With Marvel Studios latest entry in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe franchise looming on the horizon, now is finally the
time to look at an oft underestimated character from the annals of the MC2.
Yes, Thunderbolts* will feature Julia Louis-Dreyfus once again
portraying none other than ‘Val’, or as she is known in the pages of Marvel
Comics the Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. This is Contessa
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the MC2.
The Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine first
appeared in 1967’s Strange Tales #159 in a Nick Fury, Agent of
S.H.I.E.L.D. story by writer and
artist Jim Steranko. She would eventually reach a high ranking status
with the spy organisation, even being appointed as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
upon the apparent death of her on-again, off-again lover Nicholas Fury (Captain
America #449).
As for her counterpart in the MC2, the Contessa Valentina
Allegra de Fontaine of Universe-982 debuted in Amazing
Spider-Girl #9. Valentina led a team of Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D. during the Carnage story
arc. Agent Maria
Hill tasks Special Agent Arthur Weadon and his
team of former villains led by Kaine with
safeguarding the transport of an item referred to only as 'Specimen 297'
(actually a piece of the Carnage
symbiote) through New York City. When the transport convoy
is attacked by the faction of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Contessa
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine and the Specimen accidentally
let loose in the city by Spider-Girl, Carnage is
reborn.
Nick Fury makes
his first on-panel appearance in the MC2 - albeit shrouded in
shadow-when he assures President
G.W. Bridge the situation would be resolved despite the
complications as he has his best Agent on the case. After an attack by Carnage at Café
Indigo, Hill dispatches S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
and Weadon’s team to track down Spider-Girl for
questioning about her involvement (Amazing Spider-Girl #10-#11).
After evading both groups, Spider-Girl is
reacquired during a battle with Carnage, with Maria Hill sending Weadon’s team
and S.H.I.E.L.D. after her once more which results in Carnage attacking
all of them. Fortunately, Spider-Girl manages
to save everyone involved, but her baby brother Benjy, now merged
with a part of the Carnage symbiote, is taken by the villain. Hill calls
for emergency aid before following them to Midtown Medical Center (Amazing
Spider-Girl #12).
We learn through the investigative work of Kaine and Darkdevil the
true plot: the United States was unwilling to destroy
the Carnage symbiote despite the United Nations stance
on the use of bio-weapons, G.W. Bridge and Nick Fury organised
for Valentina’s team of disguised S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents
to 'steal' the Specimen, setting up Weadon's team
to fail. This was all to demonstrate the dangers to the congressional
committee wishing to keep the symbiote for bio-weapon research under the guise
of finding a cure for cancer (Amazing Spider-Girl #12).
Maria Hill reports back to Nick Fury that Specimen
297 has been fully neutralized. Despite the operation not going as
planned, the situation was salvaged thanks to Spider-Girl's intervention,
providing the President with a sound rationale to convince the
congressional committee to destroy the remaining Specimen (Amazing
Spider-Girl #12).
That’s it for Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in
the MC2. She’s still doing shady operations for S.H.I.E.L.D. even if
she can neither confirm nor deny them.
Until I stop enjoying writing ‘Contessa Valentina
Allegra de Fontaine’ in full, I remain
frogoat