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| 7 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1452266899092104700 |
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| 9 | %% |
| 10 | [[quoteright:350:[[TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/slayingmantis_0.png]]]] |
| 11 | [[caption-width-right:350:"The fiercest hunters in the Tangle don't seek out the mantises. They ''are'' the mantises."]] |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"Cave Johnson here. The mantis men have officially taken over the building! If you can get out, get out now! OH GOD, THEY'RE BREAKING THROUGH THE BARRICADES!"'' |
| 14 | -->-- '''Cave Johnson''', ''VideoGame/Portal2 [[DownloadableContent Perpetual Testing Initiative]]'' |
| 15 | |
| 16 | In fiction, mantises occupy an unusual position relative to their fellow arthropods. They can't match the universal positive connotations of PrettyButterflies or VirtuousBees, but they're not necessarily frightening like {{spiders|AreScary}} and {{sc|aryScorpions}}orpions, {{c|reepyCentipedes}}entipedes, or {{m|othMenace}}oths, and certainly not disgusting like {{c|reepyCockroach}}ockroaches or {{flies|EqualsEvil}}. |
| 17 | |
| 18 | Rather, mantises are often portrayed as the badasses of the insect kingdom. With their distinctive combat-ready stance and stock-still poise, they can easily be made to evoke martial artists -- in fact, there's more than one kung fu style themed on the mantis, as mentioned in the RealLife section below. Naturally, in a world of [[TalkingAnimal Talking Insects]], expect the mantis to fill the role of an ArrogantKungFuGuy or a MasterSwordsman or such, if not a [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy full race of proud warriors]]. On the more negative side, the mantis might also be rendered as an AxCrazy BloodKnight due to the murderous spiky appearance of its raptorial forelegs. And, of course, female mantises may draw on the expected stereotype of [[MantisMatingMeal devouring their partners after mating]] (this doesn't occur every time in real life, but it's been observed among nearly all predatory mantis species because mantises simply tend to catch and eat anything smaller than them when hungry -- and the male is typically smaller than the female). This provides an alternative way for a writer to use the BlackWidow trope while leaving spiders or spider-motif characters free for other purposes. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | All of these uses of the mantis can get extra personality mileage out of its upright posture and expressive "arms", making it one of the easiest insects to anthropomorphize. That's not to say you won't find some BigCreepyCrawlies takes on the mantis as well, since it makes for a great dinosaur-like predator in a story with [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever fifty-foot insects]] running around. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | No matter which kind of mantis you're encountering, if it strays in the least from strict realism, expect its forelegs to be depicted as having {{s|inisterScythe}}cythe-like {{blade|BelowTheShoulder}}s in fulfillment of the RuleOfCool; having such blades would actually make the forelegs '''useless''' for a real mantis, as the purpose of their raptorial design is to '''grasp''' prey, not slice it to pieces (which in itself is a feat requiring AbsurdlySharpClaws).[[note]]Mantises have been observed to eat their prey even if they're [[EatenAlive still alive]], having survived being impaled on the forelegs' spikes and not suffered any mortal injuries in the attack.[[/note]] |
| 23 | |
| 24 | As mentioned above, mantises also make a ''great'' substitute for spiders. After all, SpidersAreScary, but they're also pretty cliche, and not as malicious as usually portrayed. Thus, a mantis can be used to make a somewhat more unique killer bug villain. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Often a case of LeanAndMean, if the mantis is a villain. GreenAndMean is also common, although they ''do'' come in different colors. See also MantisMatingMeal for another trope specific to mantises. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | Not to be confused with ''Film/TheDeadlyMantis'', though that film obviously stars a Slaying Mantis, specifically of the BigCreepyCrawlies variety. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | ---- |
| 31 | !!Examples: |
| 32 | |
| 33 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 36 | * ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': [[OurDemonsAreDifferent Rosine]]'s minions are all some kind of BigCreepyCrawlies. [[TheBerserker Guts]] [[UnstoppableRage slaughters them]] [[CurbStompBattle by the dozen]], but almost finds his match when facing Rosine's two EliteMooks. One of them is a [[MightyGlacier huge rhinoceros beetle]] and the other one a [[FragileSpeedster lightning fast praying mantis]]. They are also considerably skillful fighters due to the fact that (at least according to the mantis) they [[WasOnceAMan used to be knights]], whereas the insect mooks were mooks even before they transformed into monsters. He deals with them by shooting one with his ArmCannon and using the momentum to smash his sword into the other. |
| 37 | * ''Manga/BlackClover'': Jack the Ripper is the leader of the Green Praying Mantises and looks the part with his thin body, green clothing, and magic that forms scythe blades on his forearms. He's also a bloodthirsty fighter who wants to slice strong opponents, allies or not. |
| 38 | * ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Nnoitra Gilga is an insane, misogynistic BloodKnight who can turn into a multi-armed, shell-covered OneWingedAngel form based off a mantis equipped with multiple scythes. His release phase is even "Pray, Santa Teresa [Praying Mantis]!" |
| 39 | * ''Manga/Brave10'': Iga Ninja Kayou can summon insects and bugs to do her bidding: one of her techniques summons an army of a thousands large mantises and unleash them on her foes. |
| 40 | * ''Manga/InuYasha'': There's a nightmarish mantis {{yokai}} that feeds on women's innards and then wears their skins. She's offed by Miroku, but manages to cut his Kazaana open, putting him in danger. |
| 41 | * ''Manga/JoujuuSenjinMushibugyou'': the ninth giant insect introduced in the manga is the "Rumbling Blade Praying Mantis", a truly humongous mantis monster with oversized legs, scythe-like fangs and a reptilian head. Her handler uses a special flute to make her attack a series of banks to perform robberies. |
