Mantis

"Kick names, take ass."

- Mantis

Mantis is an empath with the ability to sense other people's feelings and alter them. She was raised by Ego and later recruited as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Since she was a child, Mantis helped ease Ego's neurotic behavior with her powers until the Guardians came to his planet. After bonding with Drax the Destroyer, she came to care for the Guardians and then allied with them to help prevent Ego from conquering the Galaxy. With her own servitude to Ego ended, she became a full-fledged member of the Guardians and accompanied them on further adventures.

When the Guardians were called to action to stop Thanos from collecting the Infinity Stones to wipe out half the universe, Mantis accompanied some of the Guardians to Knowhere where they failed to stop the warlord from gaining the Aether resulting in Gamora being captured. After, they traveled to Titan where they teamed up with Doctor Strange, Iron Man and Spider-Man to fight Thanos head-on. The fight once again ended in failure, and Mantis and her fellow Guardians, except for Nebula and Rocket Raccoon, were killed when Thanos obtained the Infinity Stones and snapped his fingers.

Fortunately, five years after the Snap, the remaining Avengers successfully gathered the Infinity Stones from different points in the past, and Bruce Banner undid the effects of Thanos' snap, bringing Mantis back to life. She then participated and survived the Battle of Earth, attended Tony Stark's funeral after he sacrificed himself. Mantis then resumed being apart of the Guardians, with all of them reunited again, now joined by Thor.

Serving Ego
"Ego found me in my larva state. Orphaned on my homeworld. He raised me by hand and kept me as his own."

- Mantis

Mantis came from a race of empathic insectoid beings who developed from a larval stage into a humanoid form. When she was in her larva state, Mantis lived as an orphan until she was taken in by Ego and brought to his planet. There, she lived alone with Ego all the way into adulthood. Due to her isolated life, Mantis was very naive and did not know much about social interaction.

Ego utilized Mantis' empathic abilities to ease his mind during his long, galaxy-scouring searches for Peter Quill, helping him sleep whenever it was needed. Mantis was well aware of Ego's Expansion plot, as well as the deaths of his various children who failed to help him finish it, but nonetheless remained in his services as she had nowhere else to go.

Father and Son Reunion
"I am Mantis." "What are you doing?" "Smiling. I heard it is the thing to do to make people like you."

- Mantis and Drax the Destroyer

Ego eventually got wind on his son's whereabouts and, accompanied by Mantis, tracked him and the Guardians of the Galaxy, where Ego saved them from a skirmish with the Sovereign. They all then landed on Berhert, where Ego revealed himself as Quill's father. There, Mantis was introduced to the Guardians as a friend and ally to Ego. That night, they sat around a fire, where they discussed how Ego hired Yondu Udonta to retrieve Quill and deliver him which he ended up not doing. Ego then told Guardians of how they tracked them, and invited them to his planet. Mantis stayed quiet during this conversation. When Ego, Quill and Gamora left the area, Mantis attempted to introduce herself to Drax by smiling, believing it would get him to like her. However, Drax thought she was weird, which she explained that she was not aware of how to interact in a social setting. Noticing Rocket Raccoon, she believed he was their pet, so asked Drax if she could pat him. However, when she went to do so, Rocket tried to bite her, causing her to retreat in fear. Drax then broke out in laughter, informing Mantis that it was a practical joke, so she joined him in laughing, trying to fit in with the first people she had encountered, creating a fondness for Drax. The Guardians chose to take Ego up on his offer, and decided to visit his planet. The next morning, Quill, Gamora and Drax joined Ego and Mantis onboard Ego's Ship and prepared to depart from Berhert. Once they took off, Ego decided to sleep during the journey, so Mantis tended to him and used her empathic abilities to induce a state of sleep upon him.

Demonstrating Powers
"You feel... love." "I guess I feel a general, unselfish love for just about everybody." "No, romantic, sexual love." "No! No, I don't." "For her!"

