Place of Birth: Vietnam
Aliases: Willow, Lorelei, Mandy Celestine
First Appearance: Avengers #112 (1973)
Becomes an Avenger: Giant Size Avengers #4 (1975)
Best Moment: Discovering her identity as Celestial Madonna, mother of “the most important being in the universe” in Avengers #129 (1974)
Worst Moment: Having her advances shot down by Vision in Avengers #129-134 (1974-1975)
Background: Mantis may be one of the single most interesting Avengers in the history of the series. Born in Vietnam, she exhibited various powers early on including telepathy with plant life, the ability to traverse through the galaxy, and later various forms of energy manipulation.
Saved by Swordsman from a life of degradation, Mantis joined the Avengers and instantly grew attracted to Vision, ignoring the Swordsman’s advances. This tension caused the team to distrust her.
Eventually Mantis learns of her past and role in the universe. She is prophesized to become the Celestial Madonna, mother to the savior of the universe. When longtime Avengers nemesis Kang the Conqueror discovered her secret, he attacked the team with the intention of becoming the father of Mantis’ unborn child.
Inevitably, the battle left Swordsman dead and Mantis on a quest to fulfill the prophecy, which not only took the character to different universes, but different comic book companies altogether. Before returning to Marvel, she appeared in DC, Image and Eclipse Comics under different names.
Mantis has most recently joined the ranks of The Guardians of the Galaxy in Annihilation Conquest: Starlord #1-4 (2007) and gone on to thwart many galactic threats with the team.
Analysis: Mantis was a central part of the team in the 1970s, serving as an important member and triggering one of the most important stories in the team’s history: The Celestial Madonna Saga (Avengers #129-135, Giant Size Avengers #2-4). Her appearances in other comic universes have also made her a unique member amongst the team. However, her actions led to one of the team’s first major deaths in the Swordsman, which knocks her down a peg or two.
Willie’s Avenger Rating: 6 out of 10