| 42 | * ''Manga/OnePiece'': There are giant mantises with very sharp claws on Jaya island. Later. a similar mantis with blades instead of legs is seen among the monsters in Impel Down. Last but not least, the Tenth Movie has Don Kamakiriri, a foul-tempered mantis capable of taking down a gargantuan octopus with ease. |
| 43 | * ''Literature/{{Slayers}}'': A bunch of mantis-like bugmen appear in season 1, among Rezo's beastmen. Little characterization is given beyond "big creepy crawlies". |
| 44 | * ''Manga/{{Yaiba}}'': The Mantis Man appears as one of Onimaru's minions. Subverted later when he's revealed to be a goofy PunchClockVillain. |
| 45 | [[/folder]] |
| 46 | |
| 47 | [[folder:Card Games]] |
| 48 | * ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'': Powerful, dangerous mantises and mantis-like creatures have appeared at several points in the game: |
| 49 | ** The ''Fallen Empires'' has the [[https://scryfall.com/card/fem/79/thelonite-monk Thelonite Monk]], a green Cleric creature that can [[HumanSacrifice sacrifice a fellow Green-aligned creature]] to turn a land into a forest and which, for some reason, is a giant mantis in a red robe. None of the other Thelonite cards in the game are giant mantises, as "Thelonite" is apparently the name of an order, not a race. |
| 50 | ** The Jeskai of Tarkir have [[https://scryfall.com/card/ktk/184/mantis-rider mantis riders]] who take a considerable risk of being eaten every time they ride their insectoid mounts. |
| 51 | --->''Mantis riders know their mounts owe them no allegiance. Even a mantis ridden for years would consume a rider who loses focus for only a moment.''\ |
| 52 | --Mantis Rider FlavorText |
| 53 | ** The Tangle, a trackless forest of copper-leaved plants found on the bio-metallic world Mirrodin, is home to a lot of dangerous predators, but [[https://scryfall.com/card/mbs/91/tangle-mantis the giant mantises that live there]] are noted to be the fiercest of them all. |
| 54 | ** The joke set Unstable introduced a card called [[https://scryfall.com/card/ust/122/slaying-mantis Slaying Mantis]], which must be [[DynamicEntry thrown into play]] by its controller. While the art does show it as an anthropomorphic insect, its [[ProfessionalWrestling aesthetic]] is decidedly different from typical examples. |
| 55 | [[/folder]] |
| 56 | |
| 57 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 58 | * French-Chinese [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furry]] comic book ''Léa Graslin: Réveil Sanglant'' features as the villainess an anthropomorphic female mantis, Madame Beaulieu. She is a serial killer who murders male rabbits (and is also depicted [[ChurchGoingVillain as praying in church]]) and is tracked by an anthro [[WickedWeasel anti-heroic]] [[WeaselMascot female weasel]] detective, the titular Léa. |
| 59 | [[/folder]] |
| 60 | |
| 61 | %%[[folder:Fanfics]] |
| 62 | %%* ''Fanfic/{{Aloha}}'': Entolyterians are an [[ProudWarriorRace alien race]] who look like giant praying mantises.%%ZCE -- how are they badass and scary? |
| 63 | %%[[/folder]] |
| 64 | |
| 65 | [[folder:Films -- Animation]] |
| 66 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Coraline}}'': Double subverted. The Other Father rides around on a giant clockwork mantis a couple of times, and far from being threatening, it's treated as pretty and whimsical. Unfortunately, since the Other World is actually a trap set by the Other Mother to ensnare Coraline and eat her soul, she's quick to turn this against Coraline ''and'' the Other Father (who is essentially her slave) once Coraline realizes what's really happening. The result is the poor Other Father being strapped to the mantis and ''forced'' to chase after Coraline so that he can kill her. |
| 67 | -->'''Other Father:''' [[ApologeticAttacker Sorry... so sooorry... Mother mmmaaking mee... don't waaannaa hurt you...]] |
| 68 | * ''Franchise/KungFuPanda'': One member of the Furious Five is a mantis [[PintSizedPowerhouse who's very powerful despite being the size of, well, a mantis]]. |
| 69 | [[/folder]] |
| 70 | |
| 71 | [[folder:Films -- Live-Action]] |
| 72 | * ''Film/AlitaBattleAngel'': Cyborg SerialKiller Nyssiana has {{s|inisterScythe}}cythe-like robotic arms that are shaped like the forelegs of a mantis. |
| 73 | * ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'': The Acklay is a deadly alien creature that looks like a cross between a [[GiantEnemyCrab crab]] and a mantis, with some {{reptil|esAreAbhorrent}}ian features thrown in, that is used by the alien Geonosians to execute prisoners in their arena. |
| 74 | * ''Film/TheDeadlyMantis'' features a giant, prehistoric mantis. There's also a brief monologue about how mantises are, for their size, the deadliest and most ferocious hunters in the animal kingdom. |
| 75 | * ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'': |
| 76 | ** ''Film/SonOfGodzilla'' introduces Kamacuras (also known as Gimantis in a bad English dub) into the Franchise/{{Godzilla}} franchise. Already giant prehistoric preying mantises they get mutated by radiation to grow even larger. However, while they do pose a serious threat to the humans and even Minya, Godzilla manages to take them out very easily. Kamacuras appears in ''Film/GodzillaFinalWars'' where it now has a chameleon like camouflage ability and puts up a better fight but is still killed by Godzilla without much effort. |
| 77 | ** ''Film/Godzilla2014'' has the MUTO, somewhat mantis-like prehistoric parasitoids that are a natural enemy of Godzilla's species. They have a pair of large hooked forelimbs which to snag Godzilla's vulnerable gills with, a smaller pair of manipulator arms, and the female is twice the male's size but lacks wings. |
| 78 | * ''Film/Goosebumps2015'' features the giant mantis from ''A Shocker on Shock Street''. Unlike its book counterpart, however, this mantis is ''much'' [[TookALevelInBadass more deadly]]: it's fifty feet tall, looks more like a real mantis, [[spoiler: is not a robot,]] and can ''fly!'' It still retains its spitting ability, however. |
| 79 | * ''Literature/TheMist'' a giant mantis-esque creature among of the other monsters. It kills people by snatching them with a claw and snapping them in half. |
| 80 | * The ''Franchise/StarWars'' franchise has the Yam'rii, an alien species that look like humanoid mantises. Originally a hard-to-spot background character in the cantina scene in ''Film/ANewHope'' known only as "Praying Mantis", the ''TabletopGame/StarWarsCustomizableCardGame'' eventually fleshed out the species in its flavour text, describing them as super-strong predators who are quick to anger. Notably, the game's only Yam'rii character has a Power of 8 - higher than nearly every other non-vehicle/starship card in the game. |
| 81 | [[/folder]] |
| 82 | |
| 83 | [[folder:Gamebooks]] |
