Earlier this month, Mantis proved to be one of the breakout characters from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and she certainly played a key part in some of the film’s funniest moments. For the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Mantis was given a new origin and her human heritage was changed to keep Star-Lord as the only person from Earth on the team. While Pom Klementieff‘s Mantis still had some human-like features, a newly released piece of concept art has revealed that an earlier version of Mantis was even more insect-like than the final version on screen.
On twitter, Marvel Studios Visual Development Supervisor and former comic book artist Andy Park, showed off an image from The Art of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hardcover, which showed his first take on Mantis in the film.
One of the 1st concept designs I painted up of Mantis for #GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol2 when we were going for a more “insecty” look. #mantis pic.twitter.com/W5Xl7JSil8
— Andy Park (@andyparkart) May 13, 2017
In the movie, Mantis notes that she was raised from a larva by Ego, which confirms her non-human status. But it doesn’t address whether Mantis is still the Celestial Madonna in this timeline. In the Marvel Universe, Mantis was prophesied to be the mother of the most important person in the universe, and she eventually fulfilled her destiny on a cosmic scale. While Mantis describes herself as “a flea with a purpose” in the film, it’s not out of the question that she was chosen by Ego specifically because she is the Celestial Madonna. Considering that he is a Celestial, it would make sense if he saw that potential in her.
Although director James Gunn has repeatedly said Mantis’ relationship with Drax is platonic and not romantic, it does remind me of the angle between Swordsman and Mantis in the Avengers stories that dealt with Mantis’ destiny. Something similar could still play out on the big screen, especially if Mantis takes an interest in Vision during Avengers: Infinity War.
You can see more of Park’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 concept art on his Twitter account, including his cover for the newest art book. You can alsos see some of his early designs for the first Guardians film here.
Here’s the cover I painted for the Art of #GuardiansoftheGalaxyVol2 book! Get it today! #starlord #gamora #drax #babygroot #rocketraccoon pic.twitter.com/hnDfb5JZDD
— Andy Park (@andyparkart) May 7, 2017
What do you think about Mantis’ original design for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Let us know in the comment section below!
Images: Marvel Studios
