Valkyrie (Marvel Comics)

Valkyrie, also known by her Asgardian name Brunnhilde, is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Englehart and Sal Buscema, the character first appeared in Defenders #4 (November 1972). She is based on the Norse mythological figure Brynhildr. Valkyrie became a mainstay of the superhero team known as the Defenders and a close ally and one-time love interest of the god Thor.

Valkyrie was selected by Odin to lead his personal unit of shield-maidens, the Valkyrior. Renowned for her prowess in battle, Valkyrie is often accompanied by her winged horse Aragorn and carries the enchanted sword Dragonfang. In the 2010s, Valkyrie became a founding member of the Secret Avengers and co-leader of the Fearless Defenders with Misty Knight. Among Valkyrie's other aliases are Barbara Norris, Samantha Parrington, Sian Bowen and Annabelle Riggs, who all, at one point, hosted her spirit. Samantha Parrington, one of Valkyrie's previous hosts, later received superhuman powers and became a member of the Defenders herself.

Tessa Thompson portrays the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), and The Marvels (2023). Thompson also voiced alternate variants of the character in the Disney+ animated series What If...? (2021-2024) and the miniseries Marvel Zombies (2025).

The Valkyrie first appeared as a guise of the Enchantress in The Avengers #83 (December 1970) and was created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema. Thomas used another iteration of the character when the Valkyrie persona was placed into a mortal woman named Samantha Parrington as an adversary for the Hulk in The Incredible Hulk vol. 2 #142 (August 1971).

Roy Thomas publicly stated the character's creation, "I wanted a sort of female Thor, but of course at first I just made her a disguise of the Enchantress in THE AVENGERS. I left the look mostly to John Buscema, though I may have said I wanted her to be blonde."

Writer Steve Englehart and artist Sal Buscema put the Valkyrie's essence into another mortal woman, Barbara Norriss, in The Defenders #4 (February 1973) and had the character join the group as a longtime member. Englehart has stated that he added the Valkyrie to the Defenders "to provide some texture to the group". Steve Gerber introduced Jack Norris as the estranged husband of Barbara but the Valkyrie persona had no memory of him. Writers David Anthony Kraft and Ed Hannigan explained some of the Valkyrie's backstory in The Defenders #66-68 (Dec. 1978–Feb. 1979). Three years later, writers J. M. DeMatteis and Mark Gruenwald wrote a follow-up story in The Defenders #107-109 (May–July 1982) which resolved remaining plot points from the Kraft and Hannigan story.

The Valkyrie remained a member of the Defenders through most of the series' run and is apparently killed in the final issue, #152 (Feb. 1986). According to writer Peter B. Gillis, the Valkyrie's death was part of an editorial edict to free up the surviving Defenders for use in X-Factor. The character was restored to life in a Doctor Strange storyline written by Gillis in 1988 and made only a few appearances in the 1990s.

In 2001, writer Kurt Busiek and co-writer/penciller Erik Larsen revived the Defenders series and restored Samantha Parrington as the mortal incarnation of the Valkyrie.