History Series / MANTIS

* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon[=/=]SuperWristGadget: Hawkins outfits the M.A.N.T.I.S. suit with wrist-mounted, rocket-propelled darts that [[InstantSedation paralyze]] their targets.
* InhumanEyeConcealers: In one episode, Miles is confronted by a group of mysterious, extradimensional MenInBlack sunglasses who claim to want to make our world a peaceful utopia. A skeptical Miles asks to see their eyes (reasoning that "the eyes are the windows to the soul"), and flees in horror when one reveals his are pure, glistening black.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Miles dealt with a few, most notably, Solomon Box. Box started the series trying to sell a bio-toxin he and Miles made for the government to North Korea after bribing someone at a company Miles went to to destroy to hand it over to him. Then, he had the corrupt Chief Grant insert one of his agents and fake information about him being a fed to take out the M.A.N.T.I.S. and during the mid-season two-parter, he'd arranged the death of a city councilman to frame M.A.N.T.I.S. and get Grant's task force approved, and [[spoiler:it was revealed that the shooting that crippled Miles was a botched assassination attempt Box ordered]].

* IAmVeryBritish: Stonebreak tends on occasion to act excessively British. For example, after Hawkins moves the ''Chrysalid'' to "[[UnderwaterBase someplace very secure]]", Stonebrake describes the vehicle in terms of meters and kilograms in exaggerated [[UsefulNotes/BritishAccents Received Pronunciation]].

* BadassLongcoat: M.A.N.T.I.S wore one, along with a nice suit, in the TV Movie, but used the Exoskeleton as a superhero costume in the series.

'''M.A.N.T.I.S.''' (1994-1995, 1997) was a short-lived (one season) science fiction series on Creator/{{FOX}} starring Creator/CarlLumbly and produced by Creator/SamRaimi and Creator/RenaissancePictures.

* DirtyCop: The chief of police in both the original TV movie and the series proper aren't on the up-and-up, the former's Chief Stark being bigot who's not above violating civil rights of minorities and the latter's Chief Grant being in the pocket of Solomon Box. [[spoiler:Furthermore, the TV movie had Antoine Pike, who was in league with Chief Stark and the series had Paul Warren, who was not only revealed to be an ally of Box and Grant, but the one who shot Hawkins in a botched assassination attempt.]]

It is notable for being the first television series to feature an African-American superhero as the main character.

'''M.A.N.T.I.S.''' (1994-1995, 1997) was a short-lived (one season) science fiction series on Creator/{{FOX}} starring Creator/CarlLumbly and produced by Creator/SamRaimi and Creator/RenaissancePictures. It followed the adventures of Dr. Miles Hawkins, a paraplegic scientist who develops a power suit (the titular M.A.N.T.I.S., or ''Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System'') that not only allows him to walk again, but to fight crime as well. It is notable for being the first television series to feature an African-American superhero as the main character.

* ConspicuousCG: ''Everywhere'' in the series.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Miles dealt with a few, most notably, Solomon Box. Box started the series trying to sell a bio-toxin he and Miles made for the government to North Korea after bribing someone at a company Miles went to to destroy to hand it over to him. Then, he had the corrupt Chief Grant insert one of his agents and fake information about him being a fed to take out the M.A.N.T.I.S. and during the mid-season two-parter, he'd arranged the death of a city councilmen to frame M.A.N.T.I.S. and get Grant's task force approved, and [[spoiler:it was revealed that the shooting that crippled Miles was a botched assassination attempt Box ordered]].

* DoesntLikeGuns: Dr. Hawkins refuses to use guns because he was paralyzed by a bullet.
** In the episode "Tango Blue" Dr. Hawkins uses his wealth to finance a police buy-back program.

* ArtifactTitle: Of a sort. While the name of the show comes from the exoskeleton Hawkins wears, the pilot stated that his freeze-darts employed a venom found in a rare species of praying mantis ([[ThouShallNotKill in heavily-diluted form, naturally]]). In the actual series, though, the principle by which the darts froze their targets had changed, eliminating all reference to mantis venom.

* ConspicuousCGI: ''Everywhere'' in the series.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Miles dealt with a few, most notably, Solomon Box. Box started the series trying to sell a bio-toxin he and Miles made for the gorvenment to North Korea after bribing someone at a company Miles went to to destroy to hand it over to him. Then, he had the corrupt Chief Grant insert one of his agents and fake information about him being a fed to take out the M.A.N.T.I.S. and during the mid-season two-parter, he'd arranged the death of a city councilmen to frame M.A.N.T.I.S. and get Grant's task force approved, and [[spoiler:it was revealed that the shooting that crippled Miles was a botched assassination attempt Box ordered.]]

* CoatHatMask: In the pilot, Miles' costume has M.A.N.T.I.S. included wearing a dress shirt and pants, a trench coat, and a tie over the exoskeletion.

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Dr. Hawkins was paralyzed by a police sniper's bullet when he rushed out from cover to save a young girl during the Los Angeles riots. Later episodes implied that the sniper was in Solomon Box's employ, and was ''aiming'' for Dr. Hawkins.

* BadassInANiceSuit: In the original TV movie, Miles wore a business suit along with a BadassLongcoat over the exoskeletion as M.A.N.T.I.S.

* GeniusCripple: Dr. Hawkins is one.

* DirtyCop: The chief of police in both the original TV movie and the series proper aren't on the up-and-up, the former's Chief Stark being bigot who's not above violating civil rights of minorities and the latter's Chief Grant being in the pocket of Solomon Box. [[spoiler:Furthermore, the TV movie had Antoine Pike, who was in league with Chief Stark and the series had Paul Warren, who worked with Leora, was not only revealed to be an ally of Box and Grant, but the one who shot Hawkins in a botched assassination attempt.]]