| 84 | * ''Literature/GoldenDragonFantasyGamebooks'': ''Eye of the Dragon'' has Lord Mantiss, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin an insectoid nobleman]]. Easily offended and quite powerful, he's quite capable of inflicting a NonStandardGameOver but can also kill you with a CriticalHit during normal combat. |
| 85 | * ''Literature/LoneWolf'': At the end of the first ''World of Lone Wolf'' book, ''Grey Star the Wizard'', the title protagonist has to escape from a whole nest of man-sized, agressive, acid-spitting mantises. |
| 86 | * ''Literature/{{Sorcery}}'': In the second gamebook, ''Kharé -- Cityport of Traps'', depending on your route through the city you can end up facing off against a Mantis Man, a humanoid with mantis style arms. While not particularly skilled in combat, it had around a 28% chance of instantly killing you every combat round by catching you with its arms and tearing your throat out with its jaws. As this fight would, even with the best possible results and rolls, last a minimum of two combat rounds this encounter was often lethal. It could however be circumvented with the correct spell, but mishandling the encounter could also result in instant death. |
| 87 | [[/folder]] |
| 88 | |
| 89 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 90 | * ''Literature/ChessWithADragon'': There's a mantis-like species of hermaphroditic sadomasochist cannibals. |
| 91 | * ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'': The Assassins' Guild School has gone co-educational and now teaches young ladies how to inhume with style and grace. One of the all-female houses of study, supervised by Miss Alice Band, is variably described as Tump House and as Mantis House depending which side of the continuity error you're on. It evokes TheVamp stereotype. |
| 92 | * ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': One of the Denarians, Tessa, has a mantis-like alternate form. She's up for whatever causes the maximum amount of chaos and suffering for humanity. |
| 93 | * ''Literature/EatThemAlive'' is a very violent horror novel about giant praying mantises who eat people in excruciating detail. |
| 94 | * "Literature/TheEmpireOfTangLang", by Creator/AlanDeanFoster, plays the standard mantis tropes to the hilt: T'Ang Lang is an actual normal-sized mantis ([[ADogNamedDog "t'ang lang" being Chinese for "mantis"]]) in a world where [[MouseWorld insects apparently can all to some extent think]]; T'ang Lang is a deadly killer whose every movement is done in a ritualistic fashion ("The Rite of Clean Knives followed"; "Then he assumed the ''Ben-na'', the position of contemplation"), and who spends his time between kills contemplating the mysteries of existence. |
| 95 | * ''Literature/Godzilla2000'' includes a [[TheSwarm swarm]] of Kamacuras, mantis-based kaiju, created (in this case) when a normal mantis was exposed to a parasitic alien DNA and the infection spread to other mantises after the original attracted a mate. The swarm proceeds to devour everything and any''[[ImAHumanitarian one]]'' in their path; fortunately, they're comparatively weak to conventional planes and tanks, even after growing wings, but their numbers make up for it. And then a second swarm appears in South America. A year later, the original swarm's depredations on the fields of Kansas are still having an effect on the economy and food supply. |
| 96 | * ''Literature/InCryptid'': The parallel dimension that ''Calculated Risks'' takes place in is home to several varieties of BigCreepyCrawlies, including giant mantises [[HorseOfADifferentColor that the local sapient lifeforms ride]]. |
| 97 | * ''Literature/MyFamilyAndOtherAnimals'': Creator/GeraldDurrell tells of a huge (over four inches long) specimen of mantis he names Chervil, and keeps her in a box because he wants to see her give birth... sadly this does not happen, as Chervil escapes and meets Geronimo, a large gecko that hunts for bugs in Gerard's room, and in the ensuing battle Geronimo loses his tail but bites Chervil in half, killing her on the spot. |
| 98 | * ''Literature/OnAPaleHorse'': Zane is confronted by a "preying" mantis -- a demon in the shape of a praying mantis. It's a LivingMotionDetector as well as a deadly killer. |
| 99 | * ''Literature/PerdidoStreetStation'': The [=reMade=] rebel/terrorist Jack Half-A-Prayer was an escaped criminal whose arm had been replaced with a giant mantis claw. A militia spy he kills is found with the claw's pincer-marks on both sides of her neck. |
| 100 | * ''Literature/ThePrismPentad'': K'Kriq is a thri-keen, a four-armed mantis man, who can resist mind attacks and even magical fireballs. Unlike other examples, he hasn't got "scythe-like arms". |
| 101 | * ''Literature/ReignOfTheSevenSpellblades'': One of the types of chimeras that Ophelia Salvadori makes in volume 3 is a towering praying mantis-like beast that can regenerate severed limbs and also [[SpikeShooter fire barrages of spikes at its enemies]]. |
| 102 | * Creator/RLStine: |
| 103 | ** ''Literature/GhostsOfFearStreet'' features a human-sized mantis as the BigBad of ''Nightmare in 3-D.'' It comes out of a magic eyeball poster after the protagonist makes out the image, then follows him to school. [[NotSoImaginaryFriend And he's the only one who can see it.]] |
| 104 | ** ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'': ''Literature/AShockerOnShockStreet'' has six giant mantises, which live in the Cave of the Living Creeps, where they attack the main protagonists. They are defeated by... [[WeaksauceWeakness being kicked in the leg, causing them to fall over]]. This, however, is justified when it's revealed that the mantises, as with all the other creatures in the book, are actually [[spoiler: [[DoingInTheWizard animatronic robots in a horror attraction]]]]. |
| 105 | * ''Literature/ShadowsOfTheApt'': In a world where humanity evolved alongside BigCreepyCrawlies and emulated them for power, those who mimicked the (gigantic, man-eating) praying mantises of the deep forests naturally developed into a race of stone-cold killing machines single-mindedly obsessed with battle and death. It's taken for granted that the Mantis-kinden are the best fighters on the planet; however, between technology making it ever easier for regular people to kill others, and their own CripplingOverspecialization, they're now a DyingRace doomed to irrelevance if something about their culture doesn't change. |
| 106 | * ''Literature/{{Spellsinger}}'': The Plated Folk are ruled by a praying mantis queen. She routinely eats courtiers who offend her, fail her, or simply can't get out of her way fast enough when she gets upset. |
