


The Contessa uncovered on her own the blackmail that Nick Fury had endured since the end of his war service to Dr. was her participation in the battles against the robotic duplicate of the Yellow Claw. Her first major assignment for S.H.I.E.L.D. As a result of her remarkable talents and skills in many areas, the Contessa soon became a leading member of S.H.I.E.L.D. The two eventually became lovers, and their relationship continued off and on for many years. She impressed him by overpowering him with a judo throw after his uttering an untoward remark about female agents. She first encountered Nick Fury, the Public Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., aboard S.H.I.E.L.D.'s airborne headquarters, the Helicarrier, toward the end of her training. " After both of my parents were killed in the resistance, life became meaningless." ―Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Formerly a member of the European "jet set," the Contessa sought a more serious role in life, and eventually entered a training program to become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., the international intelligence and law enforcement agency. After both her parents were killed for aiding some unspecified resistance movement, the Contessa found her life meaningless. She and her parents were sleeper agents for the Red Brigades inside the Italian anti-communism movement, specifically Avanguardia Nazionale. Contessa Valentina Allegra de la Fontaine was born in Italy on 19 September, 1964.
