Gamora is a 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 superhero group known as the Infinity Watch. The character played a role in the 2007 crossover storyline "Annihilation: Conquest", becoming a member of the titular team in its spin-off comic, Guardians of the Galaxy, before becoming the supervillain Requiem in the 2018 crossover storylines "Infinity Countdown" and "Infinity Wars".

Gamora has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise. Zoe Saldaña played the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), additionally portraying a version of the character from an alternate timeline in Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023). Ariana Greenblatt portrayed a young Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War.

Creation

Jim Starlin commented on the character's creation stating, "She's the straight man for the Pips and the Draxes and the what have you, which doesn't make her the most interesting character, but makes her essential to get the rest of the story moving. So I always treated her as such. I had one story in particular, one Infinity Watch story, where she tries to show everyone how much of an adult she is by dealing with these U.N. soldiers who eventually piss her off, and she wrecks everything, disproving her point entirely. But most of the time she's the solid one, the one that brings everyone back to the reality they should be at. I've always used her as a supporting character. She was created as a supporting character. I have a limit on how much work I can do, so I never shot off on thinking about solo adventures with her. Even when she wasn't in a group, she was always a supporting character for Adam Warlock. I'm sure I could find those hooks that would make a solo story, I've just never done it. She probably works either way, but I've only ever used her one way."

Publication history

The character debuted in Strange Tales #180 (1975), and was created by Jim Starlin. She returned in issue #181, Warlock #9, 10, 11 and 15 (1975-1976), and in the 1977 annuals for The Avengers and Marvel Two-in-One. In 1990, she returned in Silver Surfer vol. 3 #46-47. She had a minor role in The 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), Annihilation: Conquest #6 (2008) 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, and in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 4. 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). While being set on Earth-616, it retcons some elements of the established continuity to match the film version.

Fictional character biography

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 occurred. Gamora met and teamed up with Adam Warlock, who wanted to stop his future, evil self.

Gamora was taken prisoner by Magus when he faked the death of himself and several other Guardians. This gave Gamora a motivation to recover the Soul Stone at whatever cost. When the Guardians of the Galaxy find 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 within it. Quill refuses and Gamora leaves him with a parting kiss.

Infinity Wars

After experiencing reoccurring dreams concerning encounters with an older version of herself, Gamora realizes that a portion of her soul is trapped inside the Soul World. After obtaining the Infinity Gems, Gamora takes the name "Requiem" and kills Thanos before using the Gems to fuse every being in the universe in pairs to appease Devondra, a spider-like entity who lives in Soul World. Ultimately, Gamora is defeated and sent to another planet alongside a resurrected Magus, while the merged universe is preserved as a pocket dimension inside the Soul Gem.

Powers and abilities

Gamora received treatments from Thanos that enhanced her speed, strength, agility, and durability to rival Adam Warlock. 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 killing 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.

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. Later, despite no longer possessing the gem, she was claimed to retain some measure of this capability at the time of the Phalanx conquest.

Reception

Accolades

  • In 2018, Comic Book Resources (CBR) ranked Gamora 18th in their "25 Most Powerful Guardians Of The Galaxy" list and 19th in their "20 Guardians Of The Galaxy Members Ranked From Weakest To Strongest" list.
  • In 2019, Daily Mirror ranked Gamora 13th in their "Best female superheroes of all time" list.
  • In 2019, CBR ranked Gamora 1st in their "10 Daughters Of Marvel Supervillains That Are More Dangerous Than Their Parents" list.
  • In 2020, Scary Mommy ranked Gamora 3rd in their "Looking For A Role Model? These 195+ Marvel Female Characters Are Truly Heroic" list.
  • In 2020, CBR ranked Gamora 2nd in their "15 Strongest Swordfighters In Marvel Comics" list
  • In 2021, CBR ranked Gamora 18th in their "20 Strongest Female Superheroes" list.
  • In 2022, The A.V. Club ranked Gamora 31st in their "100 best Marvel characters" list.
  • In 2022, CBR ranked Gamora 5th in their "10 Best Cosmic Heroes in Marvel Comics" list.

In other media

Television

thumb|264x264px|Gamora as she appears in the animated series Guardians of the Galaxy.

  • Gamora appears in Silver Surfer, voiced initially by Mary Long and later by Alison Sealy-Smith.
  • Gamora appears in Ultimate Spider-Man, voiced by Nika Futterman. This version is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
  • Gamora appears in Avengers Assemble, voiced again by Nika Futterman in "Guardians and Spaceknights" and by Laura Bailey in "Widow's Run". This version is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy.
  • Gamora appears in Marvel Disk Wars: The Avengers, voiced by Masato Funaki.
  • Gamora appears in Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Vanessa Marshall. Similar to the MCU incarnation, this version is a member of the titular team whose race was previously slaughtered by Thanos. Gamora was taken in by Thanos before eventually rebelling to prevent him from obtaining the Cosmic Seed.
  • Gamora appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes - Guardians of the Galaxy: The Thanos Threat, voiced again by Vanessa Marshall. and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Furthermore, Saldaña also portrays an alternate timeline version of Gamora in the live-action film Avengers: Endgame (2019) and reprised the role in the 2023 film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Additionally, Ariana Greenblatt portrays a young Gamora in Infinity War while Cynthia McWilliams voices an alternate timeline variant in the Disney+ animated series What If...?.
  • Gamora appears in Lego Marvel Super Heroes, voiced by Danielle Nicolet.
  • Gamora appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity 2.0, voiced again by Nika Futterman.
  • Gamora appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.
  • Gamora appears as a playable character in Marvel: Future Fight.
  • Gamora appears as a playable character in Disney Infinity 3.0, voiced again by Nika Futterman.
  • Gamora appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series, voiced by Emily O'Brien. voiced again by Vanessa Marshall.
  • Gamora appears in Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Kimberly-Sue Murray.

Merchandise

  • Gamora received a figure in "The Classic Marvel Figurine Collection" in 2012.

Collected editions

{| class="wikitable"

|+

!Title

!Material Collected

!Publication Date

!ISBN

|-

|Gamora: Guardian of the Galaxy

|Strange Tales (vol. 1) #180-181; Warlock (vol. 1) #9-11, #15; Avengers Annual (vol. 1) #7 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #2

|September 21, 2016

|

|-

|Gamora: Memento Mori

|Gamora #1-5

|July 5, 2017

|

|}

Notes

References

</references>

  • Gamora at Marvel.com