| 107 | * ''Literature/{{Uprooted}}'': The monsters native to the Wood include immense mantises, which normally never leave the forest and instead act as internal guardians. They're much stronger and more dangerous than its more common beasts, and [[spoiler:after the source of the corruption is cleansed they're implied to remain hostile]]. |
| 108 | [[/folder]] |
| 109 | |
| 110 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 111 | * ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The She-Mantis in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS1E4TeachersPet Teacher's Pet]]" wants to lay its eggs on Xander and another boy with the indication the babies will probably eat them after hatching. |
| 112 | * ''Series/BabylonFive'': The first season has the crime boss N'Grath in Downbelow, who is an InsectoidAlien resembling a praying mantis. |
| 113 | * ''Series/CriminalMinds'': "[[Recap/CriminalMindsS9E1TheInspiration The Inspiration]]" uses mantids quite creepily. The killer begins hallucinating that the girl who rejected him "ate" him, and develops an obsession with mantises because of their alleged sexual cannibalism; one of his delusions is actually of the girl speaking (though [[spoiler: she was the first person he killed and he was forcing his other victims to eat parts of her head]] and mantises coming out of her mouth. He also keeps a pet one and tries to feed a baby snake to it. |
| 114 | * ''Series/TheHauntingHour'': ''Swarmin' Norman'' features a normal-sized mantis named "[[ALizardNamedLiz Manny]]", who can actually hiss, as the BigBad. He commands an army of insects, and at first is on good terms with the titular protagonist. However, when Norman goes back on his word about not hurting bugs, Manny [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters turns on him]] and successfully engulfs Norman in a swarm of cockroaches. The final scene is Manny lashing his claws out at the audience, as the narrator explains how easily insects could overpower humans if they so desired. |
| 115 | * ''Franchise/KamenRider'': Any mantis-themed Rider or monster fall under this. The most notable examples are [[Series/KamenRiderBlade Kamen Rider Chalice, and by extension the Mantis Undead]], and Series/KamenRiderOOO himself, whenever he uses the Kamakiri Body Medal, which grants him a pair of ReverseGrip SinisterScythe. Chalice himself gets twin scythes in his SuperMode, also mantis-themed. |
| 116 | * ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': Both the original ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' versions and the adaptation have featured mantis monsters, who tend to be pretty ferocious. U.S.-only versions include: |
| 117 | ** ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'': Season 1's "[=Zyu2=]" footage features a monster simply called "Mantis", who's extremely skilled in Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Trini is forced to learn praying mantis kung fu to defeat him one-on-one. |
| 118 | ** ''Series/PowerRangersBeastMorphers'': Beast Morphers Gold is infused with mantis DNA (this is an AdaptationSpeciesChange from Beet Buster, who was instead based on a rhinoceros beetle), and proves pretty skilled right off the bat. |
| 119 | * ''Series/MonsterWarriors'': |
| 120 | ** "Marauding Mantis": While the Monster Warriors battle a herd of giant praying mantis, Luke finds himself strangely bothered by Tabby’s friendship with her good-looking student council co-president. |
| 121 | ** A giant praying mantis is one of the monsters brought to life in "Terror at the Drive-In". |
| 122 | * ''Series/{{Primeval}}'': Subverted. The Megopterans certainly look and act the part of this trope, but according to the official site, they're descended from beetles. The characters themselves, meanwhile, say that they're actually highly evolved ''ants''. |
| 123 | [[/folder]] |
| 124 | |
| 125 | [[folder:Pro Wrestling]] |
| 126 | * Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} has the misanthropic supervillain Wrestling/UltraMantisBlack and his ReligionOfEvil, the Order of the Neo-Solar Temple. |
| 127 | [[/folder]] |
| 128 | |
| 129 | [[folder:Tabletop Games]] |
| 130 | * ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': |
| 131 | ** Giant mantises are twelve feet tall and have ten hit dice (ten to eighty HitPoints). They can grab prey and hold it helpless, damaging it every combat round until death. They can also camouflage themselves in order to perform ambush attacks. |
| 132 | ** The thri-kreen ("mantis warriors") are a race of social insectoids who resemble a mantis with grasshopper-like legs[[note]]in their AD&D artwork; in 3rd edition and onwards they became increasingly more humanoid-shaped[[/note]], with a culture that can be summed up as a cross between humanoid nomads and a wolf pack. Favoring arid regions, they originated in the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'' setting, but became an iconic race for the ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' setting when it debuted thirteen years later, as they were PromotedToPlayable in that setting. Unlike most mantis-people, they lack the iconic scythe-like arms[[note]]except during their most juvenile state[[/note]], but instead are MultiArmedAndDangerous, with two pairs of human-like arms that they can use in natural synch, favoring barrages of bladed crystal throwing stars for ranged weapons and DualWielding a pair of [[DoubleWeapon double-ended bladed tridents]] in melee. Other oddities include paralytic venom they can deliver by biting, spectacular leaping abilities, and a racial affinity for PsychicPowers. Whilst not a true HiveMind, they also do maintain a GeneticMemory; this allows their young to know intuitively how to function as an adult from hatching -- "childrearing" for thri-kreen is more a matter of polishing social skills and providing skill refinement than anything. |
| 133 | ** ''TabletopGame/{{Anchorome}}'', a subsetting for the ''TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms'', features a land where thri-kreen are the dominate race -- it actually differentiates that ''these'' thri-kreen descend from kreen ported in from [[TabletopGame/DarkSun Athas]], whereas their counterparts from the Shaar are the feral descendants of stranded [[TabletopGame/SpellJammer Spelljammers]]. Anchorome's thri-kreen consist of thri-kreen (traditional nomads), tohr-kreen (settled kreen, culturally driven to mine deep crystal caverns), zik-chil (fleshwarping mystics who think the tohr-kreen are being manipulated), apleurus (a rare and xenophobic subspecies who have developed the power [[ElementalShapeshifter to change into living sand]]), smaragtin ([[UndergroundMonkey aquatic thri-kreen]] engineered by the zik-chil), and ulyssies (forest and mountain-adapted scouts engineered by the zik-chil). Weirdly, only the zik-chil are non-playable. |
