Nebula

Origin

A brutal space pirate and mercenary of the starship Sanctuary III, once the flagship of Thanos‘ armada. She and her mercenaries massacred the Xandarians. She has laid claim to be the granddaughter to Thanos. She is also rumored to be the daughter to Zorr. She accomplished what her rumored father could not, she destroyed the remaining planet, Xandar. Later, she would wreck havoc upon the Skrull Empire.

When she denied Thanos’ return he blasted her, seemingly killing her, She was rescued by a crew member and taken to be healed in a hidden spot on her ship. Thanos soon discovered her and resurrected her.

Altered by Thanos while he wore the Infinity Gauntlet, she was simply a tactic to impress Thanos’ love, mistress Death. She was a rotting body, neither alive nor dead, virtually no strength at all, yet she was still aware of everything that was going on around her. Seeing her opportunity, she snatched the gauntlet off Thanos’ hand and gained ultimate power. She trapped Thanos in an unbreakable casing, then made everything as it had been 24 hours before that, and in doing so made a few mistakes, all of which she corrected. First off, she was turned back into a rotting body, then turned herself back into her normal self again. Then she realized that she had released all the cosmic beings that Thanos had trapped. Amazingly enough, she trapped them again, and turned them all into stone. Ultimately she lost the gauntlet when Adam Warlock reached out from Soul World and separated the gauntlet from her and gained it temporarily for himself.

Nebula was then taken to Titan as a prisoner. She was confronted by Firelord, who swore vengeance against her for destroying his homeworld, Xandar. Starfox uses his powers to stay his hand. He then used his powers on Nebula, trying to stop her suffering and eventually putting her in a catatonic state. She was then sent to rehabilitation. When her former second in command Geatar was revived by the Titans, they allowed him to continue serving Nebula. He eventually gained their trust. He killed a guard and escaped with her, taking her to someone he believed would help her more than the Titans – Doctor Mandibus. He was able to repair her mind and parts of her were made mechanical, including her entire left arm and half of her head.

Her first action was to get her crew back. She and Geatar traveled to Annoval 14, a prison planet known as the Anvil. She planned to break her crew out of the prison. She tricked Chancellor Stipe into believing that Geatar was turning her over as a prisoner. After being strip searched and harassed, she kills the guards holding her. She is soon met by Geatar with the Chancellor hostage. The Silver Surfer interferes but backs down when they threaten to kill the Chancellor. They are taken to her crew and are about to board the largest ship and escape loaded with weapons when they are surprised by the Jack of Hearts. They are no match for him and the Surfer, and Geatar is injured. Nebula refuses to loose her first officer and starts up the ship, killing her entire crew with the jets to escape.

She travels to Sylloqonia in an attempt to hide from the law and lead a normal life in peace. When the Silver Surfer and Legacy arrive, she assumes they have tracked her down and runs from them. When they catch up to her she attacks them and tries to use her shape shifting devices to escape. She eventually resorts to attempting to harm citizens to make the Surfer choose between her and the safety of others. The Surfer is not deterred for long and uses his power to turn her body armor into a cocoon to encase her. She is then taken by the police and loaded on their ship to return her to the Anvil.

Creation

Nebula is a Marvel Comics character created by Roger Stern and John Buscema who first appears in The Avengers #257.

Powers & Abilities

Nebula’s wrist blasters are able to fire both concussive blasts which knock out opponents and heat blasts that simply incinerate them. Nebula wears a device that allows her to change the appearance of her body and clothes. Otherwise she relies on her skills on armed and unarmed combat. She is supposedly of “gifted” intellect and has been described as a master strategist.

Character Profile

• Height: 6’1″
• Weight: 185 lbs
• Eye Color: Blue
• Hair Color: Bald
• Marital Status: Single
• Occupation: Space pirate, mercenary, conqueror
• Known Relatives: Thanos (alleged grandfather), Zorr (alleged father), Kraa (alleged uncle), Xira (alleged aunt)

Other Media

Films

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Doctor Who star Karen Gillan portrays Nebula in the film Guardians of the Galaxy. In the film, she is the adopted daughter of Thanos and sister to Gamora. She is shown to be incredibly jealous of the favoritism her father shows towards Gamora, and seeks to outdo her. When Gamora betrays Thanos and steals the Power Stone, Nebula is tasked with tracking her down.

