Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ends with a major member of the team poised to become the MCU’s cosmic answer to Nick Fury.
The following contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, now playing in theaters.
Across the course of the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Nebula has had one of the most significant character evolutions in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Before graduating to full-blown heroic status in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Nebula was introduced as a bitter and vicious enemy of the Guardians on the hunt for her sister Gamora. Her role in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 allowed her to find an unlikely peace with her sister, and the arc continues in the latest film, changing her place in the entire universe.
When the current Guardians roster decides to disband at the climax of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Nebula notably chooses not to go far. Instead, she remains on Knowhere to serve as their leader — a place quickly becoming a bedrock of the cosmic corner of the MCU. As a result, Nebula could be shaping up to become one of the MCU’s most important characters going forward.
What Is Nebula’s Fate In Guardians of the Galaxy 3?
Nebula spends much of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 struggling to help Rocket. Clearly affected by his fatal injuries, she spends the film working to save her friends while trying to be someone that Star-Lord can lean on as he deals with the loss of his Gamora. Even though she can still be a little prickly, she’s forced to confront parts of herself while working with Drax and Mantis to save the young children who have been experimented on by the High Evolutionary.
The film ends with Nebula electing to remain on their base of Knowhere full-time, giving up her place on the Guardians to serve as the primary leader at the spaceport. Noting her history as an orphan, Nebula reveals her intent to make Knowhere a place where anyone lost across the cosmos can come and make a new home for themselves. This allows her to remain an easy ally for the Guardians to call upon in future stories and could make her the most important former member of the team in the MCU’s future.
How Nebula & Knowhere Could Factor Into the MCU’s Future
Nebula becoming the leader of Knowhere could make her a crucial player in all sorts of future events, as Knowhere could truly become a safe space in the otherwise chaotic galaxy. With groups like the Kree and Skrulls going through plenty of changes in the MCU, a location like Knowhere is a crucial place for all forces to lay down their arms and break bread, with a skilled and largely unstoppable fighter like Nebula around to enforce the peace. Both the Rocket-led Guardians and the Ravagers (who count Gamora among their number) could seamlessly appear there, as could other cosmic heroes like Captain Marvel. Many other intergalactic heroes could come through Knowhere, giving Nebula plenty of reason to interact with the rest of the Marvel Universe.
This decision might be a subtly great way to transition the former villain into a more significant and expanded role, effectively like a cosmic Nick Fury, connecting various corners of the universe through association and resources. Nebula could even be crucial to assembling galactic-wide groups beyond the Guardians, as her connections now span beyond space and include Earth. Nebula’s new role is also the ultimate rebuttal to Thanos’ abusive and dismissive perception of her. The spare that he used as fodder to test Gamora on his path to destroying the universe has found a way to help those whose lives have been as broken as hers — a minor henchman who’s become a vital hero and leader.
