Gamora: Memento Mori

Gamora #1-5

by Nicole Perlman, Marco Checchetto (Artist), Esad Ribić (Cover Artist)

From screenwriter Nicole Perlman - co-writer of the Guardians of the Galaxy screenplay - and Marvel superstar artist Marco Checchetto, comes a killer new ongoing series! Once upon a time, Gamora was Thanos' heartless pet assassin and favorite adopted daughter. Today, she is the backbone of the Guardians of the Galaxy, putting her life on the line to defend the innocent throughout the universe. What was it that transformed her from being used as a tool of her oppressor, to a champion of the powerless? Embark on a journey of revenge and redemption, and witness how Gamora earned her reputation as the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy.

COLLECTING: GAMORA #1-5

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Comic Book, Science Fiction, Fiction

119 pages, Paperback

First published July 18, 2017

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmm. I guess this was based on Gamora from the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. If not, they've thrown out most of her comic book origins. Plus, this was penned by one of the screenwriters. The best thing I can say about this is Marco Checcetto makes the book look fantastic. The story was generic and not very well fleshed out. It doesn't really add anything to Gamora's character, it's just a generic little solo story.

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off solidly but it loses its way halfway through. It tries to splice the movie version of Gamora onto the comic version of her with clunky results that are neither fish nor fowl.

The Gamora/Nebula storyline was covered better in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. The Gamora here is just a puppet of the plot, getting yanked this way and that physically and emotionally. It feels like there are connecting scenes that were cut out, leaving gaps in continuity. That even extends to her outfit, which suddenly and inexplicably changes in the finale.

The art is gorgeous, though. So there’s that, I guess,

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grim entertainment.

[Judah Radd · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of the vastest gulfs separating quality of art and quality of story that I’ve ever seen.

On one hand, everything illustrated by Marco Checchetto looks amaze-balls. On the other hand... woof. This story is a mess. The drama is incredibly contrived, there are some lines that are big cringe... and it’s not even fucking canon! I mean... it can’t be. Nebula is canonically Thanos’ granddaughter (maybe. That’s called into question in past comics.) Also, Nebula doesn’t become a bald frankenchick until years after The Infinity Gauntlet. This story is supposed to take place back when Gamora and Thanos were still sort of on the same side... so, years before Infinity Watch. Also, Gamora’s Infinity Watch era costume is way different. It’s just sloppy. There’s no way my head canon can accept this as having happened.

Anyway, I’d just avoid. It’ll get not-true shit in your head. You don’t want that. You want your headcanon to be pure as the driven snow, and only touched by absolute fictional truths!

You’re welcome. Don’t read this. It’s not even fun.

[Emily✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Memento Mori is a backstory for the Gamora of the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy, penned by one of the film's screenwriters. It reads a bit like a film, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and follows some classic film tropes. Nevertheless, I quite enjoyed the plot and Gamora's character journey. Basically, this is about how Gamora breaks free of Thanos's brainwashing and resolves to be the good person we meet her as in the first GotG movie. (However, I think even this backstory is retconned now with Infinity War.) The art is quite beautiful-- though, as always, all of the women must be drawn as conventionally attractive humanoids, even in space (the male characters, of course, are a wide range of alien races with strange appearances).

[Jeff Lanter · Rating 4 out of 5]

After enjoying Guardians of the Galaxy 1 and 2 like pretty much any person with a pulse, it was natural that I started checking out recent Guardians comics to see if any of them capture the magic of the movies. Gamora is basically a kind of origin story that explains where Gamora's morality comes from in spite of her harsh upbringing with Thanos. The plot has a cool sci-fi idea behind it that sadly isn't really explored much and the story ends up being more of an underworld tale of scheming and conflict. There aren't any huge surprises or anything like that and overall, I would say the plot is pretty standard fare. The best parts are the moments where Gamora and Nebula bicker. Yes, Loki and Thor are somewhat similar but I liked those scenes a lot here. The reason this book gets four stars is not because it is fun, if somewhat predictable read but because the art is excellent. All of the characters and environments look amazing and helped elevate Gamora to a book I would recommend to Guardians fans.

