Gamora is a member of the Guardians of the Galaxy in Marvel Comics and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is one of the deadliest warriors and hunters in the known universe, having been trained in combat since childhood by the warlord Thanos. Though she initially served Thanos as his elite assassin, she would find herself joining forces with Peter Quill and a rag-tag band of misfits after escaping together from an interstellar prison. She is portrayed by Zoe Saldana.
Biography[]
Early life[]
During her early childhood, Gamora's home planet was invaded and conquered by Thanos. Half of her race, the Zehoberei, were slaughtered in accordance with Thanos' philosophy of population balance. Thanos took a special interest in the young Gamora after witnessing her free herself from the grasp of one of his Chitauri soldiers. He took her aside and taught her his beliefs on balance by symbolizing it by balancing a knife on his finger. He held her attention while his Chitauri army killed half of the planet's people, including Gamora's parents.
Thanos would adopt Gamora as his own daughter and teach her in the ways of warfare and assassination. As she grew up, she was taught many styles of killing and was augmented with cybernetic implants in order to make her the ultimate living weapon. She was also trained by Ronan the Accuser alongside Korath and Nebula. Unlike the rest of Thanos' adopted children in the Black Order, Gamora and Nebula actually did consider each other sisters and both shared great enmity towards Thanos for destroying their childhoods.
Despite their closeness, Thanos had Nebula and Gamora regularly spar against each other with Gamora winning every match. In response, Thanos would 'upgrade' Nebula every time she lost against Gamora in order for her to "be her equal." The consistent and brutal "upgrades" caused Nebula to grow to resent her sister. Over the years, Gamora became Thanos' favorite child and considered the future heir to his throne, which only strengthened the growing wedge in her relationship with Nebula and in time, Gamora built up the reputation as the "deadliest woman in the galaxy" and became well known throughout the cosmos.
Guardians of the Galaxy[]
In 2014, Gamora and Nebula had been assigned by their "father" to aid Ronan the Accuser in acquiring the Orb, an artifact which contained one of the six Infinity Stones. By this point, Gamora's tolerance of Thanos had reached its limit and she was prepared to abandon him, intending on taking the Orb with her. Korath would arrive aboard the Dark Aster to report his failure in obtaining the Orb on Morag, stating that it had been stolen by the interstellar rogue known as Star-Lord. Gamora was dispatched to find Star-Lord and take the Orb from him. However, as she was about to leave aboard a Necrocraft, she killed the attachment of Sakaaran guards that were to accompany her.
Arriving on Xandar, Gamora sought out the Broker, expecting Star-Lord to turn up there to try and sell off the Orb. Outside the Broker's shop, she encountered Peter Quill who appeared to be furious. Asking him what was wrong, Gamora listened to Quill rant about the Broker going back on their deal, but then he introduced himself to her as "Star-Lord". Realizing that this was the man she was looking for, Gamora then attacked Quill and stole the Orb from him. As she fled, Quill pursued her, but he, in turn, was also being pursued by the bounty hunters Rocket Raccoon and Groot who discovered him as he was chasing Gamora. As the four fought in the middle of the street, the Nova Corps arrived and place them all under arrest.
Gamora, Quill, Rocket and Groot were shipped off-world to the Kyln, a deep-space prison. Having earned herself a reputation as a merciless killer while working for Thanos, Gamora was greeted with much hostility by the other inmates. That night, a guard allowed several prisoners into Gamora's cell so they could murder her, but they were stopped by Drax the Destroyer. Drax claimed that he only saved Gamora so that he could kill her himself, believing her to be family to Thanos and Ronan. Gamora told him that she was no longer associated with Ronan and that she was Drax's only hope of having revenge against him for the murder of his family.
