Gamora
Textless variant cover of Gamora #1 (December 2016). Art by Marco Checchetto.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Strange Tales #180 (June 1975)
Created by	Jim Starlin
In-story information
Full name	Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan
Species	Zen-Whoberis
Team affiliations	Guardians of the Galaxy Infinity Watch Phalanx Graces United Front
Notable aliases	Requiem, The Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe, Bambi Long
Abilities	Superhuman strength, speed, agility, and durability Skilled assassin Skilled hand-to-hand combatant

Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan (/ɡəˈmɔːrə/) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/artist Jim Starlin, the character first appeared in Strange Tales #180 (June 1975). Gamora is the adopted daughter of Thanos, and the last of her species. Her powers include superhuman strength and agility and an accelerated healing factor. She also is an elite combatant, being able to beat most of the opponents in the galaxy. She is a member of the group known as the Infinity Watch. The character played a role in the 2007 crossover comic book event "Annihilation: Conquest", and became a member of the titular team in its spin-off comic, Guardians of the Galaxy.

Gamora has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise. Zoe Saldana plays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, starting with the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy. She reprised her role in the sequel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, and will appear in the fourth Avengers film.

Publication history[edit]

The character debuted in Strange Tales #180 (1975), and was created by Jim Starlin. She returned in issue #181, Warlock vol. 1 #9, 10, 11 and 15 (1975-1976), and in the 1977 annuals for Avengers and Marvel Two-in-One. In 1990, she returned in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #46-47. She had a minor role in Infinity Gauntlet #1-6 (1991) and co-starred in Warlock and the Infinity Watch #1-42 (1992-1995). She was also featured in the Infinity War (1992) and Infinity Crusade (1993) crossovers. After appearing in Infinity Abyss #1-6 (2002), Annihilation: Ronan #1-4 (2006), Annihilation #1-6 (2006) and Nova vol. 4 #4-12 (2007-2008), Gamora costarred in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #1-25 (2008-2010). She played a minor role in The Thanos Imperative #1-6 (2010).

The character, along with the other Guardians, appears in Avengers Assemble issues #4-8 (2012). She stars in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3, a part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch,^[1] and in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 4.^{[citation needed]} Parts of her origin story were told in a 2017 series titled Gamora that lasted five issues and were collected into the graphic novel Gamora: Memento Mori (2017).

Fictional character biography[edit]

Gamora is the last of her species, the Zen-Whoberis, who were exterminated by the Badoon (in her original timeline, her species was exterminated by the Universal Church of Truth). Thanos found her as a child and decided to use her as a weapon. Gamora was raised and trained by Thanos to assassinate the Magus, the evil, future version of Adam Warlock. Thanos showed her little kindness during her childhood, but Gamora was very loyal to the man who promised her the opportunity to avenge the death of her family. Gamora became very proficient in martial arts, earning the nickname "The deadliest woman in the whole galaxy". When she was a teenager, Thanos took her on a trip to Tartoonla #7. Gamora disobeyed Thanos's orders, and due to this, came into conflict with a group of thugs. She was greatly outnumbered, and despite her skills, she was defeated and then raped by the assailants. Thanos found her half dead, and in turn, murdered all of her assailants and restored her to health, cybernetically enhancing her to superhuman levels.

As an adult, Gamora was sent as an assassin against the Universal Church of Truth, quickly becoming feared by its agents, the Black Knights. She exacted revenge for the genocide of her race by killing every member of the church involved before the event actually occurred. Gamora met and teamed up with Adam Warlock, who wanted to stop his future, evil self.^[2][3] She even managed to get close to the Magus but failed her assassination in the last second. Together with Warlock, Pip the Troll and Thanos, Gamora fought to escape the Black Knights of the Universal Church of Truth and Magus's Death Squad.^[4][5][6] She was then assigned by Thanos to protect Adam Warlock, but she became suspicious of Thanos's plans, and was then attacked by Drax the Destroyer.^[7]

