WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Falcon and the Winter Soldier Episode 5, "Truth," now streaming on Disney+.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus crept into the Marvel Cinematic Universe on little cat’s feet in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier last week but left an impact like a hurricane. The actress, known best for her work in comedy, made a cameo as Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, aka Madame Hydra. Her exact purpose in the MCU may differ from her comic book incarnation, but clearly, there are big plans for her, and judging by her conversation with John Walker, she may very well be Nick Fury's dark mirror.
Fury orchestrated the creation of the Avengers out of the belief that they could protect Earth from threats that S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn’t. Now, Fontaine, whose origins are far darker, could be scheming to assemble a similar team for her own purposes using the façade of government approval to cover it. And if that's the case, she would quickly become a frightening rival to Fury.
First appearing in Strange Tales #159, Fontaine was a S.H.I.E.L.D. turncoat whose subsequent appearances are connected to a number of MCU plotlines. That includes the government registration acts of Captain America: Civil War, the Leviathan organization from Marvel’s Agent Carter and the comic-book basis for the upcoming Secret Invasion storyline.
Fontaine's connection to these plot threads has yet to be confirmed, but executive producer Nate Moore dropped a big hint about her role on Marvel.com. "Whenever we talked about Valentina, even in the writer's room, she was sort of a more acerbic, funnier, but darker Nick Fury," he explained. "Someone who knows her secrets, who's not afraid to operate in the moral gray area, but maybe who isn't as inherently altruistic. [...] Having a character like Valentina in the show, and actually in the MCU, is really interesting because I think she'll be making more waves sooner rather than later."
Those so-called "waves" could include the formation of a team to rival the Avengers, which already has numerous candidates in place in the MCU. The Abomination is confirmed to appear in the upcoming She-Hulk series, and White Vision made his debut earlier this year on WandaVision. Both characters can match heavy-hitting Avengers like the Hulk in terms of power levels, and Walker, in whatever role he ends up playing, has already shown himself capable of taking on the likes of Sam and Bucky. All of them ostensibly worked for the government, but are either no longer sanctioned or highly suspect. A figure like Fontaine could add another villain or two, then adroitly point them all at whatever threat she deems pertinent.
Little has been explained beyond the character’s appearance in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Moore’s cryptic hint. But Dreyfus isn’t the kind of talent one wastes on a couple of cameos, and considering the weight the MCU places on introductions, her appearances may just be the tip of the iceberg. Fury, for his part, has kept a low profile since Avengers: Endgame, but a figure like Fontaine -- who can match him step for step and may just be gathering a team of her own to counter his -- will surely bring him back into the fold.
Directed by Kari Skogland, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier stars Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Emily VanCamp, Wyatt Russell, Noah Mills, Carl Lumbly and Daniel Brühl. A new episode debuts each Friday on Disney+.