| 134 | ** ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' is especially associated with the thri-kreen, and is also home to several other species of humanoid mantises such as the trin, which are believed to be ancestors of, or at least closely related to, the thri-kreen. Not as intelligent as their cousins, but still smarter than mere animals. They hunt in pack and are even faster and stronger than thri-kreen, and have the typical scythe-like arms used to crush their prey -- the fact they only have one pair of arms and two pairs of legs is as much a defining feature as the presence of scythes for distinguishing them from thri-kreen. It's also home to the mysterious zik-chil, who practice {{Biomanipulation}}, and the zik-trin; kreen subjected to zik-chil {{Biomanipulation}} to make them into biological drones, and divided into the zik-trin'ta (scouts) and zik-trin'ak (warriors). |
| 135 | ** ''TabletopGame/DarkSun'' also establishes that the true name of the thri-kreen is actually just "kreen"; "thri" is a prefix designating a tribal or nomadic kreen, but there are also civilized, settlement-building kreen distinguished by the prefix "tohr" (or "tohr-kreen" in full). It likewise divides the kreen into six subspecies; To'ksa and Jerals are virtually indistinguishable and represent the "common" thri-kreen and tohr-kreen respectively, whilst the remaining four received only the barest of details. J'ez are black-colored, warlike, and favor rocky environments. Jerals are the most physically human-like of the kreen and distinguished by their reddish-pink chitin. T'keech are green and adapted to moist environments that the other kreen can't handle. Tondi are a [[OneGenderRace exclusively female subspecies]] who reproduce through parthenogenesis and who physically resemble orchid mantises. |
| 136 | ** ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' is home to the Xixchil, an InsectoidAliens species of humanoid praying mantises whose racial hat is MadDoctor; they have a religion that is essentially a form of transhumanism, believing that the body is the "house" of the soul and, as such, it is the duty of an individual to customize and tailor their body to better express their soul's inner nature. Modifications range from completely aesthetic, such as embedding gemstones or inlaying precious metal into their carapace, to fully functional, such as implanting concealed daggers and dart-throwers. They're even capable of [[GenderBender completely changing an individual's biological sex]]. Unlike thri-kreen, they ''do'' have bladed limbs, as well as an ability to produce venom, which they can tailor to an individual's biology to make it function as a paralytic, anesthetic, or deadly neurotoxin. Which makes them natural surgeons and assassins. However, they ''don't'' share the aesthetic senses of the {{demihuman}} races, and because they believe that form follows function, this often leads to problems when others request their surgical talents. In contrast to thri-kreen, xixchil are also characterized as extremely individualistic, with a SocialDarwinist attitude. Many fans speculate that the zik-chil of Athas are stranded and possibly devolved xixchil. They received an "Ecology of the Xixchil" article in Magazine/{{Dragon}} #266. |
| 137 | ** A ''TabletopGame/{{Spelljammer}}'' adventure anthology called "Skull & Crossbones" establishes that there is an entire ''empire'' of spelljamming thri-kreen somewhere out in Wildspace, and the thri-kreen of the Shaar in the TabletopGame/ForgottenRealms are their barbarian descendants via a crashed spelljammer. |
| 138 | * ''TabletopGame/HollowEarthExpedition'' supplement ''Mysteries of the Hollow Earth''. The Hollow Earth has giant mantises the size of a large horse. They will attack any creature up to their own size, lashing out with their forelegs at blinding speed. The HalfHumanHybrid Mantismen are human-sized and fully sapient; and have even developed their own martial art. |
| 139 | * ''TabletopGame/ItCameFromTheLateLateShow''. The Giant Mantis Monster is 200 feet long and can bite, crush and stomp hapless Cast Members. After being awakened in the Arctic by atomic testing they make their way to civilization to begin rampaging. |
| 140 | * ''TabletopGame/TheLadybugGame'' features a character known as the Mighty Mantis as the villain. |
| 141 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': |
| 142 | ** Giant mantises are extremely deadly, stealthy and efficient predators -- some of the deadliest vermin-class creatures around, in fact -- and have gained fearsome in-universe reputations. People who live alongside these giant insects fear them deeply, and believe any number of myths about them -- that they can make themselves invisible, that they can smell fear, [[YourSoulIsMine that they devour the souls of those they eat]]... And the really big ones (called [[Film/TheDeadlyMantis Deadly Mantises]]) are able to kill and eat giants and dragons. There are even assassin societies that have taken to worshiping them as gods of sorts and emulate them in their fighting styles. |
| 143 | ** The mantis god Achaekek is the pantheon's resident assassin and the divine patron of all {{Professional Killer}}s of the setting, particularly of the universally-feared Red Mantis guild that worships him. |
| 144 | ** Weremantises are deadly and LawfulEvil killers whose interactions with society are often limited to brief but passionate trysts that often end with the weremantis killing their lover. The example weremantis in ''Bestiary 6'' is also classed as a monk, mirroring mantises' associations with deadly martial artists. |
| 145 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'': The ''Northern Gun 2'' sourcebook has a suit of PoweredArmor called the Mantis, which invokes the image with a pair of [[{{BFS}} giant vibro-swords]] that fold out against the forearms of the suit. It is designed to take out HumongousMecha. Not by destroying them, but by using its blades and {{Shoulder Cannon}}s to wreck their weapons, sensors and motive systems, leaving them blind, crippled and unarmed in the middle of the battlefield while it seeks a new target. |
| 146 | * ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}'': |
| 147 | ** Mantis spirits are far from pleasant (although they're not really evil, but just have a really weird mindset), as they share other bug spirits' need to possess human victims in order to perpetuate their kind. The fact they prefer to prey on other kinds of bug spirits makes them occasional allies-of-convenience for Ares and others campaigning against the bugs, however. |
