Green-skinned Gamora first appeared in Marvel Comics in Strange Tales #180 in June of 1975. It’s a complicated story line that involves Magus/Warlock, her oft-times lover in the comics, Pip the Troll, and the Soul Gem. She’s already grown, well after her adoption by Thanos.
Later, details of her origins are revealed. In Gamora’s case, there are three (or so) versions that take place in different time lines.
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Gamora is played to perfection by Zoe Saldana in the MCU, a role she's set to reprise in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. The Guardians are just one of the teams she’s joined with in the comic world. Here are some more details that flesh out the picture of her early life.
10 Her Full Name Reveals Her Origins
Gamora’s full name is Gamora Zen Whoberi Ben Titan. She was born on the planet Zen-Whoberi as a Zehoberei (also called Zen-Whoberians or Zen-Whoberis), and apparently lived a normal life in a Zen-Whoberi family with her mother, father, and brother. The Zen-Whoberis are a peace-loving people, but not, apparently, planet-loving. Due to over-population, the planet was in a bad state, and poverty and homelessness were rampant. No matter which origin story you take as canon, she ends up an orphan who is adopted by the Titan Thanos.
9 She Didn’t Start Out As ‘The Deadliest Woman In The Galaxy’
She became “the deadliest woman in the galaxy” – but she didn’t begin that way. After Thanos took pity on her (in his own way) and adopted Gamora, he began a brutal system of physical and psychological training that bordered on torture with both her. Unlike the MCU, in the comics, Gamora has little to do with Nebula (Karen Gillan), but with or without her, Gamora emerged powerful and nearly indestructible. He also changed her perception of reality so that she would not recognize the evil acts she did for him.
8 The Green Zehoberei
Gamora was born with her green skin. The skin of the Zehoberei is thicker than that of human beings, which does make them more resistant to injury than human beings, and inherently somewhat stronger. They also have a second liver, which means they can drink any human (and most other species) under the table. The facial bones of Zehoberei are just a little different from humans’. The markings on Gamora’s forehead and cheeks probably come from Thanos’ modifications and are not natural.
7 The Zehoberei Massacre V.1 – The Universal Church Of Truth Did It
The first version of Gamora’s origin story comes in Warlock Vol 1 10 "How Strange My Destiny!" in 1975. Thanos travels 20 years into the future to Earth-7528. The Universal Church of Truth sent its agents, who were called the Grand Inquisitors, to Zen-Whoberi to offer salvation. However, the Zen-Whoberis turned them down.
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The Grand Inquisitors rounded up the entire population into a valley and killed everyone – everyone, that is, except Gamora. Thanos found her and brought her back with him to a point in time 20 years before the massacre to Earth-616.
6 The Universal Church Of Truth – The Warlock/Magus Connection
The Universal Church of Truth was connected to the Magus, Adam Warlock’s evil alter ego. In the comics, Gamora and Warlock are romantically linked, but the Magus serves the Many-Angled Ones, primordial cosmic beings. The Church had a policy of offering its salvation of peace and harmony through faith by force. They showed up at a planet, and offer their faith. If it was accepted, they would perform what they called a purification, which meant exterminating anyone who wouldn’t convert. More than a church, it was an empire that incorporated many different alien races.
5 Zen-Whoberis Annihilation V.2: The Badoon Did It
In Warlock and the Infinity Watch Vol 1 11 (1992), Gamora’s origin story was retconned. The Universal Church timeline had been erased in a prior issue (Warlock #11). Gamora was at the center of the time adjustment, leaving her as a living relic of the erased timeline. She is now from Earth-616. Sadly for the Zehoberei, they still get massacred, and Gamora is still left an orphan for Thanos to adopt. This version of events seems to have become the Marvel Comics canon.
4 The Badoon – Thanos’ Servants
The Badoon are a reptilian race who are allies of Thanos. They live separated by gender – the males in a warlike society on the planet Moord, while the females are peaceful. As Thanos’ helpers, they enslave other civilizations, and bring them to Moord to work in their prisons.
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They ended up killing off the Zen-Whoberians during one of their planetary conquests. The Badoon are older than either the Kree or Skrulls. They have inner eyelids, and as reptiles, they look down on mammals. As part of the Guardians, Gamora later gets her revenge.
3 Zen-Whoberians Killed By Thanos – Massacre V.3
Thanos Vol 3 1 (2019) retcons Gamora’s origin story yet again, this time to bring it in line with the MCU and Zoe Saldana’s portrayal of the green-skinned alien. The Titans themselves were destroyed by a cataclysm, and Thanos became convinced that killing off half the population would have saved it. Zen-Whoberi was one of the first planets he took on with his brutal philosophy. Thanos eventually sent the Black Order of Chitauri to invade and exterminate half the population of the planet.
2 She Was Fighting A Chitauri When Thanos Found Her
“When Thanos took my home world, he killed my parents in front of me. He tortured me, turned me into a weapon,” Gamora tells Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1. The story is fleshed out in the 2019 comic. As the Black Order is committing its atrocities on Zen-Whoberi, Thanos spots a little girl trying to fight off a Chitauri soldier – she’s trying to find her mother – and brings her over to explain his theory about restoring balance to the universe by showing her the edge of a knife.
1 Is She The Last Living Zen-Whoberi...Or Not?
In Guardians of the Galaxy, audiences see everyone’s rap sheet after they are arrested by the Nova Corps. There, Gamora is listed as "last survivor of the Zehoberei people". In Infinity War, though, and in the comics, Thanos says that he only massacred half of their population, leaving about 3 billion – and claims it actually helped the overcrowded planet. “It is a paradise,” he tells her. Interestingly, when the Russo Brothers were asked about the discrepancy in a Q&A, they said it would depend on whether fans wanted to believe Gamora or Thanos.
