Sunday, July 2, 2023

Character Analysis: Gamora

 

Background

  • Full Name: Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan

  • Height: 6’ | 1.83 m

  • Weight: 170 lbs | 77.11 kg

  • Species: Zen-Whoberi

  • Cybernetically & biologically enhanced

  • Groups: Guardians of the Galaxy, Infinity Watch

  • Likes: Reading, Richard Rider, Peter Quill

  • Dislikes: Thanos, Rocket’s jokes, Peter Quill


A long time from now on a side of the galaxy far, far away, Gamora was born on the planet Zen-Whoberi, home to a religious alien race of the same name. Raised under the beliefs of her people, she was only 13 years old when her life was changed forever by the arrival of the evil cosmic being Magus (or maybe a race of alien lizard men called the Badoon, after some timey wimey fuckery, don’t worry about it). Steadfastly refusing to conform to Magus’ Universal Church of Truth, the Zen-Whoberi were utterly exterminated. Like many of her people, Gamora prayed to the gods for salvation, but in an instant, her family was annihilated right before her eyes. With all hope lost, her faith died then and there, and she would have soon followed, if not for the arrival of her savior. An angel of death and new object of worship: the Mad Titan, Thanos.

Alone as the last of the Zen-Whoberi, with no home and no loved ones left to call her own, Gamora was taken in by Thanos and raised as his “daughter” with the intent of becoming the greatest assassin in the universe. Blinded by gratitude and naivete, she enthusiastically embraced Thanos’ training, and struggled to become a weapon in her desperation for comfort and approval. Even still, she found nothing but a cold stone floor and a cruel hand. Though sometimes she thought she saw flashes of something more from her “father”, by and large he saw her only as a weapon.

Over time, Gamora’s proficiency grew more and more, but she did not truly become the weapon Thanos wanted until one day, when she snuck out without his knowledge, only to end up getting brutally beaten to near death. After coming to her aid once again, Thanos healed her injuries with advanced prosthetics and new internal organs. From then on, Gamora’s eyes were fully opened to the harsh cruelties of the world (even more than when her planet died I guess), and she swore that she would never let anyone use or abuse her ever again. 

Gamora then continued to let Thanos use and abuse her. As she reached adulthood, she became known far and wide as the most dangerous woman in the galaxy, nay, the universe, acting as Thanos’ weapon against Magus. After Magus was defeated, however, Gamora soon realized that hey, Thanos is kind of an asshole and wants to kill everyone, and turned against him. So he promptly killed her. That didn’t go well.

In time, Gamora came back to life (it is comics after all) and sought to walk a better path, becoming a member of Adam Warlock’s Infinity Watch, and eventually the Guardians of the Galaxy, fighting for the sake of the universe against not only Thanos and Magus, but all manner of other villains as well. Gamora’s search for purpose and redemption was a long road, and one she sometimes strayed from. But eventually, she became known as a real hero, and found a new family that didn’t die and wasn’t a death-obsessed lunatic. Still, she has retained her reputation as the most dangerous woman in the universe, and friend and foe alike will always regret messing with her.

Experience & Skill

Gamora’s epithet as the most dangerous woman in the galaxy or universe is no exaggeration, having been repeated many times and acknowledged as accurate both in-universe and by narration. Of course, “dangerous” and “powerful” are not the same thing, but in terms of sheer combat skill, hers has been described as “peerless”, which is a bold statement considering this is Marvel comics we’re talking about, where Earth alone is home to dozens of heroes who have mastered hundreds of martial arts. It has been stated that she is familiar with combat techniques from at least 83.4% of known space-faring cultures.

This skill was acquired through years of rigorous training under Thanos, which included instruction in both hand-to-hand combat and usage of various types of weaponry. Gamora is skilled with blades, spears, firearms and more, regularly dual wielding multiple different weapons at once and having demonstrated excellent accuracy. Her hand-to-hand skills exceed Thanos himself, and she has knowledge of specific techniques like paralyzing or knocking out an opponent by striking the right nerve cluster, which has even worked on characters like Thanos and The Thing. She is an excellent acrobat, regularly doing flips and demonstrating extreme flexibility in combat, and has been described as skilled in stealth and infiltration. She is also multilingual.

In terms of experience, in addition to the time spent under Thanos, Gamora spent years as a galactic mercenary and freebooter. While a member of Infinity Watch and the Guardians, she has gone up against many varied enemies and even entire armies, having fought in multiple galactic wars such as against the Annihilation Wave, or more localized conflicts such as the second superhero Civil War.

Powers

Superhuman Physique

Gamora is much stronger, faster, and more durable than an ordinary person, allowing her to keep up with and go hand-to-hand with godlike beings such as Thanos, or Asgardian deities like Angela and Thor. This physical aptitude is a major contributor to her reputation as one of the universe’s deadliest fighters.

Superhuman Hearing

Gamora possesses a heightened sense of hearing, acutely detecting a person’s words from a distance away thanks to her enhancements.

Regeneration

Though it is not as potent as many other healing factors, Gamora is capable of recovering from wounds to a greater extent than a normal human, recovering from severe full-body burns over the course of several issues, returning to her normal appearance eventually, when such an injury would cause permanent scarring for a normal person.

