Monica Dawson

Name	Monica Dawson
Series	Heroes
Caption	Dana Davis as Monica Dawson
Portrayer	Dana Davis
First	"The Kindness of Strangers"
Last	"Powerless"
Lbl21	Ability
Data21	Adoptive muscle memory
Alias	Saint Joan
Place of origin	New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Occupation	Waitress Vigilante

Monica Dawson, portrayed by Dana Davis, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. She is in her early 20s from New Orleans with the power to mimic any physical motion she witnesses.

Character concept

Monica Dawson was one of many new characters to join the second season of the series. She is the first cousin of Micah Sanders, and niece of D. L. Hawkins. She also has a younger brother named Damon. She lives with her grandmother, Nana Dawson, who takes on responsibility of caregiver to Monica and her brother. Monica and the Dawson family live in New Orleans which was heavily flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina. It is known that her mother was killed during the devastation of Katrina.

TV Guide describes Monica as "an avenging angel intent on bringing justice to prevalent corruption," presumably inspired by the death of her mother. She adopts the role of surrogate caregiver to Niki and D.L.'s son Micah who lives with the Dawson family during the second season.

Characteristics

Description of the character personality is scarce, although the show's writers have described her as an "extremely kind young hero, and one to willingly give up everything to help the people close to her." She is also one of the very few characters who like having their abilities.

Appearances

Generations

Monica wishes Nana, Damon and her cousin Micah before going to work. Just before she leaves, she sees a television program about cutting tomato roses. At Burger Bonanza, she talks with Camille about her frustrations with home and work. As she talks, she absentmindedly cuts a tomato rose, just as she'd seen the cooking show host do earlier. At home for dinner, Monica sees that Damon is watching the wrestling PPV WrestleMania 22 Micah rigged to watch. She witnesses Rey Mysterio perform the 619 on Randy Orton before heading back to work to close. Back at the restaurant, Monica tries to lock the front door, but a man forces his way in and draws a gun on her. As the man robs the cash register, Monica performs 619 in the exact way as she witnessed Rey Mysterio perform on television—and sends the robber through a glass partition.

Monica finds Micah playing the piano and mimics Micah's piano-playing and begins to play the same song, not realizing she is doing so until Micah points it out. Because of her surprise at this, Micah realizes that she is a muscle mimic like a female crimefighter in the 9th Wonders! comic named St. Joan. He tells her so, also revealing his own ability and that of his father. The two go out to test her ability and agree to keep it a secret between the two of them. After they return, Monica answers a knock at the door and finds Mohinder standing on the other side.

Mohinder tests Monica's ability at the Company's hospital. At the instruction of Bob, Mohinder comes up to Monica with a syringe with the new variant of the Shanti virus, telling Monica it's standard procedure. Mohinder decides against it and leaves the room. Later, Bob brings Monica to her home and give her a cover story for her absence, a list of contact information and a video iPod with footage of many different physical skills for her to learn using her ability.

.]] After her brother gets Micah's backpack, along with his comics and his father's medal, stolen, Monica tells Micah she knows where the one who stole the backpack lives and takes Micah there. Disguising herself in a black hood, Monica watches a video of parkour on the iPod Bob gave her, then breaks into the deserted house and easily finds Micah's things. However, the teen and his gang members return. Finding her, they capture her and throw her in the back of a van.

As seen in "Powerless", she is taken to an abandoned building and tied up. They start spreading gasoline all over the floor. Monica manages to get her phone out of her pocket and turned on. Using Micah's ability, Niki is able to track Monica's cell phone and find her. She enters the burning building, unties Monica, and helps her escape before the building explodes with Niki in it.

Scenes with Monica in the third season were filmed, but were cut. They are on the Season 3 DVD.

Fugitives

Monica is seen again in "", where she has assumed the responsibility to watch New Orleans with the help of Micah, using her abilities and becoming "Saint Joan" herself, according to Micah. After a heavy acrobatic escape, she is taken by DHS agents. Later, Micah enters the government's network and found Monica to be a "passenger" in the posthumans' flight in "A Clear and Present Danger", and by that time, her status is unknown.

In "", Monica is finally located by the "Rebellion" team in an abandoned Hospital in Washington D.C., where Abigail and West stopped a doctor from experimating on her. Once saved, she is told Micah's gone shut (I Am Sylar), so together with Lee and Sparrow, they are now in search of him.

In "", Micah states that he has already reunited with Monica and the "Rebellion" team before the beginning of Redemption.

Powers and abilities

Monica has the power of adoptive muscle memory, or photographic reflexes, allowing her to replicate any physical motion she witnesses without having to practice it. For example, in "The Kindness of Strangers", she subconsciously creates a tomato rose after glancing at a cooking show her grandmother was watching. Later on, she stops a robber with a wrestling move (Rey Mysterio's 619) that she saw during a match on TV. In the following episode, Micah helps her hone her powers, and she learns piano, double-Dutch, and martial arts from a movie. She learns gymnastics while with the Company during the episode "The Line", and Bob gives her an iPod loaded with video demonstrations of any skill she wants to learn. Her powers only allow her to duplicate what she is physically capable of doing; she cannot duplicate the powers of other evolved humans.

References

Category:Heroes characters Category:Fictional characters from Louisiana Category:Fictional characters from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Fictional African-American people Category:Fictional vigilantes Category:Fictional wrestlers