| 148 | ** There's also the Wyrd Mantis, which is "just" a giant Awakened species of mantis. They are nevertheless extremely deadly. |
| 149 | * ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': |
| 150 | ** The Mantis Warriors are a chapter of Space Marines with a curious mutation that gives them supremely enhanced reflexes, but at the cost of irreversible tunnel vision. |
| 151 | ** The Lictor is a stealthy Tyranid unit with massive mantis-like claws, whose purpose is to infiltrate enemy territory and spread chaos, death and terror. |
| 152 | [[/folder]] |
| 153 | |
| 154 | [[folder:Toys]] |
| 155 | * ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' has a toy named Manterror (aka the Man Terror) that's a praying mantis. His arms can launch buzz saws. |
| 156 | * ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'': |
| 157 | ** Takadox is mantis-like post-Pit Mutagen change, as his design was based on the mantis shrimp. His main weapons are his mantis "claws", which are actually knives instead of a natural feature. |
| 158 | ** Krika, one of the most sympathetic villains in the franchise, resembles a giant, skeletal mantis. His appearance distinguishes him from his less-sympathetic cohorts, who are based on a beetle and a mosquito. |
| 159 | ** Metru Mantis are giant mantis-like Rahi[[note]]a [[ConLang Matoran word]] usually translated as "animals"; literally means "not us"[[/note]]. The good news is that they're one of the few creatures that prey on [[GiantSpider Visorak]], making them one of your few hopes if the Visorak hordes invade your island. |
| 160 | ** Nidhiki was once a Toa of Air who was mutated into an insect-like monster by Roodaka [[FaceHeelTurn when he became a Dark Hunter]]. Said insectoid appearance resembles a giant praying mantis with PowerPincers. |
| 161 | * ''Toys/LegoGalaxySquad'': The Star Slicer is [[MechanicalInsects a giant mechanical mantis]] that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin slices]] with its claws. |
| 162 | [[/folder]] |
| 163 | |
| 164 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 165 | * ''VideoGame/AgeOfWondersPlanetfall'': Hopperhounds are an invasive species of aggressively predatory insects that can be found on almost every planet. They resemble a mix of mantis and grasshopper, combining scything claws with the ability to jump well enough to attack aircraft in flight. |
| 166 | * ''VideoGame/{{Avernum}}'': Chitrachs are a whole race of monstrous inects resembling human-sized, yellowish predatory insects similar to mantises, including large scything forelimbs. They invaded Avernum from the Vanhatai Lands below, and are noted for being infestant and annoyingly dangerous in combat. |
| 167 | * ''VideoGame/{{Bug|1995}}'': Mantises are shown as psychotic murderers that go into a crazed slashing frenzy as soon as Bug gets near them, making them hard to defeat without taking damage, and they also have a very good amount of health to boot. Thankfully, they're only encountered at the tail end of Insectia Scene 3. |
| 168 | * ''VideoGame/BugFables'': The mantis siblings Maki and Kina form one of the best explorer teams in the Association, and are very powerful warriors, with Maki always being sent by the Queen on the most dangerous missions. [[spoiler:And their OptionalBoss fight is one of the hardest boss fights in the game.]] Of the lesser variety, [[BadassPreacher Acolyte Aria]] is a hooded mantis who, in spite of her delicate looks, is a fierce combatant who managed to thwart the Wasp invasion in the Golden Settlement and displays impressive fighting skills during her boss fight in the final festival ceremony, and mantis ruffians also appear as some of the stronger enemies in [[TheAlcatraz the Rubber Prison]] in Chapter 6. |
| 169 | * ''Franchise/{{Fallout}}'': |
| 170 | ** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'': Giant Mantis's are a common enemy found in Vault 22, and in Zion Valley. Fortunately they are very fragile, and go down easily. |
| 171 | ** ''VideoGame/Fallout4'': ''Far Harbor'' has the Fog Crawlers, giant amphibious monsters mutated by the sheer amount of radiation in the oceans that rolls onto the island through the fog, distinguished by their long, scythe-like arms and by being the most powerful monsters on the island. While they resemble mantis they have elements of shrimp, implying that they descend from mutated mantis shrimp. |
| 172 | * ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'': |
| 173 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'': Mantis and King Mantis are two powerful monsters. |
| 174 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' has the Greater Mantis/Mantodea. Despite being a regular enemy, it has an ''incredible'' amount of attack power, the highest of any mook and more than twice as much as the final boss, being able to kill most characters in one hit unless they're overleveled. |
| 175 | %%** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'': The creepy-looking [[http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Grand_Mantis Grand Mantises]]. |
| 176 | ** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXII'' has several of them, mostly in areas accessible later in the game. One variant eats Chocobos to power itself up. Other variants eat each other instead. |
| 177 | * ''VideoGame/FreedomPlanet'' features a robotic mantis as a boss, complete with regenerating forelimbs. |
| 178 | * ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'': The Mantis are a race of ferocious InsectoidAliens who travel through space in {{red|IsViolent}}-hulled spaceships looking for prey. Their arms (and [[SuperSpit acid spit]]) let them deal more damage in close range combat, but also make them lousy repairmen, which is why they tend to make use of [[TheEngineer Engi]] slave labour. |
| 179 | * ''VideoGame/{{Grounded}}'': An OptionalBoss encounter is with an Orchid Mantis. Unlike all other bosses who can summon minions in their fights, the Orchid Mantis fights by itself, and is heavily implied to only fight those who it deems worthy of being a challenge to fight. It's also blatantly spelled out for you that it preys upon one of the other game's bosses, the Hedge Broodmother. Its attack repitoire includes passive [[DamageOverTime bleeding damage on most of its strikes]], [[InASingleBound long distance jumps to disengage/initiate,]] [[GroundWave hitting the ground and sending out waves of dirt]], a SuperScream that can knock you onto the ground, and a potential OneHitKill in its triple slam attack. |
