WARNING: The following article contains spoilers from Empyre #3 by Al Ewing, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia, and VC's Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
In Avengers: Empyre #0, Earth's Mightiest Heroes reconnected with some old friends: Swordsman, an old member of the team who was brought back to life as a Cotati alien and his son Sequoia/Quoi, who had a few cosmic adventures with Thor a long time ago. After a prolonged absence, Quoi returned, fully grown and ready to become the savior of the entire universe. Since the Avengers knew both Swordsman and Quoi due to prior events, they trusted them without question when they said the Kree and the Skrull had formed an alliance to destroy the Cotati once and for all.
However, the Avengers got played: Quoi does see himself as a cosmic messiah, but he is no victim in some vast rivalry between alien species. Not only does he attack the Kree and the Skrull, taking the lives of thousands -- if not millions -- he also turns on the Avengers before attacking Earth itself. Now, the Cotati have invaded the world, and the superheroes of the Marvel Universe are fighting on multiple fronts to stop them.
The Cotati are proving powerful, and their great numbers make them an overwhelming force. But thankfully, the key to the Avengers' victory might have just landed on Earth in Empyre #3, where Mantis, Quoi's mother, joins the fray.
While the comic book Mantis is a cosmic hero and a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy with a penchant for green costumes, the similarities between her and her more famous Marvel Cinematic Universe counterpart end there. In comics, Mantis was created by Steve Englehart and Don Heck in Avengers #112, and she was originally a human who gained special abilities like telepathy after a Kree experiment. It was believed that she was something called a Celestial Madonna, someone who was destined to give birth to a cosmic messiah. Later on, she had a relationship with the alien Swordsman and as a result, their child Sequoia was born.
In Avengers: Empyre #0, Swordsman revealed that after they had their child, Mantis went back out into the cosmos to continue to have her own adventures, whether on her own or alongside the Guardians. Despite that, he said that she did return from time to time to keep an eye on Sequoia, and to make sure he wouldn't stray from his destined path to cosmic greatness.
However, it seems that over time, Mantis' influence would fade, and Quoi would turn vengeful. As we learned in Empyre #1, Swordsman and Mantis' son had dreams of vengeance instead of peace. He manipulated the Avengers into helping him launch an attack on the Kree/Skrull Alliance, and he now plans on using Vibranium-enriched soil to spread his Death Blossom across the universe.
While the Swordsman may be on his son's side, Empyre #3 confirms that his mother is not.
After a prolonged stay out in the stars, Mantis travels back to Earth in this issue. Aboard her spaceship, she lands on the roof of the palace of Wakanda, where she is greeted by Susan Storm, Black Panther and She-Hulk.
"You got my message?" she asks T'Challa, indicating that she advised the king of Wakanda she was arriving soon to lend a helping hand. Given the carnage Quoi and the Cotati have wrought throughout the cosmos, it's no wonder Mantis learned of her son's atrocities. She explains that she is here to save her son, even though Susan argues the countless lives he has taken make him someone beyond saving.
"He will pay a price for that," Mantis assures. "But it was not his decision alone." She goes to explain that the Swordsman, Quoi's father, might be the one to blame, given that it was him who poisoned his son against the Cotati's enemies. "Why, I know not. But I believe in my son. I believe I can reach him--given the chance."
With her telepathic abilities, there is a chance that Mantis could be able to change Quoi's mind, to show him his father's manipulations and the error of his ways. However, he might not be easily convinced. Given his power, his divine goals and his steadfast beliefs, Quoi may have strayed too far down his current course of action to be saved, and that could spell doom for the Marvel Universe.
0 Links