Natalie French (She-Mantis)

Natalie French's History

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.

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 Moll. However, in the encounter, she drugged him and locked him in her basement, where she kept him in a cage.

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 and hacked 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