- Mantis and Peter Quill

With Ego unconscious, Mantis took the time to converse with the Guardians of the Galaxy. As Mantis joined them, Drax and Peter Quill questioned her about her antennas and their purpose which Drax believed they were for protecting her from low leveled doors. Mantis explained that she is an Empath and can read people's feelings. She used her powers on Quill to reveal his attraction to Gamora, due to not be aware of the value of his privacy. This caused Drax to burst out in laughter which Mantis then adhered to Drax, and as a result, she shared in his amusement of the situation. Once the laughter had died down, Mantis tried to move onto Gamora but was threatened with a broken jaw if she tried. Mantis also informed the three that she is also able to alter emotions which she mostly uses to help Ego sleep. Drax asked for her to do it to him which she complied, putting him to sleep instantly. The group eventually made it to Ego's planet after their trip where Mantis found herself bonding with the three.

Bonding with Drax
"Those pools, they remind me of a time when I took my daughter to the forgotten lakes of my homeworld. She was like you." "Disgusting?" "Innocent."

- Drax and Mantis

As Peter Quill reunited with Ego, Mantis and Drax the Destroyer continued to bond with each other as Drax was drawn to her innocence. Drax asked how Mantis ended up on Ego's planet, which she informed him that Ego had found her during her larva state and had kept her as his own from then on, which Drax believed made her his pet. Drax then stated that he thought Mantis was hideous, but it meant it was a good thing as Ego loved her for who she was on the inside, making Mantis proud to be ugly. Drax then told Mantis about his daughter and how he used to take her to the forgotten lakes of his homeworld and her and Mantis shared similarities with their innocence. Mantis, bonding with Drax, used her powers on him making her feel his sadness. Getting to know Drax caused Mantis to care for him and the team, so she decided to inform him of Ego's true intentions, when Gamora interrupted her causing her to keep quiet. Gamora, believing something to be wrong, then asked for Mantis to show them to their quarters where they would be staying. As they made their way, Gamora asked about the lack of population on Ego's planet, which Mantis states she is only there to assist Ego. When Gamora brought up what she was going to tell Drax earlier, Mantis chose to continue lying to them.

Turning Against Ego
"Listen! Ego's gotten exactly what he wanted. I should have told you earlier. I'm stupid. You are in danger."

- Mantis to Drax

After eavesdropping on a conversation between Ego and Peter Quill, Mantis could not let the people she had bonded with suffering from Ego's plans. She headed to Drax's quarters to inform him of the danger about to commence, but Drax thought she wanted to be intimate with him, which made him gag. Mantis reassured him that is not how she feels and then proceed to inform him of Ego's plan. After informing Drax, Gamora and Nebula burst in and Gamora attacked Mantis wanting to know what was happening on the planet. She then used her powers to alter Gamora's emotions to make her scared, resulting in her letting Mantis go. Mantis informed them that the dead bodies in the caverns were Ego's children. Gamora made it clear that they had to get off the planet, but Mantis told her that Ego would have manipulated Quill to his side. Mantis, along with Drax, Gamora and Nebula rushed to save Quill from Ego as he started his Expansion until Rocket Raccoon, Yondu Udonta and Groot crashed down in a ship, temporarily defeating Ego.

Battle on Ego's Planet
"He's coming." "Didn't you say you could make him sleep?" "When he wants. He's too powerful. I can't!" "You don't have to believe in yourself. Because I believe in you!"

- Mantis and Drax the Destroyer

Mantis along with the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, entered the Laser Drill and proceeded to fly down to Ego's core to destroy it. Mantis informed the group they have to hurry when destroying the core as Ego would find them. When the Sovereign began to attack, Mantis, Drax the Destroyer and Gamora fell out of the ship. Mantis managed to land safely on the ground and they witnessed Ego reforming in front of them. Drax then asked Mantis to use her powers to put Ego to sleep, but she doubted herself due to Ego's power. Drax then reassured that she didn't have to believe in herself as he believed in her. Mantis then touched the surface and used her powers to put Ego to sleep as he was about to attack them. When Yondu Udonta used the Laser Drill's weapons to destroy the Sovereign fleet, one of the lasers nearly hit Mantis and Drax, but she was still able to maintain control over Ego. The rest of the Guardians then regrouped while Mantis continued to control Ego until she was knocked out causing Ego to regain control. Drax picked her up and flew her up to the surface where Kraglin Obfonteri was waiting to pick up the Guardians in the Quadrant. As Drax made his way, Ego began to attack each member which caused Drax to sink into the ground but still managed to lift Mantis above the ground. When Drax was freed by Quill, he continued to the ship and put Mantis inside.

