*******Po tells his Kung Fuclass of rabbit children how Mantis was quite impatient when he was younger. Mantis felt that the world was too slow for him and he was too fast for the world. However, on a mission to retrieve wool coats back from agang of crocodile bandits, he was captured due to his overconfidence and lack of listening skills when one of the villagers tried to warn him of the bandits' traps. Mantis was locked in a cage for days and forced to sit and wait for something to happen, and he entered a trance that allowed him to survey the world moving faster than he did. This allowed him to develop the patience needed to devise a plan of escape, playing dead to trick the crocodiles into opening his cage and defeat them.
Although it is unknown how, eventually Mantis came to theJade Palace and joined up with students Tigress, Monkey, Viper, and Crane under the instruction of Master Shifu. They all trained together for years before they eventually formed together and became the Furious Five.************(most important)
In Kung Fu Panda
Mantis makes his first appearance in the training courtyard with Master Shifuand the rest of his team. He then later partook in the Dragon WarriorTournament, though his performance was not seen. After Master Oogwaysuddenly sensed that the Dragon Warrior was among them, Mantis and the rest of the Five gathered in a line to prepare for Oogway's selection. Just as it appeared that Tigress was about to be chosen, Mantis, along with the others, was astonished when a panda named Po landed right in front of her. He was even more astonished when Oogway, inspired by this unexpected occurrence, proclaimed Po as the Dragon Warrior.
After the tournament, Mantis and the other Five went over to the Training Hall, where Mantis was seen training in the Gauntlet of Wooden Warriors. When Po and Shifu finally arrived, he appeared less than impressed when Po commented on his similar size of his action figure . Mantis then watched as Po sparred with the adversary, and was subsequently knocked into the training course where he failed each and every single course, including the Wooden Warriors.
That night, Mantis partook in making fun of Po along with his comrades while traveling up to the Student Barracks, unaware that Po was right behind them and could hear everything. The next day, when it appeared that Po had quit, they enter the training courtyard and found that he had gotten up and started training early, getting stuck in the process. As Po's training continued that day, most of the Furious Five sparred with Po, Mantis being the last before Shifu decided to spar with the panda himself. Mantis and Monkey looked at each other nervously as Shifu proclaimed this. He then watched as Shifu flung Po around before literally kicking him out of the Palace and down the steps. It was at this point that Mantis and the other Five (sans Tigress) began to notice Po's determination and started to have some respect for him.Once Po made his way back to the Palace, Mantis and Viper attempted to help him recover through means of acupuncture. However, Po's bulk made finding the right nerve points difficult, thus Mantis caused Po even more pain each time he stuck a needle in his back. The three eventually started up a conversation, commenting on Shifu's harsh way of treating Po. Eventually Tigress joined their conversation and told the story of Tai Lung while Mantis continued to apply more needles to Po's back. At the very end, he accidentally slipped up one needle and triggered Po's facial nerve, temporarily paralyzing him and stopping his heart.
Later that night, Mantis and the others all have dinner together in the barracks kitchen. Po served his noodle soup to the Five (excluding Tigress), and Mantis took an extreme liking to it. He also laughed along with the others (again, excluding Tigress) when Po did an impression of Master Shifu. But when the master eventually showed up in the middle of Po's impression, Mantis immediately stopped laughing. He was shocked with all the others upon hearing Shifu's announcement of Oogway's passing and Tai Lung's breakout, and stuck by Tigress' side when she insisted they handled Tai Lung themselves. Later that night, after Shifu outlawed their request, Mantis and the others followed Tigress out of the Palace that night and joined together to find and stop Tai Lung.
After days of traveling, Mantis and the others finally located Tai Lung on theThread of Hope just outside the Valley. A long battle ensues, each of the Five using incredible skill and prowess to fight the snow leopard. Mantis assisted by using his incredible strength to hold up the falling bridge while the other four and Tai Lung continued to battle. But when it seemed like they had won, Tai Lung reappears again and performs a chi block on four of the Five (Mantis included) — only sparing Crane so he was able to carry the rest of them back to the Palace in means of a message.
