Gamora (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

"The entire time I knew Thanos, he only ever had one goal: To bring balance to the universe by wiping out half of all life. He used to kill people planet by planet, massacre by massacre. If he gets all six Infinity Stones, he can do it with the snap of his fingers, like this."

- Gamora talking to Thor.

Gamora was one of the titular protagonists of Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and one of the deuteragonists of both Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. She is the adopted daughter of Thanos.

She is portrayed by actress Zoe Saldana.

She is notably more compassionate than her comic counterpart.

Early Life
Gamora is a member of the Zehoberei species. The Omnicidal space tyrant, Thanos killed Gamora's parents in front of her, but spared her and raised her as his own child. Over the course of her life Thanos cybernetically changed her body, with the goal of turning her into the ultimate weapon. The interstellar judge, Ronan the Accuser, trained Gamora as a Galaxy-Class Killer along with mercenaries such as Korath the Pursuer and the Luphomoid known as Nebula. Gamora and Nebula both lost their childhoods to Thanos, and so combined with their shared training view each-other as sisters. Despite this, Nebula was envious to Gamora, who was favored by Thanos, and was presumably not as tortured or enhanced as she was.

Hunt for The Orb
As adults Gamora and Nebula began a hunt for a powerful item simply known as the Orb. Thanos wanted The Orb and sent his daughters with Korath the Pursuer to collect it. During a false lead for The Orb, Nebula became ensnared by an impenetrable Laser-Thorn-Energy-Net. Thanos' ordered Gamora  to leave Nebula behind; Gamora complied with her father's wishes but left a large knife for Nebula with which to cut herself out of the netting. Ever since the experience, a growing rivalry/animosity has taken hold of Gamora and Nebula but also sparked a dislike for their father, who was willing to leave behind either at a moment's notice.

Gamora built up the reputation as the "Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy". In time Thanos hired Ronan to find the Orb in exchange for the complete annihilation of the planet Xandar and sent Gamora and Nebula as his enforcers. For Gamora assisting Ronan was the last line she could not cross, she would not help the mad judge destroy millions of innocents as Thanos had done to her birth world. When Taneleer Tivan - The Collector hired Gamora to add the Orb to his collection, and hired Gamora and Ronan to bring it to him, Gamora saw the opportunity for freedom by recovering The Orb before Ronan. The Collector was a god-like entity one of many who dealt with the tedium of immortality by immersing themselves in their hobbies. As such a being virtually no one, not even Ronan or Thanos would take The Orb from him once it was in his hands and Gamora decided she would much rather see The Orb with Tivan than Ronan.

Guardians of the Galaxy
During her hunt for The Orb, Gamora came upon Peter Quill, an abducted human raised and employed by intergalactic smugglers known as, the Ravagers.Gamora ambushed Quill while trying to sell the artifact. Gamora's ambush was interrupted by the duo of muscle for hire, Rocket Raccoon and Groot who were seeking the high bounty Yondu Udonta,head of the Ravagers, had placed on Quil's head. Quill manages to escape in the chaos.

Gamora and the two thugs raced for Quill but when intergalactic law-enforcement agency known as the Nova Corps became involved all four for civil disruption. Once incarcerated, Gamora met inmate, Drax, whose wife and family had been murdered by Ronan. Drax attempted to kill Gamora in an effort to pay Thanos back by killing the closest thing he had for a family, but she was saved by, of all people Quill.

With an uneasy alliance forming between the three when Drax showed mercy, Gamora offered to split Tivan's payment with Quill, Rocket, and Groot if they were all willing to work together to get her out of prison. Though he was not won over by the promises of money, Drax, decide to help once his inmates were humanized to him and the four escaped in the space-ship, Milano.

While waiting for audiance with Tivan, Quill attempted romantic advances towards Gamora, however Quill had a reputation as a womanizer, one which Gamora was well aware of. Just after Gamora rejected Quill Tivan sent in for the group. The group discovered that The Orb was actually a containment device for an Infinity Stone. Before the group could accept their payment, Tivan's assistant, Carina, attempted to take the stone for herself. Carina accidentally tapped into the stone's power in the attempted theft and triggered a giant explosion that cost Tivan a good portion of his collection and claimed Carina's life. The four managed to escape the blast, with Gamora resealing the stone on her way out.

The crew realized how dangerous of the Orb was and in a moment of uncharacteristic selflessness Gamora and then her new comrades all decided to deliver the Orb to the Nova Corps where it would be safe. On their way to the Nova Corps, Ronan's forces suddenly descended, having been called by Drax prior to forming the alliance. During the skirmish, Gamora encountered Nebula resulting in her being blown into deep space and the Orb stolen.

