Domo arigato, Miss Roboto. Thanos’ cyborg daughter, Nebula, has had a constant role in the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Guardians of the Galaxy series and most recently Avengers: Infinity War. Karen Gillan brings a fierce rage to the skilled warrior that covers a deeper yearning for a family to replace her tortured childhood. With each appearance, her character has developed a little more, and Infinity War left her in an even more interesting place, potentially setting her up for a pivotal role in Avengers: Endgame. Let’s look at her character arc so far and how the film might take inspiration from her story in the comics.
Quest for Vengeance
From her first appearance in Guardians of The Galaxy, Nebula’s relationship with Gamora has always been complicated. Maybe it was constantly being pitted against each other, maybe it was the cybernetic enhancements after every loss – but the siblings didn’t get on very well whatsoever. Their fight scenes between the two are consistently great – as the emotional stakes are equally high as the danger raised in the plot. But as the series has progressed, we’ve seen them become closer as Nebula heartbreakingly confessed that while Gamora just wanted to win, all she wanted was a sister. And after years of being Thanos’ lackey – she finally realized that he was the source of all her pain.
Although they’ll never be a picture-perfect family again, after this they’re on better terms – with Nebula working with Gamora to conceal the location of the Soul Stone from Thanos. Unfortunately, this meant more torture for the cyborg warrior when Thanos suspends her in a paralyzed state with a number of her mechanical parts stripped from her body. It’s an interesting adaptation of a scene from 1991 The Infinity Gauntlet comics… But we’ll get onto that in a second. By the end of Infinity War, she’s left on Titan with Iron Man after half the universe has been wiped out. After her traumatic childhood, the murder of her sister and now the decimation; it’s understandable why she wants to kill Thanos, talk about daddy issues. But how is she going to be integral in defeating him? He batted her away like an insect during the fight on Titan…
The Infinity Gauntlet
During Jim Starlin’s classic 1991 series, The Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos assembles all the Infinity Stones and snaps half the universe out of existence. He also realizes that he can become something even greater than a physical being and transcends to a higher plane of existence in his astral form (like that incredible hospital fight in the Doctor Strange film) leaving his body behind. Nebula is in a state of living death at this point as a grotesque zombie but seizes her chance by stealing the Gauntlet from Thanos’ physical form and becomes the most powerful being in the universe.
Thanos has tricked her into undoing all the damage he did to the universe by turning back time to 24 hours before the ‘snap’. In doing so she has to fend off other galactic entities like Eternity and Galactus and then declares herself “the Omnipotent Nebula”… Uh oh. With the help of Adam Warlock, the heroes manage to subdue her as she’s distracted and Warlock becomes the keeper of the Gauntlet. Okay, that’s a lot to take in. The key thing is that Nebula gets the Infinity Gauntlet and usurps Thanos from his galactic seat of power.
Endgame
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has consistently managed to take classic comic book sagas and adapt them in a way that fits their story that spans their sprawling list of films. The Infinity Gauntlet is no different, just look at the snap. We all know that time-travel will play some role in Avengers: Endgame and the theories seem to swirl around Tony Stark, the Quantum Realm as well as those new white suits glimpsed in the new trailer. But the time travel could actually come from Nebula as she undoes all the damage Thanos inflicted on the universe. Even if this isn’t the case and she doesn’t get the Gauntlet – the narrative groundwork has been laid in a way that it makes perfect sense for Nebula to deliver a killing blow as revenge for Gamora’s death and her own personal trauma.
And to a lesser degree (sort of), she’s still going to be vital in helping Tony get back home since the pair are stranded together after the Decimation. We’ve seen in the trailers that the pair are working on on the Guardians’ ship in space – is she using her knowledge of galactic technology with Tony’s expertise to help get them back? To be fair, Iron Man is used to dealing with murderous robots – so they might be a perfect partnership.
Avengers: Endgame hits theaters, April 26.