When Ronan the Accuser recovers the Power Stone and decides to keep it for himself, Nebula decides to partner with him when she learns that he plans to kill Thanos. During the final battle, Nebula escapes by killing a member of the Nova Corps and hijacking his ship.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Karen Gillan reprises her role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Nebula has a larger role this time, with her backstory explored in far greater detail.

In the film, Nebula is initially given to the Guardians by Ayesha after having been captured. She later escapes and sells out the Guardians to the Ravagers, who give her a ship to use. She tracks Gamora and attempts to kill her, with the two having a fierce and emotional confrontation. It is revealed that Nebula’s cybernetic components were forced upon her by Thanos when she continually failed to best Gamora in combat, which traumatized her. As a result, she hates Gamora and blames her for the abuse she suffered at Thanos’ hands.

The two sisters eventually reconcile, with Nebula helping the Guardians battle Ego, as well as Ayesha’s minions. During the battle, Nebula actually saves Gamora’s life, showing that she has finally forgiven her. Though Nebula is offered a chance to officially join the Guardians, she declines, instead setting off on her own to kill Thanos for what he did to her.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Karen Gillan again reprises her role in Avengers: Infinity War. It is revealed that after the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Nebula infiltrated Thanos’ flagship, Sanctuary II, and nearly managed to kill him before being taken down and captured. After kidnapping Gamora, Thanos tortures Nebula in order to force Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. Nebula later manages to escape captivity, and heads to the ruins of Titan, where she helps the Avengers and the Guardians in their fight against Thanos. It is during the battle that Nebula realizes Gamora is dead, as Thanos sacrificed her in order to get the Soul Stone. The heroes are eventually defeated, and Nebula and Iron Man are ultimately left as the only survivors on Titan after Thanos activates the Infinity Gauntlet and uses it to wipe out half of all life in the universe.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Karen Gillan again reprises her role in Avengers: Endgame. Following the disastrous battle on Titan, Nebula and Iron Man are left marooned in space after the deceased Star-Lord’s ship ceases to work. The two nearly starve to death, but are saved by Captain Marvel. Back on Earth, Nebula allies herself with the Avengers, who track down Thanos in order to take back the Infinity Stones and use them to resurrect his victims. The heroes manage to overpower and eventually kill the weakened Thanos, but, to their dismay, find that he has already destroyed the Infinity Stones to prevent anyone else from using them.

Five years later, Nebula has become a member of the Avengers. When Scott Lang arrives and tells the Avengers that time travel may be key to retrieving the Infinity Stones, Nebula is partnered with War Machine. The two are sent to the planet Morag during 2014 (coinciding with the events of the first Guardians of the Galaxy film), where they steal the Power Stone from Star-Lord. Unfortunately, Nebula is captured by the 2014 version of Thanos, who has the villainous, 2014-era Nebula take her place in order to infiltrate Avengers HQ and steal the Infinity Stones. While captive, Nebula is able to forge a connection with the 2014 version of Gamora, and who eventually sets her free.

During the final battle at the ruins of Avengers HQ, Nebula kills her villainous 2014 counterpart and fights alongside the heroes once again. After Thanos is destroyed and his victims are revived, Nebula departs Earth with the resurrected Guardians, who set off to find the missing . 2014 Gamora.

Television

Silver Surfer (1998)

In the Silver Surfer animated series, Nebula and her space pirates were intent on finding the Universal Library of the Watchers and selling all warfare information to the Kree and the Skrulls for massive profit. Having stolen one of the beacons to the location from Mentor, her entire crew were consumed by primitive beings on arrival. They soon learned these beings were the Watchers themselves, now called the Virals, and they were trapped. Nebula, Geatar and Mentor all transformed into Virals to become a part of their collective consciousness.

Nebula was voiced by Jennifer Dale, who also did the voice of Mystique on the X-Men animated series.

The Super Hero Squad Show (2009)

Nebula appears in several episodes of The Super Hero Squad Show, working to get the Infinity Gems. After a failed plot, she is captured by Thanos and appears as her prisoner. Thanos keeps her gagged in order to prevent her from speaking, but later uses the Infinity Gauntlet to remove her mouth entirely. Her mouth is later restored by Molecule Man.

In this series, Nebula was voiced by Jane Lynch of Glee fame. Lynch only voiced Nebula in two episodes, as the character was usually either gagged or missing her mouth during her other appearances.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy

Nebula appears in the series as a recurring antagonist in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, voiced by Cree Summer.

What If…?

