Monica Dawson
Encyclopedia
Monica Dawson, portrayed by Dana Davis
, is a fictional character
on the NBC
science fiction
drama series Heroes
. She is a young woman in her early 20s from New Orleans, and she has the power to mimic any physical motion she witnesses.
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. Her family home was flooded, leaving her family with financial difficulties in addition to the sudden loss of her mother. She works hard to support her brother and grandmother (played by Nichelle Nichols
). Furthermore she has to deal with the implications of discovering she has a special ability. "She's a good girl with a good heart who has had her life taken from her, and she's looking for a way out."
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.
show called WrestleMania 22
. Micah admits that he used his power to rig the TV so they could watch without paying, and this makes Monica angry. She witnesses Rey Mysterio perform the 619 (a wrestling move also known as Tiger feint kick) on Randy Orton before heading back to work, where she is supposed to close the store at the end of the day. 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 same way she saw Rey Mysterio, and she sends the robber through a glass partition.
Monica finds Micah playing the piano. She mimics Micah's piano-playing without 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 this, 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 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. Under Bob's instructions, Mohinder comes up to Monica with a syringe containing 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 gives her a cover story for her absence, a list of contact information, and a video iPod. The iPod contains footage of many different physical skills for her to learn using her ability.
After her brother gets Micah's backpack stolen, including his comics and his father's medal, Monica tells Micah she knows where the thief lives and takes Micah there. Disguising herself in a black hood, Monica watches a video of parkour
on the iPod Bob gave her, then she 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 into the back of a van.
As seen in "Powerless
", she is taken to an abandoned building and tied up. The gang starts spreading gasoline all over the floor to ignite the building. Monica manages to get her phone out of her pocket and turn it 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. However, 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.
Monica is seen again in "Rebellion, Part 1: Rebel Yell", 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 heavily-acrobatic escape, she is taken by DHS
agents. Later, Micah enters the government's network and finds Monica to be listed as a "passenger" in the posthumans' flight in "A Clear and Present Danger
", and by that time, her status is unknown.
In "Rebellion, Part 7: The Liberation Of Saint Joan", Monica is finally located by the "Rebellion" team in an abandoned hospital in Washington D.C., where Abigail and West stopped a doctor from experimenting on her. Once saved, she is told Micah has gone (I Am Sylar
), so they search for him with Lee and Sparrow.
In "Ice Queen, Part 1", Micah states that he has already reunited with Monica and the "Rebellion" team before the beginning of Redemption.
Monica has the power of adoptive muscle memory
, or photographic reflexes, which allows her to replicate any physical motion she witnesses without having to practice it. For example, in "The Kindness of Strangers
", she creates a tomato rose after glancing at a cooking show her grandmother was watching. Later on, she stops a robber with a wrestling move 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.
Dana Davis
Dana Davis is an American actress, most notable for playing Carmen Phillips on the TNT television series Franklin & Bash and Chastity Church on the ABC Family television series 10 Things I Hate About You.-Biography:...
, is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama series Heroes
Heroes (TV series)
Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the...
. She is a young woman in her early 20s from New Orleans, and she has 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 SandersMicah Sanders
Micah Sanders, portrayed by Noah Gray-Cabey, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is the son of Niki Sanders and D.L. Hawkins. He is a child prodigy and a technopath.- Beginnings :...
and niece of D. L. Hawkins
D. L. Hawkins
Daniel Lawrence "D. L." Hawkins is a fictional character played by Leonard Roberts in the TV series Heroes. The father of Micah Sanders and husband of Niki Sanders, he has the power to phase through solid objects.- Background :...
. 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
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. It is known that her mother was killed during the devastation of Katrina.
TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
describes Monica as "an avenging angel intent on bringing justice to prevalent corruption," presumably inspired by the death of her mother. Her family home was flooded, leaving her family with financial difficulties in addition to the sudden loss of her mother. She works hard to support her brother and grandmother (played by Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols
Nichelle Nichols is an American actress, singer and voice artist. She sang with Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton before turning to acting...
). Furthermore she has to deal with the implications of discovering she has a special ability. "She's a good girl with a good heart who has had her life taken from her, and she's looking for a way out."
She adopts the role of surrogate caregiver to Niki
Niki Sanders
Nicole "Niki" Sanders is a fictional character portrayed by Ali Larter in the television series Heroes. Niki is the wife of D. L. Hawkins and mother of Micah Sanders . Niki, a sufferer of Dissociative Identity Disorder, displays superhuman strength, being able to literally rip others in half...
and D.L.'s son Micah
Micah Sanders
Micah Sanders, portrayed by Noah Gray-Cabey, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is the son of Niki Sanders and D.L. Hawkins. He is a child prodigy and a technopath.- Beginnings :...
, 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.Generations
Monica speaks with 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 a pay-per-viewPay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
show called WrestleMania 22
WrestleMania 22
Notes: .The predominant feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Kurt Angle, Rey Mysterio, and Randy Orton over the World Heavyweight Championship. Mysterio won the 2006 Royal Rumble match, last eliminating Orton, to earn a World Championship match at WrestleMania. At No Way Out, Orton defeated...
. Micah admits that he used his power to rig the TV so they could watch without paying, and this makes Monica angry. She witnesses Rey Mysterio perform the 619 (a wrestling move also known as Tiger feint kick) on Randy Orton before heading back to work, where she is supposed to close the store at the end of the day. 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 same way she saw Rey Mysterio, and she sends the robber through a glass partition.
Monica finds Micah playing the piano. She mimics Micah's piano-playing without 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!
9th Wonders!
9th Wonders! is a metafictional comic-book series in the NBC drama Heroes. In the show, it is written, illustrated, and self-published by Isaac Mendez. In reality, Mendez's artwork is provided by comic-book illustrator Tim Sale.- History :...
comic named St. Joan. He tells her this, 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 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. Under Bob's instructions, Mohinder comes up to Monica with a syringe containing 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 gives her a cover story for her absence, a list of contact information, and a video iPod. The iPod contains footage of many different physical skills for her to learn using her ability.
After her brother gets Micah's backpack stolen, including his comics and his father's medal, Monica tells Micah she knows where the thief lives and takes Micah there. Disguising herself in a black hood, Monica watches a video of parkour
Parkour
Parkour is a method of movement focused on moving around obstacles with speed and efficiency. Originally developed in France, the main purpose of the discipline is to teach participants how to move through their environment by vaulting, rolling, running, climbing and jumping...
on the iPod Bob gave her, then she 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 into the back of a van.
As seen in "Powerless
Powerless (Heroes)
"Powerless" is the eleventh and final episode of the second season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and thirty-fourth episode overall. It was written by co-executive producer Jeph Loeb and directed by executive producer Allan Arkush. The episode aired on December 3, 2007 as the...
", she is taken to an abandoned building and tied up. The gang starts spreading gasoline all over the floor to ignite the building. Monica manages to get her phone out of her pocket and turn it 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. However, 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
Micah Sanders
Micah Sanders, portrayed by Noah Gray-Cabey, is a fictional character on the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. He is the son of Niki Sanders and D.L. Hawkins. He is a child prodigy and a technopath.- Beginnings :...
, using her abilities and becoming "Saint Joan" herself, according to Micah. After a heavily-acrobatic escape, she is taken by DHS
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
agents. Later, Micah enters the government's network and finds Monica to be listed as a "passenger" in the posthumans' flight in "A Clear and Present Danger
A Clear and Present Danger
"A Clear and Present Danger" is the fourteenth episode of the third season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and forty-eighth episode overall. It aired on February 2, 2009. The episode is the beginning of Volume 4: Fugitives. It marks the first time a season of Heroes has contained...
", and by that time, her status is unknown.
In "Rebellion, Part 7: The Liberation Of Saint Joan", Monica is finally located by the "Rebellion" team in an abandoned hospital in Washington D.C., where Abigail and West stopped a doctor from experimenting on her. Once saved, she is told Micah has gone (I Am Sylar
I Am Sylar
"I Am Sylar" is the twenty-fourth episode of the third season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes and fifty-eighth episode overall. The episode aired on April 20, 2009...
), so they search for him with Lee and Sparrow.
In "Ice Queen, Part 1", Micah states that he has already reunited with Monica and the "Rebellion" team before the beginning of Redemption.
Powers and abilities
Muscle memory
Muscle memory has been used synonymously with motor learning, which is a form of procedural memory that involves consolidating a specific motor task into memory through repetition. When a movement is repeated over time, a long-term muscle memory is created for that task, eventually allowing it to...
, or photographic reflexes, which allows her to replicate any physical motion she witnesses without having to practice it. For example, in "The Kindness of Strangers
The Kindness of Strangers (Heroes)
"The Kindness of Strangers" is the fourth episode of the second season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. It originally aired on 15 October 2007. This episode marks the first appearance of Monica Dawson, played by Dana Davis, who joins the main cast.-Plot:Nathan Petrelli visits his...
", she creates a tomato rose after glancing at a cooking show her grandmother was watching. Later on, she stops a robber with a wrestling move that she saw during a match on TV. In the following episode, Micah helps her hone her powers, and she learns piano, Double-Dutch
Double Dutch (jump rope)
Double dutch is a game in which two long jump ropes turning in opposite directions are jumped by one or more players jumping simultaneously.While double dutch began in the inner cities of America, it is growing in popularity throughout the US and the world...
, and martial arts from a movie. She learns gymnastics while with the Company during the episode "The Line
The Line
"The Line" is the sixth episode of the second season of the NBC science fiction drama series Heroes. It aired on October 29, 2007 in the USA.-Plot:...
", and Bob gives her an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
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.