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of a Gamora origin story. I didn't want to like it. As a rule I find Marvel Space Books almost unreadable. And Thanos makes any story worse. But this one was actually pretty good. It had a beginning middle and end, a purpose and a plot. And on the planet in which most of the action takes place, there are some interesting characters, some of which could reasonably appear in some other book - heck might already have appeared. The artwork was pretty decent. Some of Gamora's clothing didn't make a whole lot of sense, but also she wasn't naked or even nearly naked. Not bad.

[R. G. Nairam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Not terrible, but it seems to be trying to do some of the same development for Gamora that the Guardians films did but...not as well. I think I would have actually liked it more if it hadn't taken so much (emotionally) from the films. The plot was pretty mediocre as well.

[WallofText · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is real nice but the plot felt off on pacing and tension. No originality and the characters felt flat and weak. Average at best.

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good trade. This adds a lot of depth to the Gamora character, and I really enjoyed the art. I wish there was more.

[Liz (Quirky Cat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set before Gamora meets any of the Guardians of the Galaxy (or so I assume at least), Memento Mori is a quick, fun aside into the backstory of Gamora’s life. It isn’t really required reading, as anything major mentioned has been done so in other comics as well, but it is still a quick (only five issues) read. Though some points were slightly predictable, but never to the point where I found myself getting annoyed.



I will admit that this volume really could be skipped if you wanted to – while cute and fun it really does not add anything vital to Gamora’s plot or to the story for Guardians of the Galaxy. I still loved reading it, and I think many fans of Guardians of the Galaxy probably would too.
What I loved in particular from this volume is that it really explained how Gamora was able to transition from the killer Thanos raised her to be, to the Guardian of the Galaxy we all know in love. Previously I always felt like there was a bit of a gap between the two (what motivated her to break through the brainwashing and escape? Things like that) but Memento Mori helps explain some of that.
Seeing how Thanos treats Nebula versus Gamora…it’s easy to understand why Nebula ends up hating Gamora so much. She becomes the lightning rod for all of the hate, being the “favored child.” Nebula isn’t one of my favorite characters, but it’s hard not to feel upset for her and for the way she was treated (yes, I know Gamora was also abused), especially when her father figure essentially calls her trash on top of everything else done to her.
I think this series of events will help anyone understand just how messed up Gamora and Thanos’ relationship is: Thanos treats Gamora to a very special birthday gift – he lets her kill the royal family line that ordered her species annihilation. While we can argue all we want about how revenge would feel great in this case, the fact remains that Gamora’s “father” encouraged her to slaughter an entire family and then called it a gift. Need I say more?
The sad truth was, the “gift” wasn’t enough for Gamora. When she finds out there’s one living relative left, Gamora assumes that why she doesn’t feel better and immediately takes off on a suicide mission to finish her revenge (if you’re wondering how she came across this information, the answer is obvious: Nebula. It involves a suicide mission after all).
Upon getting to Ubliex Gamora accidentally immediately befriends the survivor, named name. Through a series of escapades and arguments, the two finally settle on working together in order to get themselves and as many survivors off the planet as physically possible (remember that suicide mission I mentioned? The planet’s falling into a black hole, so time’s counting down).
L’Wit was a pivotal character for Gamora’s change of heart; her unending hope and capability for forgiveness made Gamora realize there was more to life than just revenge, and by making it her only goal in life she’s stunted her own ability to live. As far as origin/flashback stories go, this was a pretty good one. I’m not completely sure about this, but if I had to guess I’d say this was a one-shot story.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Des Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great. I bought it for Checchetto's reliably impressive artwork, but found myself totally into a well written sci-fi story, which made Gamora more interesting and likable than she's ever been for me. This isn't the typical, skipable, filler, backstory arc I expected, but instead a sound piece of sci-fi storytelling and Marvel lore. The setting is awesome, and the characters breathe as real people, instead of set pieces. This could easily be translated into a Gamora solo film at a moment's notice, and we could have a new fan favorite in L'wit if she ever shows up again. Give Nicole Perlman more to write! She absolutely tore this book up, and I would read so much more if it wasn't a limited series. Also, as mentioned earlier, Chechetto is a beast, and draws some incredibly sci-fi stuff here. It would be worth reading this for his work alone, but the whole thing is solid af, and worth your time.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a decent Gamora series if you’re looking to start with a tale that blends the world of the comics with subtle moments that are MCU-lite. Perlman handles a young Gamora well and a story that revolved around Thanos is always strong. This an early tale that sees Gamora re-learning the humanity Thanos bred out of her.
The true star of this graphic novel is Marco Checchetto. The art throughout is gorgeous and for a mainstream title is so much better than you’d image a monthly title could be.