Nebula appears in the What If…? episode “What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?” with Karen Gillan reprising her role from the live-action films. In an altered timeline where the Ravagers accidentally abducted young T’Challa instead of Peter Quill, Nebula is a criminal who has a strained relationship with her father Thanos. She partners with T’Challa and the Ravagers as part of a heist to steal a rare cosmic artifact from the Collector. This version of Nebula had fewer cybernetic enhancements made to her body (likely as a result of Thanos having learned the error of his ways in this timeline), and was implied to have a romantic interest in T’Challa.

Games

Marvel Super Heroes: War of the Gems

Nebula appears as the penultimate boss character in this Japanese action platformer from Capcom, which is loosely based on the “Infinity Gauntlet” storyline by Jim Starlin. In a major departure from the comics, Nebula actually appears to be working for Thanos, rather than being held captive by him.

Marvel Avengers Alliance

Nebula is a boss in several misions in the game, making her debut in the special Op 20: Guardians of The Galaxy.

Her bio says: The granddaughter of Thanos, Nebula’s superhuman strength, durability, and mastery of advanced weapons and technology make her a powerful adversary in her own right.

Marvel Avengers Alliance 2

Nebula is a playable character in the game. She is a scrapper class.

Her bio says: In an alternate reality, this Nebula was the last surviving member of the galactic peacekeeping force known as the Nebula Corps. Nebula is a hard-nosed space-cop accustomed to always getting her man. Cybernetically enhanced for combat situations in the roughest neighborhoods in the galaxy, Nebula is a fearsome combatant and peerless detective.

Marvel Future Fight

Nebula is a playable character in the game. She is a combat type, and her description in the game says: Nebula is a fierce and deadly pirate feared throughout the galaxy for her crimes. Her path of chaos and terror has led to clashed with various heroes such as Nova, Spider-Man, and the Avengers.

She has been release in several costumes:

• Nebula – Classic
• Nebula – Modern

Avengers Academy

Nebula was available as a premium character during the Guardians of the Galaxy event in this mobile app game, voiced by Linnea Sage.

Marvel: War of Heroes

Nebula appears in several cards in the mobile card game Marvel: War of Heroes. Her cards are:

• [Freed] Nebula
• [Nihilism] Thanos & Nebula

Marvel Contest of Champions

Nebula is a playable character in the game. She is a Tech type champion.

Her bio in the game says: Cybernetically enhanced at birth and trained to win at all costs, Nebula is one of the Mad Titan Thanos’ two adopted daughters and harbors a hatred of her sister, Gamora after a personal bout left her broken and reeling. Now she has been brought back from the brink of death and seeks vengeance against Gamora, but her journey to exact justice on her sister may reveal more about herself than she expected…

Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2

Nebula appears as a playable character in the game, with her appearance based on her MCU design.

Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale series

Nebula appears as an NPC in the game, voiced by Ashly Burch. She initially encounters Star-Lord in a bar after the Guardians kill Thanos, and expresses a desire to see Gamora again. She later attacks the location where Thanos body is held, but is subdued and taken captive by the Guardians. During the battle with the Kree forces, the player has the option of freeing Nebula to join the battle. Star-Lord later experiences flashbacks to Gamora and Nebula’s childhood, and sees them being forces to fight by Thanos. At the end, the player has the option of having Star-Lord either Nebula to either stay or leave. If told to leave, Nebula sides with Hala the Accuser‘s Kree forces, but if told to stay, she finally reconciles with Gamora.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order

Nebula appears as a boss character in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, with Ashly Burch reprising her role. She is faced by the Guardians near the beginning of the game, where she has a bunch of Kree henchmen.

Merchandise

• A Nebula figure was released as part of an exclusive SDCC 2014 Marvel Legends set by Hasbro.
• Funko produced several Nebula products.
• Nebula is featured in Hasbro’s line for the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series.
• Hasbro released a Nebula figure (based on her appearance in the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie) for the Marvel Legends Mantis Build-a-Figure wave.
• Nebula was featured in the “Star-Lord vs. Nebula” Might Micros kit from Lego.
• Hot Toys produced a Nebula figure for their Cosbaby line.
• Nebula was featured in Lego’s product lines for the first two Guardians movies and Avengers: Endgame.
• Hot Toys produced a Nebula figure based on her appearance in Avengers: Endgame.
• Hasbro produced a Marvel Legends two-pack featuring the Avengers: Endgame versions of Hawkeye and Black Widow, which came with an alternate Nebula head for the Black Widow body.
• The What If…? version of Nebula was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as part of the Watcher Build-a-Figure wave.