Nebula is a fictional character, an alien
supervillain appearing in the Marvel Comics
universe.
Created by Roger Stern and John Buscema, the
character first appeared in Avengers #257.
A pirate and mercenary operating in outer
space, the character has frequently appeared
as an enemy of the Avengers and the Silver
Surfer.
Nebula has appeared in several other media
adaptations of the Marvel comics, including
animated television series and video games.
Actress Karen Gillan plays the character in
the 2014 live-action film Guardians of the
Galaxy.
Publication history
Nebula was created by writer Roger Stern and
artist John Buscema, and first appeared in
The Avengers #257.
Fictional character biography
A brutal space pirate and mercenary, Nebula
seized control of Sanctuary II, a massive
spaceship previously under the command of
Thanos.
Thanos was believed to be dead at this point,
and Nebula claimed that he had been her grandfather.
Nebula's band of mercenaries and pirates consisted
of Skunge, Kehl, Gunthar, and Levan.
Nebula asked the second Captain Marvel to
join her mercenary band and aid them in conquering
the Skrull Empire.
However, Firelord learned that Nebula had
massacred the Xandarians.
Nebula used her space fleet to attack the
Skrull space armada and the Avengers.
Nebula then schemed to gain absolute power
using Earth scientist Dr. Harker's atomic
compressor to release vast amounts of energy
that were absorbed by the Infinity Union.
She fought the Avengers, and absorbed energies
from the Infinity Union through the implant
in her brain.
As she fought the Avengers, she lost her powers
when Sersi removed the brain implant.
Nebula then escaped.
The Infinity Gauntlet
The newly resurrected Thanos was offended
by Nebula's claims of kinship.
He reclaimed his ship and almost killed her,
using the Infinity Gems.
He transformed her into a grotesque virtual
corpse still barely alive, leaving her as
a maimed and seemingly mindless zombie, burned
and disfigured by his energy beams.
When he later claimed the Infinity Gauntlet,
Thanos boasted that Nebula was his greatest
creation — unable to die, but not truly
alive either.
However, when Thanos defeated Eternity and
took his place, Thanos expanded his consciousness
into the universe, leaving his body comatose.
Nebula managed to take the Gauntlet from Thanos,
using its power to restore herself to health
and banish Thanos, seeking to conquer the
universe herself.
Thanos agreed to help a loose band of heroes
defeat Nebula.
The group in question consisted of Adam Warlock,
Doctor Strange, the Silver Surfer, Thor, the
Hulk, Firelord, Doctor Doom and Drax the Destroyer—
the only heroes that Strange had been able
to locate in the time available to him.
The group confronted her, and, with Thanos
exploiting Nebula's inexperience with wielding
the Gauntlet, she was tricked into undoing
the events of Thanos' godhood and all the
death and destruction Thanos wreaked with
his power.
The Cosmic Pantheon immediately appeared,
and battled her.
With Nebula thus distracted— lacking the
knowledge to realize that they were keeping
her occupied by attacking her all at once,
thus preventing her from thinking of a less
direct method of assault— the Surfer and
Warlock were able to steal the Gauntlet from
her by exploiting Warlock's connection to
the Soul Gem, disrupting the unity between
the Infinity Gems and forcing Nebula to drop
the Gauntlet.
Nebula was captured by Starfox and returned
to Titan for trial, while Adam Warlock claimed
the Gauntlet.
Nebula was later confronted by Firelord in
the Titanian prison.
In flashback, the murder of her abusive father
was depicted.
Nebula was later freed from prison by Geatar,
and converted into a cyborg by Doctor Mandibus.
She attempted to free her pirate crew from
the "Anvil" space prison, but was thwarted
by the Silver Surfer and Jack of Hearts.
She killed her crew in escaping.
Annihilation
Nebula has appeared as one of Gamora's followers,
'The Graces'.
In this role, she battled Ronan the Accuser
alongside Stellaris.
Ronan triumphed, severely wounding her.
Powers and abilities
Nebula is an athletic woman and an excellent
armed and unarmed combatant.
She possesses a gifted intellect and is a
brilliant battle strategist.
Nebula uses blasters worn on her wrists that
fire concussive blasts of unknown energy or
heat blasts that can incinerate a human being
almost instantly.
She also apparently wears a device that enables
her to disguise her appearance, either through
illusion-casting or through actual molecular
rearrangement of her body and clothing.
Nebula was converted by Doctor Mandibus into
a cyborg.
She was given an artificial left eye, left
arm, and left shoulder.
The left upper quarter of her head and part
of her right hip are sheathed in metal.
Nebula briefly possessed the Infinity Union,
a combination of three devices that together
could channel all forms of ambient energy
into her; this infused her with vast energies.
She also briefly possessed the Infinity Gauntlet,
which held six "Infinity Gems" of virtually
unlimited power, which gave her seemingly
absolute control of reality while she possessed
them.
However, her short-sightedness meant that
she often made crucial errors in judgment
when wielding the power; she undid the events
of Thanos's godhood without realizing that
this would revert her to her near-death state
and free the imprisoned Cosmic Pantheon whom
Thanos had recently defeated.
In other media
Television
Nebula is featured in the two-part episode
"Learning Curve" of the 1999 animated series
Silver Surfer, voiced by Jennifer Dale.
Nebula, voiced by Jane Lynch, appears in the
second season of the 2009 animated series
The Super Hero Squad Show.
This version is the older sister of Thanos,
and appears in the episodes "Double Negations
at the World's End," "Fate of Destiny," and
"When Strikes the Surfer."
Film
Scottish actress Karen Gillan portrays Nebula
in the 2014 live-action film Guardians of
the Galaxy.
She is portrayed as an adopted daughter of
Thanos, who augmented her and converted her
into a cyborg; at least her arms are completely
mechanical, as she is shown making repairs
to circuits in her forearm.
Despite her familial ties to Thanos, she allies
with Ronan the Accuser when he steals an Infinity
Stone to destroy Xandar and later use against
Thanos, only to be defeated in combat by Gamora.
When Gamora offers to save her, Nebula rejects
Gamora's help and severs her trapped mechanical
left hand so that she can steal a ship and
escape.
Video games
Nebula is the penultimate boss in the 1996
SNES game Marvel Super Heroes: War of the
Gems.
Nebula appears in Marvel Super Hero Squad:
The Infinity Gauntlet, with Jane Lynch reprising
the voice role from the animated series.
Nebula appears as a villain in Special Operation
20 of Marvel: Avengers Alliance, which is
based on the Guardians of the Galaxy film.
References
External links
Nebula at the Marvel Universe wiki