Joining the Team
"It's beautiful." "It is. And so are you... on the inside."

- Mantis and Drax the Destroyer

As the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy made their way up to the Quadrant, Groot detonated the bomb on Ego's core causing Ego to perish, and Mantis, no longer bound to him. The Guardians then flew away with Peter Quill and Yondu Udonta still on the collapsing surface. The Guardians eventually retrieved Quill and a lifeless Udonta from space and then held a funeral for their fallen ally. After the funeral, the Guardians watched as the Ravagers arrived and gave Udonta a Ravagers Farewell. As Mantis watched, she stated he she thought it was beautiful, which Drax the Destroyer added by calling Mantis beautiful, admitting to his true thoughts on Mantis. Mantis was then welcomed as a new member of the Guardians.

Meeting Thor
"The Avengers?" "They're Earth's Mightiest Heroes." "Like ?"

- Star-Lord, Thor and Mantis

Responding to a distress call from the Statesman, the Guardians of the Galaxy discovered a field of wreckage and Thor, the sole survivor. Bringing him aboard, Mantis read his emotions and found that he was in great pain and mourning and used her powers to wake him up. Thor told them about Thanos' plan to unite the Infinity Stones and wipe out half of the life in the universe. While Rocket Raccoon and Groot accompanied Thor to Nidavellir to forge a weapon to kill Thanos, Mantis joined Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax on a mission to Knowhere in an effort to keep the Reality Stone safe from Thanos.

Ambush on Knowhere
On Knowhere, the Guardians of the Galaxy found Thanos interrogating the Collector, demanding the Reality Stone. Mantis was forced to use her powers to send Drax the Destroyer to sleep to stop him from charging in and attacking Thanos before they were ready. As Star-Lord tried to organize an assault, Gamora attacked Thanos and seemingly killed him. It was all a ruse, however; Thanos had already obtained the Reality Stone and used its power to make Gamora believe she had killed him. Taking Gamora captive, Mantis tried to help, but her body was turned into living strips by the Reality Stone. Thanos then teleported away from Knowhere, and Mantis went back to her normal form.

Battle of Titan
"Is he under? Don't let up." "Be quick. He is very strong." "Parker, help! Get over here. She can't hold him much longer."

- Iron Man and Mantis

The Guardians sat in the Benatar still on Knowhere as Quill attempted to recover from their loss of Gamora. Mantis noticed a blinking yellow light from the ship which not known to her was the coded message channel. She sat in front of the light and became mesmerized by it. When Quill and Drax began to argue and blame each other about losing Gamora, Mantis unknowingly alerted them to the channel. When Quill checked it, he discovered twenty-three messages from Nebula saying that Gamora was alive and to head for the planet Titan. Upon arrival, Mantis, Star-Lord, and Drax encountered Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange and attacked them, believing that they were allied with Thanos. Once they all realized that they were on the same side, the heroes formed an alliance to stop Thanos from getting the Time Stone from Doctor Strange. Thanos arrived on Titan, and the heroes attacked him in unison. Restraining Thanos, Doctor Strange used his powers to teleport Mantis directly above the Mad Titan. Landing on his shoulders, she used her powers to subdue him, hoping to pacify him long enough for the others to remove the Infinity Gauntlet. The plan was foiled by Star-Lord after he learned that Thanos had killed Gamora. Attacking the Mad Titan, Star-Lord broke Thanos out of his stupor and Mantis lost her hold over him. Thanos eventually won and claimed the Time Stone, teleporting to Earth.

Thanos' Victory
"Something is happening."

