| Gamora | |
|---|---|
| Marvel Cinematic Universe character | |
 Zoe Saldaña as Gamora inAvengers: Infinity War (2018) | |
| First appearance |
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| Last appearance |
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| Based on | Gamora byJim Starlin |
| Adapted by | |
| Portrayed by |
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| Voiced by | Cynthia McWilliams (What If...?)[2] |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Gamora |
| Species | Zehoberei[3] |
| Title | The Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy |
| Occupation | |
| Affiliation | |
| Weapon |
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| Family |
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| Significantother | Peter Quill[c] |
Gamora is a fictional character portrayed primarily byZoe Saldaña in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)media franchise, based on theMarvel Comics characterof the same name. Gamora is depicted as a member of theGuardians of the Galaxy, having escaped her previous life as an assassin after she was forcibly adopted byThanos after he murdered half of her people, including her mother. For the next twenty years, she served Thanos as a cybernetically enhanced warrior until betraying him to join the Guardians.[5]
Over time she becomes romantically involved withPeter Quill, and develops a positive relationship with her adopted sisterNebula despite their rivalrous upbringing. She is eventually killed by Thanos when he sacrifices her to obtain theSoul Stone.
When theAvengers usetime travel in an effort to undoThanos' actions, an alternate 2014-Gamora accompanies 2014-Thanos to confront the Avengers in 2023 after he hijacks their technology. However, she switches sides and joins the fight against her father. She joins theRavagers and allies with the Guardians of the Galaxy in their fight against theHigh Evolutionary, while rebuffing Quill's efforts to reboot a relationship between them.
As of 2024[update], Gamora has appeared in five films in the MCU. The character and Saldaña's portrayal have been met with positive reception.Alternate versions of Gamora from within the MCUmultiverse appear inAvengers: Endgame (2019),Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023), and in the animated seriesWhat If...? (2021). One version, voiced byCynthia McWilliams, usurped Thanos's warlord position and is recruited into theGuardians of the Multiverse by theWatcher to help defeat an alternate version ofUltron.
Gamora debuted as a comic book character inStrange Tales #180 (1975), and was created byJim Starlin. She returned in issue #181,Warlock vol. 1 #9, 10, 11 and 15 (1975–1976), and in the 1977 annuals forAvengers andMarvel Two-in-One. In 1990, she returned inSilver Surfer vol. 3 #46–47. She had a minor role inInfinity Gauntlet #1–6 (1991) and co-starred inWarlock and the Infinity Watch #1–42 (1992–1995). She was also featured in theInfinity War (1992) andInfinity Crusade (1993) crossovers. After appearing inInfinity Abyss #1–6 (2002),Annihilation:Ronan #1–4 (2006),Annihilation #1–6 (2006),Annihilation: Conquest #6 (2008) andNova vol. 4 #4–12 (2007–2008), Gamora costarred inGuardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 #1–25 (2008–2010).
Marvel Studios PresidentKevin Feige first mentionedGuardians of the Galaxy as a potential film at the 2010San Diego Comic-Con, stating, "There are some obscure titles, too, likeGuardians of the Galaxy. I think they've been revamped recently in a fun way in the [comic] book."[6] Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue ofEntertainment Weekly, saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, whichThor sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of theMarvel Cinematic Universe. Feige added, should the film be made, it would feature an ensemble of characters, similar toX-Men andThe Avengers.[7] Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014. He said the film's titular team would consist of the charactersStar-Lord, Gamora,Drax the Destroyer,Groot, andRocket.[8]
In early April 2013,Zoe Saldaña entered into negotiations to star as Gamora in the film, and it was confirmed she had been cast later that month.[9][10]Amanda Seyfried had been offered the role, but declined due to the excessive hours of make-up required for the role, and her uncertainty over the film's commercial viability.[11]
As a child, Gamora's homeworld was invaded byThanos, whose forces killed half the population, including her parents. Gamora confronted him, and out of admiration for her courage, he adopted her as his daughter. She was trained as an assassin, and raised alongsideNebula, whom she was often pitted against in fights, in which Gamora always won.
