Captain Marvel and Valkyrie's brief interaction in The Marvels has some people questioning the nature of their relationship and whether there's something more to it. With the movie's VOD release, a deleted scene has been added that further hints that their cosmic relationship is more than platonic.
Fans were rightfully annoyed when Thor: Ragnarok cut the only scene explicitly depicting Tessa Thompson's Valkyrie as bisexual. At Comic-Con 2019, seemingly to appease those fans, Thompson declared that "[Valkyrie] needs to find her queen" in Thor: Love and Thunder.
In the meantime, fans theorized who Valkyrie's queen could be, with one candidate being Captain Marvel. Unfortunately, like with Ragnarok, this supposed subplot of Valkerie finding her queen in Love and Thunder never materialized to further frustration among fans.
As for the Cosmic Avenger, producers intentionally left Carol with no romantic interest, but that didn't stop audiences from pairing her up with other characters in the MCU, like Valkyrie. However, fans may have finally gotten what they wanted with the Asgardian making a surprise appearance in The Marvels.
What Is the Relationship Between Captain Marvel and Valkyrie?
In The Marvels, after Carol Danvers helped save hundreds of Skrull refugees from the destruction of Tarnax, Carol told Emperor Dro'ge that she "called a friend" and that they "can find a safe place for you."
Not a moment after the call, a Bifrost quickly appeared carrying none other than Valkyrie. Upon her arrival, she asked Carol if she was alright, and the two hugged.
Carol thanked the Asgardian for taking in the Skrulls, who reassured her, "Always."
But she also noticed that "[Carol's] finally found [herself] a team," which Carol claimed was "unintentional."
Valkyrie comforted Danvers, holding her hands, and told her she "can stand tall without standing alone. Take it from me, Marv." The King of Asgard departed with the Skrulls, but not before kissing Carol on the cheek.
The hug, cutesy nickname, hand-holding, and kiss on the cheek could imply the two are in a romantic relationship.
Outside The Marvels, Brie Larson and Tessa Thompson have both been supporters of the pairing. Larson once said on X (formally known as Twitter) that she "will never stop loving this ship," and Thompson had stated she "wouldn't be mad at" the two characters being together romantically.
So, it appears that Valkrie finally found her queen after all.
UPDATE: In a deleted scene for The Marvels, that is now featured in the movie's VOD release, Valkyrie makes an additional appearance in the movie.
In this scene, Valkyrie calls Carol's ship and seductively says "Oh captain, my captain", believing Carol to be the only one aboard her ship. Instead, Kamala answers her call, to which Valkyrie responds "You are not my captain".
This is the biggest piece of evidence present in the movie that Valkyrie and Captain Marvel's relationship is beyond platonic and still an ongoing thing.
You can watch The Marvel's deleted scene, courtesy of IGN, below:
Will a Carol-Valkyrie Romance Be Explored Beyond The Marvels?
It's true that Valkyrie only kisses Danvers on the cheek, which isn't too far off from the lengths Disney has gone to minimize same-gender relationships in the past, such as Aneka and Ayo's romance being reduced to a forehead kiss in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
Whether this newly established relationship between Captain Marvel and Valkyrie (romantic or not) is explored further is uncertain. The only places where this relationship could come back would be either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars.
So unless there are plans for Danvers to appear in Thor 5, it seems like this was nothing more than fan service and a bone being thrown at fans yearning for more LGBTQ representation in the MCU.
The Marvels is playing in theaters now.