- Mantis

Recovering in the aftermath of the battle, Thanos claimed victory on Earth and obtained the Mind Stone. With the Infinity Stones assembled, he snapped his fingers and killed half of the universe. On Titan, Mantis was the first to disintegrate into dust as she sensed the coming danger.

Battle of Earth
Five years later, Mantis was revived thanks to the efforts of the Avengers, and found herself once again on Titan along with Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, who had been killed and revived just like her. Using a portal created by Doctor Strange, Mantis traveled to Earth and joined the great army gathered to fight against Thanos' forces and once again prevent Thanos from gathering all six Infinity Stones and wipe out the entire universe.

As soon as Captain America gave the signal to attack, Mantis rushed onto the battlefield, running on the frontline side by side with countless allies such as Black Panther, Hulk and Wong. During the battle, despite not having been known for her combat skills until then, Mantis proved to be a fearsome fighter as she was for instance able to take down a Chitauri Gorilla by herself. Later in the battle, Mantis joined a group of other female warriors to assist Captain Marvel so she could take the Nano Gauntlet and the Infinity Stones to the Quantum Tunnel.

Having survived the battle, which ended with Iron Man's sacrifice to exterminate all of Thanos' forces, Mantis noticed her allies kneeling to the fallen Avenger as a sign of respect. Not sure about what she should do due to being unaccustomed to such a gesture, Mantis eventually went along and knelt to Iron Man as well.

Guardians Reassembled
Along with the other Guardians of the Galaxy, Mantis attended the funeral of Tony Stark at the Stark Residence. Mantis then traveled to New Asgard with the team so they could pick up their latest recruit: Thor. Mantis then joined in the playful banter as Drax the Destroyer suggested that Star-Lord and Thor should duel for the leadership of the team, with Mantis insisted that they should use knives. However, such a duel never happened.

Personality
"You are horrifying to look at. But that's a good thing." "Oh?" "When you're ugly and someone loves you, you know they love you for who you are. Beautiful people never know who to trust." "Well, then I am certainly grateful to be ugly!"

- Drax and Mantis

Mantis is somewhat naïve, showing no offense when Drax the Destroyer refers to her as Ego's pet and not understanding what a practical joke is or that she embarrassed Peter Quill by revealing his attraction to Gamora. This is probably due to her being isolated with Ego for most of her life. Despite this, her use of higher-level vocabulary shows she bears intelligence. She holds a passive demeanor, always bowing her head in Ego's presence and being hesitant to attack anyone. This inevitably resulted in her having low self-confidence needing Drax to goad her on in using her powers against Ego. In spite of her loyalty to Ego, she was unable to condone him slaughtering his own children eventually telling the Guardians of Ego's true plan and working with them to thwart him.

Even years later, her naïveté persisted as shown by her practicing a "mean face" after Quill sarcastically told the Guardians to do so as they neared the wreckage of the Statesman. Much like Drax, she was blunt to the point of open honesty telling Iron Man, a presumed enemy at the time, that Drax was unlikely to survive his Repulsor Cannons. Mantis was almost entirely non-malicious instead approaching Spider-Man out of curiosity. Despite her lack of weapons and fighting skills, she was a brave individual openly jumping at Thanos in spite of the Titan possessing four Infinity Stones and later using her powers to subdue him. Though maturing, her child-like mind-state still persisted as, in spite of Thanos' imminent arrival, she took advantage of Titan's fluctuating gravitational fields to mimic the effects of a trampoline.

Powers
"If I touch someone, I can feel their feelings."

- Mantis to Peter Quill

"I can also alter emotions to some extent." "Yeah, like what?" "If I touch someone who is sad, I can ease them into contentment for a short while. I can make a stubborn person compliant. But mostly, I use my powers to help my master sleep."
 * Empathy: Mantis can sense and experience a person's emotions and feelings through mere touch, making her antennas light-up. She was able to feel that Star-Lord was attracted to Gamora just by touching his hand. In addition, she can also experience a person's feelings rather than simply sensing them, allowing her to feel the grief and sadness of Drax, which caused her to weep, even while he remained emotionless on the outside. Mantis can also do this at a small distance to some degree.

