Let’s face it: The Marvels is a lot of fun, but it has some plot problems. The film has a lot of elements that feel shoehorned in so that Marvel Studios can connect it to the other films and series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. There is one extraneous scene, though, that I’m thrilled the studio included.
Why? Because it means one fan-favorite relationship may have just become canon.
Minor spoilers for The Marvels ahead!
Valkyrie’s cameo in The Marvels, explained
In the final trailer for The Marvels, we see Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), friend of Thor and King of New Asgard, giving Carol (Brie Larson) an inspiration speech. Fun! But Val’s cameo in the film is even better than the trailer lets on.
After Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) destroys a colony of Skrull refugees, Carol calls a friend whom she think may be able to take the survivors in. Soon, the Bifrost appears, and Valkyrie shows up. Significantly, Val is dressed in a well-tailored suit and tie instead of armor, meaning that she’s visiting in her capacity as King, not warrior. Val has arrived to take the Skrulls back to New Asgard.
Val congratulates Carol on finding a team, mentioning her own time as a member of the short-lived Revengers in Thor: Ragnarok. “You can stand tall without standing alone,” she says. Before she leaves, she takes Carol’s hands and kisses her on the cheek.
That moment isn’t just a friendly gesture. There’s definitely something special between Val and Carol.
The moment isn’t completely unexpected. In fact, fans have been shipping Val and Carol for years. Some fan art even caught the attention of Larson and Thompson, who loved the idea of Val and Carol being an item.
So are Carol Danvers and Valkyrie dating, or what?
I mean, what do you mean by “dating?” Like, are Carol and Val a monogamous couple that sees each other all the time? I don’t see how that could be, what with Carol spending most of her time in space. However, with Valkyrie apparently having access to the Bifrost at least some of the time, I suppose they could visit each other.
The way I personally read the scene—and you can disagree!—is that they’re not exclusive at the moment, but they had a relationship in the past. They seem like they haven’t seen each other in awhile, especially with Valkyrie’s wish at the end that “the next time we meet be joyful.” (There’s also the depressing matter of Disney’s allergy to outright queer relationships, which may have influenced what eventually made it onto the screen.)
When might Carol and Val have dated? In The Marvels, we learn that Carol visited Earth at least once during the Blip, while Monica was gone and Maria was dying of cancer. It’s possible that when Carol came to Earth, and after Valkyrie brought the Asgardian refugees to Norway to start their new colony, the two of them met and developed a relationship. That’s just one possibility, though.
A relationship with Valkyrie adds some pathos to Carol’s story, since Monica spends most of the movie believing that Carol took off from Earth and didn’t look back. It also adds a new dimension to Val’s character, since we know from Thor: Love and Thunder that Val is still mourning the loss of the fellow Valkyrie she loved long ago. Exploring a relationship with Carol while still feeling that grief is a lovely, bittersweet development for Val.
Congrats, Captain Marvel and Valkyrie fans: The Marvels may not be the masterpiece we were hoping for, but at least we’re winning in other ways.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion PIctures)
