Well, would you look at that? Turns out Christopher Eccleston isn't the only Doctor Who alumni to take on a whole new psychical guise as part of their mission to conquer the Marvel universe. Last year Karen Gillan also left her mark on the franchise when she painted the town red blue as Nebula in the smash hit Guardians of the Galaxy. At first glance Nebula is a pirate and mercenary (wasn't Amy Pond both of those at one point or another?) but don't be fooled by her covetous façade because there's actually a lot more to her character than initially meets the eye. As a Luphomoid assassin, she was raised by warlord Thanos after he killed her family and the majority of her story arc focuses on her ongoing grapples with her adopted sister Gamora (spoilers - she's the green one who looks like Zoe Saldana). But why can't they just get along?! It's safe to say that this role required Karen to go the extra mile because not only did she have to shave her hair off (that, folks, is what you call dedication!) but it was also psychically demanding and every morning she spent 4 hours in the make up chair being transformed into the alien supervillain you see before you. And oh, what a supervillian she is! Her hard work has paid off because Nebula is set to play an even bigger part in the 2017 sequel. The future is looking very bright indeed for this Marvel mercenary who effortlessly managed to steal the show. And not just because she's bluer than the sea. What did you think of this list? Are there any other Doctor Who actors that took on other cult franchises? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
