Mantis

Mantis
Alias	Celestial Madonna
Other names	Bug Lady, Little Miss Cryptic, Bug Girl (by Rocket)
Profile information
Species	Lamentian
Origin	Lamentis
Gender	Female
Eye color	Green
Occupation	Priestess Mercenary (formerly)
Affiliation	Priests of Pama Guardians of the Galaxy (formerly)
Real-life information
Appears in	Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
Voiced by	Emmanuelle Lussier-Martinez
Debut	Avengers #112 (1973)
See Mantis at Marvel Database.

Mantis is the tritagonist in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy. Known as the Celestial Madonna to the Priests of Pama, Mantis is a close friend of Gamora and a valuable ally to the Guardians of the Galaxy in the fight against the Universal Church of Truth.

Background

To be added...

Personality

Mantis is an up-beat and excitable woman eager to share her knowledge of the future. The only issue is she doesn't know which future is real, which present she's living in, and which past she's actually experienced. She can never accurately recall anyone's name, cryptically dodges most questions of significance, and has a bad habit of revealing information about others they would rather keep private. She also has a habit of imitating others.

Gameplay

Mantis is a non-playable character, but is a close ally to the guardians. When Drax is infected by the Promise in Chapter 10: Test of Faith, she rides on his back throughout the Caves of Lamentis until they can find his cure in Chapter 11: Mind Over Matter. She later pilots the Milano in Chapter 14: Into The Fire.

Regarding items, Mantis is associated to the Collector's Emporium Doll and Meditation Stone, two collectibles that reveal Mantis' connection to both Peter and Gamora prior to the events of the game.

Records

MANTIS

Known to the Priests of Pama as a "Celestial Madonna," Mantis was trained by the enigmatic order to control her prescient abilities. She describes her gift--and sometimes curse--as an awareness of everything that has come before and everything that will be, in any one of the infinite timelines. Because she is overburdened with so many possibilities, any future prediction or recounting of the past is muddied by alternate timelines.

Still, her ability to compare possible outcomes allows her to act decisively at the last possible moment, seemingly navigating through conflict with exceptional luck. That, combined with the mastery of the Priests' rigorous martial arts training, makes Mantis a formidable combatant. While her order believes she is destined to have a profound impact on the fate of the universe, Mantis is usually preoccupied with the day-to-day confusion that comes with her condition.

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First appeared in Avengers #112 (1973)
Write: Steve Englehart
Artists: Don Heck, Frank Bolle, Petra Goldberg
Cover Artists: Don Heck, Morrie Kuramoto
Editor: Roy Thomas

Gallery

Final concept by Nicolas Francoeur.

In-engine render by Taissia Abdoullina.

Meeting the team on Knowhere in Chapter 6.

Staying behind on Lamentis in Chapter 12.

Trivia

• In Chapter 10, she demonstrates the martial arts she learned from L'ai Sau. It probably also was Om-Fad, another Priest of Pama, but Mantis seems not so sure in which timeline she learned that technique or from whom.
• Nicolas Francoeur tried to incorporate praying mantis symbolism into her design: Her shoulder armor are based on the insect's eyes, and her chest details are similar to their head. Her fighting stance, using her arm blades, also mimic the praying mantis while her long black braids resemble their antennas. Mantis was Senior Character Artist Taissia Abdoullina's favorite character to work on.