Shifu and Po had just finished another day's worth of extensive training when they finally returned, Crane exhausted and the others paralyzed. The Five each told about their grieving experience, which placed doubt into Po when he realized that not even his idols, let alone five Kung Fu Masters, could stop Tai Lung. But Shifu still believed he could defeat him, and they all went to the Hall of Warriors in the Jade Palace to retrieve the Dragon Scroll for Po. Shifu, Mantis, and the other Five watched as Po opened the scroll, and appeared just as confused when he said it was blank. Believing nothing else could be done, Shifu offered to stay behind to hold back Tai Lung while they and the rest of the Valley escape. Master and students shared a final respectful bow, knowing that Tai Lung may very well kill him.
While Po went to find his father, Mantis and the other Five assisted in evacuating the Valley. Mantis was tasked with gathering the northern farmer, to which he did so before moving out with the others. They were all just about out of the Valley when a large golden gust pulsed and blew past them. The Five and the other villagers returned to investigate and found Po victorious in his battle with Tai Lung. Marveling at the panda's skill that enabled him to do what they could not, Tigress led Mantis and the others of the Five (as well as the villagers) in a respectful bow to Po as a Kung Fu Master.
In Kung Fu Panda Holiday
Mantis, along with the rest of the Furious Five, was surprised when informed by Po in the middle of an attack by boar bandits that he was to host the sophisticated Winter Feast at the Jade Palace. The Five offered their help in preparing for the event, but Po believed he could do it without any assistance. However, when the burden of tending to all of the preparations eventually proved too much, Po finally asked the Furious Five for help. Like the rest of his comrades, Mantis used Kung Fu to set up the dinner, making use of his "Pinwheel Attack" in arranging plates for the feast.
When all the tasks were done, Mantis was present with all the other Kung Fu Masters for the Winter Feast, but Po ended up excusing himself from the event, explaining his own family traditions, and he left to go to the Noodle Shop to be with his father on the holiday. The Five later joined Po, as do the other Masters from the Palace, and Mantis took part in the festivities, having a bowl of noodle soup and making a rabbit child laugh with a game of peek-a-boo. Mantis then joined in a group portrait with the rest of the Furious Five, Po, Mr. Ping, Shifu, and Wo Hop.
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In Art of Balance
"The Art of Balance"
"The Dragon Chef"
Po asks Mantis and the Furious Five to help around the restaurant as his father was suffering from the "Goose Flu". He accepts, but while trying to help, he gets stuck in a bowl of noodle soup. Soon Mr. Ping returns, and he praises him as the "Dragon Chef".
"Touch of Destiny"
The five where playing a game of "Elimination Tag". Mantis decides to go on Monkey 's back and try and tag him. He soon discovered by Monkey, and so he flies away on a leaf. Once he lands on the ground, Po almost jumps on him. But he gets out of the way in time.
In Kung Fu Panda 2
In the sequel, Mantis and the rest of the Five are witness to Po breaking a new record of how many bean buns he can stuff in his mouth, which reached about forty. Soon after, Po and the Five were called to fight off wolf bandits attacking an Artisan Village. Mantis carried around a banjo-playing bunny sitting on a stone which knocking out wolves, before quickly slicing apart the dual swords of another wolf. Mantis then leapt to Po's defense by kicking a number of metal pans to deflect a number of arrows fired at him. The fight ended when Po accidentally got slugged by the Boss Wolf and offered no explanation.
The next day, Shifu received a message from Gongmen City that Lord Shen has returned, with a new weapon "that breathes fire and spits metal" that killed Master Thundering Rhino of the Kung Fu Council and now threatens the entire Kung Fu tradition. Po and the Five journey to Gongmen City to confront Shen and destroy his weapon. While traveling by sea, everyone overhears Po and Tigress talking, which Viper interprets as Po having "daddy issues". Mantis says wistfully that he never got to know his father, because his mother ate his father's head before he was born. Viper reminds Mantis that they aren't talking about him. As Po tries defending that he's okay, they had just arrived at Gongmen City.
While Po was half of mind to storm the Tower of the Sacred Flame, Mantis restrained him, pointing out that Shen's wolves have already taken control of the city. The warriors then attempt to get to their target by stealthily scaling the rooftops. However, Po had chosen to go street-level in a dragon costume, which the Five took notice of and joined him in the costume. After saving a sheep before harassed by a wolf, the former informed Po and the Five that the other Councilors, Storming Ox and Croc are being held in Gongmen Jail. They then evade the wolves chasing them and discarded the costume to hid in barrels. Upon reaching the jail entrance, Mantis rolled up in his barrel and burst out and knocked out the guards when they regarded him as cute. However, Ox and Croc refused to leave their cell, citing their helplessness against Shen's weapon.
