In Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, one of the most hidden but evil characters is the CIA Director, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. This woman, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, has slowly gained more and more power in the background of MCU’s Phase 4. She’s been recruiting strange and powerful human beings, and the smart money seems to set her up for Marvel’s Thunderbolts. But how was she related to Martin Freeman’s character, Agent Everett Ross?
Ross was an angsty CIA agent from the first Black Panther movie who gives the Wakandans some trouble until eventually having a change of heart and joining them. He remained a CIA agent, active in the Marvel universe in several places between the first Black Panther and now. Currently, we see him still operating in the same position, but under Ms. De Fontaine, and at one point, they even mention that they used to be married. The stunning revelation came while Val was playing a circuitous game of trust with Agent Ross.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
She successfully manipulated him into revealing his connection with the Wakandans and managed to spy on his conversations with them. Though Ms. De Fontaine is clearly not to be trusted, she seems to have appeared from nowhere in the MCU. Now she’s been married to CIA agents, is recruiting superhumans, and is even the Director of the CIA herself! How could Ross ever have trusted her in the first place?
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine Has Created Chaos in the Comics
Marvel Studios
In the comics, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a rather tricky character known for being quite the adept spy. She’s worked with the CIA as well as many other clandestine agencies. She is famous for joining S.H.E.I.L.D. by defeating Nick Fury in hand-to-hand combat. When she worked for S.H.E.I.L.D., she caused a lot of drama. Fans of the comics will know that Val often flirted with and seduced many of the good and bad guys. It’s no surprise Agent Ross fell for her, even if she was genuinely interested in him.
During her time in S.H.E.I.L.D. Val seduced both Nick Fury and Captain America. This caused a terrible uproar inside the agency. At first, Fury was attracted to her simply based on her prominent combat abilities and her willingness to get her job done without anything stopping her. While she was still in some semblance of a relationship with Fury, she began flirting with Captain America. This complicated things not only for obvious reasons but also because Captain America’s current flame, Sharon Carter, was Val’s superior officer at the time. It threw all of the agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. into disarray. Fury demanded to fight Captain America simply because he was flirting with Val, and Sharon Carter wanted to fight Val because she was coming after the man she loved.
Val has been known for being a bit of a femme fatale, so tricking Everett Ross into trusting her is a skill that is right in her wheelhouse. But it turns out that all of this is just another part of Val’s true identity. Though she is a capable S.H.E.I.L.D. agent and excellent spy, it appears that she was so good that no one could even see her true identity coming.
Who Is Valentina Allegra de Fontaine Really?
The MCU seems to be setting Val’s character up to organize the Thunderbolts with a 2024 movie of the same name. Val has been recruiting various superhumans and people of a particular skill. We’ve seen her recruit the Black Widow Yelena Belova, and many fans assume she sent her after Hawkeye in his Christmas series.
In The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, she spent much of her time talking to U.S. Agent, who we know will also be on the Thunderbolts team. Recently in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, we know she was trying her best to collect vibranium for some nefarious plot.
One thing is for sure: Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is an enemy. Even though she is currently working for the US government in the MCU, fans of the comics will know that she is secretly a sleeper agent for Marvel’s dark seditious group Leviathan. They are a corrupt organization bent on taking over the world. They are so evil that they even tried to hijack Hydra. Ms. De Fontaine is at the center of these conspiracies, and her work will undoubtedly lead MCU fans down a rabbit hole to find this terrible organization.
Though she hasn’t revealed herself yet in the MCU, she’s clearly up to no good. We’ve already learned not to trust her, and we know she’s up to something, but very little has been said about this recurring character. Anyone with an eye out for potential villains should watch this one; she’s definitely going to unveil her plot sometime soon.
