Who is Julia Louis-dreyfus' Marvel character? Valentina explained

The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has many characters, from superheroes and villains to regular people working for government organizations.

Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (of Seinfeld and Veep fame), is one of the newest members of the shadow government. Regular viewers of MCU are aware that Fontaine frequently appears in the stories of different characters.

Her first appearance in the MCU was in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it wasn't her last; she also appeared in Black Widow's mid-credits scene when she hired Florence Pugh's Yelena. Her most recent appearance was in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

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Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's Black Panther 2 appearance is her most significant one in Marvel Cinematic Universe till date

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has made appearances in series and movies and is set to have a more substantial role in the MCU (Image via Marvel Studios)

Although Fontaine's role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is Louis-Dreyfus' most significant one to date in the MCU, it follows the same pattern of being quietly malevolent that she so masterfully portrayed in her first two appearances. Since Shuri saves his life in the first movie, Everett Ross (Martin Freeman), her ex-husband, has been discreetly passing on the information to Wakanda under the direct supervision of Fontaine, the new chief of the CIA.

Fontaine spends most of this film as Wakanda's enemy because she wants to aid the United States in obtaining vibranium and believes the former is obstructing efforts by other nations to extract the substance. Ultimately, she and Everett don't matter to the story, but overall, this feels like just a pit stop for Fontaine as she makes her way to later appearances and her more significant goals.

As devoted Marvel fans are aware, Val is portrayed in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as an anti-Nick Fury, enlisting John Walker's disgraced "Captain America" for an unstated project that would benefit from his more aggressive tendencies. From there, the MCU could follow the comics.

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Valentina Allegra de Fontaine's background and history in Marvel Comics

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, also known as Madame Hydra, in a comic book illustration (Image via Marvel Comics)

Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is regarded as one of Marvel's most significant figures. Writer Steve Englehart first included her in Captain America comics in 1972 after Jim Steranko introduced her in 1967 for a Nick Fury and Captain America crossover storyline.

She has an extensive enough history and is a minor enough figure that the MCU could take a significant swing at practically any part of her exploits. When Valentina was a SHIELD agent, she briefly dated Nick Fury. For a period, she also oversaw an all-female secret spy unit. It was subsequently discovered that she was a Russian agent and that her claim to have Italian ancestry was a lie.

Valentina's last activity in the Comics timeline was to join Hydra as a senior commander and adopt the moniker "Madame Hydra," which she kept up until she betrayed Hydra in a different covert international spy outfit. Valentina may also be a method for the MCU to get Hydra to raise its serpentine head again.

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So where's it all going for Julia Louis-dreyfus' Marvel character?

Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine takes the lead in the upcoming movie 'Thunderbolts' - a team of less-than-noble Avengers-adjacent fighters (Image via Marvel Stuidos)

Alternatively, the MCU may take a far different route that has nothing to do with what Valentina's comic book creators have done.

Her next known role is in Thunderbolts, where she will presumably be in charge of a group of less-than-honorable, Avengers-adjacent combatants. Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), Red Justice (David Harbour), Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko), and Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) have been confirmed for the team.

Could Everett Ross, the Black Panther, or another Wakandan be traveling with them? If there's one thing we can say with certainty about the MCU version of Valentina, she can do anything she wants, wrangle anyone she wants, and appear wherever. Don't even bother speculating.