Nebula: Bio, Origin & History

Real Name: Nebula

First Appearance: Avengers #257 (July, 1985)

Powers: Possesses superhuman strength, superhuman agility, and superhuman durability. Has the ability to rapidly heal. Proficient in hand to hand combat and one of the best assassins in Marvel.

Affiliation: Dark Guardians, Graces, United Front

Did You Know? Nebula claims to be the Granddaughter of Thanos.

A Little History

The creation of Roger Stern and John Buscema, Nebula first appeared inside the pages of Avengers #257 back in 1985. Very little is known about Nebula’s early life. Most of her documentation came after she took control of the space ship, Sanctuary II. 

She first appeared in comics at a time when Thanos wasn’t around. He had been turned to stone many years before and even though he wasn’t dead, he just didn’t factor into any Marvel stories. With Thanos out of the picture, she sought to claim his space ship, Sanctuary II for herself. Little did she know but Starfox, Thanos’s brother, also sought to claim the ship. He successfully claimed it because he shared the same blood as Thanos. That is, he made claim to it due to his familial rights. Feeling the ship slip through her fingers, Nebula said something that would define her character for the next many years…he’s my grandfather.

If her claim seems strange, remember, Thanos is an Eternal. As such, he’s lived an extraordinarily long life. It is completely possible that he has offspring all over the universe that he simply doesn’t know about. There was even a story that saw him dropping his seed all over so that he may become more powerful. Although she has never brought forth any evidence of her claim, Nebula could very well be his granddaughter.

As far as her lineage goes, Nebula is from a race of beings known as the Luphomoids. The Luphomoids was a once prosperous people but unfortunately, there are very few of them left. This was because Galactus came and devoured their world. Along with being a Luphomoid, she is also a Kree. 

Eventually, Thanos, by the will of Death, is brought back to life. He learns that Nebula has claimed that she is his granddaughter and is not amused by it. This causes him to claim to have never had children. Furious with her claims, Thanos sets her on fire and watches her burn. She would’ve died if the crew of the Sanctuary II had not saved her. 

After he amassed the Infinity Gems and created the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos finds a dying Nebula. He then uses the Gauntlet to keep her alive, thereby saving her life, without actually giving her life. This meant that instead of being brought back to life, he simply kept her from dying. Basically, she was now a brainless zombie unable to think her own thoughts. 

Or so we thought.

At the height of the Infinity Gauntlet, Thanos was forced to leave his physical body and confront the all-powerful Eternity. While his consciousness talked to Eternity, his body was left unattended. The thought to be brain dead Nebula took advantage of this and stole the Gauntlet right off of his hand. The moment that she put the glove on, she was immediately restored to how she was before Thanos set her on fire, save for her brain.

After the events of the Infinity Gauntlet, Nebula’s longtime friend, Geatar, freed her from her imprisonment and took her to Dr. Mandibus. At the conclusion of his surgeries, Nebula was fully functional and resembled the bald cyborg that she’s known as today.