The deadliest woman in the galaxy. Daughter of Thanos. Guardian of the Galaxy. Gamora has had many titles in her life and she’s earned them all through hard work. She’s a lean, mean, fighting machine. How did Gamora become this cosmic powerhouse? Let’s find out!
Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan was once part of the Zen Whoberi race, but they were wiped out of existence, leaving her the sole surviving member. Some say her people were wiped out by the Badoon or the Church of Truth, what matters is what came next, Gamora was found by Thanos and adopted by him. He’d train her and raise her believing that the man who was a tyrant to most of the galaxy, as a good man. She would be train in every possible form of combat, when she lost, she’d be augmented with cybernetics. Train, fight, if a lost is experienced, then Thanos would come in to “save her” and then have her surgically enhanced with cybernetics, and then repeat. Gamora experienced years of agony and trickery to become Thanos’ greatest warrior.
Years would go by before Gamora would see the truth of her father. She’d be sent on a mission to gain vengeance for her people and to kill the Magus, one of Thanos’ great enemies. Gamora would find herself teaming up with Adam Warlock to survive and it was with him that she’d discover that upon the defeat of the Magnus, her father’s true intentions. Along with the Avengers, Drax the Destroyer and Captain Mar-Vell, she’d attempt to stop her father but they were entirely outmatched. Near death, she’d warn Adam Warlock of Thanos’ plans, she’d have died if Warlock had now used the Soul Gem of the Infinity Stones to keep her in a state that could revive her later.
Living peacefully within the Soul Gem’s Soulworld, she’d eventually see that her father had obtained the Infinity Gauntlet along with all of the Infinity Gems to allow him to rule the universe. She’d break free of the Soul Gem to posses the body of a recently deceased human, the body would begin to transform into Gamora’s old body so that she was fully alive once more. This resurrection was short-lived as Thanos would use the Gauntlet to erase half of the living beings in existence, Gamora included. It’d take Nebula, Gamora’s sister since she too was a creation of Thanos, to get a hold of the Gauntlet to restore what Thanos had destroyed with it.
When all was said and done, Gamora would join a task force who were to protect the Infinity Gems from anyone who would abuse them, Infinity Watch. Given possession of the Time Gem, which was mostly dormant, and worked with her team on Monster Island. Quite the life. Eventually the Magus would return and threaten reality, such a threat would actually bring Thanos and Gamora to work together, even making a reconnection with one another.
Occasionally, the Time Gem would activate and grant Gamora visions through time. These would lead her to see the death of Adam Warlock and her efforts to stop this from happening would cause her to distance herself from him out of anger. Leaving the Watch, she’d eventually find her way to mercenary work and assassin jobs. She’d find her father once more but discover that he had cloned himself several times over and they had been unleashed with the intent to destroy everything and we’re programmed to do so by using Adam Warlock.
The hunt would bring her closer to the heroes of Earth so that when the hunt was over, she’d begin interacting with more humans. She’d train the She-Hulk in combat to stop the Champion of the Universe and was the one to realize training She-Hulk in her human form would then increase her Hulk form’s strength. The Annihilation War and the Phalanx Invasion were two cosmic events that occurred one after the other where Gamora would begin a relationship with the last Nova, Richard Ryder, and get merged with a techno planet for a brief time.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were formed to be a team ready for such cosmic threats to the galaxy instead of having to form up every time something apocalyptic happened. Here she would meet life long friends and allies. This team was far larger than it would become but she’d still find her way on the team. Starting off slightly distant but becoming an integral member. What members survived their deadly trip to the cancerverse, a world where nothing ever dies for good or ill, would decide to stick together as the Guardians team many know today. To better connect with the Avengers, the Guardians began taking on a rotation of teammates so Gamora would meet and befriend all manner of heroes who she’d only ever had an interaction with maybe briefly before.
Gamora would be granted great power by the Black Vortex, a dangerous phenomenon that would give such power to any who were willing, most heroes turned away from it but Gamora saw the potential use and did not hesitate. She’d leave the team, seeing that her decision upset them greatly. Searching for Thanos became a goal for her but she wouldn’t be able to do so and end up using up all her new power in her search. She’d return to the Guardians before being called in by friend and former teammate, Captain Marvel into the second superhero civil war. She’d aid in fighting those who opposed Captain Marvel’s use of a Inhuman with strong foresight to arrest those before they could commit their crimes. Betrayed by Marvel when she’d learn that she’d been secretly holding Thanos prisoner and was not told, Gamora began her best to break in to get Thanos. He’d break free before she could get to him and by the time she got to his cell, she’d wind up locked up in it. Released to fight against her father who had now returned in full force to attack, she’d have the ability to kill her defeated father but spared him. Reuniting with the Guardians, she would help lead them on a quest for the Soul Gem as the need for the Infinity Gems was growing near.
There you have it! Gamora has become a household name thanks to the very popular Guardians of the Galaxy films. She’s even an animated face in an animated series. She’s one of what feels like a thousand characters in the Avengers: Infinity War film and so we don’t know what’s next for Gamora on the big screen nor the comics page, guess we’ll have to stick around to find out! See you next time!
Suggested Reading
Strange Tales #180
Guardians of the Galaxy
Warlock
Nova, Vol. 4
Warlock and the Infinity Watch
All-New Guardians of the Galaxy
Gamora
Dr. Bustos
drbustos@comicattack.net
