Gamora

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caption =Cover art for "Nova (vol 2)" #6.
Art by Adi Granov.
comic_color = background:#ff8080
character_name =Gamora
real_name = Gamora
publisher = Marvel Comics
species=Zen Whoberi
debut = "Strange Tales" #180 (June, 1975)
creators =Jim Starlin
alliance_color = background:#ffc0c0
alliances =Guardians of the Galaxy Infinity Watch Phalanx
aliases =The Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe, Bambi Long
powers =Superhuman strength and agility
Accelerated healing factor
Skilled martial artist

Gamora is a fictional comic book character in Marvel Comics' shared universe, known as the Marvel Universe. She is the adopted daughter of Thanos and the occasional love interest of Adam Warlock and Nova.

Fictional character biography

Gamora is the last of her species, the Zen Whoberi, who were exterminated by the Badoon (in her original timeline, her species was exterminated by the Universal Church of Truth). Thanos found the child and decided to use her as a weapon. Gamora was raised and trained by Thanos to assassinate the Magus, an evil alternate 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 the martial arts, earning the nickname "The most dangerous woman in the universe". When she was a teenager, Thanos took her on a trip. 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 one of 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 the Truth, quickly becoming feared by its agents, the Black Knights. Gamora met and teamed up with Adam Warlock, who wanted to stop his older version. ["Strange Tales" Vol. 1 #180-181] 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. ["Warlock" #9-11] 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. ["Warlock" #15]

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. ["Captain Marvel" #31-33] 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. [Avengers Annual #7] 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. ["Marvel Two-in-One Annual" #2]

Infinity Watch

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 also met the Silver Surfer when he traveled to "Soulworld", and also battled Drax the Destroyer. ["Silver Surfer" Vol. 3 #46-47]

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. ["Infinity Gauntlet" #1] When Nebula claimed the Gauntlet from Thanos, Gamora returned to existence. ["Infinity Gauntlet" #6]

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. ["Doctor Strange" Vol. 3 #36] 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. ["Warlock and the Infinity Watch" #2] 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 outside the Marvel Universe to raise the cosmic being known as Atleza.

Annihilation

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". At one point, she is seen reclining on a 'throne' made of corpses. She joins the United Front of Nova, using her skills to launch quick counterattacks against the Annihilation Wave. She engages in a sexual relationship with the United Front's leader, Nova.

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. ["Nova" #4, vol. 4] She's later freed by Nova himself, but left in severe distress, longing again for the sense of companionship brought by the Phalanx, and continuing to adopt her Phalanx mannerisms.

Following "Annihilation: Conquest", she joins the new Guardians of the Galaxy. [ [http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=156860 Greeting the Guardians: Drax and Gamora] , Newsarama, May 13, 2008]

Powers and abilities

Gamora received treatments from Thanos that enhanced her speed, strength, stamina, and agility to rival 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 godlike 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 healing factor equal to that of Wolverine. Gamora's strength and speed were further enhanced by Adam Warlock when they returned from Soulworld.

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 responded to her mental commands and thereby enabled her to exercise an apparently unlimited control over time. She said that she did not known 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.

Notes

References

*comicbookdb|type=character|id=601|title=Gamora

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/2855/gamora.html The Women of Marvel Comics Gamora Page]