Valkyrie
1st Appearance: The Defenders #4, November 1972 (Appeared as a guise for Amora the Enchantress in The Avengers #83, December 1970)
Place of Origin: Wristead Arms
Profession: Leader of the Valkyrior, Chooser of the Slain, Shield-Maiden, Super Heroine
Affiliations: Defenders, the Valkyrior, Avengers, Secret Avengers
Partnerships: Sigmund, Amora the Enchantress, her steed Aragorn
Created by: Roy Thomas and John Buscema
Abilities:
- Superhuman strength, endurance, speed, reflexes, agility, durability, and longevity
- Invulnerability
- Regenerative Healing Factor
- Mystical teleportation
- Skillful armed and unarmed fighter
- Mediumship with spirits of the dead
Synopsis of First Appearance: “The New Defender!”
In the previous issue, Hulk believed he saw Dr. Strange harm Barbara Norriss, and at the beginning of this issue, Hulk jumps to a neighboring castle to avoid the master of the mystic arts. Then, Namor the Submariner and the prince of Atlantis, Strange and the others are teleported to a mystical realm. Once there, both Strange and Namor are overwhelmed by the Executioner and his army.
Hulk, who has transformed into Bruce Banner, finds himself in a cell with Barbara. The pair notice that a nearby cell is holding Amora, the Enchantress, and the Black Knight. The Enchantress explains that after last encounter with the Avengers, she and the Executioner travelled to this realm. Much to her displeasure, the Executioner quickly became the consort of Queen Casiolena. Seeking revenge on the monarch, the Enchantress did what her name implies and enchanted the Black Knight into helping her, but both were defeated and now find themselves in a prison cell.
To escape the dungeon, the Enchantress uses her magical abilities to turn Barbara Norriss into the Valkyrie and along with aid of the other Defenders, everyone is freed. A battle ensues between the Defenders, the Enchantress, and Black Knight on one side with Casiolena’s forces and the Executioner on the other. During the battle, the Enchantress kills Casiolena which causes the Executioner to return to her side. The Black Knight claims that the Enchantress actually loves him, but she tells him he was merely a pawn and turns him to stone (the Black Knight being turned into stone is a story that will be carried on in both the Avengers and Dr. Strange.) The Enchantress and the Executioner then make their escape together. The Defenders then travel back to Earth and Valkyrie adopts her steed, Aragorn, and tells the Defenders she is joining the team whether they like it or not.
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyrie_(Marvel_Comics)
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Brunnhilde_(Earth-616)
https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Defenders_Vol_1_4
Thomas, R., & Andru, R. (2022). Defenders Epic Collection: The Day of the Defenders. Marvel Comics.