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We should make some model egg sacks for the Science Fair. Who'd like to help me do that after school? I warn you, it's a delicate art, I'd have to work with you very closely, one on one...
―The She-Mantis[src]

The She-Mantis was a creature with the appearance of a large praying mantis. As a Kleptes-Virgo, she had the ability to assume the form of a beautiful woman to seduce virgin men to reproduce then kill them. In 1997, the She-Mantis assumed the identity of a substitute teacher in Sunnydale High School under the alias Natalie French.[1]

Biography[]

Ferris Carlyle learned of her existence after deciphering a pre-Germanic language, though he kept it secret until the She-Mantis murdered several boys in the Costwolds, England. Carlyle went after her and, though he was defeated, somehow survived the encounter. He went insane and even his friend Rupert Giles, who knew of the existence of the paranormal, disbelieved his story about the She-Mantis.[1]

In 1997, the She-Mantis killed the Sunnydale High biology teacher Dr. Gregory and stole the identity of a retired teacher, Natalie French, so she could assume the role of a substitute biology teacher in the school. The presence of the She-Mantis, under the disguise of a beautiful woman, won the attention of the all the boys in her class; when she asked if anybody would help her make model egg sacks for the school science fair, all of their hands rose. The She-Mantis then organized one-on-ones with each of the boys, the first being the eager Blayne Mall. However, in the encounter, she drugged him and locked him in her basement, where she kept him in a cage.[1]

The She-Mantis then targeted Xander Harris, inviting him to work on the egg sacks in her home, as she claimed to have left them there. She gave him a spiked martini before dragging him in the cage by Blayne's side. However, when the She-Mantis would begin to mate with them in her mantis form, the Slayer Buffy Summers came to the rescue. She repelled her with bug spray and Giles sent her into convulsions with recorded bat sonar, allowing Buffy to hack the creature to death with a machete. Xander then took the machete and used it to destroy the Mantis' eggs in the basement; however, other eggs remained in a teacher's closet in her classroom, Science 109.[1]

Powers and abilities[]

She-Mantis 2

She-Mantis in her true form.

The She-Mantis had the abilities of a real mantis which she could use in her human form. She could rotate her head 180 degrees and release pheromones to attract males, making them smitten by her very presence. The She-Mantis was sensitive to bug spray and bat sonar. Her stature was such that even the vampire Claw, who had first mistaken her for a regular woman, fled from her presence.[1]

The She-Mantis used her powerful mandibles to devour the heads clean off her human male victim during mating, though the victim had to be a virgin. In her human form, she also ate live crickets which she placed inside a piece of bread.[1]

Behind the scenes[]

  • She was portrayed by Musetta Vander.
  • The puppet/suit used to portray the creature's true form was originally created by Optic Nerve Studios for the sci-fi show Babylon 5, as the underworld kingpin N'Grath. Musetta Vander also made an appearance on that show as a Mars Resistance fighter.

Appearances[]

Canonical[]

Other[]

References[]

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