WARNING: Spoilers for The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special below.
With The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special now streaming on Disney+, writer/director James Gunn has been fielding questions and reactions from fans as they devour the Marvel presentation that also serves as a neat little appetizer for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Of course, when you’re dealing with rabid fandoms like the MCU (or even the DCU which Gunn is now overseeing), there’s going to be controversy over how their favorite comic book characters are portrayed. In short, no one’s ever happy.
This time around, some Marvel fans were none too pleased with a scene between Rocket Raccoon and Nebula. Going all the way back to the first Guardians movie, Rocket has been a hilariously problematic collector of prosthetic body parts. Overcome with the holiday spirit, Nebula decided to get her furry friend an object that caught his eye in Avengers: Infinity War: Bucky’s robot arm.
Despite being a solid callback, Gunn’s mentions started filling up with angry Marvel fans who refused to believe that Nebula could best Bucky (a.k.a. The Winter Soldier) even though his arm was easily detached by Ayo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Gunn defended the creative choice by emphasizing that Nebula is an alien cyborg who was routinely enhanced by her cruel and powerful as heck father Thanos. Cap’s old pal didn’t stand a chance.
I’m so sorry, but it already happened. Nebula thinks of Bucky as wet crepe paper. That said, she couldn’t help tearing off the arm because she was just feeling so freaking Christmasy!
PS No one forced me to include alien cyborgs. https://t.co/SgLKAe7BpJ
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 28, 2022
“I’m so sorry, but it already happened,” Gunn responded to a now-deleted tweet. “Nebula thinks of Bucky as wet crepe paper. That said, she couldn’t help tearing off the arm because she was just feeling so freaking Christmasy! PS No one forced me to include alien cyborgs.”
(Via James Gunn on Twitter)