WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Chris Claremont Anniversary Special by Chris Claremont, Bill Sienkiewicz, Sean Chen, Diego Olortegui, Brett Booth, Marc Deering, Roberto Poggi, Roelso Corona, Chris Sotomayor, Rachelle Rosenberg, Erick Arciniega, Guru-eFX, and Tom Orzechowski, on sale now.
Marvel's Chris Claremont Anniversary Special has finally arrived, celebrating the writer extraordinaire and his 50-year history with Marvel. While the narrative centers around Dani Moonstar and her quest to prove herself, it also features appearances from some fan-favorites and versions of them that haven't been seen in quite some time.
And among an assortment of multiple reality Fantastic Four teams that have assembled here is Valeria Von Doom, a teenage, alternate reality version of Valeria Richards who briefly served alongside the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Universe.
Dani Moonstar recently saved the life of the Asgardian stallion known as Brightwind, an act of kindness and compassion that unknowingly tethered her to the ranks of the Valkyries. A normal day of grooming her steed at Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is interrupted by the sudden appearance of Hela, who explains the situation to Moonstar, informing her that she must prove her worth as a Valkyrie if she wishes to continue down the path that she is on. Her journey takes her to all manner of locations, and first on the list is the Baxter Building, where the Fantastic Four are embroiled in a battle with the husbands of various versions of Sue Storm.
The mainstream universe's Reed Richards, alongside an alternate Namor and Doctor Doom, is unleashing a vicious assault on the Invisible Women for seemingly no reason, all while the rest of their families look on in horror. In the crowd of bystanders are several versions of the Thing and Human Torch, as well as the various children belonging to the alternate Invisible Women., including the teenage Valeria.
Back in 1984's Fantastic Four #267 written and illustrated by John Byrne, Sue Storm and Reed Richards were agonizing over the former's complicated pregnancy, worried sick for the health of their unborn daughter. While Sue does make it through a difficult labor, the daughter that she was trying to bring into the world lost her life before it could ever really begin.
Several years after that original tragedy struck, a young woman wearing an amalgamation of the Fantastic Four costume and Doctor Doom's armor revealed herself to the heroes in 1999's Fantastic Four #15 by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larocca. This young hero introduces herself as Valeria Von Doom, or Marvel Girl, the daughter of Sue Storm and her own world's Doctor Doom, who in actuality is another Reed trapped in the armor of Doom.
Of course, nothing is ever so simple in the world of Marvel's first family, especially not when it comes to their children from another reality. While Valeria's story is true enough to her, the character's proper origin links back to that original tragedy nearly four decades ago. Franklin Richards, Sue and Reed's son felt his parent's pain as they grieved the loss of their second child. Without raising an eyebrow, Franklin transported his infant sister to another reality, the alternate timeline which she comes from, revealing that Valeria Von Doom is indeed the daughter that the primary Reed and Sue had lost during childbirth so many years before. And after serving with the Marvel Universe team for a time, Valeria Von Doom returned to a fetal state and became Marvel's current Valeria Richards.
With her father's armor and intellect, as well as incredible psionic powers, Valeria took up the mantle of Marvel Girl to defend her world from whatever threats came its way. Though she might be sidelined while watching her father attack a mother she's loved her whole life and one she has never met, the various versions of Sue are more than capable of handling themselves. From this example, it becomes easier to see where Valeria got her heroic instincts.