The character was met with positive reception, specifically for Gillan's performance and redemptive story arc; she has been noted for her differences from the comics, in which Nebula is almost exclusively depicted as a villain.

In 2014, Nebula and Gamora, under orders from Thanos, were dispatched to assist Ronan the Accuser in obtaining the Power Stone.

Following Yondu's funeral, Nebula was offered to join the Guardians of the Galaxy by Gamora, but she instead resolved to kill Thanos, and left with this mission in mind.

Nebula and Stark leave Titan in the Benatar, but the ship, having been damaged, gets stranded in space, until Carol Danvers appears to save them.

After arriving at the Avengers Compound on Earth, Nebula reunites with Rocket, and accompanies him, Danvers, Thor, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bruce Banner, and James Rhodes into space to the Garden to confront Thanos, who is killed by Thor after revealing that the Stones were destroyed.

After Barton and Romanoff leave, Nebula and Rhodes render an alternate version of Quill unconscious and take the Power Stone from the Temple Vault.

After Warlock leaves, Nebula learns Rocket is left gravely injured and requires an override code to disable a killswitch in order to heal him.

Nebula contacts alternate Gamora, now a Ravager, to help the Guardians infiltrate the Orgosphere, the headquarters of Rocket's creator, the High Evolutionary, to retrieve the code.

When the planet begins to explode, she is joined by Drax and Mantis and they enter the vessel thinking Quill and Groot are onboard.

She uses her cybernetics to pilot his destroyed vessel in order to offload a group of children the High Evolutionary had held captive onto Knowhere.

After Quill disbands the Guardians in their current form and makes Rocket leader, she remains on Knowhere to lead the city and help look after the children with Drax.

In an alternate 2014, Nebula fights Korbinites on Korbin and is joined by Gamora, who tells her that they are wanted by Thanos, who orders them to assist Ronan in obtaining the Power Stone.

The comic book version of Nebula was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Buscema, and first appeared in The Avengers #257 (July 1985).

"[10] Feige reiterated that sentiment in a September 2011 issue of Entertainment Weekly, saying, "There's an opportunity to do a big space epic, which Thor sort of hints at, in the cosmic side" of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

[11] Feige announced that the film was in active development at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con during the Marvel Studios panel, with an intended release date of August 1, 2014.

He said the film's titular team would consist of the characters Star-Lord, Drax the Destroyer, Gamora, Groot, and Rocket.

[12] In July 2013, director James Gunn and the film's cast flew from London to attend San Diego Comic-Con, where it was revealed that Karen Gillan would play Nebula.

[13][14] Gillan had previously auditioned for Sharon Carter in Captain America: The Winter Soldier when invited to read for the role,[15] with Gunn declaring her test was the favorite out of the film's cast, which he described as seeing her develop "this bald cyber-jerk" out of a "pretty simple character".

[18][19] About the character, Gillan said, "She is the female villain of the film ... She is very sadistic and evil, but I like to think for a very valid reason.

[23] In early drafts of the film, the character was planned to be killed off by Gamora, but the directors decided to bring her back in the sequel to further explore the relationship between the two.

[25] Gillan stated the film would further explore the sisterly relationship between Nebula and Gamora,[26] including their backstory "and what happened to these two girls growing up and actually how awful it was for them and how it has ruined their relationship",[27] adding "we're [also] going to start to see how much pain [Thanos] actually caused [Nebula]... we really start to see the emotional crack in her character".

[29] In Avengers: Endgame, after being previously featured as an antagonist or an anti-hero, Nebula undergoes a redemption arc where she makes amends for her past actions, including an encounter with a past version of herself, with Gillan adding that she is "staring her former self in the face and it's really clear how far she's come from that angry, bitter and twisted person.

[33] In July 2021, Gillan said that for her appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder, director Taika Waititi brought out the "bonkers side" of Nebula through her "pure aggression".

[34] In September 2021, Gunn noted that for both Pom Klementieff's Mantis and Gillan's Nebula "their roles are both pretty huge" in the script for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

[5] Richard Newby of The Hollywood Reporter also praised the character's depiction, describing her as "one of the most meaningful considerations of what it means to be both Avenger and human", opining that her story is "one [of] the Marvel Cinematic Universe's best and most empowering myths".