M (Marvel Comics)

M, or Penance (Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix), is a mutant superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is primarily depicted in association with the X-Men. She was created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo and first appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #316 (Sept. 1994). She was a member of the teenage mutant group Generation X and later X-Factor Investigations and the X-Men. Monet is a Muslim superhero and has illustrated the struggle of accepting "different" people central to X-Men stories.

Monet St. Croix was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, during a family ski trip and is the second child of Afro-Monégasque ambassador Cartier St. Croix and his Algerian wife. Monet was raised Muslim and grew up pompous and spoiled as a result of being the favored child of her father. Monet's brother Marius, also known as Emplate, 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 of bone marrow for him.

Afraid their father will break down after the loss of his favorite child, the twin sisters fuse with one another and impersonate Monet. Claudette's autism occasionally causes Monet to enter a catatonic stupor.

While impersonating Monet, the twins battle the Phalanx until she and the other teenage mutants are rescued by Banshee (Sean Cassidy) and Emma Frost. The teens join the Generation X team, with Banshee and Emma acting as their teachers. After Gateway rescues her, Penance escapes onto the school grounds before Chamber calms her down.

Emplate resurfaces and recruits a team of Hellions 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. Monet manages to escape and contact the X-Men for help before the Hellions find her.

While visiting the school, Beast deduces that Monet is autistic and attempts to get her treatment. 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.

Skin leads the team through East Los Angeles in search of his cousin Gil. Skin's ex-girlfriend Tores, tipped off by Operation: 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. 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.

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.