Avengers 3 Reveals More of Nebula's Dark Past

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Avengers: Infinity War Will Reveal Nebula's Past Is Darker Than Expected

By Corey Hoffmeyer

Published Aug 13, 2017

Karen Gillan says that Avengers: Infinity War will reveal a darker-than-expected past for Nebula, one that likely ties directly into villain Thanos.

Nebula is an extremely complex character with a troubled past but, according to a recent interview with Karen Gillan, the upcoming Avengers: Infinity War will reveal that her backstory is even darker than originally known. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 went a long way toward humanizing Nebula, especially in the eyes of her adopted sister Gamora (Zoe Saldana), while also exploring her torture at the hands of their adopted father Thanos. When the character appears in next year’s Infinity War, however, audiences will really get a deeper look at her past with the big bad.

Avengers: Infinity War will be the culmination of everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far, bringing together the Earth-bound Avengers and Cosmic-focused Guardians. With them comes Nebula, who was last seen beginning her quest for vengeance against Thanos. While Guardians 2 revealed that this is in part motivated by the horrific biological experiments that were performed on Nebula as a child, Gillan’s recent comments suggest there’s more to the story.

While speaking at Florida SuperCon (via Comic Book), Gillan suggested that Avengers: Infinity War would go deeper into Nebula’s past, revealing:

"Without giving away any spoilers. We’re definitely going to continue the arc for Nebula and find out more about her past. And actually, we’re going to find out that it’s even worse than we know."

Gillan is naturally keeping the details to herself, but her comments certainly make sense considering how much time writer/director James Gunn spent developing Nebula in the first two Guardians films (especially Vol. 2). And with the Children of Thanos supposedly playing a big part in Avengers: Infinity War, having Nebula and Gamora face off against their adopted siblings is a perfect excuse to explore the past of Thanos’ “offspring” in a more meaningful way.

Still, some questions remain: will Nebula wield the Infinity Gauntlet like her comic book counterpart and be driven insane by its power? That remains to be seen, but exploring the character’s past would indeed provide the narrative context for this to happen. Of course, as we know she's getting a new BFF in the film, we may instead see something of a redemption. Either way, Avengers: Infinity War will hopefully provide many character moments and surprises throughout that will keep long-term fans satisfied and ready for the future of the MCU.