Black Widow Secretly Confirmed Valentina Is Not A Villain

Contessa Valentina has slowly been posed to be one of the Avengers’ Phase 4 foes, but a small detail in Black Widow proves she’s not the villain she’s projected to be. Portrayed by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine made her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as she recruited the new, unstable Captain America, John Walker, and rebranded him “U.S. Agent.” She has been working on putting together a group of people with superhuman abilities for an unnamed organization, though many suspect she’s putting together the long-anticipated Dark Avengers.

The post-credits scene in Black Widow caused a major stir among audiences as it set up a Phase 4 storyline with Florence Pugh’s character, Natasha’s sister, Yelena Belova, while also ruining the only memorial given to Black Widow by Contessa Valentina’s presence. In 2023, Yelena arrives in Ohio to visit her sister’s grave, though she is interrupted when Valentina shows up, obnoxiously blowing her nose into a tissue. Yelena chides Valentina for visiting her while on vacation, which suggests Yelena has been working for the Contessa for quite some time, possibly as one of her rumored Dark Avengers.

Valentina is notable for her manipulative, apathetic mannerisms towards her recruits and the way she poses them against the Avengers. While all clues so far have pointed to Valentina being a significant villain, a minor detail in Black Widow’s post-credits suggests she’s misunderstood. When Valentina shows Yelena the photo of Hawkeye, she’s doing so on her own iPad mini, which comes with conditions. Apple has an agreement that no villains or bad guys can use their products, so Valentina’s ownership of an iPad proves she isn’t the wicked menace Marvel has so far suggested her to be.

The Apple product ownership implicating who is the bad guy or not most recently became a point of contention during Rian Johnson’s murder-mystery Knives Out. Several of the characters within the Thrombey family that are possibly implicated in Harlan’s murder use iPhones, which quickly became a hint to weeding suspects out. The Knives Out character, who was revealed to be the real murderer after a few twists and turns, never possessed an Apple product. The same rule also hinted at the Power Broker’s true identity as Sharon Carter in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, considering Sam, Bucky, and Torres all used iPhones while Sharon notably did not.

Black Widow’s inclusion of an Apple product for Valentina now begs the question of what her real role within the MCU will entail. The post-credits scene implied Valentina is sending Yelena on a misleading mission to avenge her sister’s death by going after Clint Barton, a plotline expected to pan out in the upcoming Hawkeye Disney+ series. Since Valentina’s Marvel Comics character was a SHIELD operative that infiltrated HYDRA and became the villainous Madame Hydra, there is speculation that her MCU role will combine the characteristics of her original comics personality and that of the U.S. government advisor and John Walker-collaborator, Valerie “Val” Cooper. Now that Black Widow has revealed Valentina to be safe of major suspicion under Apple’s regulations, her seemingly villainous persona will soon be twisted in one of her next appearances.