Where My Creator Goes, There Follows This One

Writer Steve Englehart made his stamp on a number of Marvel titles during his stay at the company--some only briefly, while others (among them, The Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four, Incredible Hulk, Silver Surfer, and West Coast Avengers) he took more of an interest in for extended periods. One idea for a post that's been kicking around in the back of my head would be to explore the reasoning behind those titles which he didn't appear to be interested in writing; some, like X-Men and Tomb of Dracula, already had firmly-established scripters in place and thus are fairly easy to cross off the list, though there were a number of others that were definitely in need of a writer such as Englehart who could revive them and offer a fresh take on their character(s) and direction. It's really a thought on my part that never went anywhere; frankly, I think an interview on the subject would be more informative, assuming one isn't already on the books (so to speak).

One thing I did find interesting while poking this train of thought was that, of those titles mentioned above, a commonality among three of them in particular is a character that Englehart created who conspicuously began appearing as a guest-star in each, and all within a span of just under two years:

The last that anyone had seen of Mantis was in the Giant-Size Avengers issue where she joined with one of the Cotati race to fulfill her destiny as the Celestial Madonna and conceive a child. Once Englehart left as writer of The Avengers, however, there was no further exposure for Mantis until over ten years later, showing up in a book whose space-soaring star offered a considerable change in direction for her.

Her appearance in Silver Surfer begins a strange cycle of events for Mantis, as she "tours" through three very different venues and interacts with the titles' characters as if she fit like a glove in their respective adventures. By the time the dust has settled, Mantis will have returned from her Cotati-based state to her true body, only to abandon it in order to confront the Cotati in an effort to reclaim her son. It all seems well thought out on Englehart's part, though a bit puzzling when one steps back and looks at these appearances as a whole.

Following, then, is a breakdown of the post-Avengers appearances of Mantis as handled by her creator, circa 1987-89--including a curious addendum which sees Englehart turn around and virtually discard them outright.

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Silver Surfer (6+ issues)

Sept. 1987-Feb. 1988

Rescuing the Surfer from an encounter with one of the Elders of the Universe, Mantis gives the Surfer a history of her evolution and a brief rundown of what happened following her joining with the Prime Cotati. She leaves out a good deal of detail in that respect (in particular, why her son needs "solitude" and what part the Cotati play in their lives)--but through her ability to transfer her essence to anywhere in the universe where there is vegetation, we do learn why she wishes to team with the Surfer against the Elders. Sort of.

The Elders' goal is to destroy Galactus, so it isn't clear at all why Mantis feels that warrants her involvement and why she feels compelled to intervene. When the Surfer asks her point-blank why she opposes the Elders, her response is inexact, to say the least: "Surely it is obvious! The Celestial Madonna defends her true child, he who embodies both plant and animal life!" We may all have to redefine the word "obvious" for ourselves if Mantis actally considers that explanation to constitute a direct answer to a direct question--because unless Galactus turns out to be her "true child," she's given the Surfer next to nothing in the way of an answer.

Nor can we expect Englehart to be more forthcoming, as he then immediately diverts the reader with exploring the fixation that Mantis has developed toward the Surfer, who is still bitter from his recent break with his former love, Shalla Bal, and who now attempts to push away the advances of a woman he finds himself attracted to.

CUTTING TO THE CHASE:

The Elders, on the verge of launching their attack against Galactus, have taken both Shalla Bal and Mantis hostage in order gain the last of the six Soul Gems (which would later be rechristened the Infinity Gems), now in the possession of the Surfer. As they expected, the Surfer surrenders the Gem--but though he soars to free the two women, the Grandmaster has rigged their containment sphere to explode on contact. The Surfer's speed is great enough to prevent the death of one--but not the other.

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West Coast Avengers (2+ issues)

October-December, 1988

Appearing next on Earth, Mantis makes contact with the West Coast Avengers--though her method of reacquainting herself with her former allies could use some work.

We can blame the apparent hostility of Mantis on the Voice, who ambushed Mantis on arrival and used her to attack her former teammates. The Voice is subsequently captured and made to relinquish his hold on her--while Mantis explains how she found herself back in her Earth domicile with no memory of anything that's happened to her since she was joined with the Cotati.

When the Avengers agree to help her recover her memories, they all travel to Viet Nam--specifically, to the temple where Mantis was trained. There, they are horrified to see the Swordsman's body rise from his grave, reanimated once more by the Prime Cotati--only this time, it appears to wish to slay his former "wife."

CUTTING TO THE CHASE:

He succeeds, though the Avengers are witness to another body rising from its "grave"--and under the circumstances, probably the last body they ever expected to greet them.

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Fantastic Four (3 issues)

February-May, 1989

For all intents and purposes, Mantis is back in "circulation" as a human--i.e., the way she was when she first met the Avengers--though she begins to chafe at the Cotati making these decisions for her and, more importantly, her relationship with her son. And guess who else Englehart deals in from her past.

The story takes place during Marvel's "Inferno" crossover event, which is why Mantis is fighting parking meters when the FF first encounter her. But she has sought out the team for a reason that Marvel has rarely been so bold as to admit in story form but which has been blatantly obvious even as far back as the Lee/Kirby years: the fact that N.A.S.A. might as well be using training wheels compared to the FF's advances in space travel being leaps and bounds above their own.

As for Kang, we've seen that he's after a Celestial weapon, and the new powers of Mantis will facilitate its theft.  Kang doesn't yet realize that she's lost those powers; once he does, however, he's willing to settle for her death. But there's someone else who wishes to make better use of her in that respect--one who again plays his old games of heavenly alignment and sacrificial murder in order to gain power from his gods.

CUTTING TO THE CHASE:

Fortunately, the FF is around to thwart Necrodamus this time, thanks in part to Kang who has assisted in their plan--but because of her experience, Mantis is more determined to stop playing the victim and seek out the Cotati to regain her son.

But with the arrival of the Silver Surfer (having rescued the Torch from the double-cross of Kang that left him abandoned in space), her way back to the stars to seek out her son would seem to be assured. Yet in a surprise move, Kang allies himself with the Cotati, who are determined to keep Mantis' son. Their attack (including, yes, ninja priests) is successfully driven off by the FF, the Surfer, and Mantis (who now displays mental powers, developed before she became the Madonna)--but because of their escape through time, Mantis is forced to pursue them through drastic means.

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As a footnote to all of this, twelve years later Englehart begins a limited series, Avengers: The Celestial Quest, restoring Mantis to the state of the Celestial Madonna while essentially wiping the slate clean as far as Mantis' time with the WCA and the FF.  In effect, for both teams, those meetings with Mantis never happened.

And I know what you're thinking: "Gosh, if only Englehart could have arranged it so that Inferno never happened." Perhaps the best response is one that Kang probably knows better than most: "We can't have everything."