Mantis is also instrumental in Po's first plan to stop Lord Shen. While the rest of the group was chained and brought into the peacock's tower, Mantis was put into a cage but Po replaced him with his wooden action figure. The real Mantis entered the tower undetected and was able to save his friends from Shen's cannon by snuffing out the fuse each time Boss Wolf lit it. Po and the rest of the Five were then able to free themselves. Tigress and Mantis then dislodge the cannon and knock it down to the bottom of the tower. However, Po once again allowed Shen to get away. The peacock flew to his foundry across the city, where several more cannons were waiting and had them fire on the tower. Po and the Five barely escaped alive.
Returning to Gongmen Jail, now abandoned by the wolves, Tigress demanded to Po as to why he hesitated. When Po refused to offer an answer, Tigress decided to leave him with Ox and Croc.
The Five then attempt to destroy the cannon foundry, only for their efforts to be inadvertently foiled by Po. The Five raced to save him but were too late, as he was blasted away by Shen's cannon.
Shen soon captured the Five and bound them in chains, planning on executing them once his ships reach the harbour to conquer China. Mantis sighs that he always expected to settle down with "a nice girl who would later eat [his] head." Then out of nowhere, Po is revealed to have survived and frees the Five. The battle is soon joined by Storming Ox and Croc, who had been convinced by Shifu (who had also journeyed to Gongmen City) to leave their cell. But, as it seemed like they were making progress, Shen fired his cannon at the masters, blasting them all into the open water.
When all seemed lost, Po used his inner peace to evade and deflect Shen's cannon fire back at his fleet, decimating it entirely. The masters witnessed Po confronting Shen on his flagship before Shen incidentally caused his own death when his cannon fell on him.
Tigress helped Po out of the water, commenting that he was "pretty hardcore". Po then hugged her, much to the shock of the other masters. The rest of the Five then run up to congratulates Po. The heroes then stay to watch the fireworks flying out from the remains of Shen's flagship before returning to the Valley of Peace.
Personality
Mantis is noted to have a textbook Napoleon complex: Strong, fast and tiny, he possesses a mean temper and is ready to "throw down" at the slightest insult. However, despite this, he is sympathetic to Po's plight and quick to interject humor into any situation. Nothing can strike fear into his brave little heart... except a female mantis.[6]
Like the rest of the Furious Five (except for Tigress) throughout the first film, he begins to warm up to Po. He was impressed by Po's wholeheartedness, even though Po knew Master Shifuwas trying to get rid of him. An unused line from the movie has Mantis saying, "I've got to admit, that panda has a lot of heart. And he's incredibly fun to watch bounce." Pragmatic and open-minded with a dry sense of humor, Mantis was actually the first of the Five to develop acceptance and liking of Po as a person, alongside the factor of Po's girth, declaring size did little to define a warrior and could actually be used as an advantage, no matter what style one practices. Mantis is a strong defender of this philosophy of his, noted to being a tad sensitive regarding his own small stature (demonstrated when he impulsively whacked two enemy wolves in Kung Fu Panda 2 who called him "cute").
Mantis also appears to be the most outspoken of the Five, loudly reprimanding Po for his attempts to cover up his mistakes as not making any sense whatsoever. Also, out of all the Five (aside from Monkey) Mantis seems to possess the healthiest sense of humor. Seeing as when Po was so startled by the appearance of Master Shifu (whom he had been acting as) that the two soup bowls he had been holding got stuck to his chest, making it look like a brassiere, Mantis was seen struggling not to laugh out loud, along with Monkey.
Fighting Style
The traditional Mantis style is quick, calculating, responsive and precise. Mantis' small size and incredible speed make him nearly invisible to opponents, an advantage that he uses to great effect. In addition, Mantis also possesses enormous strength, far more than his tiny size would imply. His powerful, high leaping rear legs and raptorial forelegs are used as defensive weapons.[6]
He is the smallest of the Five, but he is obviously the strongest proportional to his size. He can perform such feats as throwing Po and single-handedly holding up a severed rope bridge burdened by most of his comrades and Tai Lung.
One of his famous moves is the "Pinwheel Attack". Mantis used this to help Po with place settings for the formalWinter Feast dinner in Kung Fu Panda Holiday.
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