7/27/2019 Ultramantis as a Tragic Hero

1/2

Ultramantis as a Tragic Hero

Wrestling is often compared to other forms and methods of art and entertainment, from popular

culture, like sitcoms to sophisticated culture, like ballet. So why not compare it to Ancient Greek

Theater? Today, ancient works seem dry and boring; however, in Ancient Greece, it was quite

different, as their plays were a popular and enjoyable type of entertainment. They were alsoreligious in nature and the stories examined the human condition.

There are three types of Ancient Greek playscomedic, satyr, and tragic, which is our focus

here. In tragedies, protagonist, the hero, is a man of importance and status who experiences some

misfortune, usually caused by his own actions and behaviors. The heros suffering is attributed to

a flaw in his character, most commonly hubris (excessive pride) or an inability to cope with the

consequences of his mistakes. Tragedies often involve destiny, as the hero cant prevent making

the mistake that begins his misery, even if he tries. The aftermath of the heros mistake and it

effect on everyone around him is also told. Most tragic plays end with the hero in pain and

misery, but there are some that have happier endings.

To me, Ultramantis always seems to play the tragic hero. For example, consider his participation

in the feud with Delirious. First, Mantis is not only the central character, but he is also vitally

important to Chikara as one of the elder members of the roster and former leader of the Neo

Solar Temple and current leader of The Spectral Envoy. Second, Mantis is the one who makes

two tragic mistakes, which sets the feud in motion. The first occurred the moment he decided to

obtain the Eye of Tyr back in 2008. He did this by discovering how to apply The Chikara Special

and teaching it to Chris Hero, in exchange for him wrestling for Dr. Cube in Kaiju Big Battel. In

return, Dr. Cube gave him the Eye. The second was using the Eye to control Delirious. He could

have used it on anyone, but he chooses Delirious for two reasons. One, The Temple needed athird member. Second, breaking up Incoherence was revenge on Hallowicked, who at the time

was his former partner.

There are two caveats that come with using the Eye. If the user gains it by underhanded methods,

like Mantis did, bad luck and tragedy will befall them. Also, those things will occur if the person

who uses it does not give it away afterwards. Mantis decided he didnt believe in the curse and

did both. He was smart enough to get the Eye, but foolish enough to ignore the dangers and

consequences. This is Mantis flaw and its hubris. Mantis stubbornness and over confidence in

his own deviousness and cunningness made him feel invincible, as if he was beyond suffering

the ramifications of his actions. He was wrong and he wasnt the only one to sufferbecause of it.

While Mantis realized the error of his ways and turned technico, but it was too late as the events

had been set in motion already. Bringing the Eye to Chikara led to the BDKs formation and

invasion. Ares claimed that it has been stolen from his family and one goal of The Bruderschaft

was to get it back. When they did, they used it to gain control over Delirious and turned him into

the BDKs pet andweapon. Its not directly Mantis fault, but it wouldnt have happened if Eye

7/27/2019 Ultramantis as a Tragic Hero

2/2

wasnt in Chikara. Mantis did make it his mission to fight the BDK; but even then, those efforts

brought more bad luck, as it unleashed The Dark Army, The Batiri. He won the Eye back from

Ares at High Noon. However when he destroyed it to give Delirious back his free will, he

released a very angry man who remembers everything. Delirious has vowed to make him

suffer for two years for the abuse he suffered under both Mantis and the BDKs control.

While The Spectral Envoy was able to win King of Trios, they have had to fight the Delirious

army of The Batiri and Ophidian (Interestingly, it was Mantis staff that was The Catalyst for his

transformation into The Serpent Spirit.) In addition, hes been to war, almost de-masked, injured

bad enough to miss the beginning of this Season, and we havent gotten to 2014 yet. Theres still

plenty of time for Delirious to gain more revenge against Mantis and make our tragic hero suffer

further. Or maybe he will be lucky and get his happy ending by finally defeating Delirious and

his army.