Who Nebula is
In the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Nebula is muscle for Ronan the Accuser and a bitter rival to her adopted sister, Gamora. Thanos raised them both after taking them from their homeworlds, and he made them fight each other. Every time Nebula lost, he replaced another piece of her body with machinery. That is the wound at the center of the character, and the series slowly lets her heal it.
She starts out cold, sarcastic and angry at everyone. Over the years she becomes something rare in the MCU: a former villain whose change feels earned, step by step, rather than flipped like a switch.
Her appearances in order
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, film, essential)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017, film, recommended)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018, film, essential)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019, film, essential)
- What If...? (2021, series, optional): an alternate-universe animated appearance
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022, film, optional)
- The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (2022, special, optional)
- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023, film, recommended)
Thor: Love and Thunder only features the Guardians in a short opening stretch, so think of it as a cameo for her.
How she changes
Vol. 2 is the turning point. Nebula and Gamora finally have it out, and the honesty of that scene reframes their whole rivalry: it was never really about winning, it was about who Thanos loved. After that, she sticks around the Guardians, still prickly but no longer an enemy.
In Infinity War, her history with Thanos becomes a weapon in the larger fight. She knows him better than almost anyone, and the film uses that knowledge in a painful way. It is a small role in a huge movie, but it sets up much of what she does next. Endgame then gives her one of the biggest parts of her arc, as her own past becomes key to the heroes' plan.
Vol. 3 gives her more responsibility than ever. She has become one of the people the team leans on, and her dry humor is now affection in disguise. The Holiday Special, on the other hand, is pure fun, with Nebula mostly on the sidelines of a Christmas scheme her teammates cook up.
Her found family
Her bond with Gamora drives her story, even though Gamora does not have her own page here. Among the Guardians, she trades insults with Star-Lord (Peter Quill), who she plainly thinks is a fool, and she grows surprisingly close to Rocket. The two of them are both damaged, both modified against their will, and both terrible at saying what they feel. Drax and Groot fill out the household, and her impatience with them is a running joke.
Karen Gillan as Nebula
Gillan spends hours in makeup for the role and shaved her head for the first film, and she builds Nebula through stillness, a flat voice and tiny cracks of emotion. Watching her soften across eight titles is one of the quiet pleasures of the franchise. Outside the MCU, she is best known as Amy Pond, the Doctor's companion in Doctor Who, and as Ruby Roundhouse in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. She also starred in the horror film Oculus.
Best viewing order
Watch the first two Guardians films, then Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Those four explain who she is and why she hates Thanos. Then jump to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, with the Holiday Special as a light side trip beforehand. Love and Thunder is skippable for her story. For everything around these titles, see our Marvel movies in order guide.