How Is Gamora Alive in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’? Explained

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘ is, so far, the latest movie in the franchise and the last one that was directed by James Gunn. Ever since the trailer dropped and after the movie was ultimately released, we were aware that it was supposed to be “one last ride” for some of the members of the team. We’ve expected that Rocket would die or that something horrifying would happen to Drax or Mantis. Instead, fans were shocked by the fact that Gamora is alive and well in the movie, albeit she acts rather cold toward the former team members she once considered family. So before we discuss her sudden shift of personality in the movie, let’s see how is Gamora even alive in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.’

Gamora is alive in ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ because she found herself in the current timeline following ‘Time Heist’ during the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame.’ The original Gamora died on Vormir when Thanos when she went to retrieve the Soul Stone; she was replaced by another, younger version of Gamora. The Gamora that died in ‘Endgame’ is not the same Gamora we see in GotG Vol. 3.

Not many people remember that the original Gamora is no longer around and that the Gamora that is now in the storyline of the Guardians of the Galaxy is the one from 2014, before the events of the first movie. This is why she and Peter aren’t exactly on the same page, as they hardly know each other. Let’s get to know more about how Gamora is still alive.

Is Gamora still alive in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3?

One of the original Guardians of the Galaxy members is Gamora, who founded the team with Peter Quill (Star-Lord), Rocket Raccoon, Drax, and the original Groot. Of course, the group became bigger as it became an entire organization based on the floating Celestial head called Knowhere. Of course, this group experienced its fair share of ups and downs throughout its history, especially during ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’

In ‘Infinity War,’ the Guardians were dragged into the entire Thanos mess when Thor told them what the Mad Titan was up to. Because Gamora was Thanos’ adopted daughter, she decided to ensure that the Mad Titan wouldn’t get his hands on the Infinity Stones. That was why she and the other Guardians helped out in the efforts to prevent him from succeeding.

But Thanos got his hands on Gamora after a short encounter with the Guardians. He knew that she was the only one who knew where the location of the Soul Stone, and that was why Gamora was so important to Thanos. And by using Nebula as a bargaining chip, Thanos convinced her to take her to Vormir, which was the place where the Soul Stone was.

In Vormir, however, the Red Skull told Thanos that the Soul Stone required the soul of someone that the person loved. That was when he decided to sacrifice Gamora in exchange for the Soul Stone, as she had to die for Thanos to attain his goal of gathering all of the Infinity Stones to erase half of the universe’s population.

But while Gamora is already dead, the thing is that she is still in the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. This version of Gamora, however, is different from the last one. This new Gamora is more aggressive, ruthless, and willing to go all-in when she is threatened or on a mission.

She is also annoyed by many of her former team members, and lacks the cool head and kindness that the Gamora in the previous movies showcased. Most importantly, this new Gamora doesn’t care about Peter at all (most of the time), and she is revolted by his advances and constantly on the verge of kicking his butt because of them. So, what happened to Gamora?

How is Gamora still alive?

As mentioned, Gamora died during ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ when Thanos sacrificed her to obtain the Soul Stone. But the thing is that she is in the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 together with the other members of the Guardians. So, how is Gamora still alive?

During the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ the Avengers found a way to travel through time using the Quantum Realm. They decided to split up to maximize the Pym particles they had left and gather all of the Infinity Stones from the past, as Thanos had already been destroyed in their timeline just after he snapped half of the universe out of existence.

Nebula and War Machine returned to the 2014 timeline to get the Power Stone just before Peter Quill got to it in the events of the first Guardians movie. However, because Nebula shared the same server as the Nebula that existed during the 2014 timeline, the Thanos of that timeline found out about the 2023 version of Nebula and what she and the Avengers were planning to do.

As such, Thanos ordered the 2014 Nebula to infiltrate the Avengers. While that was happening, the 2014 Gamora was there to hear everything about what Thanos was planning. This was when Gamora still appeared loyal to the Mad Titan, as she was yet to betray him to join the Guardians of the Galaxy.

So, when the Avengers returned to their original timeline with all of the Infinity Stones, Thanos returned to 2023 with them while bringing his ship and his massive army to that timeline. Of course, the 2014 Gamora also came along with him.

Because Gamora was always innately good, she betrayed Thanos during the final battle of Endgame and decided to switch to the side of the Avengers. However, she didn’t team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy because, aside from Nebula, the members of the Guardians were all strangers to her. She even kicked Quill in the nuts when he made advances on her.

The fact that Gamora betrayed Thanos was the reason why she was spared when Tony Stark used the Infinity Stones to wipe out the Mad Titan and his army. However, Gamora left Earth to find her place in the galaxy and joined Ravagers as she had nowhere else to go after Thanos, and his army was defeated.

So, what we are trying to say here is that the Gamora that is present in the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is the Gamora that came back from 2014 together with Thanos and the rest of his army.

The original Gamora that founded the Guardians and fell in love with Star-Lord no longer lives because her soul was given up in exchange for the Soul Stone. As such, this is an entirely different Gamora that pre-dated when she met Quill and the rest of the Guardians back in 2014. 

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