
Not a starry-eyed waif who'll give in to your pelvic sorcery.
Gamora is a
fictional character appearing in
American comic bookspublished by
Marvel Comics. Created by
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 best most of the opponents in the galaxy. She has appeared as the occasional love interest of the
superheroes Adam Warlock and
Nova, and a member of the group known as the
Infinity Watch. The character played a role in the 2007
crossover comic book event
Annihilation: Conquest, and became a member of the titular team in its spin-off comic,
Guardians of the Galaxy. She has been featured in a variety of associated Marvel merchandise.
Zoe Saldana plays the character in the 2014 live-action film
Guardians of the Galaxy.
Powers: Gamora received treatments from Thanos that enhanced her speed, strength, agility, and durability to rival Adam 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 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.
[30] Gamora's strength and speed were further enhanced by Adam Warlock when they returned from Soulworld.
[31]
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.