Looking back on the original, official concept art for Guardians of the Galaxy that was released when the movie was first announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2012, it's kind of amazing to note just how much the characters changed through development. Rocket looked a lot more like a cartoon, Gamora wore a hood, Groot looked like another being entirely and Drax was actually wearing a shirt! Looking at the concept art for Nebula above, you'll notice that the design looks almost identical to what ended up being made for the film... with one fairly noticeable difference.
In case you couldn’t tell, this piece of Guardians of the Galaxy concept art comes from Andy Park – who was one of artists who contributed to the beautiful Avengers: Age of Ultron concept art that was released a few weeks ago. If you look at the drawing compared to what actress Karen Gillan wore in the movie, you’ll find that the only significant change is that Nebula’s bare midriff would up getting covered:
In addition to the fact that this change is a deviation from what we normally see in Hollywood (where beautiful actresses have to regularly show more skin), the final costume is weirdly much more of a deviation from the comics than what Park illustrated. Catch a peek at Nebula in her original form below:
Instead of just being overtly sexual – as all too many female comic book character costumes are – this design is at least somewhat realistic, as less clothes means more freedom of movement (though she is obviously less protected). Both designs have their merits, but which one do you prefer? Answer in the comments section below.