Cosmic Awareness

Though minor and vaguely defined, it has been stated that Gamora possesses some kind of cosmic awareness that is also possessed by Thanos and Nebula, allowing her to hear a long-distance call while in a deep trance.

Supernatural Perception

Thanks to witnessing the death of her family and the rest of the Zen-Whoberi, Gamora possesses the ability to see Lady Death, which is part of the reason Thanos took notice of her.

Telepathic Communication

In her earliest appearances, she once sent forth her mind to establish a telepathic connection with Thanos.

Equipment

Augmentations

Courtesy of Thanos, Gamora’s body was rebuilt and augmented with cybernetic prosthetics, including a new skeleton composed almost completely of a lightweight, nearly indestructible metal alloy. Her respiratory system was also replaced and her reflexes were enhanced. Her elevated physical capabilities are largely a result of these augmentations.

Godblade

A sword/dagger (inconsistent between different comics) that Gamora used consistently in her early days, which is stated to have the power to kill nearly anything, including gods, hence the name. This blade was capable of killing a Nova Centurion comparable to Richard Rider, and was stated to be able to kill immensely powerful beings like Magus and Thanos, even inspiring fear in the latter. However, contrary to its reputation, it cannot cut literally anything, as during a time when Thanos was “indestructible”, the sword shattered against his body.

Gamora can seemingly conjure the blade from thin air.

Swords

Outside of the Godblade, Gamora has been shown carrying various other swords over the years, often carrying two on her at a time for dual wielding in combat. She has also been known to mix swordplay with firearms for close and long range at the same time.

Laser Swords

Gamora has also used blades composed of energy, some of which are basically just lightsabers. She’s even taken it a step further and embraced her inner Darth Maul kinnie with a red double-bladed energy sword. This sword was strong enough to cut Angela.

Knives

Like the swords but smol. Gamora also carries knives that she also dual wields on occasion, when she wants to get even more up close and personal with an enemy. Or throwing knives, when she doesn’t. Some of these knives are even tough enough to hold up in a clash against Wolverine’s claws, and them fuckers are sharp.

Guns

For long-ranged purposes, Gamora has also been known to carry firearms which can be used on their own or in tandem with her bladed weapons. This ranges from normal-ish pistols to larger space guns resembling rifles, to massive automatic weapons. 

Cannons

On occasion, Gamora has used large cannons big enough to be carried around on her shoulder, or even laser cannons, which she has described to be a crack shot with.

Spears

Gamora has used pole weapons with yellow energy blades on each end that allow it to function as a double-ended spear, and like most of her weapons, she’s even used two at once. Effective for stabbing bitches.

Axe

She used an axe once. Ooooooh~

Explosives

Gamora has access to a number of small explosives which can be stuck to surfaces and detonated via remote control. She stuck a bunch of them to Stormbreaker once as it flew by.

Space Barrier & Propulsion Device

Like the rest of the Guardians, Gamora has access to technology which creates a thin membrane around her body for surviving outer space, as well as a handheld device for propelling herself around in zero gravity.

Temporary Power-Ups

Time Gem

During her time as a member of Infinity Watch, Gamora was the guardian of the Time Gem. The gem normally grants the user complete and unlimited control over time itself, but it should be noted that Gamora does not understand the gem nor know how to use it properly. The most she has demonstrated with it was seeing through time to some extent.

Black Vortex Empowerment

During the comic event of the same name, Gamora was empowered by a cosmic energy source known as the Black Vortex, elevating her strength to cosmic levels and transforming her into “Cosmic Gamora”. Other characters who received a similar amp from the Black Vortex, such as Kitty Pryde, became powerful enough to transcend the multiverse, though it should be noted that Cosmic Gamora never demonstrated anything on such a level, and it is unclear whether all recipients were amped to the same extent.

In this state, in addition to increased power, Gamora can fly, survive in space, and summon weapons from her cloak like a hammerspace, or fashion new ones from some kind of energy. However, each time she uses her powers after being amplified by the Black Vortex, she expends some of the power she gained, and after enough time the effects wore off completely, leaving her returned to her natural state.

Infinity Blade

During Infinity Wars, Gamora acquired all six Infinity Gems and used them through a sword called the Infinity Blade. The Power Gem was placed in the sword’s hilt and used to increase its cutting power, while the remaining five floated above her head. With the blade, she was able to decapitate the likes of Thanos and Adam Warlock easily, on top of being able to draw on the power of the Infinity Gems to rewrite reality itself. With all six at her disposal, she gained near-absolute control over time, space, reality, power, soul, and mind.

It should be noted that the six gems are more powerful when used in tandem than individually due to creating a feedback loop with each other, and that they lose all their power if removed from their own reality.

Feats

Overall

Strength

Speed

Durability

Scaling

Even without any one-time powerups, Gamora is consistently comparable to Thanos, as well as high-tier characters like Thor or Angela, though she does struggle a fair amount against extremely heavy hitters. Still, she isn’t considered the universe’s deadliest assassin for nothing, and though she is physically weaker than Groot, it is implied that she is still overall the strongest standard Guardians member, generally comparing favorably against Drax and being less of a glass cannon than the big tree man. Plus statements suggesting that an enemy capable of challenging her would spell trouble for the other four. As such she should scale to all relevant herald level feats.

Weaknesses

She, uh, doesn’t have any. Weird.
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