Gamora plans to rebel against Thanos when he sends her to aidRonan the Accuser, aKree fanatic who wants to destroy the planetXandar. She travels to Xandar to retrieve anInfinity Stone that has been acquired byPeter Quill in order to sell it for enough money to afford to live the rest of her life. Due to the interference of bounty huntersRocket andGroot, she is instead captured by Xandar's law enforcement, theNova Corps, and sent to a space prison called theKyln, along with Quill, Rocket and Groot. There, she is threatened byDrax the Destroyer, whose family was killed by Ronan under the command of Thanos, but Drax spares her life when Quill assures him that her presence will draw Ronan to them. Gamora joins Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Drax in escaping the prison. The group form theGuardians of the Galaxy and travel toKnowhere, where Gamora meets with theCollector. After being attacked by Nebula, Gamora and the Guardians are able to save Xandar from Ronan. Because of her heroic actions, Gamora is cleared of her previous crimes.
Some months later, Gamora and the Guardians are hired by the Sovereign to fight off an alien attacking their valuable batteries, in exchange for a captured Nebula. After they leave, they are chased by the Sovereign's fleet after Rocket reveals that he stole some of the batteries. Crash landing on a planet, they meet Quill's father,Ego. Gamora, Quill, and Drax decide to go with Ego to his planet, while Rocket, Groot, and Nebula stay behind. On Ego's planet, they meet Ego's assistantMantis, and Gamora and Quill begin a romantic relationship. While exploring the planet, Gamora is attacked by an escaped Nebula. After Gamora saves Nebula from her burning spaceship, the two sisters reconcile. They meet up with the Guardians and find out about Ego's true evil plans. She and Nebula then help each other get to safety while escaping the planet, and once in space, she and Nebula say their goodbyes, after Nebula tells her that she's going after Thanos.[12]
Four years later, Gamora and the Guardians respond to a distress signal in space and end up rescuingThor from his destroyed spacecraft, thereby learning about Thanos's quest to obtain the Infinity Stones. Gamora grimly tells Quill that she knows something Thanos does not and asks him to kill her if needed. On Knowhere, Gamora, Quill, Mantis, and Drax see Thanos, and Gamora immediately attacks him, seemingly killing him. However, Thanos reveals himself, showing her that Knowhere is destroyed and that he already has theReality Stone. After a failed attempt to kill her by Quill, Thanos kidnaps her and takes her upon his spaceship. He shows her a captured and tortured Nebula to emotionally manipulate Gamora into revealing the location of theSoul Stone. Thanos and Gamora go to the planetVormir where they are met by theRed Skull who tells them that to obtain the Soul Stone, one must sacrifice what they love. Thanos admits that he truly loves Gamora as his daughter, and tearfully throws her off the cliff to her death. When Thanos later uses the completedInfinity Gauntlet, he briefly reunites with a younger Gamora inside theSoul World.
In an alternate 2014, Gamora andNebula engage in a fight against Korbintes on Korbin before being summoned byThanos, who orders them to assistRonan in obtaining thePower Stone. Before they can leave, however, Nebula begins to malfunction due to the presence of her main counterpart. After capturing Earth-616 Nebula, Thanos analyzes her memories and learns about his deceased counterpart'svictory. Gamora is then brought through theQuantum Realm to the Earth-616 universe and is recruited by the other Nebula to join her side. They find Nebula andClint Barton in the destroyedAvengers Compound and try to convince her to abandon Thanos. However, she refuses, and is killed by the other Nebula. Gamora then joins in participating inthe battle. During the battle, Gamora encounters Quill, but she rejects him. After the battle is over, she leaves the battlefield.
Gamora then joins theRavagers. In 2026, she and the Ravagers arrive on the Guardians of the Galaxy's new ship after getting a call from Nebula and she is dispatched to help them infiltrate theHigh Evolutionary's Orgosphere to retrieve Rocket's file. Barely escaping Orgosphere, the team next visitsCounter-Earth against Gamora's advice, who angrily bails out on them after calling out not only the Guardians, as a whole for them constantly making up separate plans because they feel like it, but Quill for his need to make her like her alternate counterpart. The empress of the Sovereign,Ayesha, and her superpowered creationAdam, intercept a communication from Gamora via a Ravager that Adam killed during an interrogation and follow her coordinates to Counter-Earth. As the other Guardians end up on the High Evolutionary's ship, Gamora stays with Rocket, but is attacked by a pig warrior sent by the High Evolutionary, who, herself, is killed when Adam arrives looking for Rocket. Gamora overpowers Warlock and launches the Guardians' ship. Quill and Groot successfully defeat the High Evolutionary's men and capture Orgonian scientist Theel, jumping off with him and retrieving his memory before Gamora rescues them. Gamora then helps Quill to deactivate the kill switch and save Rocket. After a battle in which the High Evolutionary is defeated, and making peace with Quill, who finally accepts that she is not the same Gamora, she returns to the Ravagers.
