Nebula [Marvel]

Nebula is a former Luphomoid assassin, an adopted daughter of Thanos and adopted sister of Gamora. Together with Gamora, Nebula was assigned to Ronan the Accuser, during his quest to retrieve the Orb, although Gamora eventually betrayed them. Due to her hatred of Thanos, Nebula joined Ronan when he betrayed Thanos and tried to use the Power Stone by himself to destroy Xandar. During the Battle of Xandar, Nebula fought against the Guardians of the Galaxy but was forced to retreat from the battle. Later, Nebula was captured by the Sovereign and handed back to the Guardians, although she was able to escape and help the Ravager Taserface in a mutiny against Yondu Udonta. Nebula then attempted to kill Gamora, but they reconciled, so she helped the Guardians in their fight against Ego.

Nebula pursued her revenge mission against Thanos and was even able to infiltrate the Sanctuary II, but her attempt to kill him failed. Thanos captured and tortured Nebula, using her as a bargaining tool to force Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. Nebula managed to escape and regrouped with the Guardians and the Avengers on Titan, during their battle against Thanos, before she realized that he killed Gamora to get the Stone. The battle was eventually won by Thanos, who reached his goal and used the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of the universe's population, as Nebula was among the survivors. She and Tony Stark wandered in space onboard of the Benatar before they were rescued by Captain Marvel.

Appearance: Nebula is known for her striking and often intimidating appearance. As the adopted daughter of Thanos, she is a member of the alien race known as the Luphomoids, and her appearance reflects a blend of both biological and cybernetic enhancements, making her a distinctive and unforgettable figure in the Marvel universe.

Nebula’s face is angular and sharp, with a high forehead and pronounced cheekbones, giving her an intense, fierce look. Her skin is a striking blue, a defining feature of her alien heritage, with a hue that ranges from a deep, almost navy blue to a slightly lighter, more muted shade. The metallic sheen on her skin adds to her otherworldly appearance, almost as though she is both human and machine at once.

Her expressions often carry an air of cold detachment, stoicism, or intense anger. Nebula is not someone to smile or show vulnerability easily. Her face often betrays the pain and resentment she carries, especially regarding her complex relationship with Thanos and her sense of betrayal. The scars and mechanical enhancements on her face give her an intimidating presence, especially when she is in a state of aggression or fury.

Nebula’s body is slender yet athletic, a result of her rigorous training and battles. She’s built for combat, with long, toned limbs that move with grace but also power. Her movements are quick, efficient, and precise, a reflection of her skills as both a warrior and a tactician. Her hands, once delicate, have been modified and enhanced with cybernetic parts, making them capable of far more than a normal person could achieve. These enhancements allow her to perform extraordinary feats of strength and dexterity.

Nebula’s attire is often a mix of armor and battle-ready clothing, fitting for a space-faring warrior. She frequently dons pieces of armor on her arms and legs, often designed to protect while allowing maximum mobility. Her chest armor is usually streamlined and designed for agility, as she often engages in hand-to-hand combat and requires freedom of movement. These armor pieces are typically metallic, sometimes with intricate designs etched into them, emphasizing her hybrid nature—half human, half machine.

Her armor is sleek and modern, with elements of purple, silver, and black that enhance her fierce and calculated presence. In some depictions, she wears a form of tactical clothing, including utility belts and holsters for weapons, such as her signature blasters, which are as much a part of her persona as her physical enhancements. Her overall look is one of a warrior who has adapted and evolved into a machine of destruction, with a clear focus on functionality over comfort.

Perhaps one of the most defining elements of Nebula's appearance is her cybernetic enhancements. These modifications were forced upon her by Thanos, and they are both a source of her power and a reminder of her torment. Her limbs and parts of her body have been replaced with advanced technology, giving her superior strength, durability, and the ability to survive in harsh conditions.

The cybernetics are not just a visual aspect of her design—they are integral to her function as a warrior. Her mechanical limbs are highly advanced, often seen glowing with internal energy, and they provide her with the capacity to engage in combat with enhanced power. These modifications also extend to her face, with her red mechanical eye acting as both a weapon and a tool for enhanced vision, giving her a deadly advantage in battle.

Despite these enhancements, Nebula's appearance is still human in many ways, particularly in her posture and movements, which retain a fluid, graceful nature. She has the grace of someone who was once organic, but the mechanical enhancements have taken away much of her humanity. Her appearance speaks to the tension between her past as a living being and her present as an instrument of destruction.

Nebula’s overall aura is one of resilience, pain, and vengeance. Her physical appearance, especially with her blue skin, scars, and glowing red eye, creates an impression of a being who has suffered immense hardship but has refused to break. Her look conveys her internal conflict—a person who is part machine, part human, and constantly struggling with the need for revenge and her desire for redemption.

Her cold, often emotionless exterior is a defense mechanism, built over years of emotional and physical abuse. Despite her lack of warmth, there is a fire that burns within her—a desire for freedom and justice that drives her to act. She may not show it outwardly, but her appearance tells the story of a warrior who is both a survivor and a force to be reckoned with.