The next day, Rocket Raccoon came up with a plan to get them out of the prison, which involved stealing an inmate's false leg, a guard's security band, and a Quardrix battery. Groot accidentally started their escape early and Gamora focused her efforts on getting the guard's armband. She quickly found the guard who almost allowed Moloka Dar to murder her and ripped it from his arm as the two exchanged words with each other. With the armband ready, Gamora rejoined the rest of the group in the prison's control terminal, she found that they had been joined by Drax who wished to stay with her until they found Ronan the Accuser. At first, Gamora furiously inquired the others as to why Drax was with them, only to be dismissed. However, several Nova guards defending the prison attempted to shoot at the control terminal in hopes of eliminating the five. However, the criminals completed their escape when Rocket turned off the anti-gravity in the prison and flew the prison terminal outside. As Gamora looked in surprise and shock at the success of Rocket's plan, they then fled the Kyln to the Milano. However, Quill insisted upon staying behind to collect his Walkman, which was stolen from him the day he arrived at the prison. As a sign of trust, he left the Orb with Gamora and the other former criminals as they waited in his ship for him to retrieve his taken belongings.
The group waited for Quill while flying outside of the prison, however, Rocket insisted that they leave without him. Gamora refused when she realized that Quill had not in fact given her the Orb, but kept it with him. Rocket continued to demand they leave before their ship was shot out of space by the Nova Corps, whom he surmised were alerted to the Kyln. However, Gamora insisted that they not leave without the Orb. Quill emerged a few minutes later, flying across space and onto the ship. He gave Gamora the real Orb before informing Drax that he had left to collect his Walkman, which resulted in Drax calling Quill an imbecile. As they headed to Knowhere to meet Gamora's buyer, Star-Lord interrogated Gamora about what was inside the Orb and why it was coveted by so many parties including Ronan before he offered her his theory that it contained a powerful weapon. Although Gamora knew that it contained the Power Stone, she claimed not to know what it truly was as she did not trust him or the others.
Together with Quill and the other escapees, Gamora travels to Knowhere where they meet with Tanaleer Tivan - the Collector - who opens the Orb to reveal the Power Stone inside. The Collector's slave Carina grabs the Stone, triggering an explosion that engulfs Tivan's archive. While the group survive the explosion, they are discovered by Ronan and Nebula who manage to take the Stone. Gamora is left drifting in open space following a confrontation with Nebula, but survives when she and Quill are picked up by Yondu Udonta and the Ravagers.
Though the Ravagers want revenge on Quill for betraying them, Quill and Gamora are able to broker a truce with the group. Knowing that Ronan will use the Power Stone to destroy Xandar, they agree to combine forces in an effort to stop Ronan from carrying out his genocidal plan. The Ravagers and Quill's group join with the Nova Corps to confront the Dark Aster at Xandar, with Quill's group breaching the Dark Aster with the Milano. Ronan uses his empowered warhammer to destroy the Nova Corps fleet. Drax kills Korath and Gamora defeats Nebula, who escapes, but the group finds themselves outmatched by Ronan's power until Rocket crashes a Ravager ship through the Dark Aster. The damaged Dark Aster crash-lands on Xandar, with Groot sacrificing himself to shield the group. Ronan emerges from the wreck and prepares to destroy Xandar, but Quill distracts him, allowing Drax and Rocket to destroy Ronan's warhammer. Quill grabs the freed Stone, and with Gamora, Drax, and Rocket sharing its burden, uses it to vaporize Ronan. After saving Xandar, Quill and his new friends - now calling themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy - are congratulated by the Nova Corps and their criminal records are expunged.
Guardians of the Galaxy - Vol. 2[]
Some years after the Battle of Xandar, the Guardians of the Galaxy had made a name for themselves as interstellar heroes for hire. After slaying the Abilisk that was terrorizing the Sovereign and eating their Anulax Batteries, they met with the high priestess Ayesha to recieve their reward. As well as their due payment, Ayesha also presented Gamora with Nebula, who had been captured whilst trying to steal Anulax Batteries for herself. The Guardians took Nebula with them, intent on collecting the bounty put on her head by the Xandarans.
