Thor: Love And Thunder - Who Will Be Valkyrie's Queen (Every Theory)
It's confirmed that Valkyrie's bisexuality will be center stage, with a queer romance in Love And Thunder. The big question is who her queen will be.
In Thor: Love And Thunder, the MCU will center a queer romance around Valkyrie and she has a lot of potential partners. Valkyrie is canonically bisexual, though the scene which would have confirmed this in the MCU was ultimately cut from Thor: Ragnarok. With Disney having recently committed to greater LGBTQ+ representation, the MCU exploring every step of a queer romance for the first time can be a significant step in the right direction. While there are few confirmed details so far, there’s plenty to speculate about.
Valkyrie made her MCU debut in Thor: Ragnarok, as an estranged Asgardian warrior making her way as a scavenger on the warlike world of Sakaar. A flashback sequence shows the tragic loss of one of her fellow warriors – actor Tessa Thompson has since said she portrayed this scene as the loss of her lover. Since then, Valkyrie abandoned Asgard, leaving behind even her true name, Brunnhilde. Her story in the movies has led her back to her people, eventually being named King of Asgard by Thor at the end of Avengers: Endgame. Her next step is to find a queen, and it’s been confirmed this will be a central part of the upcoming story in Thor: Love And Thunder.
There’s no shortage of characters who could be potential love interests for Valkyrie. While confirmed LGBTQ+ characters are still a rarity in the MCU, the comics have been leading the charge for some time. After Avengers: Endgame saw Thor leaving Earth on Peter Quill’s spaceship, the best of Valkyrie’s potential partners are likely to be found in the Thor and Guardians Of The Galaxy comics.
The entire mythos surrounding Thor is that whomsoever holds the hammer, if they be worthy, shall wield the power of Thor. The biggest development for Thor 4 is that this power will be wielded by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), following her return to the MCU. As such a central figure in the story, she seems an obvious choice for one of Valkyrie’s prospective partners.
If Jane Foster was to become the Queen of Asgard, it would mean that Asgard could still be ruled by someone with the power of Thor, while freeing Thor himself from any remaining obligations as a monarch – obligations which he clearly no longer wants. This could provide an interesting way to complete Thor’s main ongoing story arc, going from an eager and headstrong prince to finding not one but two worthy leaders to rule Asgard in his stead, even if it creates some tension between Thor and Valkyrie over Thor's prior relationship with Jane.
Thor: Love And Thunder will also see the return of Lady Sif, who’s been conspicuously absent from the MCU ever since Thor: The Dark World, barring a brief appearance in Loki. Having survived both Hela and Thanos, Sif and Brunnhilde will have plenty to bond over. They may even develop romantic feelings for each other as a result. Sif’s actor, Jaimie Alexander, is clearly in favor of the idea, having publicly volunteered her character as Valkyrie’s prospective queen (via The Mary Sue).
Thor: Ragnarok established Hela as the long-lost sister of Thor, and the former wielder of Mjolnir but, in the comics, these traits belonged to Angela – an angel and a bounty hunter. Angela made her debut in Marvel comics during the 2013 Age Of Ultron storyline (not to be confused with the 2015 movie, The Avengers: Age of Ultron). This storyline saw her pulled from heaven after Wolverine damaged the Omniverse. It’s not hard to imagine Doctor Strange’s damage to the Multiverse in the MCU might have had the same effect.
Since then, Angela has appeared numerous times in comics alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy, which often show her as Gamora's battle companion. Angela is also canonically lesbian in the comics, which opens the possibility she may be interested in Valkyrie. Angela is rumored to appear in Thor 4 but, considering how much of her character was already given to Hela, it’s uncertain what role she may take.
First appearing in the comic, Angela: Asgard’s Assassin, Sera is a magic-wielding angel who has a turbulent history with Angela. Comic storylines have seen her as a mercenary with the Ravagers, next to Yondu. She’s also canonically transgender and lesbian.
There have been discussions for some time about Marvel Studios introducing a trans woman character to the MCU, with calls for auditions starting back in 2019. This has led to some speculation that Sera may be introduced in Thor 4 (via RTL). In 2020, Sera was rumored to make her MCU debut in Loki, but she never arrived. Whether or not she’s set to appear in season 2 of Loki, there’s still a chance she could make her debut in Thor:Love And Thunder.
The cyborg daughter of Thanos has had a tumultuous journey across her MCU appearances, following the path of Loki as a character who started out as a villain before gradually joining the side of the heroes. Her story has seen her reconcile with her sister, Gamora, in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, before making her first steps towards having actual friends during Avengers: Endgame. Nebula has changed more than most MCU characters, making her extremely compelling.
For a character like Nebula, emotionally damaged and a survivor of abuse, a romantic relationship could be a logical next step in her character development. A story like this could contain some genuinely touching moments, seeing Nebula learn to trust people while also further absolving her of her past villainy. This can ultimately cement her place among the protagonists – if not as a true hero, then at least as an antihero. Valkyrie could be the one to show Nebula what romance is, maybe getting a chance to let her guard down and open up about her own past trauma in the process.
A Marvel Comics character who has yet to appear in the MCU, Moondragon is a telepath, and the daughter of Drax the Destroyer. Comic book storylines have seen her trained in combat by the father of Thanos, and she’s fought alongside the Guardians of the Galaxy and has helped the Avengers confront Thanos. She’s also bisexual, making her a potential love interest for Valkyrie. One particular comic storyline, in The Defenders #124, saw Valkyrie assigned as Moondragon’s guardian at Odin’s judgment – with an established connection like this, if she doesn’t appear in Thor: Love And Thunder, there’s a good chance she may appear with Valkyrie in future stories. While in the main MCU timeline Drax's family was killed, it would be easy to introduce Moon Dragon as a variant through the multiverse or by simply changing her origin story, as the MCU has done before.
Valkyrie and Captain Marvel are a popular fan pairing, but this idea isn’t entirely limited to fans. Mary Livanos, the producer of Captain Marvel and Wandavision, has teased the possibility of Brunhilde and Carol Danvers possibly being a couple (via Pink News). Valkyrie is rumored to appear in The Marvels, which could further support this idea. The actors behind the two characters, Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson, are both advocates for greater LGBTQ+ representation among superheroes, and are known for leaving positive responses to fan art of their characters as a couple.
In Marvel comics, Annabelle Riggs is an archaeologist from Earth, who first met Valkyrie while she was excavating an ancient Viking grave. Canonically lesbian, Annabelle has had an unusual history with Valkyrie in comic storylines, particularly in the Fearless Defenders series. This story saw the two of them accidentally sharing the same body after Valkyrie resurrected her from death (via CBR). It’ll be interesting to see how a storyline like this may eventually be handled on-screen, especially after Venom and Moon Knight have played with similar ideas.
Thor joking about the Asgardians of the Galaxy at the end of Avengers: Endgame could be a hint in Annabelle’s favor, as she was a member of a team-up by the same name in the comics. With Valkyrie still on Earth at the beginning of Thor: Love And Thunder, she’d certainly have a chance to encounter Annabelle. As an archeologist studying ancient Viking battles, her character could also be quite easily tied in with the greater comic mythology behind Gorr the God Butcher and his fearsome sword, the All-Black. What's more, Annabelle appearing in the MCU could set up the possibility of a Fearless Defenders movie in the future. As an unassuming character compared with the others on this list but also an obvious callback to the earlier relationship between Thor and Jane Foster, Annabelle Riggs may be the most likely candidate as Brunnhilde’s queen.
There’s a steadily increasing number of actors, directors, and producers who are keen to show greater LGBTQ+ representation in movies, and Thor: Love And Thunder is due to finally deliver on this. Queer representation is still sorely lacking in film, especially in properties like the MCU, owned by Disney, but Valkyrie holds the potential to have a strong impact on this. With so many possible love interests, it’s possible she could even have more than one. Tropes like love triangles may be overused in straight romances, but they still have plenty of unused potential for LGBTQ+ characters, which can finally show a love triangle that has three sides.