Cotati

• Core Identity: The Cotati are an ancient, telepathic race of sentient plants from the planet Hala, whose near-extermination by the Kree ignited the millennia-spanning Kree-Skrull War and set them on a path to cultivate the perfect being known as the Celestial Messiah.
• Key Takeaways:
• Role in the Universe: The Cotati serve as the foundational catalyst for the longest and most significant conflict in Marvel's cosmic history, the war between the Kree and the Skrulls. Originally presented as a peaceful, philosophical species, they evolved into long-term strategic manipulators, guiding events over centuries to ensure their survival and the birth of their messiah.
• Primary Impact: Their most profound impact on Earth's heroes came during the Celestial Madonna Saga, a sprawling Avengers storyline where they revealed their secret history, resurrected the Swordsman as their agent, and orchestrated the ascension of Mantis as the mother of their savior. In the modern era, they re-emerged as a major galactic threat during the Empyre event.
• Key Incarnations: In the Earth-616 comics, the Cotati are a truly alien, plant-based telepathic species that eventually abandons mobile forms to exist as conscious, tree-like beings. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the species is represented by Mantis, who is depicted as an insectoid humanoid with empathic, not telepathic, abilities, and her origin is completely divorced from the Kree, the Skrulls, or Hala.

The Cotati first appeared, though initially unnamed and unseen, as a concept in The Avengers #129 (November 1974) before being fully detailed in The Avengers #133 (March 1975). They were co-created by writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema as a cornerstone of the epic “Celestial Madonna” storyline. Englehart's tenure on The Avengers was characterized by a deep dive into cosmic themes, mysticism, and complex character psychologies, a departure from the more straightforward superheroics of the preceding era. The Cotati were conceived as the ultimate “other”—a non-animal, non-humanoid intelligence that operated on a completely different timescale and with a vastly different worldview. Their creation was instrumental in providing a rich, ancient backstory for the then-mysterious Avenger, Mantis, and retroactively establishing the 'original sin' that sparked the legendary Kree-Skrull War. This narrative choice elevated a long-running alien conflict from a simple territorial dispute into a tragedy born from jealousy and genocide, adding significant depth to the cosmic Marvel landscape.

The origin of the Cotati is one of the most pivotal events in the history of the Marvel cosmos, directly responsible for shaping the destinies of its two most prominent stellar empires.

Millennia ago, the technologically advanced and shape-shifting Skrull Empire embarked on a mission of galactic uplift, seeking to share their knowledge with worthy primitive races. Their travels brought them to the planet Hala, home to two distinct sentient species: the barbaric, humanoid Kree and the peaceful, communal Cotati, a race of sentient plants. Unable to choose which race was more deserving of their patronage, the Skrulls devised a contest. They transported groups from both species to two separate, barren worlds. The Kree were taken to Earth's Moon (in the area now known as the Blue Area of the Moon), where they used their ingenuity and aggression to construct a magnificent, technologically advanced city in a single year. The Cotati were taken to a different sterile moon in the same system. Instead of building structures, they used their innate connection to life to cultivate a breathtaking, self-sustaining garden, transforming the barren rock into a vibrant ecosystem. When the Skrulls returned to judge their work, they declared the Cotati the victors. The Cotati's creation of life was deemed a far nobler achievement than the Kree's sterile city. Enraged by this perceived humiliation, the Kree leader, Morag, led his people in a brutal act of genocide. They slaughtered the Skrull delegation and then turned their fury upon the Cotati, nearly wiping out the entire species. The Kree seized the Skrull starship, reverse-engineered its technology, and began their own aggressive expansion into space, armed and ready for the inevitable Skrull retaliation. This single act of violence was the spark that ignited the Kree-Skrull War, a conflict that would burn for eons. However, a small faction of Kree, who would later become known as the Priests of Pama, were horrified by their people's actions. They secretly gathered the surviving Cotati and dedicated themselves to their preservation. They scattered the Cotati across the universe, planting them in hidden temples and safe havens where their collective consciousness could survive within immobile, tree-like forms. Over thousands of years, the Cotati, guided by a singular, ancient consciousness, shifted from being victims to becoming patient, calculating players in a long game to ensure their future and fulfill a prophecy: the coming of the Celestial Messiah.