[Rocky Sunico · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting little mini-series that tries to explore more of Gamora's backstory along with an effort to marry her comic book incarnations with her MCU back story. Thus we get a lot of focus on her relationship with her adoptive father Thanos and her highly damaged sister Nebula. It's not a groundbreaking story but it has some great beats.

[Austin Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Issue 1 does a great job of establishing the classic Gamora-Nebula-Thanos relationship. Nebula endlessly tries to impress Thanos, who only cares for Gamora as a daughter, something he will repeatedly make clear to Nebula. The plot surrounds Thanos giving Gamora the opportunity to complete her revenge against the Badoon Royal Family, who is supposedly responsible for the extinction of Gamora's people, the Zen-Whobarians. Gamora is proven to be a ruthless and capable killer.

Issue 2 involves Gamora hunting down a survivor of the Badoon Royal family, whom Nebula has revealed to Gamora. I love the somewhat post-apocalyptic vibe of Ubliex, which is fitting as the planet is soon-to-be doomed to a black hole. The overall vibe of this one reminds me of Cowboy Bebop, with drug running mercenaries, gangs, and alien cults interacting.



Issue 3 sees Gamora escape from a black-whole worshipping cult and finally confront Z'lit, revealing her mission to kill her. I like how, despite realizing Z'lit's innocence, Gamora initially admits that her own revenge (so far) is not concerned with Z'lit's role, she only cares about wiping out the Badoon Royal Line completely. There is a moment of misdirection where it seems Gamora is going to immediately let Z'lit off, only to reveal that she was giving her a chance to fight back. This is believably in character, as it would have been a little much for this hardened killer to easily abandon her revenge simply because Z'lit claimed innocence.

Z'lit's analysis that Gamora really doesn't want to live due to her life under Thanos is apt and adds some nice exploration into Gamora's character.



Issue 4 gives us the motivation for Gamora to finally break from her own plan as she comes to term with what it means to be a daughter of Thanos and the effect it has had on her life.

Z'Lit losing her own adopted father and subsequently ask how would vengeance benefit her serves as a fitting catalyst for Gamora's own shift in perspectives.


Issues 5 is a fairly straightforward escape from Ubliex as Gamora decides to help Z'lit escape, along with a group of refugees. The heart of this one comes in a couple of places. The first is Gamora's comparison of the scared refugees to her own past, helplessly looking on as their world is doomed around them. The second comes from Gamora realizing that the surviving Zen-Whoobarians are not perfect, and their shared past does not make up for their treachery. This leads Gamora to distinguish between relatives and true family.


Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this story arc and introduction to Gamora's backstory. The art and tone bring to mind other space-faring criminal adventures, a la Cowboy Bebop and Star Wars. Gamora is established as a serious and dangerous woman, and her personality and motivations reflect this. It is very engaging to peak into the mindset and experience of someone forcibly raised by the Mad Titan, Thanos, and I want to follow Gamora through more adventures.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly loved this story. I feel like part of the summary of the entire volume says to consider this to be an origin story. In the event I am wrong, please, consider this as an origin story. It provides information on Gamora's back story on her race, it explains why she is such a talented assassin, and it provides us a really interesting take on her relationship with Nebula. In fact, it makes it appear like the both act like nothing more than teenagers living under their father's roof. I really do not have any complaints with this story. I feel the art is absolutely beautiful, the characters are all personable and interesting, and the lessons Gamora learns really help make sense of why she is soon willing to become a hero and oppose Thanos as based on her depiction in the Marvel movie universe.

