Mantis

Raised in a Vietnamese temple by the Kree-influenced Priests of Pama, Brandt trained her entire life in martial arts and empathic abilities before eventually crossing paths with the Swordsman and joining the Avengers, beginning her journey as the self-described Celestial Madonna.

Few characters announced themselves quite like Mantis did when Steve Englehart and Bob Brown introduced her in The Avengers #114 in 1973 — a Bronze Age debut that launched one of Marvel's most intriguingly enduring figures across more than five decades of storytelling. With 137 catalog appearances spanning The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and beyond, she has proven herself a genuine Marvel constant, sharing pages with titans like Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor while carving out a singular identity all her own. Six of her appearances carry key-issue status, a testament to the outsized mark she's left on collectors and continuity alike. A member of the Fantastic Four and a presence across some of Marvel's grandest cosmic and earthbound adventures, Mantis is exactly the kind of character who rewards the fan willing to dig in — rich in history, impossible to reduce to a footnote.