Eventually the Magus was defeated, but Thanos revealed himself as an even-greater threat. Gamora aided Captain Mar-Vell, Drax, and the Avengers against Thanos. Gamora and Pip tried to prevent Thanos from destroying all life in the universe. Gamora attempted to slay Thanos, but he mortally wounded her, and destroyed Pip's mind.^[8] Adam Warlock found them, and Gamora warned Adam of Thanos's plans, and Adam absorbed their souls into his Soul Gem. When Adam Warlock died as well, his spirit was reunited with that of his friends in "Soulworld" within the Soul Gem.^[9]

Infinity Watch[edit]

Gamora (upper right) on the cover of Warlock and the Infinity Watch #8 (September 1992), with Thanos and Moondragon. Art by Tom Raney and Terry Austin.

Inside the Soul Gem was Soulworld, a place where Gamora, Pip and eventually Adam Warlock himself lived at peace. Other beings who had been absorbed by the Soul Gem, such as Kray-Tor and Autolycus, also lived in peace with former enemies.

Gamora met the Silver Surfer when he traveled to "Soulworld", and also battled Drax the Destroyer.^[10][11]

When Thanos managed to obtain all the Infinity Gems, forming the Infinity Gauntlet, Adam Warlock decided that he must be stopped. Warlock led Gamora and Pip the Troll out of Soulworld into the real world. Their souls took over the bodies of three humans, who had recently died in a car crash. Gamora thus returned to the corporeal world by taking possession of the body of Bambi Long, whose body then began transforming into a duplicate of Gamora's original body. However, Gamora was soon erased from existence by Thanos when he erased half the population in the universe.^[12] When Nebula claimed the Gauntlet from Thanos, Gamora returned to existence.^[13]

Warlock now had the Infinity Gauntlet, giving him near omnipotence. Gamora and Pip persuaded Doctor Strange to help them find and stop Warlock, who was going mad with power.^[14] The Living Tribunal intervened and Warlock divided the Infinity Gems among several guardians, known as the Infinity Watch. Gamora received the Time Gem, but was incapable of consciously using it, though it did give her sporadic precognitive dreams and visions.^[15] Gamora had become romantically interested in Adam, but Adam did not respond to her. In an argument over the Infinity Watch member Maxam, Gamora left the Infinity Watch and the Time Gem behind. She returned to work as a mercenary until Adam Warlock approached her again. They continued to travel together and eventually Adam reciprocated her love. Adam and Gamora remained in a pocket dimension to raise the cosmic being known as Atleza.^[16]

Annihilation[edit]

Gamora later reappears in the pages of Ronan, having left the company of Adam Warlock and settled on the world Godthab Omega as leader of a group of female warriors called The Graces, where her mind has been altered by Glorian. She is intent on re-establishing her reputation as the deadliest woman in the universe and now wields a powerful blade known as Godslayer.^[17][18] At one point, she is seen reclining on a 'throne' made of corpses. She joins the United Front, using her skills to launch quick counterattacks against the Annihilation Wave. She engages in a sexual relationship with the United Front's leader, Nova.^[19]

During the Phalanx's invasion of the Kree home-world following the Annihilation War, Gamora is assimilated as a "select" of the hive mind. They dispatch her to apprehend Nova after he flees the planet.^[20] She's later freed by Nova and the Technarch Tyro, but left in severe distress, longing again for the sense of companionship brought by the Phalanx, and continuing to adopt her Phalanx mannerisms.^[21]

She joins the new Guardians of the Galaxy.^[22]

Gamora was taken prisoner by Magus when he faked the death of himself and several other Guardians.^[23] She was rescued by Star-Lord^[24][25] and played a minor role in the war with the "Cancerverse".^[26][27]

She later appears on Earth to aid the Avengers against Thanos.^[28]

During the Original Sin storyline, Gamora was seen with Moon Knight and Winter Soldier's group when they do their investigation on who murdered Uatu the Watcher.^[29]

