A lot of people loved the introduction of Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, as she added new complexity to Drax's ability to form relationships, and had some truly funny moments. But as popular as the character might be, there's at least one person who didn't really like the big screen version of the character: Mantis' creator. Comic book creator Steve Englehart recently said that he was pretty unhappy with the way James Gunn and co. ultimately decided to write his character for the big screen.
Well, I was not happy with Mantis' portrayal. That character has nothing to do with Mantis. I will say that I liked the film quite a bit overall, they're doing good stuff and I enjoyed my night at the movies so long as I turned my brain off to the fact that that's not Mantis up there. I really don't know why you would take a character who is as distinctive as Mantis is and do a completely different character and still call her Mantis. That I do not know.
There are certainly different takes of characters in different parts of the Marvel universe. Characters on the big screen usually are a little different from their comic counterparts, and even versions of a character from comic book series to comic book series can vary quite a bit. However, Steve Englehart's beef with the version of Mantis present in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 seems to have to do with the fact that she's nothing like the character he conceived for readers. At least, according to what he told Polygon.
If you know anything about the comic book version of Mantis, she's a character who first popped up in The Avengers #112. Minor movies spoilers here! Instead of being adopted by Peter Quills Father Ego after he learned she could help him sleep, she's a character who is actually from Earth and has Vietnamese and German descent. (The actress who played Mantis, Pom Klementieff is French-Russian and Korean.) She's a prostitute and barmaid who eventually joins the Avengers and has ties to the Kree. At some point Mantis was turned green by Englehart, which probably would have made her clash with Gamora in the film. Her psychic empathy in the movie is a trait the character has had in the comics.
Still, Steve Englehart went on to clarify that it's not that he hated Mantis in the movie or Pom Klementieff's portrayal of the character, he just feels it's a totally different sort of thing completely.
I wasn't impressed with what they did with Mantis but the Mantis on the screen was entertaining, I liked her but that's not Mantis.
There are people who really want characters to resemble the comics and there are others who simply want characters that fit well into an existing group or storyline. What did you think, did you like the exchanges between Mantis and Drax? Or do you wish Mantis' backstory had been just a little bit different? If you haven't seen the character in the new flick, yet, catch it in theaters now.
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