Personality: Like Gamora, Nebula greatly despised her father, Thanos, for torturing her and turning her into a cybernetic assassin. However, despite this, she always tried, often in vain, to prove her worth to her father. Nebula lost any desire to do this after betraying Thanos, though, and since vowed to kill her adopted father, now free to express her hatred for him. Her hatred for Thanos eclipsed any fear she had of him, as she went as far as to infiltrate the heavily guarded Sanctuary II just to try to kill Thanos. This however failed miserably, and she was captured and tortured badly by Thanos. This likely compounded her hatred for him even further and Nebula later immediately became furious and brutally attacked him unhesitatingly when he coldly told her he considered killing her would have been a "waste of parts." However, like Gamora, it would appear that as Thanos was the only parental figure she knew for the majority of her life, Nebula deep down did have some sentiment towards him, as she didn't look glad when Thor decapitated Thanos and even cried a bit.

Nebula had very little loyalty to a cause as she quickly betrayed Thanos once Ronan the Accuser harnessed the power of the Power Stone, believing he could kill Thanos as he declared to do so. However, when the Battle of Xandar became too intense for her liking, she quickly abandoned Ronan to escape, despite her sister's pleas for her to help the Guardians of the Galaxy, becoming an independent criminal. Nebula is also known to be highly sadistic, even being referred to as the biggest sadist in the galaxy by Taserface and she seems to take pride in her sadistic killing of her targets, with her proudly telling Gamora that "The screams of my victims can be heard through the galaxy," which Gamora replied in stride by saying that it was because Nebula often took a long time to kill her foes because she tortured them first. Unlike her sister who seeks to atone for her past crimes, even after she had redeemed herself, Nebula shows no visible signs of regret for her own crimes and she was perfectly willing to murder anyone tasked to her and anyone who stood in her own way. However, she did say that she would help the universe by killing Thanos, indicating that after her reconciliation with Gamora, she not only saw Thanos' death as vengeance but also to save other children from suffering at his hands.

Although she and Gamora grew to genuinely care for each other and develop a strong bond, ever since Thanos considered Gamora his favored children and Gamora's repeated victories over her (which caused her to be painfully cybernetically altered), Nebula grew to resent Gamora, both for never letting her win and for being Thanos' favored daughter. However, she does still like and care for her to an extent, as Nebula said she disliked and hated her the least out of all the other children of Thanos and she did not have the heart to let her be captured by Thanos and Ronan, as she knew that one of them would torture her first before killing her, causing her to genuinely believe that when she destroyed her ship and left her to die in space that she was doing Gamora a favor. However, while she ruthlessly tried to kill her sister when they fought in Ego, even dishonorably attacking Gamora despite Gamora saving her, when Nebula finally had the chance to kill her sister, she could not bring herself to do so and although she first revealed that she finally beat Gamora, Gamora's lack of care on it and admonishing her for still continuing their rivalry caused her to reveal why she hated her and this caused them to warm up with each other. Nebula finally forgave Gamora, even joining forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy and saving her. When Nebula departed from their company, she did so on equal terms, sharing a hug with her sister before she left. Her love for Gamora was shown when Gamora was taken by Thanos; when Nebula escaped, she sent a transmission to the Guardians where to meet her and told Star-Lord not to lose Gamora again or she would sew his face to his genitals and she took time to question Thanos on her sister's whereabouts and was absolutely distraught, losing her emotional composure and almost crying, as she realized he had sacrificed Gamora. She continued to mourn her sister's death even years later and having came to regret their past enmity, referred to this with visible shame and regret to the 2014 Gamora and acknowledged her as a true sister, successfully convincing Gamora's past self to work with her against Thanos.

In addition to her sisterly bond towards Gamora having returned, in time, she came to trust and care for the Guardians, as she trusted them enough to tell them to meet her on Titan so they could fight Thanos and was visibly distraught as they ceased to exist, taking them to lay on the floor to mourn their and Gamora's demise and could not answer (only sadly looking away) when Rocket questioned on the other Guardians. She would eventually join the Guardians after they were restored. Although she didn't have much affection for Star-Lord - Gamora's boyfriend - as shown by how she threatened him a gruesome death for his inability to prevent Gamora from being taken by Thanos and later on simply said Gamora only picked him as her boyfriend as the only other choice she had was a tree, Nebula did have the heart to sympathize with him over Gamora's death, only indicating rather than actually saying outright that Gamora is dead.

For Nebula, her reconciliation with Gamora and the events of the Infinity War have been enlightening journeys for her. Having long since been driven by her jealousy and rage towards Gamora and hatred towards Thanos, overcoming those issues has allowed her to move on with her life and truly become a much better person. This was shown by how rather than continuing to work as an assassin, Nebula instead decided to work as a member of the Avengers after the Snap and likewise she would join the Guardians of the Galaxy officially after the Blip and Battle of Earth, showing that she has lost most - if not all - of the killer instinct she was once so proud of herself for and has finally began to follow in Gamora's footsteps by similarly seeking atonement and a better life. She has become much more open, bonding with Tony Stark as they fixed a ship and left Titan, with her using her technology to treat Tony's wounds before they infect, and Tony acknowledging in a message intended for Pepper Potts that she would like the "only slightly sadistic" cyborg, having performed very affectionate acts for Tony, the main ones being when she wrapped a blanket around Tony and positioned him on a chair instead of on the cold floor and also offering food to Tony, and was open to War Machine's attempts to socialize over their respective cybernetics, and rather sentimental, solemnly recounting to the past Gamora of how they grew as sisters in the future. Her growth was most shown when she confronted her past self, hoping to sway her to join their cause by telling her of what she becomes in the future, only resorting to lethal force when she felt that there was no other choice. She has even displayed a subtle lightheartedness and a knack for dark humor, engaging in macabre but playful banter with her comrades in the Guardians upon reuniting with them.

After rejoining the Guardians, Nebula formed a much closer relationship with them, including Kraglin and Cosmo, and came to view them as her family while also forming a friendship with the other Knowhere inhabitants. She initially had similar views to Yondu Udonta about Christmas, considering occasions like that to be mere trivialities and initially prioritized rebuilding Knowhere over celebrating Christmas. However, like Yondu, Nebula changed her mind on it upon seeing how much Mantis and Drax were prepared to restore Star-Lord's love for it to the point of kidnapping Kevin Bacon from Earth, which prompted her to also return to Earth and steal Bucky's arm as a present for Rocket and she then celebrated it alongside the other Guardians, Kevin Bacon and the other inhabitants on Knowhere. She had the closest friendship with Rocket among the Guardians, given that they were the only Guardians who survived Thanos' Snap. This was shown when she gave Rocket Bucky's Arm as a Christmas present, was horrified at witnessing the High Evolutionary's experimentations on Rocket and considered it to be worse than Thanos' mistreatment of her, firmly told Gamora during an argument that she also considered Rocket to be her family and was concerned for his wellbeing after Drax and Mantis abandoned him and Gamora. Her close friendship with Rocket also caused her to openly break down crying for the first time after learning that Rocket was revived from Adam Warlock's attack, demonstrating that she was opening up her emotions more. However, she still cared enough for the other Guardians to carry a drunken Quill to his bed when he was depressed over losing Gamora, save Drax's life when the Guardians were attacked by Adam Warlock and restrain the alternate Gamora when she tried to attack Quill over her frustrations with Quill comparing her with the original Gamora. Nebula was also still haunted by her earlier enmity with Gamora, which motivated her to have a closer relationship with the alternate Gamora as evidenced by her secretly maintaining contact with her to summon Gamora's help during their mission to save Rocket.

Despite her close friendship with the Guardians, Nebula had the least tolerance among them for mistakes, failure or distractions and usually served to keep the Guardians on track when they had missions to do, such as during their missions with Thor before he later separated from them. She especially got the most frustrated with Drax among them, resulting in her angrily lashing out at Drax when he disobeyed Quill's order for him to protect Rocket with Mantis and Gamora when she initially believed Gamora and Rocket were killed during the destruction of Counter Earth, accusing Drax of being a liability to the team due to his naivety and occasional tendency to ruin their plans. She also blamed Quill's alcoholism for Rocket's near fatal injuries despite sympathising with him over the loss of Gamora and was also frustrated with Mantis when she accidentally caused their Spacesuits to be ejected into space at the Orgoscope and when Mantis later defended Drax from her. However, as pointed out by Mantis, Nebula merely kept seeing flaws in others to cover up her own insecurities and was still capable of caring for her friends and being concerned for their wellbeing on the inside, such as her emotional response to Rocket's revival.

Nebula was also inexperienced in handling children which resulted in her and Mantis unintentionally scaring the Star Children on the Arête Laboratories when they attempted to communicate with them, with Nebula harshly telling them to stay away from the ship's starboard wall. This resulted in Drax intervening and calming the children himself due to his past experience as a father and his knowledge of their language. Despite her harsh nature, Nebula still cared about the children, a huge contrast to her earlier ruthless and sadistic nature, as she visibly regretted scaring them and protested against Gamora's initial wish to leave the ship and abandon them before they all chose to rescue them and later the other imprisoned animals. Nebula also gained more respect for Drax due to this and invited him to stay behind on Knowhere with her to help her raise the rescued children, stating that he was born to be a father and not a destroyer, when she decided to separate from the Guardians to lead and protect Knowhere. After the Guardians defeated High Evolutionary, Nebula fully opened her emotions and when they danced together with the rescued children and Knowhere inhabitants to celebrate their victory, she finally expressed laughter and genuine happiness, which she was initially unable to do due to her tragic past.