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What If... one episode got pushed back to Season 2 because it wasn't ready yet?
In the MCU, Gamora was raised by Thanos to become a deadly assassin. But in this universe, her tactics are challenged by a new,
unusual target: Tony Stark.
When we got to the Season 1 finale of What If...?, it was a big "Avengers assemble" moment collecting characters we'd seen in all the previous episodes... and also a Gamora we hadn't. What the what? Had we somehow missed grabbing an episode on "BestDownlodes.CreditCardFraud.Crime.ru"? Was it just an attempt to make the multiverse feel bigger? No and no: there was a tenth episode planned for the first season, but pandemic delays meant they couldn't get it done in time; rather than delay everything, they just opted to hold that single episode for Season 2, leaving Gamora's appearance in the finale and an early Lego set to spoil what the episode was about. So this is at least one figure in Series 4 that doesn't give too much away.
As a cartoon-based figure, Warrior Gamora doesn't try to look like Zoe Saldana - she's just a green lady with white marks on her face and hair that fades from black to burgundy. Well, "from dark brown," in this art style, but you can understand what they were going for. Obviously stylization will change some features, but she definitely looks more like her "real" counterpart than some others we could name.
Without an introductory episode to get us up to speed on the character, everything about Gamora had to be conveyed by her design. She's wearing a feminine version of Thanos's armor,
suggesting she's either fully joined with him or has completely usurped him - knowing Gamora, it's probably the latter, but no one outside of Disney will know for about another month. The costume looks better on her than it did on him, obviously, though all the important shapes are copied over. One definite change? The heels. Gamora gets her height boosted by some weird hollow wedges on her boots, similar to what she wore in Vol. 2, which probably speaks to how long ago this character was designed.
Unlike Thanos, who ended up being a pointless pale lavender, Marvel Studios has never shied away from making Gamora green green. That really pays off here, where she can contrast against the brown and gold of the armor way better than her dad ever did. Honestly, they should have stuck with the deep purple he was at the end of the first Avengers. That's kind of off-topic, isn't it? The point is the cartoons aren't afraid of color the way the movies are, and it's to this toy's benefit. This is as colorful compared to the real MCU as the MCU is to DC movies.
Thanks to the new costume, there aren't any parts of this toy that could be reused from earlier molds. They didn't skip any
of her articulation: she has a balljointed head, hinged neck, swivel/hinge shoulders, swivel biceps, double-hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, a balljointed chest, balljoint hips, swivel thighs, double-hinged knees, and swivel/hinge ankles. It was tough getting the hinges in the shoulders going, and her left foot didn't want to swivel at all - I was afraid the joint might rip. It still doesn't feel great, but at least I've got it moving now.
Gamora gets a single accessory, the improved Thanoscopter sword we got before.
Her right hand has to be open wider than usual to hold it, while her left hand is relaxed and open. She doesn't have any alternates.
She does include the left arm of the Hydra Stomper Build-A-Figure.
We now have almost the full Guardians of the Multiverse team, and something tells us Party Prince Thor and Age of Ultron Black Widow aren't high-priority figures. It's been a long wait for Warrior Gamora, but she's a good design and a smart take on the character, so patience has been worth it.
-- 11/17/23
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