Who Is Valentine Vuong? Meet Marvel’s Non-Binary Mutant

The last few decades brought us many cool characters and prompted comic book publishers to create more diverse characters. We’ve come a long way from perfect generic superheroes and got some layered and interesting characters whose lore really pulled in more fans. Deadpool is one of them, and since his creation in 1990, Wade Wilson has pushed the limits of comic book media that only rare could. From the moment we met him, Deadpool was different, and his unhinged behavior was due to his terminal sickness that cannot develop further and kill him because of his healing factor. Deadpool is in pain every day, but that doesn’t stop him from flitting and seducing other Marvel Universe characters. The canonically pansexual superhero, Merc with a Mouth, seemingly got a new love interest, and they are non-binary – meet Valentine Vuong.

Valentine Vuong is a non-binary assassin that first appeared in the ongoing Deadpool comic book run in 2022. Deadpool meets a dreamy assassin during his mission to assassinate Otto Octavius, and he is immediately infatuated with the mysterious killer. The attraction goes both ways, and both Deadpool and Valentine start dating. We still don’t know that much about Valentine Vuong; besides them being a mutant assassin with “needle” hands – they can synthesize any chemical in their body and inject it through their fingers.

Valentine Vuong isn’t the first non-binary character in Marvel Comics, with Loki and Christina Carr existing, but these characters are also gender-fluid, hence why they use multiple pronouns. Valentine Vuong is the first non-binary character that actually uses they/them pronouns, making them the official first non-binary character in Marvel Comics. The ongoing Deadpool comic book run by Alyssa Wong is still ongoing, and the Merc with a Mouth seems very smitten by the assassin, which we will discuss further in the article.

Who is Valentine Vuong in Marvel Comics?

The ongoing comic book run, Deadpool, sees Merc with a Mouth being tasked to assassinate Otto Octavius in 48 hours. Why? Well, in true Deadpool fashion, the mercenary wanted to prove to himself and the universe that he was the top assassin. To confirm his title, he auditions for the Atelier elite guild.

Of course, Atelier is a secret elite guild of assassins who only become part of the society by invitation, and when Wade arrives, they task him with his first quest – assassinate Otto Octavius in 48 hours. Of course, at Atelier, he is infatuated with the mysterious person, another assassin named Valentine Vuong.

Interestingly enough, Valentine Vuong is the most common alias in the Atelier guild, confirming that they only act under the name and have mysterious origins.

Another interesting fact about Valentine Vuong is their mutation. They’re a mutant with chemokinesis, which allows them to synthesize chemicals within their body and inject them using their syringe fingers.

Deadpool comic book run sees Deadpool being implanted with Harrower’s clone of Carnage symbiote. The parasite eats Deadpool from within, and Valentine is the one who creates a Symbiote Inhibotor, a serum that will keep the parasite calm.

Another proof of Valentine Vuong’s powers comes during Valentine and Deadpool’s date in the zoo when Doc Ock actually shatters their arm during combat, but they quickly repair it. Valentine even revives Lady Deathstrike after injecting them with their serum, using the still-living cells of the mercenary’s body.

Moreover, Valentine keeps her life secret from Deadpool, who the member of the Atelier guild too smites, but Lady Deathstrike recognizes Valentine’s bluff immediately – the mercenary realizes that Valentine is more than a “handler” in the Atelier guild and has much more important role within the organization.

And that’s basically it about Valentine Vuong. They are a new mutant within the Marvel Universe, an assassin with chemokinesis powers, and Deadpool’s love interest, whose real name is probably something else. Until we discover more about the character, let’s discuss Valentine and Deadpool’s relationship and gender identity.

Is Valentine Vuong a male or female character?

Valentine Vuong is a non-binary character, meaning they don’t exclusively identify as a man or a woman. Moreover, a non-binary term is basically an umbrella term for more non-binary identities, like bigender, agender, gender fluid, genderqueer, and third gender.

Yes, Valentine was biologically a female, but they don’t identify as a woman or a man. We also don’t know that much about the character to determine their “whole” gender identity – are they either genderfluid, bigender, or something else?

Nevertheless, Valentine Vuong is a non-binary character with they/them pronouns, and Deadpool is smitten by them. Deadpool’s preferences for a partner were heavily teased in Marvel Comics, with the writer Gerry Duggan finally confirming that Merc with a Mouth is indeed pansexual.

However, most of his relationships were canonical with women, while his preferences for other genders were mostly teased jokingly in the comics. For example, there is a whole comic gag where Deadpool flirts with Peter Parker’s Spider-Man and other men in the comics, but Merc never acts on his initial feelings.

Being with Valentine Vuong, this is the first time we see Deadpool entering an LGBTQ+ relationship, hence why this might be more valuable than we expect. Moreover, the writer Alyssa Wong is non-binary as well, making the ongoing Deadpool comic run really interesting and a perfect piece of representation in Marvel Comics.

We are yet to see more of Valentine Vuong, so we’ll have to wait for her full reveal in the Deadpool comic book. Hopefully, we don’t see poor Wade being heartbroken in the end, but if the kiss and being compromised for Deadpool suggests something, it’s the fact that the mysterious assassin cares for the Merc with a Mouth.

Liked this article? Join the community on Reddit for the latest Marvel & DC news!