Marvel has never been concerned with historical accuracy. With gods, aliens, mutants, and monsters deeply woven into its mythology, history becomes a flexible concept. This freedom extends to character designs, particularly when it comes to women. The revealing, often impractical costumes that modern female heroes wear are a far cry from how heroic women have truly been depicted throughout history. No character embodies this clash between fantasy and historical representation more than Valkyrie, the Norse guide of fallen warriors.

In Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe (2017)–by Jeremy Whitley, Simone Buonfantino, & Alti Firmansyah– Thor and Hulk have been summoned to participate in an interstellar gladiatorial battle for the amusement of the Grandmaster.

Meanwhile, another Elder of the Universe named the Promoter has put together a plan to overthrow the Grandmaster. As the Promoter decides which outfit she wants to meet the heroes in, she momentarily lingers on a costume identical to Valkyrie’s before mocking it and donning a set of French Medieval armor. The thing is, the Promoter is laughably right. Valkyrie’s armor has always been ridiculous.

Valkyrie's Ridiculous Costume Is Rooted In Operatic History

Thor Vs. Hulk: Champions Of The Universe #6 (2017) - Written by Jeremy Whitely; Art by Alti Firmansyah; Color by Irma Kniivila; Lettering by Jimmy Betancourt; Cover Art by Dan Mora & David Curiel

The obvious issue with Valkyrie’s original costume is its unnecessarily revealing nature. As a costume, it’s a cute enough look. But, the Valkyries are respected and powerful warriors who charge into battle alongside their All-Father ; proper armor should be expected. Instead, this skimpy attire, despite its complete historical inaccuracy compared to the leather and cloth armor worn by Norse warriors in the Middle Ages, finds its origins in 20th-century opera and theater. The costume—without a specific name—can be traced back to the character Brünnhilde in Richard Wagner’s opera Die Walküre (The Valkyrie).

Characterized by two frontward-facing braided locks, a staff and shield, a horned helmet, and comically large individual breastplates, this historic look was first inspired by a mix of 19th-century interpretations of Norse, Germanic, and Greco-Roman armor. Mix in the operatic theater’s propensity to be bold, and the Brünnhilde character is born. In time, pop culture continued to enforce this historically inaccurate and unrealistic look with animated specials like Bugs Bunny’s What’s Opera, Doc? episode of Looney Tunes. When Marvel’s first Valkyrie, also unsurprisingly named Brünnhilde, debuted in 1966, it was clear where the inspiration for her original costume came from.

Marvel's Newest Valkyrie Has an Entirely Unique Look

Old-School Is Cool, But It Should Stay in the Past

Over time, Brünnhilde and Marvel’s other Valkyries have significantly scaled back from their original outfits. By the time she died during the War of the Realms event , Brünnhilde had traded in her one-piece for a full bodysuit, her breastplates were made less exaggerated, and her general build was much more muscular than before. Marvel’s current Valkyrie, Jane Foster, has also abandoned the operatic inspiration for something a tad more practical. Jane has fully replaced the individual breastplates with a single set of scale mail armor. Likewise, Jane also decided to don pants while allowing her upper body to show her strength.

All seriousness aside, the old-school, revealing, historically inaccurate costumes have their place in the comics. They, much like Richard Wagner’s Brünnhilde, are each iconic marks of history in modern post-20th-century pop culture. Fortunately, however, times are changing. Marvel’s female superheroes have long been subjected to nonsensical costumes for the sake of becoming eye candy, a treatment their male counterparts rarely receive, but modern comics are finally leveling the visual playing field for all genders. Every quirk in Marvel Comics has its time and place, and Brünnhilde’s vintage look had its time, but now it's time to move on.

Thor vs. Hulk: Champions of the Universe #1-6 is now available from Marvel Comics.