Add Mantis to the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ Superhero Pile

Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of The Wire, but with Avengers: Infinity War serving up the most complicated collection of movie crossovers we’ve ever seen, I’m sorely tempted to get myself a bulletin board and a bunch of string. You know, connect the various characters and the roles they’ll be playing in the next movie, circle some of them with a red magic marker and draw question marks over the characters we’re not sure about. Honestly, these days, it seems like the most straight-forward way of keeping track of this mess.

Even now, Marvel keeps adding characters to the mix. Earlier this week, Guardians of the Galaxy 2 actress Pom Klementieff posted a suggestive comic book cover of her character Mantis fighting alongside the Avengers (via iO9), and now her most recent Instagram post seems to be confirming her presence in Avengers: Infinity War:

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A photo posted by Pomin8r (@pomin8r) on Jan 22, 2017 at 5:50pm PST

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A photo posted by Pomin8r (@pomin8r) on Jan 28, 2017 at 10:11am PST

If you’re unfamiliar with the character of Mantis, don’t worry, because our friends at ComicsAlliance have you got you covered. In a nutshell, the Mantis of the comic books is a half-German, half-Vietnamese character skilled in both the martial arts and the mystical power of telepathy. She’s not a main character of the Marvel universe, but as a former Avenger, she’s not exactly a superhero extra, either.

If Klementieff’s teases are accurate, then not only do we need to update our complicated flow chart of which Marvel characters will be appearing in Infinity War, but we also have to expand our expectations for Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The trailer made it seem that Mantis would appear as comedic relief in a single scene, but if she’s big enough to be rolled into the next Avengers movie, then maybe everyone’s favorite bunch of a-holes aren’t above adding a few new members to the mix.

Avengers: Infinity War will star everyone, OK? Everyone. And it comes out on May 4, 2018, which means all these rumors are just getting started. Anyone have any string?