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999), the Cotati as a species and their foundational history are largely unaddressed. Their existence is confirmed solely through the character of Mantis, who is introduced in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Mantis is explicitly identified as a member of her species, which is described as being insectoid in appearance and possessing powerful empathic abilities. Her origin is tied directly and exclusively to the Celestial, Ego. She was found by Ego in her larval state and raised as his ward and servant on his planet. Her purpose was to use her powers to soothe his volatile emotions and help him sleep. This adaptation represents a significant and deliberate departure from the comic book canon for several key reasons:

• Narrative Streamlining: The complex history involving Hala, the Kree-Skrull contest, and the Priests of Pama would have been an immense expositional burden for a film focused on Ego and Peter Quill's parentage. Tying Mantis directly to the main villain simplified her introduction and gave her an immediate, personal role in the plot.
• Visual Design: The “insectoid” design of Mantis, with her antennae and large eyes, is more visually expressive and relatable for a cinematic medium than a literal plant-person. It allows for a more recognizable “alien” archetype while still being distinct.
• Power Set Simplification: Shifting Mantis's powers from the vast, undefined potential of telepathy to the more specific and visually demonstrable power of empathy (“I can feel your feelings”) makes her abilities clearer and more useful for specific plot points, such as revealing Ego's true nature to the other Guardians.

Critically, the MCU version of the Cotati has no connection to the Kree-Skrull War. In the MCU, that conflict is depicted as an ancient imperial struggle without the Cotati's tragic origin story. The MCU Mantis's story is one of personal servitude and eventual liberation, completely separate from the cosmic prophecy and destiny that defines her comic book counterpart. The reveal in The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special that she is also Ego's daughter further solidifies her MCU identity as being tied to the Celestials, not the plant-based lineage of Earth-616.

The fundamental nature of the Cotati differs dramatically between the comic and cinematic universes, reflecting their disparate roles in their respective narratives.

The Cotati of the prime comic universe are a truly unique biological entity, with a physiology and societal structure unlike almost any other race.

• Biology and Evolution:
• Original Form: In their primitive state on Hala, the Cotati were mobile, humanoid-shaped plants. They possessed limbs and sensory organs analogous to animal life but were fundamentally botanical.
• Evolved Form: Following their near-extinction, the Cotati intentionally evolved past the need for individual, mobile bodies. They exist primarily as large, tree-like plants, often resembling Earthly willows or banyans. These “tree-forms” are largely immobile and serve as physical anchors and transmitters for their shared consciousness.
• Consciousness: A single, prime Cotati consciousness—the very first of their kind to achieve sentience—survived the Kree massacre and forms the nexus of a species-wide telepathic hive mind. While individual Cotati “trees” have a degree of self-awareness, they are all part of this greater whole.
• Reproduction and Host-Bodies: The Cotati developed the ability to manipulate biological matter to create new forms. Their most significant achievement in this area was reanimating the dead body of the Avenger, Jacques Duquesne (the Swordsman), perfectly preserving his memories and personality while infusing his cells with chlorophyll. This Cotati-Swordsman was a perfect vessel, capable of movement and interaction, which they used to father their Messiah with Mantis.
• Powers and Abilities:
• Universal Telepathy: The Cotati are among the most powerful telepaths in the universe. Their hive mind allows for instantaneous communication across galaxies. They can read, influence, and dominate the minds of most organic beings.
• Chlorokinesis (Plant Control): As masters of botanical life, the Cotati can mentally control and manipulate any and all forms of plant life. On a planetary scale, this allows them to accelerate growth, create monstrous plant-creatures, and terraform entire worlds into jungle-like gardens, as seen during the Empyre event.
• Genetic and Biological Manipulation: They have a profound understanding of genetics, allowing them to guide the evolution of other species (as they did with the Priests of Pama) and create hybrid lifeforms like the Swordsman vessel.
• Longevity: Their consciousness is effectively immortal, capable of surviving for millions of years as long as their physical plant forms are maintained.
• Culture and Ideology:
• Original Philosophy: The Cotati were originally a race of pacifists, philosophers, and gardeners. Their culture valued the creation and nurturing of life above all else, which is why the Skrulls deemed them superior to the Kree.
• The Long Game: Their near-annihilation forced them to adopt a more pragmatic and calculating worldview. They became masters of patience and subtle manipulation, orchestrating events over millennia to fulfill the Celestial Madonna prophecy.
• The Schism and Empyre: Over time, a deep-seated resentment towards “animal” life, whom they called “the meat,” festered within the prime Cotati consciousness. This evolved into a genocidal ideology that all animal life was a plague upon the universe and that the cosmos should be “re-greened” under Cotati rule. This philosophy, championed by their Messiah, Quoi, drove their galactic invasion during Empyre, marking a complete and terrifying reversal of their ancient pacifism.

