monica's. While they do so, Monica has been tied up and petrol is poored around her. The gang member sets the place on fire using the 9th Wonders! St. Joan comic. As he starts to drive away outside, Niki and Micah pull up and Niki beats him up and steals his gun. Niki tells Micah to stay outside and Niki runs in to save Monica. As the place is a blaze, Niki frees Monica. As they're escaping a peace of timber falls in they're way and prevents them from getting out. Niki lifts the beam and Monica runs outside and jumps and covers/protects Micah as the building explodes with Niki still inside.

Powers

Monica's has the ability of photographic reflexes, or as Mohinder called it, "adoptive muscle memory". This power allows her to copy any physical movement exactly as she saw it.

Monica first displays this ability when she cuts a tomato into a rose exactly as she saw it done on a TV show that morning. Later, when a robber tries to rob her work, she performs Ray Mysterio's "619" move to take him out, a move she saw on a TV show.

After being tested by Mohinder, she was given a video iPod/iPhone by Bob, with anything she'll need on there, including plumbing and climbing a wall.

Stated in one of the Behind the Eclipse interviews at Comic Book Resources with Joe Pokaski and Aron Eli Coleite, Monica can only perform as move/ability within her physical range.