Valkyrie, created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, made her debut appearance in The Avengers #83 in 1970. The Marvel superheroine was loosely based on the Norse mythological figure Brynhildr. In Norse mythology, a valkyrie is a female figure who chooses those who may die in battle and those who may live. Valkyrie, a/k/a Brunnhilde, was personally selected by Odin to lead the group of female warriors on Asgard known as the Valkyrior.

Over the years, Valkyrie has endured a pretty onerous history. After disobeying an order from Odin, in an effort to save someone, Valkyrie was stripped of her powers and cast into a trance. Eventually she was awoken by Siegfried, another mortal incarnation of Thor, and the pair fell in love. Unfortunately, Siegfried later fell under the influence of magic, betrayed her, and was subsequently murdered. Distraught by his death, Valkyrie leapt into his blazing funeral prye. Later on, Odin restored both of them to life along with their Asgardian powers, but removed their memories of their earthly lives. 

After leading her fellow warriors for roughly a millennium, the Valkyrior were forced to only choose slain heroes from among fallen Asgardian warriors. Bitter over being barred from choosing warriors on Earth, Valkyrie fell into an unwise partnership with Amora the Enchantress. When Valkyrie attempted to end their partnership, the Enchantress trapped Brunnhilde within a mystic crystal of souls. Eventually, Valkyrie escaped and went on to become a member of the Asgardians, Secret Avengers, and the Defenders. Her powers include superhuman strength, speed, durability, longevity, as well as a mediumship with spirits of the dead. 

Did you know Valkyrie recently made her live-action debut? The latest Marvel Cinematic film, Thor: Ragnarok debuted in theaters on November 3, 2017 and included Tessa Thompson as Valkyrie. Thompson is set to reprise her role as Valkyrie in Avengers: Infinity War, scheduled for release on May 4, 2018.