Severalalternate versions of Gamora appear in the animated seriesWhat If...?, in which she is voiced byCynthia McWilliams.[2]
In an alternate 2012, Gamora is sent by Thanos to killTony Stark due to his destroying the Chitauri mothership. She locates him onSakaar, but gets imprisoned byTopaz. Gamora manages to escape, but gets caught again and forced to take part in theGrandmaster's racing tournament. There she is met by Stark, who places a communicator in her car so they can talk. He convinces her to make her own decisions free from her father's control and Gamora saves Stark from two of the Grandmaster's creatures, sacrificing her own chances of winning the race in the process. After Stark wins the race and Grandmaster is reduced to a sentient puddle, Gamora takes Stark to the Sanctuary where she uses Topaz's staff to kill Thanos.[d]
She and Stark then travel toNidavellir in order to destroy theInfinity Gauntlet. While there, she is recruited by theWatcher to join theGuardians of the Multiverse to help stopUltron. The Guardians devise a plan to destroy Ultron's Infinity Stones using the Infinity Crusher, only to discover that the Crusher does not work outside of Gamora's universe. After Ultron is eventually defeated, the Watcher returns Gamora to her universe, where she resumes her travels with Stark.
Gamora is an orphan from an alien world who seeks redemption for her past crimes. She was trained byThanos to be his personal assassin.[14][15][16] Saldaña said that she became Gamora through make-up rather thancomputer-generated imagery (CGI) orperformance capture.[17] On taking the role, Saldaña said, "I was just excited to be asked to join byJames Gunn and to also play someone green. I've been blue before [inAvatar]."[18] Saldaña described Gamora as "a warrior, she's an assassin and she's very lethal, but what saves her is the same thing that can doom her. She has a sense of righteousness. She's a very righteous individual."[19]
She appears as a member of the original Guardians of the Galaxy, eventually finding love withPeter Quill as seen inGuardians of the Galaxy andGuardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2.[20] Saldaña described Gamora's role inVol. 2, as the team's "the voice of reason", saying, "She's surrounded by all these dudes who are so stupid half the time,"[21] and added that she is the "Mom" of the team, saying that she is "just a meticulous, detailed, professional individual."[22] Regarding Gamora's relationship withNebula, Saldaña described it as "volatile" and added, "we're starting somewhere very crazy but appropriate given where we had ended things off in the first installment".[23]
InAvengers: Infinity War, Gamora is still in a relationship with Quill. She is captured by Thanos and taken toVormir where she is killed so Thanos can receive theSoul Stone. Ariana Greenblatt portrays a young Gamora inInfinity War in a flashback, as well as when she is with Thanos in the Soul Stone's "Soul World".
Saldaña reprises her role of Gamora for the attractionsGuardians of the Galaxy – Mission: Breakout! atDisney California Adventure andGuardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind atEpcot.[24][25]
Zoe Saldaña has received numerous award nominations for her portrayal of the character.
| Award | Year | Category | Work | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Reel Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Guardians of the Galaxy | Nominated | ||
| Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Actress in an Action Movie | Nominated | |||
| MTV Movie Awards | Best On-Screen Transformation | Nominated | |||
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Action Movie Actress | Nominated | |||
| Teen Choice Awards | |||||
| Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Won | |||
| Choice MovieShip(shared withChris Pratt) | Nominated | ||||
| Choice Liplock(shared withChris Pratt) | Avengers: Infinity War | Nominated | |||
| Choice Actress: Action | Nominated | ||||
| Avengers: Endgame | Nominated | ||||
| Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie Actress | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | Nominated | ||
| Avengers: Infinity War | Nominated | ||||
| Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Nominated | ||||
| Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actress in a Superhero Movie | Nominated |
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