Nebula's return was one of the highlights we called out in our Guardians of the Galaxy 2 review but the unlikely ally almost wasn't alive for it to happen. Actress Karen Gillan revealed in an interview with Digital Spy that Nebula was originally meant to perish in the events of the first film.
"I definitely had a feeling that there was room for the character to expand in the future, but she was originally supposed to die in the first movie, I think I remember in the script," Gillan said. "She obviously did not die, then I found out that she was coming back in the second movie and then I found out we got to explore all these amazing things about her past and her relationship with Gamora, her sister, so I was really happy."
We don't know if Nebula would have croaked in her fight with Gamora, or if she would die later (perhaps at the hands of Ronan, who never seemed like the type to particularly value employees). Either way, she was saved by a script change. There aren't enough fleshed-out relationships between women in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so I'm glad that it all worked out for the sisters.
