Why Mantis Became an Instant Fan-Favorite in Guardians Vol. 2

Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

When Mantis first appears in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, she doesn’t look like the kind of character who will steal the movie.

She is shy. Awkward. Extremely honest. And she has absolutely no idea when she is making other people uncomfortable.

Then she touches Drax.

And suddenly, the Guardians have one of their funniest new characters.

Mantis became an instant fan-favorite because she wasn’t designed like a typical superhero. She didn’t enter the movie trying to look cool. Her complete lack of coolness was the charm.

Mantis Had a Power Nobody Else Had

Mantis can sense and manipulate emotions through physical contact.

That sounds like a serious superpower until she starts using it on the Guardians.

She touches Peter and immediately discovers his feelings for Gamora. She touches Drax and gets overwhelmed by his intense emotions.

Her power creates comedy, but it also gives the movie something the original Guardians didn’t have: a character who can literally feel what everyone else is hiding.

Her Awkwardness Makes Her Funny

Mantis doesn’t understand normal social behavior very well.

She says things other characters would normally keep inside their heads.

That’s especially hilarious around Drax, who has absolutely no interest in pretending to be polite.

Their conversations become some of the movie’s funniest moments because neither character follows normal social rules.

Mantis isn’t trying to be funny.

That’s exactly why she is funny.

Drax Becomes Her Unexpected Best Friend

One of the smartest decisions in Vol. 2 is pairing Mantis with Drax.

Drax initially laughs at her awkwardness, but he quickly becomes protective of her.

Their friendship also reveals a softer side of Drax.

He doesn’t treat Mantis like a powerful superhero who needs to prove herself. He simply accepts her strange personality.

Mantis, meanwhile, isn’t frightened by Drax’s brutal honesty.

They are weird together.

And somehow, it works perfectly.

She Isn’t Trying to Be a Hero

Mantis doesn’t arrive with a big superhero attitude.

She has spent most of her life serving Ego on his planet, isolated from normal society.

That explains why ordinary social interactions are so confusing to her.

Instead of making her seem weak, the movie uses this isolation to make her different from the rest of the Guardians.

She is discovering friendship at almost the same time the audience is discovering her.

Her Emotional Connection to Ego Matters

Mantis isn’t simply Ego’s assistant.

Her ability to sense emotions gives her a unique understanding of what is happening around him.

She knows Ego’s emotional state better than most people do.

That becomes important when she begins to realize that something about Ego isn’t right.

Her powers help expose the emotional truth hiding underneath his charming personality.

The Peter and Gamora Moments Are Gold

Mantis becomes especially entertaining when she accidentally exposes Peter’s feelings for Gamora.

Peter tries to act cool.

Mantis can literally feel what he is feeling.

That’s a terrible combination for Peter.

She doesn’t understand why everyone gets embarrassed when she says something obvious, which makes those scenes even better.

It also gives the Peter-Gamora relationship a new perspective without turning Mantis into a romantic rival.

She Is Innocent Without Being Helpless

There is an important difference between innocence and weakness.

Mantis may be socially inexperienced, but she becomes crucial during the final confrontation with Ego.

Her ability to influence emotions helps the Guardians.

She eventually stands beside the team rather than simply watching from the sidelines.

That makes her feel like a genuine Guardian by the end.

Pom Klementieff Made the Character Work

Mantis could easily have become annoying.

A character who constantly misunderstands social situations can wear out quickly.

Pom Klementieff avoids that problem by playing Mantis with genuine curiosity rather than simply pushing every joke.

Her facial expressions do a huge amount of work.

Sometimes Mantis doesn’t need a punchline.

Her reaction is the punchline.

Why Fans Connected With Mantis So Quickly

The Guardians were already a strange group.

Peter was the loud leader. Rocket was aggressive. Drax was brutally literal. Gamora was serious. Groot was adorable.

Mantis added something completely different.

She was emotionally open in a group of characters who usually hide their feelings behind jokes, anger or sarcasm.

That made her stand out immediately.

And because she wasn’t trying to impress anyone, audiences had an easy reason to root for her.

The Real Reason Mantis Became a Fan-Favorite

Mantis works because Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 doesn’t try to turn her into another Gamora or another Rocket.

She is strange.

She is innocent.

She is uncomfortable.

She is powerful.

And she genuinely wants to understand the people around her.

That combination made Mantis one of the MCU’s most memorable new characters—and the beginning of her friendship with the Guardians became one of the best additions to the franchise.