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Since helping the Avengers defeat her adoptive father, Nebula has become a full-fledged member of the Guardians of the Galaxy who show her the true meaning of family.
That shows how important Rocket Raccoon became to the team over time. He and Nebula were the only Guardians to live through The Snappening - in fact, out of the seven people inexplicably stranded on Titan, she and Tony Stark were the only two to survive. Anyway, once they got back to Earth, she rejoined Rocket, and the two of them (along with Captain Marvel) basically became the Avengers' space arm; once Hulk unsnapped everybody, they all would have still thought of Nebula as they last knew her, a sort-of enemy; the fact they accepted her so quickly is testament to how much they all respect Rocket's opinion on things.
This figure explains why Mantis got to be a
completely new mold: because the molds are being immediately reused for Nebula. In real life Karen Gillan is four inches taller than Pom Klementieff (5'11", so if that couples therapy doesn't work out, drop a line kid), so technically there should be a little difference between them, but pretend Mantis' heels are higher or something. It's the same blue uniform for everyone.
The one thing that's different is her mechanical left arm. Redesigned from the one Thanos gave her, this one was built by Rocket
(possibly as a thank you for his Christmas gift). Honestly, it's not a great piece. It doesn't have the same aesthetic as the other things Rocket builds. Like, remember in Age of Extinction when the Decepticons suddenly began transforming by just falling apart into a bunch of dots and then taking whatever shape they felt like? That's what this arm is like. But Rocket's gear is always a bunch of little plates moving around each other, not nanotech. But that's a flaw from the movie, not one Hasbro introduced, so we can't complain too much.
She also gets a new head. Nebula is still a bald, blue-skinned Luphomoid with a purple stripe down the center of her face, but the tech stuck to her has changed slightly: it doesn't come down onto her cheek now. Considering that was all embedded in her body, we have to assume the visible skin is synthetic? It's still got a good likeness, though she could look like Batista as long as she was painted purple and blue, and it'd be fine.
Nebula comes with two guns, reused from the last movie, plus the sword she morphs her arm into. That one replaces her left hand, naturally, but the right hand isn't shaped to hold anything, meaning she can only ever use one weapon at a time. The big blaster cannon she turns her hand into would have been a better choice to include.
We also get the left rear leg of GOOD DOG Build-A-Figure, Cosmo.
Nebula, in the comics, was not a character anyone cared about. It was a solid decade ago when we asked whether Marvel would be able to force fans to like Rocket Raccoon, but he's a cute little fuzzball with attitude; what's not to like? No, the more impressive achievement is turning Nebula, in the course of five (and a half) appearances, into a sympathetic figure you're really rooting for. Go on, Nebs, you find that family! You make it yours!
-- 05/11/23
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