Mantis: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Brandt

First Appearance: The Avengers #112 (June 1973)

Powers: Possesses a high degree of empathy towards others. Is a master martial artist, is able to manipulate plant life, can astrally project, is able to telepathically communicate, has quickened healing, and can project energy. 

Affiliation: Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers, Knowhere Corps

Did You Know? Mantis has a child named Sequoia.

A Little History

The origin of Mantis is pretty straightforward. 

At her birth, Mantis was a part of a Vietnamese family of criminals. She is the daughter of Lua, and Lua is the sister of Monsieur Khruul, or the Lord of the criminal family. Lua was also married to Gustav Brandt and Gustav Brandt was a German mercenary. Unfortunately for everyone involved, Khrull did not approve of the marriage. As a result, Lua was killed, Brandt was blinded, and their house was burnt to the ground. Before the house fell, Brandt grabbed their daughter and the two fled.

The two found refuge inside the temple of the Priests of Pama. For reference, the Priests of Pama were pacifist members of the Kree. As pacifists, they weren’t viewed very well by the Kree. Remember, the Kree are a species who prefer war over peace. They were also responsible for caring for the Cotati, or a telepathic species of plants. The Priests gave Brandt a little bit of vision back but took his daughter in fear that she would follow his path of hate and violence. 

The Priests knew that Mantis was special. In fact, they believed her to be the Celestial Madonna and the eventual mother of the genetically perfect being, Celestial Messiah. To help her, they trained her in martial arts and because she was easily able to defeat male opponents, renamed her Mantis. The Priests also taught her to telepathically communicate with the Coati. This caused her empathic abilities to grow

On her 18th birthday, the Priests removed her memories, gave her false ones living an impoverished life in Ho Chi Minh City and sent her to experience the remainder of her life in and amongst normal humans. 

And that’s it. The origin of Mantis.

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