Not much is known about “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” but one thing is clear: Mantis is going to steal the show. The character was introduced in an earlier trailer as an empathic being who read Star-Lord’s feelings. However, the Super Bowl trailer made it clear that she’ll be around for much more than a quick bit of comic relief.
In the new video, Mantis seems to be part of the team. She is seen cooing over how adorable Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is, and she takes a hit by some sort of debris that Drax (Dave Bautista) “tried” to warn her about. It’s clear that Mantis is playing a big part, so let’s look at her comic book history.
Mantis might not actually be an alien — at least, she wasn’t born that way in the comics. She was born in Vietnam, but she was trained by the Priests of Pama, who were Kree. Marvel Database reports that they believed she’d be the “Celestial Madonna,” so they trained her in martial arts and gave her abilities.
Mantis’ powers are interesting, to say the least. According to Marvel, she can communicate telepathically with plants, survive in space, and transfer herself (and her son) from plant life to plant life across interstellar distances or interdimensionally.” She can also fire energy blasts and create energy fields. Plus, her mind can’t be controlled, which is convenient. She can control plants too, making them grow faster, and she is pyrokinetic (she can control fire). She also has your standard superhero physical superiority, but she can even go into a state where she can make herself pretty much immune to being physically hurt.
Mantis (Pom Klementieff, right) is a character with an interesting comic book backstory in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” Photo: Marvel
The Priests of Pama erased her mind when she turned 18 because they felt that forgetting her childhood would help her become the mother of their future messiah. With fake memories of being an orphan in Ho Chi Minh City implanted, Mantis left the Priests of Pama to get some experience with normal human existence. She didn’t remain a barmaid for long, though. She eventually joined the Avengers. She helped fight Loki, Dormammu, the Collector, Ultron and Thanos, among other villains.
Of course, she also spent a period of time with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Mantis helped Star-Lord and his crew battle the Phalanx, a cybernetic race that Ultron was controlling. Will there be a similar challenge in “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2”?
It’s hard to say what the film will and won’t keep from the comics. After all, very little is known about the plot for “GotG 2.” However, immediately, readers noticed changes made to the character. While her antennae are still there, the movie ditched the green skin that the character has in more recent issues. The human skin tone was used in the Mantis’ early appearances (she was created in 1973). The choice may have been meant to honor the original design of the character, but it also could have been to make sure casual viewers didn’t confuse her with Gamora (Zoe Saldana), who is also green. Either way, it saves actress Pom Klementieff some time. Actresses who play brightly colored aliens have to spend several hours in makeup before going to set.
While it isn’t clear what Mantis’ story will be, it seems she is going to be around the Marvel Cinematic Universe for quite a while. Klementieff will reprise her role in next year’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” The actress revealed her role in an Instagram post where she wore a hat with the film’s logo.
“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” hits theaters May 5.
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