Monica Hughes

Monica Hughes is a character in Saints Row 2 and Saints Row: The Third.

Overview[]

Monica Hughes is the widow of Richard Hughes.

Saints Row 2[]

After Richard's death at Julius Little's hands^[2], she became the mayor of Stilwater. She supported her husband in all his plans, but her unhappiness started when Richard started working with Ultor. From there Ultor slowly faded away Richard's legacy by taking credit for the radical redevelopment plans he created. First, Richard's plan was called the Hughes Initiative, then the Ultor-Hughes Initiative, then just the Ultor Initiative. Because of this, she grew to hate Ultor.^[3]

She later hired Playa to devalue or destroy as much of Ultor's property as they could in order to get her revenge.

During the epilogue, Dane Vogel reveals that Monica green-lit Ultor's project to rebuild Shivington.^[4]

Saints Row: The Third[]

After the events of Saints Row 2, Hughes, now a U.S. Senator, traveled to back to Stilwater to begin construction on Hughes Memorial Bridge.^[5] Celebrations are cut short when Killbane and his Luchadores ambush the Saints leadership in retaliation for Philipe Loren's death and destroy it. ^[5], she travels to Washington D.C. to present the "STAG Initiative", a group of trained soldiers and mercenaries to be used to subdue the gang violence in Steelport.^[6] After STAG is approved, she is on constant watch, making sure they do what they're supposed to, while trying to stay good in the public eye.^[7] At the end of the game there is a choice which affects Hughes' behavior in the cutscene at the end of the mission,

Endings[]

Kill Killbane[]

After killing Killbane, she becomes furious at the Saints for the monument's destruction, despite STAG being the true perpetrators.^[8] After a meeting with STAG Commander, Cyrus Temple, she reluctantly gives him permission to bring in the Daedalus. Playa destroys it and kills Temple, then declares Steelport an independent city-state and warns her to never interfere again.^[9]

Save Shaundi and Viola[]

After saving Shaundi, Viola DeWynter and Burt Reynolds, she congratulates the Saints, mainly to stay within favor of the public eye. Then, she orders STAG out of town for threatening to destroy a monument, despite Cyrus' protests.^[10]

Genkibowl VII[]

Senator Monica Hughes set to announce presidential bid.

— News ticker^[11]

During the opening cutscene of the first Activity in Genkibowl VII, "Apocalypse Genki", the news ticker reveals Hughes is set to announce her presidential bid.^[12]

Saints Row IV[]

During initial Player Customization, a news headline says that Monica Hughes signed a seven-figure publishing deal for her autobiography, after losing her presidential bid to the Playa.^[13]

Trivia[]

Saints Row 2[]

When using a generic girl as a human shield, she says "do you know who my mother is?! Monica Hughes! She is the mayor of Stilwater!"
Cheerleaders practicing around Stilwater University chant "it's okay, we won't lose, we'll just cheat like Mayor Hughes!"

Saints Row The Third[]

In Saints Row: The Third CG trailer, it is revealed on the TV in the background that Monica Hughes is now a Senator.^{[Reference needed]}
In Saints Row: The Third, she is a behind-the-scenes antagonist, being the person who ordered the creation of STAG, causing much more trouble for the Saints.^[6]
She looks younger in Saints Row: The Third than she does in Saints Row 2.

Saints Row IV[]

During the mission The Case of Mr. X there is a screen with the headline of Monica Hughes that reads, "Breaking: Hughes Welcomes Zin-Yak All hail our glorious new leader. Zin-Yak Promises bi-partisan dictatorship."^[14]^[15]
A cut homie conversation between Phillipe Loren and Cyrus Temple reveals that Hughes and Loren had a long-standing business arrangement, part of which including the building of the Hughes Memorial Bridge with funding from Loren.^[16]