Countdown to Infinity[edit]

Later, Gamora was confronted in her dreams by an elderly version of herself who turned out to be a part of her which had remained trapped in the Soul Stone after she left its internal paradise.^[30] This gave Gamora a motivation to recover the Soul Stone at whatever cost.^[31] When the Guardians of the Galaxy found the Power Stone, Gamora pleads with Star-Lord to let her use the Stone so she could get the Soul Stone and recover the piece of her soul trapped in it. Quill refuses and Gamora leaves him with a parting kiss.^[32]

Infinity Wars[edit]

With all six Infinity Stones now accounted for, Doctor Strange calls a meeting of the new Infinity Watch – the holders of the stones, as simultaneous Thanos makes plans to reassemble his Infinity Gauntlet, however he is approached by the mysterious Requiem who quickly kills Thanos, destroys his gauntlet and commands the Chitauri loyal to Thanos to die.^[33] While on Earth, most of the holders of the stones agrees that the Infinity Stones should be taken off-planet, Turk Barrett, who holds the Mind Stone and used it to set himself up with a nice little criminal enterprise in Manhattan, however is not willing to hand it over. This leads to the discovery that Star-Lord is in possession of a fake Power Stone — something even Peter Quill was not aware of — and signals the arrival of Requiem, wielding the true Power Stone in the hilt of her blade. A fight breaks out between the holders of the Stones and Requiem, with Rocket managing to get a shot off right in the new villain's face, destroying her mask and revealing that she is actually Gamora, the deadliest woman in the universe. Its then revealed that when Gamora was denied to use the Power Stone, she swapped out the real Power Stone for the fake. From there, Gamora kidnapped and kills a Nidavellierian dwarf after he crafted her Requiem armor and sword which she then used to kill Thanos before arriving on Earth and interruped the conclave. With her identity revealed she demands the stones, yet when Quill refuses and tries to calm her down, she impales him on her sword.^[34]

Powers and abilities[edit]

Gamora received treatments from Thanos that enhanced her speed, strength, agility, and durability to rival Adam Warlock's (to better slay the Magus, his evil, future self). Thanos also helped her become a formidable hand-to-hand combatant, trained in the martial-arts techniques from various planets, in the uses of the known weaponry of the Milky Way Galaxy, and stealth techniques. She is also a highly-skilled gymnast and assassin, and formerly possessed a telepathic link to Thanos. She uses a wide variety of weaponry, most notably a dagger whose unknown properties made it capable of slaying even beings of such immense power as Thanos and the Magus.

In the pages of Infinity Watch, it is revealed that Gamora had been cybernetically enhanced to have superhuman strength, speed, and a rapid-healing ability.^[35] Gamora's strength and speed were further enhanced by Adam Warlock when they returned from Soulworld.^[36]

Gamora is one of the most-skilled martial artists in the Marvel Universe. She is capable of defeating opponents who possess superhuman strength and durability that far surpass her own, and she has defeated a military platoon containing dozens of combat-trained men in only a few minutes. She has learned to paralyze or kill opponents using vital-point strikes directed at certain nerve clusters. Although skilled in the use of most conventional weapons, she prefers to use knives and swords.

While Gamora was with the Infinity Watch, she possessed the Infinity Gem called the "Time Gem". The gem was mentally linked to her, giving her the potential power to control time. She said that she did not know how to employ its powers and preferred not to use it. While she possessed the Time Gem, Gamora was prone to precognitive dreams and visions, though she had no conscious control over them.

In other media[edit]

Television[edit]

• Gamora was featured in the Silver Surfer animated series, voiced by Mary Long (in earlier episodes),^{[citation needed]} and by Alison Sealy-Smith (subsequently).^{[citation needed]} She was seen in the episodes "Learning Curve: Part Two", "Antibody", and "Radical Justice".