Gamora was rescued by Quill before she died from the exposure. The two would picked up by the Ravagers. Yondu Udonta, agreed to help Quill and his new allies recover the Orb, partly because Ronan had betrayed Thanos, thus a price was put on his head and partly because Yondu had a soft spot for Quill, having raised him since his abduction from Earth. The Ravagers raced to Xandar where Ronan was getting ready to destroy it. Quill, Rocket, Groot, and Drax, Gamora rejoined in the Battle on Xandar. Gamora lead the infiltration of Ronan's ship, the Dark Aster. While on the ship Gamora fought Nebula. After the duel she disabled the vessel's shield generator. Gamora re-joined her friends against Ronan. Roman seemed to shrug off every attack from Gamora, Quill and Drax, until he was plowed by Rocket, causing the Dark Aster to crash. Groot sacrificed himself by manipulating his genetic code to act as a high density spore cloud which surrounded and protected his allies in the fall. Though Ronan survived the crash, Gamora, Quill, Rocket and Drax used the Infinity Stone to destroy him. As planned they handed the stone over to the Nova Corps and received a pardon their criminal records. Free from Thanos, and with Ronan defeated, Gamora permanently joined Quill, Rocket, and Drax going by the theatrical but apt title - "Guardians of the Galaxy".

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
"Maybe this man could be your David Hasselhoff. If he ends up being evil... we'll just kill him."

- Gamora to Peter on Ego.

After saving Xandar, the Guardians became well known across the galaxy, and were employed by the Sovereign to defeat the Abilisk. During the battle, they realized that his outer skin is thick, and Gamora attempted to stop Drax from entering it's stomach to harm it. Star-Lord told Gamora to aim for its neck and he and Rocket distracted it. Gamora was successful in doing so, and Drax attempted to take credit for killing the creature. Returning to the Sovereign and their ruler, Ayesha, they were able to get Nebula as their payment.

Upon leaving in the Milano, they were attacked by the Sovereign due to Rocket having stole their batteries. The Guardians were able to escape, but crashed on Behert, where they met Peter's father, Ego. Gamora persuaded Quill to go his father's home planet to see if he was a good person, but if he was evil, they would just kill him. Gamora, Quill, and Drax went to Ego's planet as Rocket and Groot stayed to repair the ship, and watch Nebula. While exploring, Gamora learned that Ego was a Celestial, and that Quill had "sexual feelings" for her due to Mantis touching him. While dancing with Quill, the two argued on him finding his father, with her stating that she thought he already found them.

Outside, she was attacked by Nebula, who had allied herself with Taserface's Ravagar clan, who had mutinied against Yondu. The fight ended with the two forming an alliance, and Nebula revealed that she hated that Gamora always won, as she had to be "upgraded" for every lost. The two explored the caverns, and came across Ego's children (who had been killed by him). Gamora attacked Matnis, but Drax was able to tell the former that she had revealed everything, and the group went to rescue Quill.

The Guardians reunited to fight against Ego, who had turned himself into the living planet to fight back. Despite the death of Yondu, the Guardians were successful in killing Ego, and Gamora and Nebula officially reconciled. After Yondu's funeral, the Guardians continued on their way across the galaxy.

Avengers: Infinity War
"You kill and torture and you call it mercy, the universe has judged you. You asked it for a prize and it told you no. You failed. And do you wanna know why? Because you love nothing. No one."

- Gamora to Thanos.

Hearing a distress call from the Statesman, the Guardians recovered the Norse God of thunder, Thor Odinson. He revealed to the team that Thanos had collected the space stone, and destroyed Xandar to collect the power stone. When telling them that he was going to Knowhere, the Guardians went to the planet as Rocket, Groot, and Thor travelled to the dwarf planet to create a powerful weapon.

The Guardians made to Knowehere, and confronted the Mad Titan, with Gamora stabbing him with the switchblade he gave her. It was revealed that Thanos used the reality stone to stage the event, and kidnapped Gamora from the team. Gamora argued with Thanos on balancing the universe, and later witnessed Nebula being tortured, and confessed the location of the soul stone. On Vormir, the two were met the Red Skull, who revealed that someone close must be sacrificed to collect the stone. Thanos tearfully killed Gamora, throwing down below, where he gained the stone. Despite her death, there is a possibly that Gamora's soul lies in the stone, as Thanos would talk to young Gamora after starting the decimation.

Gamora failed to stop the Mad Titan, and the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Doctor Strange were unable to defeat him, leading to him wiping out half of the universe.