As the Guardians left Sovereign aboard the Milano, they were pursued by a swarm of Omnicraft. Apparently, Rocket had insulted the Sovereign and had stolen a pair of Anulax Batteries. While the heroes managed to escape with their lives, the Milano suffered heavy damage and was forced to crash-land on the planet Berhert. Not long after the crash, the Guardians witnessed an unknown spacecraft land near their position. Emerging from the craft was Ego and his assistant Mantis. Ego introduced himself to the Guardians and revealed that he was Quill's biological father, offering the Guardians the opportunity to visit his planet and to explain Quill's heritage. Gamora expressed her distrust of Ego with Quill, who agreed, but wanted to know more about his parentage. Gamora ceded to the idea of going to Ego's planet, stating that they could always kill him if he turned out to be evil.
Gamora and Drax joined Quill as he boarded Ego's ship to travel to his planet, leaving Rocket, Baby Groot and Nebula behind to repair the Milano. After arriving at Ego's planet, Gamora was quick to ask Ego questions, such as what species he was and how he knew that Quill was his son. Ego revealed that he was a Celestial, a god-like being that had created the very world that they stood upon. Though Ego answered all questions honestly, Gamora remained suspicious of him and warned Quill that he was hiding something. Quill seemed to take offence to this and said that Gamora was jealous of his "half-god" status, prompting her into storming off.
While meditating in an open field, Gamora was disturbed as an M-Ship piloted by Nebula came crashing down towards her. Gamora fled into a series of caverns as Nebula pursued her, determined to finally kill her. However, the M-Ship crashed and Gamora pulled Nebula from the craft, saving her life before the vessel exploded. Nebula then lunged at Gamora and attacked her furiously, beating her to the ground. She was about to land a killing blow when she suddenly stopped, dropping her weapon and declaring that she had finally bested her "sister" in combat. Gamora was quick to remind Nebula that this victory didn't count as she had pulled her from her exploding ship and saved her life. Nebula was angry, but she admitted to Gamora that in all the time they had served under Thanos, she had only ever wanted to be a sister to her and that despite their differences and the circumstances of their upbringing, Gamora was the closest thing to family she had.
Having made an uneasy truce, Gamora and Nebula ventured deeper into the cavern. They came across an enormous pile of bones, which confirmed Gamora's suspicions about Ego. She and Nebula made their way back to Ego's palace where they confronted Mantis, demanding she tell them about Ego's intentions for Quill. The empathic Mantis touched Gamora, causing her fear to elevate higher. She, Nebula, Mantis and Drax then devised a plan to save Quill. The four went to save Quill who was being attacked by Ego before a ship piloted by Yondu Udonta and Rocket Raccoon landed on top of him. Gamora brought Quill on board the ship, revealing her findings and the Guardians prepared to leave. Quill refused, saying they had to kill Ego and began piloting the ship to the planet's core. Gamora, Drax and Mantis were thrown from the ship when a fleet of Omnicrafts sent by Sovereign attacked and Mantis was forced to subdue Ego by putting him to sleep when he found them.
Gamora was visibly distressed when she thought Quill had been killed in the craft's explosion and was relieved when he, as well as Nebula and Yondu, was revealed to be alive. After Mantis was knocked unconscious and Ego began to attack, she and Nebula fell from the crumbling ledge. Gamora was saved by her sister and the two began to climb back to the top to return to the fight before being suffocated by the organic matter Ego created to subdue them. When Quill took control, both sisters survived and made their way to the ship piloted by Kraglin Obfonteri on the surface. She refused to leave Quill behind but was tasered by Rocket to stop her from being killed in the explosion of the planet. Eventually, Ego was killed when Groot and Rocket set off a bomb in the centre of the planet, and thanks to Yondu's sacrifice, Quill escaped and reunited with Gamora and the others. Following the battle, while attending Yondu's funeral, Gamora hinted that she reciprocated Quill's feelings for her.
Avengers: Infinity War[]
In 2018, the Guardians of the Galaxy responded to a distress call coming from the transport vessel Statesman. When they arrived at the signal's coordinates, they found that the vessel had been destroyed, its Asgardian passengers killed and their bodies left to float in space. However, Thor was still alive and was brought aboard the Benatar. Thor introduced himself to the Guardians and told them what had happened, how Thanos had attacked their ship in search of the Tesseract, which was actually a vessel for the Space Stone. He knew that the Reality Stone was in the possession of the Collector, so he suggested heading to Knowhere to retrieve it before Thanos got to it. The group decided to split up, with Quill, Gamora, Drax and Mantis heading to Knowhere while Rocket and Groot accompanied Thor to Nedavellir to forge a new weapon that Thor could use to kill Thanos.