The MCU's depiction is based entirely on Mantis and is far simpler and more narrowly defined.

• Biology:
• Insectoid Form: Mantis's species is visually insectoid, possessing antennae that glow when she uses her powers, large, dark eyes, and a humanoid physique. There is no indication of any plant-based biology.
• Lifecycle: It is mentioned that she was found in a “larval” form, suggesting an insect-like lifecycle of metamorphosis, a stark contrast to the botanical nature of the comics' Cotati.
• Powers and Abilities:
• Advanced Empathy: Mantis's primary and most potent ability is to sense and feel the emotions of others through physical touch. This is an incredibly precise power, allowing her to discern complex feelings, lies, and hidden pains.
• Empathic Manipulation: She can also project emotions onto others. Her most common use of this is to induce a state of calm or force a being to sleep, an ability powerful enough to temporarily subdue even incredibly powerful beings like Ego and Thanos.
• Durability: She has demonstrated a degree of enhanced durability, surviving impacts that would severely injure a normal human.
• Comparative Analysis: The change from a telepathic plant collective to a singular empathic insectoid is the most significant adaptation. The MCU's version lacks the cosmic scope, the hive mind, the plant control, and the deep, tragic history of its comic book counterpart. The term “Cotati” in the MCU serves more as a species label for Mantis than as a reference to the universe-shaping entity from the comics. The powers were made more intimate and character-driven (feeling pain) rather than cosmic and world-breaking (controlling planets).

• Mantis (The Celestial Madonna): The single most important individual to the Cotati's grand plan. They identified her as the genetically perfect human woman destined to become the Celestial Madonna. They secretly guided her entire life, from her training with the Priests of Pama to her joining the Avengers, all to prepare her to mate with their champion and birth the Celestial Messiah. She is both their greatest creation and their most revered figure.
• The Swordsman: Initially just Mantis's mentor and fellow Avenger, Jacques Duquesne became the Cotati's physical vessel after his heroic death. They resurrected him in a plant-based body, a perfect fusion of his human consciousness and their botanical nature. In this form, he was the “Celestial Father,” chosen to mate with Mantis. His love for Mantis was a key component the Cotati exploited to ensure his cooperation.
• The Avengers: For a significant period, the Avengers were unwitting allies and protectors of the Cotati's plan. They defended Mantis from threats like Kang and Thanos, who both sought to control the Celestial Madonna for their own ends. The Avengers provided the safe environment necessary for the Cotati's prophecy to come to fruition, only learning the full truth at the saga's climax.

• The Kree Empire: The Cotati's original and most hated enemies. The Kree's act of genocide on Hala defined the Cotati's existence for millions of years, turning them from a peaceful species into calculating survivors. While the Cotati's plan for a Messiah was for their own salvation, it was also the ultimate revenge against the race that nearly destroyed them.
• “The Meat” (All Animal Life): During the Empyre event, the Cotati's ideology twisted into a belief that all animal-based life was a cosmic blight. Led by Quoi, they declared war on the entire universe, targeting the Kree/Skrull Alliance and especially Earth, which they saw as the most “violent” world. This made them enemies of the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and virtually every hero in the cosmos.
• Kang the Conqueror: The time-traveling despot learned of the Celestial Madonna prophecy and foresaw that her child would become a being of immense power. He sought to kidnap Mantis and either kill her to prevent the birth or capture the child to raise as his own ultimate weapon. His interference was a major obstacle the Avengers had to overcome.

• The Priests of Pama: This pacifist Kree sect is the Cotati's oldest and most loyal group of followers. After the massacre on Hala, they dedicated their existence to preserving the Cotati, creating temples and gardens across the galaxy to house them. They are the keepers of the Cotati's lore and the primary agents who carried out their will for millennia, including the training of Mantis.

The Cotati's history is defined by three monumental storylines that span from the distant past to the modern day.