Considering how the characters were in the volume, I feel Thanos' relationship and interactions with Nebula were really troubling. He basically calls her a piece of shit that will never be likely or lucky enough to rival her sister, Gamora. Nebula's depiction in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie play off well as she is shown in this volume as she is countlessly trying to find ways to kill Gamora. It seemed funny and insane just how focused Nebula was in the film. I also found it very interesting how Gamora herself was depicted. She is observed to constantly be a in a depressed and introspective mood while curled up in the fetal position on her air ship. Her inner thoughts really helped show her change in heart. She learned quick what seemed to be the right thing to do even though her intentions were to assassinate a character that was truly good of heart. The character of T'wit was charming and the art made her seem so beautiful. As of the writing of this review, I am unaware if the comic series will continue beyond this arc but I feel it has great promise. If not, this was a strong and solid origin story which I feel is definitely a good read for any fans of the Guardians of the Galaxy.

[Alex E · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this early tale of Gamora's adventures, it's revealed how villainous she was at one time. Well, villainous - in this instance - is almost understandable, as the badoon murdered her people. She then goes on to kill everyone in the badoon royal line, to cause that world to descend into chaos.

However, she missed one, and this book details her pursuit of a young woman who was hidden in a planet that is about to fall into a black hole. Gamora has to travel there to end what she started, but several convenient plot occurrences prevent her from doing so, until she changes her mind.

The plot from Nicole Perlman was pretty straightforward, and some parts are a bit obvious as to what will happen next. The thing I liked most about the book was seeing Gamora interact with people other than the guardians. She is a badass, and this book definitely let's you know it.

Easily my favorite thing about the book was the art. The book looks amazing, and that's all down to the art team. From action sequences to just profile shots, the book is a treat for the eyes.

A straightforward book, worth it for the art alone, I would recommend this for anyone who likes Gamora as a character.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much as I like Gamora I wondered if she could carry a whole series. But after a slow start - she seemed upstaged by characters like Thanos and her scheming, damaged sister Nebula - Nicole Perlman did an excellent job in making her an interesting, complex character that we could care about. The plotting was a strength too, filled with intrigue. It's clear Perlman has a film background - she throws in enough subplots and tension twists to fill a blockbuster. And Marco Checchetto is one of my favourite comic book artists - I love his style and he makes a great team with colourist Andres Mossa.
Unfortunately this series, like a lot of other worthy Marvel series at the time, never found an audience. I don't know if Perlman lost a lot of motivation once she found out her project had been cancelled, but the story finishes more with a whimper than a bang. It suffers from what I'm going to call Final Issue Syndrome, descending into a schmaltzy soap opera crammed with healing, redemption and sunny hopes for the future. This was quite jarring from the dark, unsentimental earlier chapters.

[Omnibuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Per usual, the only things I knew about Gamora prior to this trade are she was tortured in Infinity Gauntlet and undid Thanos' snap and the MCU version of her.

This trade combines the MCU and comic version to--from my understanding--rewrite her origin and present a "new" version.

Gamora is a daughter of Thanos, she is the sole-survivor of her race, she has to constantly contend with Nebula's desire to be favored by their father, and is driven by the blood lust to eradicate the Badoon. She seeks to eliminate the Badoon's royal bloodline and ends up to on Ubilex, a planet located inside a black hole, to find the hidden princess of the Badoon royal line.

