Featuring the following heroine!

Gamora

AKA: The Astral Samurai. The deadliest woman in the galaxy. Whoops, excuse me; the deadliest woman in the whole galaxy.

First appearance: Strange Tales 180

Died in: Avengers Annual 7, after confronting her master Thanos about his plans for stellar genocide. Her spirit was kept alive by being taken into Adam Warlock's Soul Gem. When Thanos obtained ultimate power and once more threatened the Universe, Warlock returned to the flesh to face the threat, bringing Gamora and their friend Pip back to mortality with him.

Favorite quote: "What jealous rage?" (Infinity Watch 30; said innocently enough after she tried to skewer Warlock's lover, Maya)

Team affiliation: Sole survivor of a peaceful planet decimated by the Magus (an event that eventually was erased from this time-space continuum by the Magus' other self, Adam Warlock, although Gamora remembered it vividly and, non-existence notwithstanding, somehow managed once or twice to return to the blasted plain where her people died), Gamora was taken and raised by Thanos to be his personal weapon against the Magus. She turned against her foster father when she discovered he wanted to destroy the universe as a gift to his mistress, Death, but proved no match for him in a physical contest. After her spirit was absorbed by Adam's Soul Gem, she spent several happy years with him and their pal Pip living a non-corporeal life within the jewel itself. When Thanos obtained the Infinity Gauntlet, Gamora and her friends were brought back into the universe to confront him, although Gamora herself didn't actually get the chance. Once the situation was brought back under control, Gamora found herself part of the Infinity Watch, a group of para-normals chosen by Warlock to guard the Infinity Gems. Although she's clearly very, very fond of Warlock, her affection for that cold fish is one-sided. She left the Infinity Watch when the combination of Warlock brooding over Maya's marriage and her own belief that Warlock trusted other members of the Watch more than he trusted her proved too much to bear.

Abilities: Artificially enhanced physically after a beating all but killed her, Gamora was trained by Thanos to be the ultimate human weapon, although the only weapon she herself favors is a plain-enough blade. Her prowess as a warrior made her feared on a thousand worlds; the Magus' powerful Black Knights would break down and blubber in her presence. There is at least one platoon of U.N. soldiers, thrashed by her when they were foolish enough to invade the Watch's home on Monster Island, who would probably do the same if forced to combat her again. She was the one-time bearer of the Time Gem, which gave her visions of what the future could bring. These visions were not always accurate, and sometimes were just manifestations of what other people wished would happen. She was extremely unwilling to utilize the Gem, and resented any intrusion it made into her life.














Favorite storyline: Gamora was part of one of the all-time coolest Marvel tales, that of the strange cosmic suicide of Adam Warlock. It ran through Warlock 9-15, Avengers Annual 7, and concluded in Marvel Two-in-One Annual 2. Gamora nearly assassinated several heavy hitters during this run, including the Magus and Thanos; alas for the most feared woman in the whole galaxy, she was going up against some cosmic-level powerhouses and couldn't quite pull off the jobs.

Least favorite storyline: In a flashback during her surgical strike to repair Eternity, Gamora recalls the time as a teenager she was ambushed by a gang and nearly shredded. Another entry into the repulsive physical-abuse-is-no-big-deal-'coz-it-just-makes-women-stronger category.

In the question-better-not-asked department: Y'know, I have trouble just keeping my fershlugging bra straps on my shoulders. What the heck does Gamora use to keep her outfit in place??Death