As first chronicled in The Avengers #133-134, this is the Cotati's genesis story in the Marvel Universe. The arrival of the Skrulls on Hala, the contest between the Kree and Cotati, and the Kree's subsequent jealous rage form the bedrock of cosmic lore. This event's importance cannot be overstated:

• Premise: A test of worthiness between two primitive species to determine who would receive the Skrulls' favor.
• The Cotati's Arc: They demonstrated their superiority not through force or technology, but through the creation of life. They won the contest fairly, embodying a philosophy of peace and harmony with nature. Their subsequent slaughter at the hands of the Kree cast them as the ultimate victims, providing them with a powerful moral justification for their future actions.
• Permanent Alteration: This event directly ignited the Kree-Skrull War, locking two future galactic empires into a forever war. For the Cotati, it transformed them from a thriving race into a scattered, endangered consciousness forced to rely on secrecy and manipulation to survive.

This sprawling epic, primarily in The Avengers #129–135 and Giant-Size Avengers #2–4, is the Cotati's signature storyline. It is a masterclass in long-term planning and cosmic destiny.

• Premise: The revelation that an Earth woman, the Avenger Mantis, was predestined to give birth to the most important being in the universe, the Celestial Messiah, and the race against time to protect her from those who would control or destroy her.
• The Cotati's Arc: The Cotati revealed themselves as the architects behind the prophecy. They orchestrated events from the shadows, culminating in the resurrection of the Swordsman. The eldest Cotati, speaking through the Swordsman, explained their history and plan to the Avengers. The saga's climax sees Mantis accepting her destiny, marrying the Cotati-Swordsman, and leaving Earth to conceive her child, Quoi, in space. This was the culmination of millions of years of planning.
• Permanent Alteration: This storyline elevated Mantis from a mid-tier Avenger to a character of immense cosmic importance. It fulfilled the Cotati's primary goal of ensuring their species' continuation through the Messiah. It also demonstrated their incredible power and patience, recasting them as one of the great “hidden powers” of the universe.

The 2020 crossover event Empyre completely upended the traditional perception of the Cotati, transforming them from tragic victims to terrifying villains.

• Premise: The newly-formed Kree/Skrull Alliance, led by Emperor Hulkling, amasses an immense armada with a course set for Earth, seemingly to destroy their ancient enemies. The Avengers and Fantastic Four must unite to stop the invasion. However, the true threat is revealed to be the Cotati, who have manipulated the Alliance into a defensive position.
• The Cotati's Arc: Led by a now-adult and zealous Quoi, the Cotati establish a base on the Blue Area of the Moon, their ancestral garden. They reveal their true goal: to activate the “Death Blossom” and extinguish all animal life in the galaxy, starting with Earth. They are portrayed as ruthless, powerful, and fanatical, viewing their campaign as a righteous cleansing. They nearly succeed, pushing the heroes and the Kree/Skrull Alliance to their absolute limits.
• Permanent Alteration: Empyre permanently shattered the Cotati's image as a peaceful race. It revealed the dark, genocidal ideology that had grown from their ancient trauma. While they were ultimately defeated, they proved themselves to be a galactic-level threat, and their Messiah, Quoi, remains a significant and dangerous cosmic player.

While the Cotati are a species rather than an individual character, their core concept has been adapted and varied, most notably in the MCU.

• Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999): As detailed extensively above, this is the most prominent alternate version. The MCU “Cotati” are an insectoid species with empathic powers, represented by Mantis. This version is entirely disconnected from the plant-based origins, the Kree-Skrull War, and the Celestial Madonna prophecy of the comics. Her identity is instead tied to Celestials like Ego, making her a fundamentally different character who happens to share a name and species designation with her comic counterpart.
• Marvel: Avengers Alliance (Video Game): In the now-defunct Facebook game, the Cotati appeared as part of the game's expanded lore, particularly in storylines involving Mantis. They were depicted closer to their comic book origins as a race of sentient plants who had a connection to the Priests of Pama. They were not major players but served as important background elements that informed Mantis's character and abilities within the game's narrative.
• Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610): The Cotati do not have a direct or significant counterpart in the Ultimate Universe. The cosmic lore of that reality was significantly streamlined, focusing primarily on entities like Gah Lak Tus and a different interpretation of the Kree and Skrulls. The deep, mystical history of the Cotati did not fit the more grounded, modernized tone of the Ultimate line.

• kree
• skrull
• mantis
• swordsman_jacques_duquesne
• avengers
• celestial_madonna
• empyre
• quoi
• hala
• blue_area_of_the_moon
• kree_skrull_war

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