Step Right Up, Place Your Bets

That's right, it's time for yet another round of Oddsmakers! Today we're taking odds on which member of the Guardians of the Galaxy is the traitor Mantis alluded to in issue #1! This seems as good a time as any, since we're a scant two issues away from the start of the Secret Invasion tie-ins.

Adam Warlock: So Adam Warlock was found inside a weird stone cocoon, not a trait he was known for that I'm aware of. His powers seem more magical in nature than I recall, and Warlock has a tendency to be the source of trouble, such as the Magus and Goddess, who were the Evil and Good expelled from his soul. So really, he's always a sign of bad things. Could the bad things be space-time fissures? Sure. Could also be Skrulls, as they clearly know how to use magic. Plus, Gamora said his pretentious phrases are now attractive to her, when they used to be irritating. That could signal a change in her, a change in him, or perhaps, mental manipulation? And whatever it is this Skrull Queen lady is up to, certainly Lovecraftian horrors from other realities would jeopardize it. Odds: 18%

Drax: Well, he's green (this will be a recurring theme). And this current incarnation is pretty different from the dunderheaded flying dude with a cape we used to see. I know, swallowed ship propellant and all that. Wee suspicious to me. Plus, we don't know where he was, or what he did, between killing Thanos and when Nova and Gamora caught him and made him a Phalanx-Select. He has a very basic powerset, which wouldn't be terribly difficult to duplicate, and he's normally gruff and standoffish, which again, is also easy to imitate. However, he's not totally resisting Phyla's attempts to help him/bring the team closer together. Odds: 19%

Gamora: Green!!!! Has recently complained of a lack of direction, which lead to Nova suggesting she join the team to find a purpose in life. Such convenient timing. Her skills are also not terribly difficult to copy. Odds: 20%.

Groot: I don't know. Groot's so biologically different, I have a hard time thinking they'd be able to copy him. On the other hand, his ability to grow, release spores, and regenerate from a tiny sprout would be useful. And, with him being as small as he is, it'd be easy for him, while the team's out on a mission, to slip away and investigate Knowhere, which has to have something that would interest the Skrulls. it's a freaking Celestial's head, fer Pete's sake! There's got to be all sorts of cool stuff there! Of course, the Phalanx scanners recorded him as what he appears to be in the Starlord mini, and while the Skrulls might be able to fool Richards or Starktech, I'm not willing to assume that means the Phalanx can't pick up on it. Odds: 7%

Mantis: She was in a coma, now she's not And Bug, who was waiting by her bedside, is nowhere to be seen. Could Bug have been a Skrull, waiting to impersonate the telepath? Plus, she's green, thus automatically suspect, and admitting she knows there's a traitor is a great way to throw suspicion off her. Odds: 27%.

Quasar: I can't really explain it, but I just don't think Phyla's a Skrull. I don't believe that it's due to her girlfriend being a telepath, or because she was in psychic contact with the Supreme Intelligence while searching for Adam. We've already seen the Skrulls can mask themselves from Xavier, and that some of the Skrulls even grow to believe they truly are who they appear to be, so that wouldn't be a guarantee. Though a part of me thinks that there would have been a brief moment at some point, where a Skrull-Phyla would drop her guard and Moondragon would have seen the truth, as much time as they spent with each other. Oddly, it's the fact that during the big fight with Annihilus, Phyla was able to convince the Quantum Bands to leave the bad guy, and work with her instead. It seems she would have needed to make an honest plea to make that happen, and a Skrull in disguise couldn't pull that off. Also, Phyla seems the most into making this group work well together, and that seems unSkrull-like. Odds: 1%.

Rocket Raccoon: I tend to doubt the Skrulls can replicate Rocket's level of radness (for the record, that's why there is a 0% chance Cosmo's a Skrull, there's simply no way to artificially recreate a being that obviously fantastic). Plus, an innately brilliant/lucky tactical mind seems like a pretty difficult thing to duplicate. Still, I don't think anyone would see it coming, and Rocket hadn't been seen in a long time before Conquest. Odds: 3%

Starlord: With Peter, the difficulty comes in the "why?" He has no superhuman abilities, no particularly unusual weapons, he's just a guy. On the other hand, Starlord does (or did) have access to the entire Kree defense network, and that's the sort of thing I'm sure the Skrulls would enjoy having in their possession. However, the cover for issue #4 shows Peter with a Skrull face, so I vote that it's too obvious. Odds: 5%

All right ladies and gents, take your pick, place your bets, and show your work!