Last week, Marvel announced a new Exiles book, featuring a rag-tag band of reality-crossing heroes looking to defend their world(s) from those who would destroy them. When the premiere publisher first broke the news, a Marvel press release teased that Blink, Khan (an older, hardened iteration of Kamala Khan a.k.a. Ms. Marvel), Iron Lad, Wolvie (a chibi-style version of Wolverine), and a yet-to-be-revealed character were all set to become a part of the Exiles team.
Now, Marvel has shared that a character openly based on Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie from THOR: RAGNAROK (though not the actual character from the film) will serve as the final member of the Exiles superhero ensemble.
In talking about the move to bring Valkyrie into the comic book fold, series writer Saladin Ahmed stated in a Marvel press release that, “Though she’s not technically from the Marvel Cinematic Universe reality, she’s basically the literalization of the larger-than-her-physical-frame swagger that Tessa Thompson displayed in Thor: Ragnarok, turned up to 11." Ahmed then added, “Valkyrie’s a character who’s always appealed to me,” Ahmed said. “Her iconic warrior-woman look — spear! sword! flying horse! — but also the juxtaposition of a kickass ancient fantasy hero operating in contemporary New York City.”
Ahmed also stated that while trying his best to do the Thompson-like character justice on the comic book page, she will be represented as a "tankard-draining, maiden-wooing, giant-slaying thunderbolt of a woman." By Odin's beard, Saladin, that sounds awesome! Additionally, while the term "maiden-wooing" suggests that the character will be gay or bisexual, Saladin confirmed on his personal Twitter account that, "Yes, she's queer." As someone who deals directly with today's comic book culture on a daily basis, I can tell you straight up that this is bound to please a lot of fans who're hoping to see an increase in queer representation from mainstream comics publishers. Good on you, Marvel, for taking the fan-fervor for the Valkyrie character and making it part of the canon – sort of.
Exiles #1 written by Saladin Ahmed with art by Javier Rodriguez is scheduled to hit comic book stands on April 11th, with a second issue to follow just two weeks later.
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