Reviews 

“Nebula” #1

By | February 14th, 2020
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, Guardians of the Galaxy was one of the most important MCU movies, hands down. There are ordinary people walking around that have never so much as picked up a comic but know who Yondu is. I’ve been reading comics for, give or take, fourteen years now and I had absolutely no idea who Nebula was before that movie. I’m still not well-versed with the comic version of the character…maybe “Nebula” #1 can help with that.

Cover by Jen Bartel

Written by Vita Ayala
Illustrated by Claire Roe
Lettered by VC’s Travis Lanham
Colored by Mike Spicer

Nebula has grown under the shadows of Thanos and Gamora, but no longer! With her eyes set on a top-secret device, Nebula has big plans for her future—and she’s not about to let anyone get in her way! But her goal may end up costing her more than she’s willing to pay after a showdown with one of the cosmos most feared bounty hunters….Don’t miss out on this cosmically critical series launch from rising stars, Vita Ayala (PRISONER X) and Claire Roe (FEARLESS)!

In this issue, Thanos’s second-favorite daughter (or not his daughter?! The comic implies she might have lied.) is a cyborg assassin on a mission. She wants a future-telling device (the All-Seer) integrated into her system. She secures her prize, fighting through guards and a deadly warrior only to crash down on an alien planet and lose her memory.

With the MCU version as my only frame of reference, probably a lot of people’s only frame of reference, it’s hard not to compare the two versions of the characters. One thing that’s hard to miss, this version is a lot more villainous than what you might be used to. MCU Nebula has been fighting on the side of the good guys for a bit and even when she was on the wrong side, she wasn’t this bad.

In “Nebula” #1, she’s kind of a sadist. She’s ‘evil’ and not at all apologetic about it. As a matter of fact, she seems to be having the time of her life when harming others. Nebula teasingly lectures a scientist while holding him hostage. When her life is threatened, she seems more amused than anything else. The cyborg slaughters guards without hesitation and threatens a child with a maniacal smile on her face.

It’s a bold choice to take the character in this direction, I have to say. So far, there aren’t any redeeming qualities there. I literally don’t know if I want to root for Nebula or against her. I mean, she holds a crying child at gunpoint. Nebula drags the poor terrified girl around by her hair…and at the same time, it’s fascinating how Nebula is so unstoppable when she’s after what she wants.

It made me think of The Terminator, the very first movie. There’s no reasoning, no begging, nothing can make them stop until their goals are reached. I’m not quite sure what to make of the main character but I do know I want to see what happens next. The ending to this issue is just perfect. Nebula manages to get the All-Seer but loses her memory upon crash landing. As she wanted, the future’s opened up to her. All it cost was the past.

Of course, the writing is only half of the comic. Partnering up with writer Vita Ayala on this gritty space romp is artist Claire Roe. Roe does great work here. “Nebula” #1 is an action packed comic full of energy and Roe makes sure that Nebula’s rampage is engaging.

Roe draws the characters with very expressive faces. The terror on the young girl’s tearful face is as clear as the confident sarcasm or fury on Nebula’s. There are plenty of great background details as well. The girl has an alien plushie in her room, there are organs floating in jars in the lab and alien advertisements in the docking bay.

The fight scenes are where the art really shines though. This is a comic about an alien assassin and the combat sequences are fittingly violent. I really enjoyed the nine-panel grid showing all of the potential ways that Nebula could die during the fight. There’s some suspense during that big fight too. Devos and Nebula are pretty evenly matched. Devos is no joke, his appearance intimidating enough before you get to the ‘88%’ threat level.

Both give as good as they get. Nebula knees her opponent in the face only to get headbutted in return (with alien blood splatter and everything). It’s a narrow victory for the titular character but you don’t think less of her for it. The fights still most effectively communicate to the reader that Nebula’s not one to be trifled with. Heck, I’m scared of her. Scared and looking forward to her beating the snot out of her opponents in the issues to come.

Final Verdict: 7.5 – Nebula can see the future…you’ll be back for the next issue.


Michael Govan

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