• Gamora appears in the Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon series, voiced by Nika Futterman.^[37] In the episode "Guardians of the Galaxy", she is seen as a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy. In the episode "The Return of the Guardians of the Galaxy", Gamora was seen recuperating on the Guardians of the Galaxy's spaceship when they land on Earth at the time when Titus leads the Chitauri into targeting Nova's helmet. When she recovers in time to help fight Titus's forces, she voiced her disdain that they had to land on Earth. After Titus was defeated and the remaining Chitauri escape, Nick Fury was displeased that Gamora showed up on Earth again when she said that she wouldn't return. Gamora stated 'I lied' and then left with the Guardians of the Galaxy with Titus in their custody.


• Gamora appears in the Avengers Assemble animated series, initially reprised by Nika Futterman (in "Guardians and Spaceknights"),^[37] and later voiced by Laura Bailey (in "Widow's Run").^[37]
  


• Gamora appears in Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. where Nika Futterman reprises her role.^[38] She is seen in the episodes "It's a Wonderful Smash" and "Guardians of the Galaxy".


• Gamora appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Junko Kitanishi.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora appears as one of the lead characters in the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, voiced by Vanessa Marshall.^[39]
  


• Gamora appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat, voiced again by Vanessa Marshall.^{[40][better source needed]}
  

Film[edit]

Zoe Saldana as Gamora in a character poster for the 2014 film Guardians of the Galaxy.

Zoe Saldana portrays Gamora in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014),^[41][42][43]Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017),^[44]Avengers: Infinity War (2018),^[45] and the untitled Avengers sequel (2019).^[45] A younger version of Gamora is played by Ariana Greenblatt in Infinity War.^[46]

In the films, Thanos meets Gamora while he is murdering half the population of her homeworld. He adopts her and raises her to be an assassin. Part of her training is to fight Nebula, another girl adopted by Thanos who Gamora sees as a sister. As an adult, Gamora plans to rebel against Thanos when he sends her to aid Ronan the Accuser, a Kree fanatic who wants to destroy the planet Xandar. She is caught and imprisoned by Xandarian police. In prison, she joins the other Guardians of the Galaxy (Starlord, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, and Groot) in an escape and they save Xandar from Ronan. Because of her heroic action, Gamora is cleared of her previous crimes. When Nebula also rebells against Thanos, the two sister admit their genuine affection for one another. Meanwhile, Starlord and Gamora begin to develop a mutual romantic attraction.^[47] Thanos later abducts and emotionally tortures Gamora because she knows where he can find an Infinity stone. He reveals that he truly saw her as a daughter, but he chooses to kill her to retrieve the stone.

Video games[edit]

• Gamora appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Danielle Nicolet.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora is a playable character in the Facebook game Marvel: Avengers Alliance.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora is a playable character in Marvel Strike Force.


• Gamora is playable in the video game Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes and Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced by Nika Futterman.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora is a playable character in Marvel: Contest of Champions.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora is a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.^{[citation needed]}
  


• Gamora appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, voiced by Emily O'Brien.^[48]
  


• There are two playable versions of Gamora available to recruit in the match-three mobile game Marvel Puzzle Quest. The most recent variant, in the game's four star category, was added to the game in May 2017.^[49]
  


• Gamora appears as a playable character in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite,^[50] with Vanessa Marshall reprising her role.^[51]
  


• Gamora appears as a playable character in Marvel Powers United VR, with Vanessa Marshall reprising her role.^[37]
  

Toys[edit]

• Gamora was featured in The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection in 2012.^[52] Her number in the series is 189.


• A Gamora figure is part of the Marvel Legends line based on the Guardians of the Galaxy movie.


• A comic book version of the character was released with her teammates in a boxed set by Hasbro.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• 
  Gamora at Marvel.com


• 
  Gamora at the Comic Book DB


• 
  Burch, Jeanne; McQuaid, Sean. "Gamora". Women of Marvel Comics (WOMC). Archived from the original on November 5, 2006.