Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie will be the MCU’s first LGBTQIA character

Introduced in Thor: Ragnarok, Tessa Thompson’s hard-drinking, hard-living warrior Valkyrie is a firm fan favourite character. When she returned in Avengers: Endgame as the new leader of the displaced kingdom of Asgard, her new role hinted at the increased importance the character would play in future Marvel movies.

This was confirmed on stage at SDCC, when Thompson informed the audience that her “first order of business” will be establishing Valkyrie as a canonically queer character.

“First of all, as king, as new king [of Asgard], she needs to find her queen,” Thompson grinned. “So that will be the first order of business. She has some ideas. I’ll keep you posted. And then, I don’t know what’s cool about Asgard — as it has already been mentioned — Asgard is not a place but a people. So I think just reinvesting in her people, and a cool thing is to create a refuge for any person who might need it. That to me is the idea of a perfect Asgard.”

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