Master Mantis

Master Mantis is a major character from the WarioWare series, first appearing in WarioWare: Smooth Moves. He is an elderly martial artist who trains his devoted apprentice, Young Cricket. When he was first introduced, he appeared to be a rather serious character, shown training Cricket in difficult conditions, but it is later shown that he fits in with the rest of Wario's friends.

WarioWare: Smooth Moves
Master Mantis makes his debut alongside Young Cricket in WarioWare: Smooth Moves. While walking down Park Street, the two smell dumplings being served at a nearby food stand. After angering the Park Street Residents by cutting the line, he get back to Master Mantis, telling him that they should get in line, to which Mantis agrees.

WarioWare: D.I.Y.
In WarioWare: D.I.Y., Master Mantis runs the Assembly Dojo alongside Young Cricket. He also appears as a comic stamp.

Game & Wario
Master Mantis also appears in Game & Wario in the Kung Fu minigame. Mantis serves as the destination for Cricket to reach at the end of each level.

Like other WarioWare characters, he has an entry for the Miiverse Sketch Masterpiece Collection, videos uploaded by the official Nintendo of Japan YouTube account showcasing drawings made with the Miiverse Sketch mode. Master Mantis provides commentary for the eighteenth video, themed "Stag Beetle."

WarioWare Gold
Master Mantis returns in WarioWare Gold along Young Cricket and the rest of the series cast. In Cricket's story, Mantis is shown training Cricket in Diamond City Amusement Park. Mantis leads him to a merry-go-round known as Precious Prancers for his trial. At the end of the trial, Lulu, Mantis notices Lulu, who had jumped on Cricket's shoulder when she mistook him for a horse. Mantis then guides him to the next trial, the "Trial of the Lost Child".

He is later seen at Club Joe alongside Cricket, Jimmy T, Mona, Kat, Ana, Dr. Crygor, Penny, Mike, and Fronk, where his dancing technique drives the crowd away from the club.

At the end of the game, Mantis is among the group who demands Wario to pay them for the microgames they designed for the Wario Bowl. After Wario trips and lets his money briefcase fall, Mantis tells Cricket to use his newly learned technique, the "Precious Prancing Pounce", to stop Wario from escaping further. All of Wario's friends then decide to split the remaining money equally between them. The player is then rewarded the 10000 coins they were given at the beginning of the game to buy their admission into the Wario Bowl.

WarioWare: Get It Together!
Master Mantis appears in WarioWare: Get It Together! In the game's story mode, he appears in the opening cutscene, eating dumplings alongside Young Cricket. He, along with the rest of the WarioWare, Inc. employees, gets sucked in the game world due to Wario's actions.

Master Mantis appears in the intro of Jimmy T's stage where he does an aerobics performance with him, Cricket, Lulu, and Joe.

Master Mantis appears in the post-game story where he is bound to a rope in the Super Hard tower. When Wario and co. reach the tower, they free Mantis and he joins the rest of the employees chasing down the mysterious creature who initially kidnapped him. Upon clearing the Showdown stage, Wario complains about having ended up without any treasure, to which Mantis replies that the end that Wario may have seeked was "Treasure not the gold but the journey it inspired."

As a playable character, Master Mantis is controlled the same way as Young Cricket, with the moving him left and right, and pressing  making him jump, with the jump height increased by holding. However, Mantis has the additional ability to walk upside-down on any ceiling, if he can reach it by jumping. Mantis shares the same pros and cons with Cricket, excelling in microgames where action at lower areas is prioritized (e.g. Roll Cake and A Moving Experience, the 2 microgames that deems him a good fit), and being ineffective in most other microgames that involve action at higher areas (e.g. Gondola Lift, the only microgame deeming him a bad fit). Mantis's additional ability grants him potential to complete microgames in higher areas (e.g. Drawbridge Dilemma, the only boss game deeming him a good fit). Master Mantis has the second-most amount of microgames where he is considered an average fit (148), with 43 as an above-average fit and 18 as a below-average fit.

Rhythm Heaven Megamix
Master Mantis makes an appearance in the Wario... Where? version of the minigame in Rhythm Heaven Megamix, where he replaces the monk.

Personality
Master Mantis is heavily devoted to martial arts, training in difficult environments. In WarioWare Gold, his serious personality remains, but for comedic effect, as he even goes as far as to "train" Cricket at the Diamond City Amusement Park.

Game & Wario character card
-Master of countless martial arts -Popular with the ladies -Has his own fan club -Loves dumplings (a bit too much)

WarioWare Gold character card

 * Rank C – Mantis is a master of the martial arts. He's extremely strong. Trains with his dutiful student, Cricket.
 * Rank B – Uses a martial-arts technique known as Wii Form Style, though increasingly interested in Quick Switch Style.
 * Rank A – Believes that training can happen anywhere, usually where he wants to be. Fairly recently, at a lovely café.

WarioWare: Get It Together! character description

 * Intro description: "A master of martial arts and Cricket's teacher, he is said to be very strong...though no one has seen him fight."
 * Break Room description: "A master of martial arts and Cricket's teacher, Mantis is said to be very strong...though no one has ever seen him fight."