Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix, also known as M or Penance, has been a part of X-Men comics since Generation X #1 in 1994. In the Krakoan-era of mutants, Monet is serving as co-Chief Experience Officer (CXO) of X-Corp, the nation's science and technology division, alongside longtime X-Men member Angel. With Monet in such an important position for the continued success of the new Krakoan nation, it is important that the question is asked, "Who really is Monet St. Croix?"
Monet St. Croix was born to a successful Afro-Monégasque business man named Carter St. Croix and a member of Algerian royalty Jamila St. Croix, growing up as a spoiled and wealthy girl. The St. Croix family is at the center of Monet's history because her mutant powers and relationship with the X-Men are intertwined with her relationship with her older brother, the violent mutant energy vampire Marius, and her two younger sisters, Nicole and Claudette. Monet's identity as a Black, Muslim woman is also central to her identity, and she often talks about the discrimination and othering she has experienced since birth.
Upon manifesting his marrow-sucking mutant powers and becoming Emplate, Marius returned to his childhood home to ask Monet to join him in conquering a neighboring dimension. Monet scornfully laughed Emplate off, and sick of her "attitude," Marius used his extra-dimensional powers to transform her into a diamond-tough red-skinned mute creature with dangerously sharp claws. Dubbing this new creation "Penance," Emplate absconded with her to the dimension he was residing within, beginning Monet's years of mental, emotional, and physical torture at the hands of her disturbed brother.
Generation-X
As Monet was her father's favorite child, her two younger twin sisters Nicole and Claudette, were able to somehow merge themselves into one being who resembled Monet, pretending to be her for many years to come. The M-Twins quickly joined the new Generation-X, led by Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy out of their Massachusetts Academy, under the guise of being "Monet." It would take years for the Generation-X team to eventually fight and defeat Emplate, leading to Monet being freed from her imprisonment and finally reverting back to her human form. Now free from Emplate's grip, Monet was able to become her own person, while her two twin sisters each retained their ability to turn into Penance. The actual Penance "host" became a separate being referred to as Hollow that has appeared on several different X-teams.
After regaining her humanity, Monet has become one of the X-Men's most powerful, complex, and resilient members that mutantdom has seen. Despite her complex and twisted family tree, Monet has been able to make real, genuine connections with a number of teammates. Since the disbandment of the Generation-X team, M/Monet has been in X-Factor Investigations, the Hellfire Club, Weapon X-Force, and Magneto's X-Men. Throughout these different teams and organizations Monet slowly began to heal from her time stuck with Emplate as Penance. Through this journey she became close with her teammate Jubilee (later becoming rivals), as well as entering into romantic relationships with other mutants such as Darwin, Multiple Man, Strong Guy, and Sabretooth.
Inhumans and Inner Demons
Some of Monet's wildest adventures include her death at the hands of Plato, after which she was resurrected by Strong Guy who had briefly become ruler of Hell, and her time combined with her vampiric brother Emplate. While merged with Emplate she became associated with Magneto's X-Men, who were tasked with watching over captured Inhumans in Limbo during the Inhumans vs. X-Men event. With the demonic hunger of Emplate inside her, Monet's desire for bone marrow became unbearable, and she began to devour the Inhumans she was watching over, not stopping until she murdered every single one in cold blood.
Monet's powers are truly expansive, often being compared to the power set of Superman, including superhuman physiology, flight, a healing factor, telepathy, and telekinesis. This power set is what Monet has in her normal mutant form, but when she transforms into Penance she also has diamond-hard skin and vicious claws. Monet has been shown to hold her own against the ultra-powerful, with the Hulk at one point kicking her from Central Park all the way to New Jersey without causing permanent damage to her. While early on in her history it appears that her Penance form was an uncontrollable curse put on her by Emplate, in recent times it has been shown that she can revert between her human and Penance forms at will, although Penance will at times come out when Monet is feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
A Fresh Start on Krakoa
Monet has spent a lot of her time attempting to overcome the immense trauma and mistreatment she experienced at the hands of her brother Emplate, as well as other villains like Mentallo, Reverend Stryker, and the Dark Riders. Her close friendships with Jubilee, Sabretooth, and now Angel have all helped in her continued recovery. The new nation of Krakoa has given many mutants a chance to start over, and Monet is no different. Monet has been able to be reunited with her two younger sisters on the island, and even her older brother Marius has been resurrected and welcomed into the new nation. The Dawn of X could be the first chance the St. Croix family has to heal their old wounds and spend time together as a unit.
A quick glance through Monet's history might make her seem like an odd choice for the high level position of X-Corp CXO, but it is her resiliency and heart that led her to overcome her complex circumstances that make her a perfect person for the role. After successfully stopping Orchis' Mother Mold that threatened the new Krakoan nation, Monet was one of the first X-Men revived using the Five's Resurrection Protocols, and she was hailed as a hero. Monet St. Croix might have a complex, and at times violent, history, but in her new position with X-Corp she has the opportunity to write her own destiny, and perhaps that of all of mutantkind.