- Mantis and Peter Quill


 * Empathic Manipulation: Mantis is also able to manipulate emotions to some degree using her touch. For example, she can make a sad person happy, or calm down an angry one. She was able to cause Gamora to become scared when attacking her. She has even shown herself to be able to make people more docile, to the point of unconsciousness.
 * Sleep Inducement: Mantis can, also through touch, cause a person to fall asleep almost instantly, using her powers to manipulate a person into becoming docile. This technique can even incapacitate extremely powerful beings like Ego and Thanos, but doing so requires that she has physical contact with the person. This power can be at least partially nullified, however, if the victim's willpower is strong enough as Mantis was only able to send Thanos into a state of half-consciousness.
 * Induced Awakening: Conversely, Mantis can awaken people as she used this command after the Guardians rescue Thor when finding him adrift in space.
 * Enhanced Durability: Though outwardly she appears weak and does not demonstrate having great physical strength, Mantis has shown herself to be quite resilient to injury, further than that of humans and similar to that of Gamora or Drax the Destroyer. She was, therefore, able to effortlessly land on her feet, completely unharmed after falling from several stories with Drax and Gamora and was merely knocked unconscious when a piece of debris struck her at full force.

Abilities

 * Combatant: During the Battle of Earth, Mantis proved to be a very efficient fighter when she defeated several members of Thanos' army.

Allies

 * Guardians of the Galaxy - Teammates and Friends
 * Peter Quill/Star-Lord - Leader
 * Drax the Destroyer
 * Gamora †
 * Rocket Raccoon
 * Groot
 * Nebula
 * Yondu Udonta †
 * Thor
 * Ravagers
 * Kraglin Obfonteri
 * Avengers
 * Steve Rogers/Captain America
 * Tony Stark/Iron Man † - Temporary Enemy
 * Peter Parker/Spider-Man - Temporary Enemy and Savior
 * Bruce Banner/Hulk - Resurrector
 * Clint Barton/Hawkeye
 * Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch
 * Sam Wilson/Falcon
 * James Rhodes/War Machine
 * Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel
 * Scott Lang/Ant-Man
 * Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier
 * Masters of the Mystic Arts
 * Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange - Temporary Enemy
 * Wong
 * Brunnhilde/Valkyrie
 * Aragorn
 * Pepper Potts
 * Hope Van Dyne/Wasp
 * Golden Tribe
 * T'Challa/Black Panther
 * Shuri
 * Dora Milaje
 * Okoye
 * Wakandan Royal Guard
 * Jabari Tribe
 * M'Baku
 * Border Tribe
 * Korg
 * Miek
 * Einherjar
 * Gamora (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Howard the Duck

Enemies

 * Ego † - Former Master and Attempted Killer
 * Sovereign
 * Ayesha
 * Thanos † - Killer
 * Thanos † (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Black Order (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Ebony Maw † (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Cull Obsidian † (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Proxima Midnight † (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Corvus Glaive † (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Chitauri (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Leviathans (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Chitauri Gorillas (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Outriders (time-traveled version from 2014)
 * Sakaarans (time-traveled version from 2014)

Trivia

 * In the comics, Mantis was a human of Vietnamese and German descent whose father left her in the care of a sect of the Kree Empire called the Priests of Pama, who raised her with the intent of eventually mating her with the Cotati to produce a Celestial Messiah, as part of their religious prophecies. Later, she had her memory wiped and was sent to live alongside mankind to gain life experience, and has been a member of the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Fantastic Four on various occasions.

Behind the Scenes

 * In an interview, Jonathan Schwartz said “She has never really experienced social interaction, everything she learns about dealing with people, she learns from the Guardians of the Galaxy, which is a very weird group to learn your social intricacies from.”
 * Boni Yanagisawa, Kelly Bellini, Tamiko Brownlee and Corrina Roshea were stunt doubles for Pom Klementieff in the role of Mantis.
 * Grace Marie Williams was a stand-in for Pom Klementieff in the role of Mantis.