Marvel once shattered the mind of Guardians of the Galaxy member Mantis, subjecting her to live through five different lives at once.
The Guardians of the Galaxy have become much more popular since their breakout success in the MCU, but their history in the comics stretches back much further than their big screen debut. In fact, some of its members have been playing important roles in the Marvel Universe long before the current iteration of the Guardians ever came to be. Even the most unsuspecting of these celestial heroes had lived through a lifetime of adventures before joining the team, and none more so than Mantis.
First introduced in 1973’s Avengers #112 (by Steve Englehart and Don Heck), Mantis Brandt was trained from birth by the Kree Priests of Pama under the belief that she would become the Celestial Madonna, and when this finally took place she was left with no real direction in life. Desiring new adventures, Mantis took to the stars, and it was there that her life would be changed forever. After coming across the Elders of the Universe, she learned of their plot to destroy Galactus and sought out the help of the Silver Surfer. After stealing the Soul Gem from the Elders to thwart their plans, Mantis was kidnapped by the cosmic cabal in retaliation, and Silver Surfer was helpless to save her from a devastating explosion. While this didn’t kill Mantis, it did lead to one of the strangest times in her life by splitting her into multiple versions of herself.
When Mantis’ essence was fragmented, the various pieces of her psyche were scattered across the galaxy. Each of these versions of Mantis maintained their skills, although they were still incomplete, as evidenced by an unprovoked attack on the West Coast Avengers. Despite being outnumbered and presumably overpowered, Mantis’ martial arts prowess and lightning reflexes were enough to keep the entire team at bay. While she was eventually caught by Wonder Man, Hawkeye was the one to discover that she had fallen victim to the villainous Voice, whose mental manipulations were behind her assault on the heroes. With that, the battle was quelled, although the issue surrounding Mantis’ lost memories and fractured mind remained.
The part of Mantis that rejoined the Avengers would go on to fight alongside them in future adventures, while others would find their way into the lives of the Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer. Over time, the fragmented versions of Mantis would come to be known individually as the Freak, Mother, Woman, Adept, and Avenger, all of them having had their own unique experiences before coming to live on Earth. It was there that the five would be made whole once again. Unfortunately this reunification came at the cost of their lives at the hands of Thanos, who feared the birth of a new Celestial Messiah.
Mantis’ long, complex history has hardly been touched on in the MCU, which is understandable considering how long and sprawling it is. There aren’t many heroes who can say they have lived so many lives simultaneously, even if they did come to mostly tragic ends.
Still, it’s the culmination of all Mantis’ experiences that have made her into an effective Guardian of the Galaxy and valued ally of the Avengers, making her unique experiences worthwhile.
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