Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is a noblewoman, chairwoman of O.X.E. and the Director of the CIA. Interested in privatizing global security and gaining power within the United States government, de Fontaine sought out to recruit or create powerful individuals to serve as her enforcers. De Fontaine personally recruited John Walker, who had lost his position as Captain America, and Yelena Belova, who was feeling lost after losing her sister, among others. When political tensions arose between the United States and Wakanda, with the U.S. wishing to obtain vibranium for themselves, de Fontaine assigned her ex-husband and subordinate Everett Ross, who strongly opposed any offensive actions against Wakanda, to work with her. However, de Fontaine knew Ross would betray them and arrested him for committing treason after she gained evidence of him giving classified intelligence to Wakanda. When facing impeachment due to her connection to illegal black ops projects, de Fontaine ordered her enforcers to eliminate all traces of O.X.E., including Project Sentry. However, learning she sent them to kill each other, her agents turned against her and became the Thunderbolts after unintentionally reactivating Bob Reynolds. Seeing Reynolds as proof of Project Sentry’s success, de Fontaine attempted to control him as her personal weapon, but his dark alter ego, the Void, turned against her and threatened to engulf New York City in his darkness. After witnessing the Thunderbolts save civilians and desperate to protect her reputation, she publicly rebranded them as the New Avengers, although the team still had enough leverage on de Fontaine to keep her in check.