Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie Will Make Her Marvel Comics Debut
One of the more fun parts of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the way the MCU’s versions of characters sometimes assert primacy over the original Marvel Comics, and even sometimes replace the original print version. The original Nick Fury was a white guy; an updated “Ultimate” version looked like Samuel L. Jackson, but it wasn’t until Sam Jackson actually played the character onscreen that Marvel took the step and replaced the original Fury with a new Sam Jackson-y one in the main Marvel Comics Universe. (Technically he’s “Nick Fury Jr.” But nobody calls him that and nobody thinks of him that way, and the original Nick Fury is almost never mentioned in any context anymore.)
The latest MCU denizen to make their way into the old school MU: Valkyrie. Again, the original Marvel Comics Valkyrie was a vastly different goddess warrior than the one played by Tessa Thompson in last year’s Thor: Ragnarok. Thompson was terrific as a fallen angel of sorts who had abandoned her duties in Asgard and become a boozy bounty hunter on the planet of Sakaar. And now a version of her character is making its debut in the pages of Marvel Comics, in a new book called Exiles. Here are some images of the new Valkyrie:
And here’s writer Saladin Ahmed on his ideas about the character:
Ahmed makes it clear this Valkyrie isn’t “technically” the same one Thompson played (probably because then people would expect all the continuity to match up, and there could be likeness rights issues) but there is absolutely no question who served as the primary inspiration here. Which is really cool. Now turn the Grandmaster into Jeff Goldblum, Marvel. We need more Jeff Goldblum Grandmaster.
Gallery - 10 ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Easter Eggs: