Whenever a movie adaptation of an ongoing property strikes a chord with the mainstream, it isn’t uncommon for the latter to start modeling itself after the former. After all, people liked the movie for a reason. And, generally speaking, the movie often exceeds the source material in reach and popularity (especially if the source material in question is a comic book).
Harley Quinn actually debuted in Batman: The Animated Series in the early 1990s when the show’s staff realized that the Joker needed a recognizable, mainstay henchwoman. In the wake of the X-Men and Spider-Man movies in the early 2000s, Marvel launched their Ultimate line of comics: which reimagined their most popular heroes as younger, hipper and more modern to fit with the updated look of their big screen counterparts. Now, because of the MCU’s unrivaled popularity, their unique versions of certain characters are starting to seep into the comic continuity.
The traditionally White Nick Fury of the comics has been replaced by his biracial son, Nick Fury Jr: a character who looks unmistakably like the Samuel L. Jackson version of Nick Fury from the movies. Original characters like SHIELD agents Phil Coulson, Leo Fitz, Jemma Simmons and Melinda May have all been introduced after the success of The Avengers and Agents of SHIELD. Most recently, the hugely popular Valkyrie — a breakout character from the monumentally well-received Thor: Ragnarok, will have her comic book version remodeled after her distinct movie depiction.
Or, rather, A comic book version of her character will be modeled after her. The original Valkyrie from the comics will remain as she’s ever been: blonde and traditionally Nordic. The version that will appear in the relaunch of the infrequently popular Exiles series, however, is another matter entirely.
The Exiles are an interdimensional ‘suicide squad’ of Marvel superheroes plucked by an otherworldly power moments before their death in their home reality. Instead of dying, though, they join a ragtag group of heroes moving from one reality to another setting things right that once went wrong.
Originally an X-Men spinoff, the series has been reimagined several times over its history of sporadic publication. First it was just straight-up different versions of X-characters. Later it only consisted of different versions of Wolverine (because, no matter what reality he’s from, Logan is always the best there is at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice). The new version takes more broadly from the Marvel pantheon. In addition to Valkyrie, there are alternate versions of Wolverine, Ms. Marvel, Blink and Iron Man.
This version of Valkyrie — which is not the MCU version specifically, but one clearly based on her — is described as the “Lone Defender of Asgard”. Comic writer Saladin Ahmed clarifies 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.” She’s additionally described as “a tankard-draining, maiden-wooing, giant-slaying thunderbolt of a woman.”
This new version of the Exiles — and this specific version of Valkyrie — are an exciting and much-needed addition to Marvel’s comic book lineup. The publisher’s unwieldly and exponentially growing multiverse has always been a key draw to its setting. Spider-Verse is easily one of their best storylines in years and its insanely fun spinoff series, Web Warriors — which followed a team of different Spider-characters from different dimensions — was sadly canceled right when it started to find its narrative cadence. This new book should fill that void handsomely.
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