Avengers: Endgame
When the Avengers travelled back to the events of Guardians of the Galaxy, a mind link between the past Nebula and the present Nebula informed the past Gamora of the situation. She traveled forward in time and helped the Avengers and the rest of the assembled heroes defeat Thanos and his army of Chitauri, Outriders and the Black Order, all of whom attacked Avengers Headquarters in retaliation for Hulk/Bruce Banner using the Infinity Gauntlet to undo the Decimation and bring everyone back to life.

Afterwards, Gamora mysteriously disappeared with Quill and the other Guardians searching for her.

Personality
"I’m not your daughter. Everything I hate about myself, you taught me."

- Gamora to Thanos on herself.

As a trained enforcer for a planet killer, Gamora maintained a stoic and distant personality, yet she was always caring, simply trying to hide any signs of weakness. As distrust for her "father" grew it became clear that he didn't really care about anyone but himself. Once Gamora realized despite the familial language he used, Thanos did not think of her and Nebula as children as much as enforcers she chose to defect. Gamora is determined to redeem herself for her past actions. Despite their turbulent start, Gamora now trusts her fellow guardians as the closest thing she will have to a family. Even with the betrayal of her feeling fueling her new hatred for Thanos, Gamora still views Nebula as a sister. She shows great signs of self-loathing, as she hates what Thanos made her, and later taunts him for not loving anyone so that he could accomplish his own goals.

Powers and Abilities
Gamora's people had enhanced strength compared to a human, however this is pushed to super levels in combination with Gamora's cybernetic enhancements. Gamora has been injected with nano-machines which push her immune system into high-gear and her spine is now a high-grade metal. Her training as an assassin has given her prowess in numerous forms of combat but her preferred skill is plyed towards sword play. Gamora has a retractable blade she uses for most combatants and possesses a blade called, God Killer, so named because it can even kill an Asgardian with it's quantum-focused precise edge.

Family

 * Mother †
 * Father †
 * Nebula - Adoptive sister, former enemy and teammate
 * Thanos † - Adoptive Father turned Enemy, Attempted Victim, Killer and Kidnapper
 * Black Order - Adoptive Siblings
 * Corvus Glaive † - Adoptive Brother
 * Cull Obsidian † - Adoptive Brother
 * Ebony Maw † - Adoptive Brother
 * Proxima Midnight † - Adoptive sister

Allies

 * Guardians of the Galaxy
 * Peter Quill/Star-Lord † - Boyfriend and Teammate
 * 89P13/Rocket Raccoon - Enemy turned Friend and Teammate
 * Groot † - Enemy turned Close Friend and Teammate
 * Drax The Destroyer † - Enemy turned Close Friend and Teammate
 * Mantis †
 * Yondu Udonta † - Enemy turned Friend and Teammate
 * Nova Corps - Enemies turned Friends
 * Irani Rael
 * Rhomann Dey
 * Garthan Saal †
 * Avengers
 * Thor - Close Friend and Rescuee
 * Hawkeye
 * Hulk/Bruce Banner
 * Captain America
 * Iron Man
 * Spider-Man
 * Masters of the Mystic Arts
 * Doctor Strange
 * Wong
 * Black Panther
 * Captain Marvel
 * Scarlet Witch
 * Falcon
 * War Machine
 * Shuri
 * Valkyrie

Enemies

 * Chitauri
 * Leviathans
 * Outriders
 * Black Order
 * Ebony Maw
 * Cull Obsidian
 * Proxima Midnight
 * Corvus Glaive
 * Thanos
 * Kree Empire
 * Ronan the Accuser † - Reluctant Ally turned Enemy and Victim
 * Korath the Pursuer † - Former Reluctant Ally
 * Abilisk † - Victim
 * Sovereign - Employers turned Enemies
 * Ayesha
 * Zylak
 * Ego † - Friend and Ally turned Enemy, Attempted Killer and Victim
 * Johann Schimdt/Red Skull

Trivia

 * In the comics, Gamora possesses different physical characteristics such as green hair and yellow patch-like tattoos over her eyes, and she was eventually entrusted to protect the Time Gem.
 * Despite their animosity, Gamora cares about Nebula.
 * Their relationship is similar to that of Thor's and Loki's sibling.
 * Actress Zoe Saldana also portrayed Neytiri in the 2009 James Cameron's global gigantic blockbuster hit Avatar, Nyota Uhura in the Star Trek reboot franchise, and later voice Captain Celaeno in the My Little Pony Movie in 2017.