The celebration surrounding Thor: Ragnarok‘s Valkyrie being the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first LGBTQ hero may have been premature, as actress Tessa Thompson has now clarified her comment about the character’s bisexuality.


Earlier this week, Tessa Thompson responded on Twitter to a fan’s comment about Valkyrie being a lesbian with this reply: “She’s bi: And yes, she cares very little about what men think of her. What a joy to play!” The tweet caused many to hail Valkyrie as the MCU’s first character from the LGBTQ community, though her sexuality isn’t made overtly clear in Thor: Ragnarok since she never overtly expresses her interest in women.

Today, Thompson took to Twitter to clarify her previous comments by writing that Valkyrie is bisexual “in the comics.” Thompson says she was “faithful to that in her depiction,” while also pointing out that her character’s sexuality isn’t explicitly addressed in the movie.

https://twitter.com/TessaThompson_x/...sa-thompson%2F


Though Valkyrie would have been the first LGBTQ character in the movies, two characters in Marvel’s television shows are openly homosexual: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. recurring character and Secret Warriors member Joey Gutierrez (Juan Pablo Raba) and Jeri Hogarth (Carrie-Ann Moss) who has appeared on Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Daredevil and The Defenders.


The comic book character was created in 1970 but wasn’t thought of by fans as bisexual until the character appeared as a member of an all-female team in Fearless Defenders, a title that was published in 2013. In the series, it was strongly hinted that Valkyrie could be bisexual when archaelogist Annabelle Riggs developed romantic feelings for Valkyrie and kissed her. After the two developed a close blond, Valkyrie and Riggs were merged into one body. Prior to Fearless Defenders, Valkyrie was only seen in relationships with men.


The character was a love interest of Nighthawk while a member of the Defenders, and also had an attraction to the Black Knight, which was actually caused by magic. It was later established that the character had romantic history with Thor. More recently, Valkyrie was involved with Agent Venom while the two were serving in the Secret Avengers.


It could be that there will be another chance for fans to see more hints of Valkyrie’s sexuality when she next appears in Avengers: Infinity War, though with such a huge cast of characters, it may be difficult to devote any time to this aspect of the character. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige said in 2015 that fans would see a LGBTQ character within the next 10 years, but it remains to be seen if that character was Valkyrie or a character we have yet to meet.