Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Contessa Valentina in Falcon episode 5, explained

[Ed. note: This story contains major spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier episode 5.]

Even before the The falcon and the winter soldier the premiere in March, creator Malcolm Spellman teased a big cameo in episode 5. Now the introduction has been made: Veep and Seinfeld the actor Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Very important detail: this is the second The new adventures of Old Christine veteran to Clark Gregg to join the MCU.

“There are characters in our series that I would like to work with – it’s a very, very grounded character – along with one of the great world shakers like Thor or something like that,” Spellman teased Rotten Tomatoes earlier this week. . “The personality is so strong that it is the episode 5 character. I would love to see the character with Thor. ”

Image: Marvel Studios

The falcon and the winter soldier is the first appearance of Louis-Dreyfus in the MCU, but probably not the last; According to Vanity Fair, sources close to Marvel Productions said that Val will be appearing soon Black widow (which, had it not been for COVID-19 locks and release date relays, would have been the character’s formal theatrical introduction). Could there be more Val in the future?

Spellman’s wants to see her clearly in the coming year Thor: Love and thunder. But whatever happens, The falcon and the winter soldier suggests Val as a kind of anti-Nick Fury, who recruits John Walker’s scandal “Captain America” ​​for an unspoken initiative that can use his more violent instinct. The MCUs can follow the comics almost anywhere, from a new Nick Fury to an old Black Widow to a new revival of Hydra. But it’s starting with Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Who is Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the comics?

Image: Brian Michael Bendis, Jonathan Hickman, Stefano Caselli / Marvel Comics

Depending on when you ask this question, she’s either an Italian jet setter who’s been a SHIELD agent for years, or … Madame Hydra.

Author Steve Englehart, first introduced by Jim Steranko in 1967 for a crossover story of Nick Fury and Captain American, brought Valentina to Captain America’s comics in 1972. She is a small character with a long history that MCU takes almost every aspect of her adventures and takes a big turn.

Valentina dated Nick Fury for a while while she was a SHIELD agent. (Pro-tip: Do not go out with your colleagues if you belong to an organization where 50% of the employees are sleep agents.) She ran a secret agent team for women for a while – ideal for joining Black widow. Eventually it came to light that her Italian heritage was a cover story and that she really was a Russian operator – again, hello, Black widow. And the last thing she did in the continuity of Marvel Comics was to become a senior leader of Hydra and use the name ‘Madame Hydra’, until she betrayed Hydra to another secret international espionage operation. If the Marvel Cinematic Universe wants Hydra to lift its snake head again, Valentina could be a way to do it.

Or the MCU could go in a very different direction that has nothing to do with the things writers have done with Valentina before. We see her again Black widow, but do not expect the film to let us know what happens next with the character. The long delayed film is actually years before the events of Falcon and the Winter Soldier.