Okay, I don't know enough of the larger Marvel multiverse to say she's the most complicated in Marvel, but I was running out of room in the title bar.

But come on, it's bad enough that for years now, fans have had to say "the first Penance/the second Penance/the third Penance" and then have that name taken away and given to Robbie Baldwin, replacing Penance with Hollow.

Seemed to me like there was more Penance/Hollow discussion going on in the Psylocke topic on the same issue than in the Penance/Hollow forum, so I thought I'd create this topic here.

Original topic: http://www.comicvine.com/message/most-complicated-and-confusing-marvel-character/100472/&c=18&18

The main gist of Penance/Hollow from that thread:

Hollow premiered in Generation X #1 as Penance. But wait, this Penance was actually Monet trapped inside a body that her brother may or may not have created out of thin air as a "penance" for her attitude and rejecting his offer for the two of them to rule the world together. Sure, Gateway spoke the word "Penance," which we later learned was his way of saying rescuing Penance from Emplate (the brother) is his penance for his part in the massacre of Emma Frost's original Hellions, but this isn't her name. Still, the comic used it as her name because they had nothing better to go on at the time.

Then came the fact that Emplate calls Penance "Yvette" and appears shocked that she'd betray him. Okay, so Penance -- I mean Monet's -- real name is Yvette? But isn't Penance a mute/deaf 14 year old from Yugoslavia? Sorry, that's been retconned! Turns out Monet was technically born in Bosnia and has many middle names, one of which is Yvette. Uh-huh...

Okay, so Penance was really Monet. Wait, well, her twin sisters have been masquarading as Monet since Generation X #1. Generation X #1, you see, featured both Monet (who is really her twin sisters) and Penance (who is really an empty shell with Monet trapped inside!). Riiight. And then, to free their sister Monet from Penance, they have to enter the Penance body.

So... now Penance is really Nicole and Claudette (the twin sisters). Okay, sure. So there is no real Penance and, in issue #57 when they're freed from the body, the "real" Penance is just an empty Penance body because "Penance" was created by Emplate. Remember?

But wouldn't ya know it, in the next issue she's -- sorry, that's Penance, not Monet or the twin sisters -- is running around the woods and ends up scratching HOME on a tree. A few issues later, she reveals a bit of her past in the form of a mysterious ice sculpture.

So there is a real Penance mutant or did someone unaccounted for appear in the dance hall when the twin sisters were freed in issue #57 and/or sneak into the medical lab where the Penance body was and ridiculously somehow get trapped in the Penance body without the twins' power to put people in bodies and combine into their older sister Monet? Lol.

Now, some years later, despite having previously sent to northern Africa, Hollow is sleeping on Phil Urich's floor. I may only have a rudimentry understanding of Psylocke, but I think Hollow takes the cake. Someone can feel free to spout an even more complicated and confusing Marvel character if he/she can think of one, though. :)

P.S. I love Hollow/Penance no matter who is inside, but damn, that's a complicated character.

Thanks, fesak! I really enjoyed reading that. It confirmed what I'd already heard, years ago, and expanded upon it. So she WAS deaf... that makes sense. Of course, by the time the third Penance came about, she was clearly not deaf, heh.

Yeah, 16-year-old deaf survivor of the warring in Yugoslavia sounds much better. She was supposed to be the first deaf mutant, cool.

You are absolutely right. I do think Penance has the most complicated story ever. But it's not the reason why she's one of my favorite marvel comics characters. i just love the way she is.

but somehow, i am confused which Penance i like at first . I really want the first Penance to be the Penance in The Loners.

I prefer the name Penance than Hollow.

Hollow vs Power Girl for the title: "the complicated character ever!"

I thinthe current Hollow is uhmmm... err.... I don't know. :(

The story about her is really confusing makes makes her more interesting

" What about the  Penance that is Robbie? "