M.A.N.T.I.S.

Plot

Wealthy scientist Dr. Miles Hawkins, shot in the spine by a police sniper during a riot while rescuing a child, becomes paralyzed from the waist down and uses a wheelchair. After losing a lawsuit against the police department and uncovering evidence of a conspiracy against the black community, he changes his political philosophy and uses his company Hawkins Technology's resources to create a powered exoskeleton, a helmet that lets brain signals bypass the spine, and bulletproof black body armor.

The suit enables him to walk and grants superhuman strength, speed, and agility, along with wrist-mounted nonlethal paralysis darts. Operating from a secret underwater lab called the Seapod beneath his seaside mansion and using a flying car/submarine named the Chrysalis, he becomes the metal-masked vigilante M.A.N.T.I.S. (Mechanically Augmented Neuro Transmitter Interception System, later changed to Mechanically Augmented NeuroTransmitter Interactive System).

The pilot featured strong roles for African-American actors including Gina Torres, Bobby Hosea, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Christopher M. Brown, and Steve James. The series recast all characters except the hero, adding British scientist John Stonebrake (Roger Rees), bicycle courier Taylor Savage/Savidge (Christopher Gartin), and police detective Lt. Leora Maxwell (Galyn Görg), with a rebooted and simplified plot.

Production

The pilot was filmed in Los Angeles, while the series was produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where landmarks such as the dome of Science World and CN Rail cars appear. Filming took three years due to Carl Lumbly's work on Nightjohn. Differences between pilot and series include Hawkins wearing a suit and brown leather trenchcoat over the exoskeleton without a skullcap, a larger mask with glowing green lenses that could hypnotize, and leaving a metal mantis calling card—all dropped from the series. The setting changed from Oceania City to Port Columbia, and all characters except Miles Hawkins were replaced.