In this endeavor, we get insight into Gamora's conflict: being the deadliest woman in the galaxy and a traumatized woman who is merely seeking a real family and home. She must choose which person who wants to be in any moment especially when her life is threatened.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

How did Gamora become known as "The Most Dangerous Woman in the Universe"? This quick backstory shows just a bit of why.
Gamora is the last Zen-Whoberi, her race having been annihilated by the Badoon. For her birthday, Thanos tells her where the last of the Badoon are: on Ubliex, a planet near the event horizon of a black hole. If she wants her revenge, she needs to go now...
On Ubliex, Gamora meets L'Wit and the two of them decide to rescue people from the planet. But what happens when she discovers L'Wit is a Badoon Princess? And is she really the last of the Zen-Whoberi?
This very quick blast into the past of a beloved Guardian of the Galaxy is fun and action-packed. Quick read and well worth it. Recommend.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect to like this comic. I dislike in the extreme the trend of horrible story telling of the recent Marvel Comics and I really do not enjoy at all the stories in the comics that change continuity to match the Marvel Movies. The movies change the comic book universe way to much and at the whim of writers and directors who do not even like comic books - it is just a job to them.

So I was very surprised to find this Gamora story to be very enjoyable. The story was interesting and had a bit of a puzzle to figure out along with some adventure. The art was a little sloppy at times but in this case some sloppy art did not disrupt my enjoyment of a good old space romp. Good stuff!

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is for adult Gamora fans who want to know adventures with her before Guardians of the Galaxy happened.
• I really enjoyed this in the sense of learning Gamora's character development but I wonder if this was made to inspire Guardians or vice versa.
• I despised the artstyle because it got confusing at times. But the world was created nicely and it was very interesting.
Overall, I did enjoy this read but I think I want to try reading a different story about Gamora in the future. Because of these points I have to give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[Leensey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the artwork. The story was okay.

It's a good prelude to plant seeds of doubt in Gamora's faith in Thanos. Also a great prelude to make her realize that family isn't just blood- it's choice.

She didn't have to choose her fellow Zen-Whoberi who were only looking out for themselves.

Later on, she wouldn't have to choose Thanos as her family.

And she was right that she will find and choose her own family with the Guardians, and even repair that strained sisterhood she has with Nebula.

In that way, this was a good solo comic run.

[Math Erao · Rating 2 out of 5]

the promise of the first issue’s cover was not fulfilled by the inner art, which sadly wasn’t by ribic. the writing was even worse. thanos says the word “upcycled” at one point. all the aliens are making baby on board jokes and calling nebula baldy mcblueface. i always assumed all the shitty stuff in guardians 1 was james gunn given how bad the second movie is, but it turns out nicole perlman isn’t much better.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Set in Gamora's past, retconned to fit with the movies, Gamora, while still working for Thanos, takes a personal mission to kill the royal line of the Badoon, the race that slaughtered her people. After killing the main line she finds out about a royal bastard on a nowhere planet and goes after them. The story starts strong, but feels like it's spinning its wheels a bit by the end. The art was also good.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I want to read in a Gamora book.

Gamora and the story she is in are clearly influenced by the movies (including Nebula and the theme of family) but that is perfectly ok with me as I liked all of that.

Gamora gets to be badass and learn a thing or two about herself - what you would expect in a solo story.

The art is great and really evokes a sci fi/sword and sorcery feel.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A revisionist retcon take on Gamora by the screenwriter of one GotG movies, but a good one, and providing much backstory for the character as she stands in the comics. There's this fine line when writing an anti-hero; how do you make them a complete scary badass without having them tread into shitty person territory? This tackles that and does a good job. And the art is gorgeous.

[Liesl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous art and some great thoughts on how vengeance will never bring you peace. This comic definitely brings Gamora's complex and tragic backstory to life. However, if you're looking for the easy humour of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, don't look here. However, if you want a gritty revenge tale, this will probably be your kind of thing.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a comic based in the MCU which becomes not canon once more MCU movies come out. It's not true to her original comic origins, and it's not true to her film origins as of Avengers: Infinity War. So what's the real point of reading this?

I don't know, some of the Marco Checchetto art looks nice.

[Connor · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was alright. I don't think you need to read it if you're already familiar with Gamora. The artwork was impressive. After killing all of the Badoon royal family, Gamora learns of the existence of a surviving princess on a dying planet next to a black hole. Gamora, seeking revenge because the Badoon killed her race, goes to the planet take out the princess.