Does Drax Love Mantis? Relationship Explained

The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy gave us a great Marvel Cinematic Universe experience. Besides Peter Quill, Rocket, and Gamora, we saw some of the supporting cast getting love from the movie director, James Gunn, and fans over the years, including Drax the Destroyer and Mantis. Their story in the MCU is quite interesting, with Drax losing his family and seeking revenge, while Mantis tries to find herself after being captive by her father, Ego, for decades. Their strange bond was seen from the start, and some fans speculated that they might end up together. In this article, we will dedicate our time to explaining this strange but wonderful relationship between Drax and Mantis.

During the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 movie, Drax and Mantis bonded on Ego’s planet when they “ganged” against Quill and teased him about his feelings for Gamora. They continued to bond by telling each other their life stories, which is when Drax told Mantis that she reminded him of his daughter. After learning about Drax’s past, Mantis started caring for Guardians of the Galaxy, moving her so much for her to tell them the truth about Ego.

Drax and Mantis became best friends in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies and often joined in teasing their easiest target, Peter Quill. One of the greatest friendships in the MCU, which we will explain a bit more.

Does Mantis have a love interest?

Guardians of the Galaxy are a goofy bunch, and each member has a special quirk with which they entertain the audience. Rocket carries a lot of baggage from his past, which makes him lash out at others, but deep inside, he is “soft and mushy.”

Peter Quill also carries a lot of trauma, but his goofy personality and deadpan humor make him the center of attention. Gamora carries the sins of her father, Thanos, but she always loves her teammates. Groot is … well, Groot, while Drax is a scary Destroyer who doesn’t understand humor but deeply cares for his closest friends.

That leaves us Mantis, whose origin story in the MCU is, frankly, sad. During Ego’s Expansion plan and journey across the galaxies to plant his “seeds,” Ego stumbles upon an orphaned larva, which he takes in. Ego found a larva on a planet where empathic insectoid beings develop from larval state to humanoid forms.

Apparently, Ego came to her planet to create a Celestial hybrid heir, one of whom was Mantis herself. Eventually, the Celestial took Mantis in and raised her as her own. Of course, being raised by Ego isn’t the best life for anyone, and when Guardians of the Galaxy meets Mantis for the first time, she is awkward and can barely socialize properly. Of course, this leads to Mantis being inappropriate and using her powers to bring others into uncomfortable positions.

Mantis does bond with Drax and Guardians of the Galaxy, but the Mantis never had a romantic interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She felt safe within the Guardians of the Galaxy group, who eventually became her family.

Does Drax see Mantis as a daughter?

On the other hand, Drax the Destroyer is a “special case” in the Guardians of the Galaxy team since he is from Kylos, whose family was killed by Ronan the Accuser. Since then, Drax seeks revenge on the Kree Accuser and his “boss” Thanos, and his baggage and tough demeanor scare some of the team members. However, the Guardians soon realize that Drax is bold, quite rude, and unintentionally funny.

Despite being the group’s comic relief, Drax deeply misses his wife, Ovette, and daughter Kamaria. After joining forces to make fun of Quill and his feelings, Mantis and Drax continue to bond over their trauma, with Mantis talking about her origins and how Ego took her in, while Drax mentions his deceased wife and daughter.

Drax admits to Mantis that she reminds him of his daughter Kamaria because they share the same innocence.

Drax also offers his wisdom by saying to Mantis that despite being ugly, at least Ego took her in regardless, while Mantis used her abilities to detect Drax’s feelings, which saddened her deeply.

This is where Mantis starts caring for Drax and the Guardians, and that moment motivates her to admit the truth about Ego and his plans. We also get a funny scene when Mantis reaches out to Drax, to tell the truth, and the Destroyer falsely thinks the woman is attracted to him. He tells her he doesn’t see her that way and apologizes for reciprocating her feelings. Of course, Mantis is horrified and tells Drax she doesn’t like his species, cementing that Drax and Mantis were never romantically involved.

Drax considers Mantis his daughter, while the woman considers Drax, her best friend.

What happened to Drax and Mantis?

The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 movie shows some members moving on from the team they formed so many years ago. After learning that his Gamora is no more, Star-Lord returns to Earth to be with his grandfather; Gamora departs the team for good to join Stakar Ogord and other Ravagers, and Rocket is put as the new leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy team.

Groot stays as well, while Mantis decides to leave the team to focus on her own journey; since her own life, she has always followed the orders of others.

After the fight against High Evolutionary, Mantis departs the team with three abilisks she managed to control with her powers. Finally, Drax leaves the Guardians and, together with Nebula, goes to Knowhere to care for the children.

We saw Destroyer and Mantis together on our screens for the last time, but we hope to see them again in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

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