Avengers: Endgame Failed To Resolve A Key Thanos Storyline

Marvel Studios stuck the landing with Avengers: Endgame functioning as a satisfying end to the Infinity Saga, but did fail to properly address Nebula's personal grudge against Thanos for all his crimes against her. More than a decade of storytelling all culminated in the Joe and Anthony Russo-directed flick which ended with the defeat of the Mad Titan five years following his catastrophic snap in Avengers: Infinity War. While justice was served when it came to his crimes against galaxy, the villain was barely held accountable for all the abuse he inflicted on Nebula.

Long before he sought the power of the Infinity Stones in the hopes of bringing balance to the universe, Thanos carried out his mission planet by planet. During his endeavors throughout the years, he adopted kids as seen in Gamora's backstory in Infinity War. While it was never shown on screen, the general assumption is that something similar also happened to Nebula, but unlike her adopted sister whom the Mad Titan favored, she was subjected to emotional and physical abuse by the villain. Since getting the courage to get out of the toxic circumstance, her arc had been mostly motivated by her quest for revenge.

Coming into Infinity War and Endgame, there was hope that somehow, Nebula would finally confront Thanos for what he did to her for years. With minimal involvement in the 2018 ensemble film, that didn't happen, but as she survived the Snap like the original Avengers, some held out hope that the Infinity Saga finale would allow her arc a satisfying conclusion by allowing her to gain closure. Citing the comics - where she wielded the Infinity Gauntlet and defeated the Mad Titan - there were theories that a version of this would happen on the big screen. Unfortunately, this also didn't come to fruition in any form, as in the few scenes Thanos and Nebula shared in the movie - including the Avengers' attack on the Garden - she was too calm and stoic to mention her personal grudge against him. While she met another version of him during the time heist, she was in no place to start talking about the years of trauma and torture she had at his hands since she was being held captive, not to mention that their whole mission was on the cusp of failing.

In hindsight, Nebula didn't even get a one-on-one moment with Thanos like Gamora did. Infinity War focused on the Mad Titan's relationship with Gamora, and while this makes contextual sense as it was building up to her eventual death in Vormir, it also allowed her some time to rightfully call out Thanos for how terrible he'd been. Nebula, on the other hand, was left without the opportunity to do the same. Her biggest contribution during the final Endgame fight was to intentionally kill her 2014 self who remained a loyal servant of Thanos. While this thematically worked for her arc, it didn't provide a satisfactory resolution to her longstanding grudge against her father. As seen in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, confronting Gamora for indirectly contributing to her torment paved the way for her to move on from it, hence why it's essential that she was able to do the same with her true abuser.

Now that Thanos is dead after Avengers: Endgame, it will prove interesting to see how Nebula operates moving forward. Much of her angst in her previous appearances in the franchise was brought about by her resentment towards how he treated her, so it's possible that this may help her finally start to loosen up. That said, considering that she didn't get to properly address the trauma inflicted on her by the Mad Titan, there's still a chance that she continues to be haunted by the nightmares of her past as Thanos' abused daughter.

More: WandaVision Finale Hints That Wanda Already Forgave Iron Man