As Quill, Gamora, Mantis and Drax arrived at Knowhere, Gamora took Quill aside and told him to kill her in the event that Thanos captured her. She knew something that Thanos could never know, but did not tell Quill what this secret was as him knowing would put him in danger as well. When they arrived at the Collector's museum, Thanos was in the middle of questioning the Collector. Drax loudly proclaimed that he was prepared to kill Thanos, but Mantis put him to sleep. Having lost the element of surprise, Gamora then attacked Thanos and managed to stab him through the neck with her sword Godslayer. However, the Thanos she had stabbed turned out to be an illusion; the real Thanos already had the Reality Stone and had used its power to stage the whole event. Knowhere had already been reduced to flaming ruins and Thanos now had Gamora in his possession as well, grabbing her. Star-Lord threatened to shoot Thanos if he didn't release her, but Gamora reminded him that he was to shoot her if she were captured. Telling Gamora that he loved her, Star-Lord tearfully pulled the trigger one his quad blaster, but Thanos used the Reality Stone to make harmless bubbles shoot out of it. He then used the Space Stone to open a portal and stepped through, taking Gamora with him.
Aboard the Sanctuary II, Thanos attempted to reconnect with his wayward daughter, but Gamora made it clear that she harboured nothing but hatred for the man who had slaughtered half of her race and raised her to be a living weapon. Thanos had taken her because she knew the location of the Soul Stone, but Gamora claimed otherwise and had previously destroyed the map that led to its location. However, Thanos had other means of acquiring the information he sought, revealing to Gamora that he had captured Nebula some time prior to her departure from the Benatar after the battle against Ego. Nebula was held in a suspension field, her cybernetic implants being pulled from her body. Thanos accessed Nebula's memory and a hologram was projected from her eye, revealing that Gamora had burned the map leading to the Soul Stone's location. He continued torturing Nebula until Gamora finally relented, revealing that the Stone was on the planet Vormir.
After arriving on Vormir, Thanos and Gamora were greeted by the Red Skull, the guardian of the Soul Stone. He knew their identities and led them to a cliff, stating that what Thanos sought was in front of him. However, acquiring the Stone would come at a price: to claim the Stone, Thanos would have to sacrifice someone he loved. At this, Gamora emptied all of the resentment she held for Thanos in one single outburst, gloating that the Soul Stone was forever beyond his reach since he did not love anyone in the universe other than himself. However, Thanos turned to face Gamora with tears flowing down his face, not because the prize he sought was out of reach, but because he truly loved Gamora and would have to sacrifice her in order to obtain the Stone. As soon as she realized this, Gamora tried to kill herself to deny Thanos, but the Mad Titan used the Reality Stone to turn her knife to bubbles. He then grabbed Gamora with one large hand, still weeping as he dragged her over to the cliff. He tearfully apologized to Gamora before throwing her off the cliff to her death. Thanos lost consciousness for a moment, and when he awoke, the Soul Stone was in his hand.
Alternate Timeline[]
In Avengers: Endgame, the heroes who survived Thanos' Snap devised a means of safely travelling back in time in order to obtain the Infinity Stones and undo the effects of the Snap. The way this worked was that the past timelines that the Avengers travelled to were actually alternate timelines accessed via the Quantum Realm, thus whatever they did in those timelines would have no effect on their present.
When Nebula and War Machine travelled back to an alternate 2014, a link was established between the 2023 Nebula and the 2014 Nebula. While Thanos took advantage of this link to learn that his future self succeeded with his plan, the past version of Gamora also saw the transmission and would turn on her "father" during his final battle with the Avengers on Earth. She survived the final battle while Thanos and his army were wiped out, but she then silently departed. After Tony Stark's funeral, the Guardians of the Galaxy, now joined by Thor and Nebula, took off in order to find Gamora.