For all of the superheroes and villains within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there’s by no means a scarcity of standard (seeming) folks working for the world’s varied authorities organizations. In reality, one of many MCU’s newest additions to the clandestine ranks is Contessa Allegra de Fontaine, performed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld and Veep fame. If you happen to’ve saved up with Marvel motion pictures, you already know that Fontaine simply retains popping up in a single hero’s story or one other.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier marked the primary look by within the MCU, however not the final; she additionally popped up in Black Widow’s mid-credits sequence the place she recruited Florence Pugh’s Yelena into her service. And now she’s again once more within the Black Panther sequel. So the place’s all of it going?
[Ed. note: This story contains major spoilers for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.]
Picture: Marvel Studios
Fontaine’s Black Panther: Wakanda Without end look is probably the most substantial position but for Louis-Dreyfus’ time within the MCU, however it rides the identical line of subtly sinister that she’s already captured so properly in her first two cameos. Within the film, Fontaine is the brand new head of the CIA and the direct boss of her former husband Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), who’s been secretly passing alongside data to Wakanda ever since Shuri saves his life within the first film.
In her quest to assist the USA get hold of Vibranium, Fontaine spends most of this film as an enemy of Wakanda, suspecting them of sabotaging different nation’s makes an attempt at mining the mineral. She and Everett in the end aren’t too consequential to the plot, however within the grand scheme of issues, this looks as if little greater than a pitstop for Fontaine as she strikes towards her subsequent appearances and her bigger ambitions.
As devoted Marvel followers know, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier units up Val as an anti-Nick Fury, recruiting John Walker’s disgraced “Captain America” for an unstated initiative that would use his extra violent instincts. The MCU may observe the comics nearly anyplace from right here.
Who’s Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine within the comics?
Picture: Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Stefano Caselli/Marvel Comics
Properly, relying on once you ask this query, she’s both an Italian jet-setter turned long-time SHIELD agent or… Madame Hydra.
First launched by Jim Steranko in 1967 for a Nick Fury and Captain America crossover story, author Steve Englehart introduced Valentina into Captain America comics correct in 1972. She’s a minor sufficient character with a protracted sufficient historical past that the MCU may decide up nearly any facet of her adventures and take a giant swing.
Valentina dated Nick Fury for a bit whereas she was a SHIELD agent. (Professional tip: Don’t date your coworkers should you belong to a company the place 50% of the workers are sleeper brokers.) She additionally ran an all-female undercover agent group for some time. It’s ultimately revealed that her Italian heritage was a canopy story and that she was actually a Russian operative — that doesn’t appear to be the best way the MCU goes, however who is aware of!
The very last thing Valentina did in Marvel Comics continuity was to defect and turn into a senior chief of Hydra, taking up the ceaselessly used title “Madame Hydra,” till she betrayed Hydra to a different clandestine worldwide spy operation. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe wished Hydra to boost its serpentine head once more, Valentina may be a approach to do it.
Or, the MCU may go in a totally totally different path that doesn’t have something to do with the stuff comics writers have accomplished with Valentina earlier than. Her subsequent confirmed look is in see her once more in 2024’s Thunderbolts, which is able to, in idea, see her oversee a group of less-than-noble, Avengers-adjacent fighters. Confirmed for the group are Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Pink Justice (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen). Might Black Panther’s Everett Ross or one other member of Wakanda be alongside for the journey?
Don’t even hassle guessing: if there’s something we all know for certain in regards to the MCU iteration of Valentina, it’s that she will be able to mainly do no matter she desires, wrangle whoever she desires, and pop up anyplace.
