GotG 3: Nebula Doesn’t Like Star-Lord Romantically & Here’s Why

Nebula is one of the most complicated characters in the GotG franchise. As an adoptive daughter of Thanos, she was subjected to cruel torturing tactics, which left her changed, both mentally and physically. Due to that, Nebula never learned to form healthy attachments with people. She even, to some extent, despised her own step-siblings. Nebula also never had the opportunity to engage with people romantically, but one scene from Guardians of the Galaxy vol.3 led fans to believe that there might be something more between her and Star-Lord than it meets the eye. Due to that, we decided to explore their relationship in a bit more detail. Let’s see whether Nebula likes Star-Lord romantically and whether a relationship can happen in the future. 

Nebula doesn’t like Star-Lord. She has a strictly platonic relationship with him. This is because she despised him at the beginning and considered him both her enemy, and later when she started working with the Guardians, she found him unworthy of her sister. After some time, Nebula grew close to Star-Lord, and they formed an uneasy but meaningful friendship, and that’s all there is to it. It’s highly unlikely that anything romantic will happen between them. 

Now that we’ve covered the extent of the relationship between Nebula and Star-Lord, it’s time to analyze it in a bit more detail. If you’re interested in more, stay with us and keep reading!

Nebula was shaped by her experiences with Thanos 

Nebula was like Gamora, Thanos’ adoptive daughter. She belongs to a race of Luphomoids, and she got under Thanos’ care when he razed her planet and killed half of the population to conserve the natural balance of resources.

Between Gamora and Nebula, Nebula was always more ruthless and more like-minded to Thanos. However, Thanos always preferred Gamora, which meant that Nebula was outside of the spotlight, leading to the tense relationship between the two adoptive orphaned sisters. 

Thanos often pitted Nebula against Gamora in terms of combat. Every time Nebula lost, he would punish her with torture and replace one of her body parts with cybernetic implants. Nebula was often losing in her battles against Gamora, leading to a large proportion of her body being cybernetic. This is because Thanos despised weakness, and he saw replacing Nebula’s body part as equivalent to upgrading her and strengthening her. 

Nebula was also assisting Thanos during his genocidal campaigns on other planets, which left deep emotional scars. Nebula didn’t get “stronger” by being exposed to it. She was simply learning how to hate both Thanos and Gamora, and a strong sense of revenge woke up inside of her.  

Needless to say, Nebula wasn’t exposed to normal “human” relationships. The only thing she has known since childhood was destruction and how to gain more power. Everything had to be about power when it came to Thanos. Due to that, we don’t know her “dating” history as she had never indicated that there was someone she was romantically interested in. At least in the MCU, whether she ever engaged in romantic relationships was never disclosed. 

Nebula and Star-Lord shared a touching moment in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ended the journey of our favorite team on a bittersweet note as all members got their closure and ultimately decided to part ways. 

A large focus of the movie was on Star-Lord’s and Gamora’s relationship. As you know, Gamora “doesn’t remember” who Star-Lord is because this new version of Gamora doesn’t have the memories and experiences of old Gamora, who died on Vormir when Thanos sacrificed her to get the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War. 

Star-Lord spent one portion of the movie basically talking Gamora into “reverting” to her old self and continuing the relationship with him despite her being unable to do so. She doesn’t know him. He is a complete stranger to her, and his advances only irritate her. 

At one point, Star-Lord starts comparing old Gamora and new Gamora, and Gamora loses it. She turns toward Star-Lord and Nebula, and she says that “old Gamora sounds more like her” and points in the direction of Nebula. She wanted to imply that maybe Star-Lord and Nebula should be together since what Star-Lord is describing sounds like Nebula. 

At that moment Star-Lord starts looking at Nebula and compliments her eyes. Nebula gets angry, tells him to stop it, and explains that her eyes are artificial and a form of torture that Thanos subjected her to. Star-Lord answers that “at least Thanos picked a pretty pair.” 

Fans understood this scene in a way that signals that there might be something more between Nebula and Star-Lord and that maybe a budding romance is on the horizon, but it’s simply not true. The scene’s only purpose was to be comedic in nature and break the awkwardness of Star-Lord begging Gamora to be his girlfriend. 

In short, Star-Lord and Nebula are not a couple and will likely never be.

What is the relationship between Nebula & Star-Lord in the MCU? 

Star-Lord and Nebula are platonic friends in the MCU. Initially, they were enemies since Nebula was working for Thanos, and Star-Lord was Thanos’ enemy. However, as they were forced to work together on several occasions, including in the events of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Avengers: Infinity War, they developed a begrudging respect for each other. 

By the end of Avengers: Endgame, Nebula and Star-Lord had reached a point where they could share a moment of camaraderie and understanding as they both lost someone they cared about. While their relationship is not romantic, they have become allies and friends, and that’s all there is to it.  

Nebula has never shown any kind of romantic interest in Star-Lord, and she most likely never will.