| 180 | * ''VideoGame/HollowKnight'': The mantis tribe, an isolated ProudWarriorRace tribe whose members respect strength above all and will attack the Knight on sight. After it proves itself by defeating the three Mantis Lords, [[DefeatMeansFriendship the entire tribe will become non-hostile towards it and bow respectfully at its approach]]. There's also a separate group of Mantises encountered later in the game who were cast out after attempting to rebel against the tribe and subsequently went [[AxCrazy insane]] after willingly falling to [[TheCorruption the plague]]. The Mantises were fiercely independent even during the golden age of Hallownest, but agreed to a truce with the Pale King where they would retain independence while also serving as guards against the fearsome beasts of Deepnest. |
| 181 | * ''VideoGame/TheHouseOfTheDeadOverkill'': The Creeper is a mantis-like mutant, whose scythe-like arms can easily [[AbsurdlySharpBlade slice steel]]. The arms are also his AchillesHeel. |
| 182 | * ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'': |
| 183 | ** The Vek come in many insectoid forms, including giant mantises that leap around the battlefield and trap their targets in ProjectileWebbing. |
| 184 | ** On your side, [[spoiler:Kazaaakpleth, a mantis from ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' appears as a cameo pilot. Just like in ''FTL'', where mantises are terrifying attackers but poor repairmen, he trades the normal repair ability for a highly damaging melee attack.]] |
| 185 | * ''VideoGame/KouchuuOujaMushiking'': A mantis can be summoned by winning with the special skill Card "Special Skills Stopper". When it's on the field, it negates the opponent from summoning anything for once. |
| 186 | * ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': Kha'Zix is a man-sized intelligent interdimensional winged mantis monster with an obsession for hunting prey, consuming it and evolving himself to become more deadly. |
| 187 | * ''VideoGame/LetsGoJungle'': There's a giant mantis as a boss at the end of the Temple Level. Unlike many examples its claws aren't very sharp. |
| 188 | * ''VideoGame/LostPlanet'': one of the primary enemy types is an Akrid that resembles a giant praying mantis full of glowy orange T-Eng. They come in an even larger, deadlier variety that is best fought in a HumongousMecha. A yet larger variant serves as a BossBattle. |
| 189 | * ''Franchise/MegaMan'': [[DarkIsEvil Dark Mantis]] and [[AxCrazy Deathtanz Mantisk]] from the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' and ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' series respectively, they both use a series of quick attacks with their bladed extremities, and both curiously had law related jobs before became mavericks (Dark Mantis was a prison guard, and Deathtanz Mantisk was an executioner, but he isn't exactly thrilled with the job [[note]]then again it was before [[BigBad Weil]] [[BrainwashedAndCrazy turned him into one of his warriors]][[/note]]), however, by the time you come to face them, they are far from being cooperative. |
| 190 | %%* ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'': The Space Pirates, depending on the game, tend to look more or less like giant mantises. |
| 191 | * ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterGenerations Ultimate'': One such creature turns out to be [[spoiler:the one behind the "giant monster" steamrolling over civilizations: Ahtal-Ka, a [[GoldColoredSuperiority golden mantis]] that steals architecture and machinery from hunter societies and binds them together with its silk to create a ''[[HumongousMecha walking fortress]]''. It is the FinalBoss of the G-Rank questline and the only [[BigCreepyCrawlies Neopteron]] to be classified as an Elder Dragon-level threat.]] |
| 192 | * ''VideoGame/MonsterSanctuary'' has Blade Widow, a giant mantis that learns a lot of attacks that involve slashing. |
| 193 | * ''VideoGame/Mother3'': Parodied. Praying mantises can be encountered in Sunshine Forest starting from Chapter 4, but since they're completely ordinary praying mantises, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome they do about as much damage to your party as you'd expect from a bug]]. Their description in the [[MonsterCompendium Battle Memory]] points out it's a good thing they're not BigCreepyCrawlies. |
| 194 | * ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'' has giant mantises that periodically jump and try to pounce on Ori, with UndergroundMonkey variants that jump more frequently and/or produce a ShockwaveStomp. |
| 195 | * ''VideoGame/PhantasyStarOnline2'' has the Dicahda and its larger cousin, the Predicahda. They hit fast and hard, and are capable of doing a FlashStep to instantly reach their targets from virtually any distance, which makes them among the most threatening enemies overall. |
| 196 | * ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'': |
| 197 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' introduced Scyther, a [[BlowYouAway Flying]]/[[BigCreepyCrawlies Bug]] person-sized mantis that also has some dinosaur-like features (mainly the head and feet). It has a reputation of being a savage hunter that slashes its prey to ribbons with its [[SinisterScythe bladed forelimbs]]. |
| 198 | ** ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' introduced Scizor, an evolution of Scyther which trades its Flying type for the [[ExtraOreDinary Steel type]] and its scythes for [[ShearMenace pincers]]. Interestingly, its base stats don't get higher but just get shuffled around (turning a FragileSpeedster into a MightyGlacier). |
| 199 | ** And likewise with Kleavor, an alternative evolution introduced in ''VideoGame/PokemonLegendsArceus''. Trading out Scyther's Flying type for the [[DishingOutDirt Rock type]] and its scythes for axes, Kleavor is a LightningBruiser and GlassCannon, being faster and harder-hitting than Scizor, but not quite as defensive and with a much fewer type resistances. |
| 200 | * ''VideoGame/Portal2'': {{Implied|Trope}} by Cave Johnson's messages over the intercom. The test subjects are told that instead of being injected with praying mantis DNA, they will be battling an army of Mantis Men, presumably the result of said DNA experiment GoneHorriblyWrong (or [[GoneHorriblyRight right]], one can never be sure with Aperture Science). |
| 201 | -->"Pick up a rifle and follow the yellow line. You'll know when the test starts." |
| 202 | * ''VideoGame/RapidReload'' has the giant praying mantis mecha as a boss in the forest stage, who can release SwordBeam attacks from it's scythes. |
| 203 | * ''VideoGame/Sly3HonorAmongThieves'' has anthropomorphic mantises fill the role of ChineseVampire enemies. |
| 204 | * ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'': |
