Mantis Fact — November 6, 2026

Today's Fact

Read any classic Avengers adventure and one voice never uses the word 'I.' That is not a translator's quirk or a writer's slip — it is the whole of Mantis's upbringing compressed into a pronoun.

MANTIS NEVER SAYS 'I' — SHE CALLS HERSELF 'THIS ONE,' AND SHE REFUSED THE SILVER SURFER HIMSELF WHEN HE ASKED HER TO STOP!

The Featured Fact

Across her Avengers career, Mantis refers to herself in the third person — as "this one," as "she," occasionally by her own name — a habit stamped into her at the Temple of the Priests of Pama, the pacifist Kree sect that raised her in Vietnam and trained her toward the Celestial Madonna prophecy.

The grammar is theology. The Priests taught a holistic worldview in which the self is one strand of a greater whole, not a sovereign little kingdom, and the speech of the temple followed suit — the ancient Cotati elder who shared her upbringing at the temple spoke of himself as "this one" for exactly the same reason.

It was never an affectation she was willing to rent out. When the Silver Surfer — a herald of Galactus, a being who had held the Power Cosmic — politely asked her to stop speaking in the third person, Mantis simply refused, and kept referring to herself as "this one" in his presence.

Why It's Obscure

The mannerism even survived a change of publishers: when her creator carried her across the street in disguise, the very first thing out of her mouth was the same two words.

JLA #142

The tell that crossed companies — appearing at DC as the green-skinned Willow, she introduced herself with 'This one has come from a place she must not name' — the speech pattern identified her before any name could.

The temple

A tradition, not a tic — the Cotati elder raised alongside the Priests used the identical construction, proof the phrasing belonged to the temple's philosophy rather than to Mantis alone.

Englehart

Her creator's signature — Steve Englehart wrote Mantis at Marvel, then echoed her at DC and Eclipse; 'this one' is the fingerprint he carried from book to book.

Guardians era

It outlasted every reboot — through the Avengers, a cosmic marriage, fragmentation and the Guardians of the Galaxy, writers kept the third-person voice intact for five decades.

Gallery

Mantis in her classic green livery and in a modern portrait — antennae up, third person firmly in place — plus the Silver Surfer, whose polite request she declined.

Mantis in her classic green costume with antennae, arms crossed — **This one, classic model**Mantis in her classic green-and-gold livery, antennae high — the Avengers-era design from the years when 'this one' puzzled a generation of new readers.

Mantis in a modern green outfit with antennae in a painted portrait — **This one, modern model**A later portrait of Mantis in updated green. Costumes, teams and publishers changed around her; the refusal to say 'I' never did.

Silver Surfer standing on his board above the Earth — **The refused request**The Silver Surfer on his board above Earth. Cosmic power, universal perspective — and still not enough authority to get Mantis to use a first-person pronoun.

Sources

Every fact on this page was checked against at least two independent sources before publication.

Bullpen Bulletins

Mantis — Wikipedia Documents the 'this one' speech pattern, its roots in her Priests of Pama upbringing, the Cotati elder's identical usage, and her refusal when the Silver Surfer asked her to stop.
Mantis (Brandt) (Earth-616) — Marvel Database Earth-616 profile confirming she always refers to herself as 'this one' as a tradition of the Priests of Pama who raised her.
Trivia About Mantis — Screen Rant Independent trivia account noting Mantis speaks in the third person as 'this one,' a habit formed during her time with the Priests of Pama.