I remember picking that issue up in the store specifically because of the inclusion of Mantis and Deathcry, and then putting it back after seeing that they just dug her up so they could make a joke out of killing her. It pretty much solidified that I was done with Marvel's continuity. (Which might have been a shame, since I've heard good things about those cosmic books otherwise.)




Well, a consistent portrayal was never the character's strong suit anyway. She showed up as a rather aggressive soldier type, then out of nowhere became a stereotypical teenage girl. I was more interested in her potential than her actual character... Sure, she was over-designed and very much a 90's character, but I saw potential in the Avengers having a Shi-ar member, especially post Galactic Storm. I thought it opened them up to some other storytelling opportunities, and I liked the hints at the larger Imperial story that were being laid with Deathcry (who I believe was going to be reveled to be half-Kree and likely in the royal family, which would be a dangerous combination following the unification of the Kree and Shi-ar empires.)

Blowing her up as a gag just seemed like such a waste, and fit the trend of Marvel killing characters left and right. Yes, they can always come back, but they waste such story potential every time they off someone callously.