| 205 | ** ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' has Slicer, a robotic mantis who serves as an enemy in [[EternalEngine Metropolis Zone]]. He attacks the player by tossing his claws at them. |
| 206 | ** In ''[[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Sonic CD]]'', the Kama-Kama enemy is a robotic mantis who inhabits [[PinballZone Collision Chaos Zone]] and attacks the player by throwing his claws at him in a horizontal fashion. |
| 207 | * ''VideoGame/SpiderTheVideoGame'' have regular-sized praying mantises, which normally wouldn't be this trope if not the fact that you're a regular-sized sentient spider. They can even fire SwordBeam attacks from their arms which you need to jump to avoid getting hit. |
| 208 | * ''VideoGame/TalesOfArise'' features giant mantis-like [[BioweaponBeast Zeugles]] as an uncommon [[UndergroundMonkey family]] of EliteMooks. Of particular note is an enemy simply named "Mantis". It's the first [[OptionalBoss Gigant Zeugle]] you encounter, and yet is one of the strongest. Make a mistake of bumping into it, and it will ''end'' you. |
| 209 | * Gyalis from ''VideoGame/{{Temtem}}'' is a 2 metre-tall mantis made of gemstones with spikes on its scythe-hands, and has a reputation for being a "scary monster" due to appearing in many horror movies. |
| 210 | * ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}'': A Boss in in ''Dinosaur Hunter'' is a giant mantis that can spit acid. |
| 211 | * ''VideoGame/StarCraft'': The Zerg are a HordeOfAlienLocusts that take different forms, but almost always have some sort of scythe-like blades, that, along with their chitinous shells and vaguely-insectoid nature, make them similar to mantises. |
| 212 | * ''VideoGame/TitanQuest'': The giant mantis monsters roam into the Chinese forests and viciously attack your hero when they sight him/her. You can also wear a special suit of armor (composed of helmet, greaves and cuirass) that makes you look like a mantis-man. |
| 213 | * ''Franchise/{{Warcraft}}'': |
| 214 | ** ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': The Crypt Lords evoke this trope: their body has the same limb distribution as a mantis (four legs supporting and two huge claws), but is much thicker and stockier, like a beetle the size of a rhino. |
| 215 | ** ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'': The Pandaren's main enemies are an insect-like race known as the Mantids, introduced in the "Mists of Pandaria" expansion. While primarily enemies, you do quests for one particular faction of them. |
| 216 | * ''VideoGame/WarOfTheMonsters'' has Preytor, a preying mantis {{Kaiju}} as one of the fighters. |
| 217 | * ''VideoGame/YsIAncientYsVanishedOmen'' has a [[SinisterScythe scythe]]-juggling mantis named Pictimos as one of the bosses in Darm Tower. |
| 218 | [[/folder]] |
| 219 | |
| 220 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 221 | * ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': A particularly bizarre example occurs in "Decemberween In July", during Strong Bad's version of ''That Time Of Year'' by Leomard Sportsinterviews. Instead of reading "Decemberween is almost here! Get ready," Strong Bad reads, "De giant mantis is almost here. Get ready to be pistol-whipped, snowman!" with illustration to match. |
| 222 | [[/folder]] |
| 223 | |
| 224 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 225 | * ''Webcomic/{{Spacetrawler}}'' references mantises' reputation as dangerous when Yuri, well on her way to Unhinged-ville, gets her arms replaced with robotic, mantis-like laser-scythes. |
| 226 | [[/folder]] |
| 227 | |
| 228 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 229 | * ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Toph comes up with her own form of earthbending that outstrips all others by far, based on the real life Southern Mantis style. |
| 230 | * ''WesternAnimation/ChalkZone'': A giant literal praying mantis that prays and chants as it attacks. |
| 231 | * ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'': The spider episode "[[Recap/TheMagicSchoolBusS3E3SpinsAWeb Spins a Web]]" has a ShowWithinAShow with a [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever giant praying mantis]]. The kids get TrappedInTVLand and end up having to fend off both the mantis [[spoiler:(they solve that problem by trapping it with the spider-bus and hitting it with the porta-shrinker)]] and the general who's trying to kill it using [[TeamPet Liz]] as bait. |
| 232 | * ''WesternAnimation/RandyCunninghamNinthGradeNinja'': One of the many MechaMooks employed by [=McFist=] is a [[MechanicalInsect huge mantis mecha]]. |
| 233 | * ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'': The first system we see an aged Enzo and [=AndrAIa=] enter has him go off on his own to put a bullet in the head of [[http://reboot.wikia.com/wiki/Praying_Mantis_Virus a virus modeled after a typical giant mantis]]. |
| 234 | * Zorak, ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'''s greatest foe, was an alien that looked an awful lot like a praying mantis, traits which were played up even more in ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast''. |
| 235 | [[/folder]] |
| 236 | |
| 237 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 238 | * TruthInTelevision. Mantises are very badass, being able to kill prey many times larger than themselves, such as snakes, rodents, and even birds. One of the only terrestrial arthropods that can overpower and kill a scorpion in a fair fight. Some are even poisonous, that is, dangerous to eat, so even if a predator does get the better of them they're not going to like it. (None are venomous, because they never ''needed'' any venom.) |
| 239 | * Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu (which, incidentally, is the style [[WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender Toph's earthbending is based on]]) is a very close-range fighting style. Northern Praying Mantis Style (also known as Seven Star Praying Mantis Style) is a style of unrelated lineage which utilizes much longer range techniques, including whipping, circular blocks, and high kicks, as well as signature "mantis hook" hand techniques which use three fingers (imitative of a mantis's claws) to strike vital points. |
| 240 | * Female praying mantises are known for biting the heads off of their mates. They don't ''always'' do it though, with only 25% of all sexual male-female encounters resulting in cannibalism. That said, 90% of all mantis species have been recorded performing this, both in captivity (where it is more common) and in the wild. Scientists aren't really sure why they do this. |
| 241 | [[/folder]] |
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