Raye “Valkyrie” Dempsey is a fictional character in the VVaywards comic book series published by VS Comics. Known by her codename Valkyrie, Raye is a lethal, highly trained combat specialist with a background in elite recon and urban warfare. Her precision, poise, and sense of control make her one of the most respected—and feared—members of the Suicyde King Squad. Armed with a hybrid gun-crossbow weapon and cloaked in tactical glamor, she is both a warrior and a symbol of vengeance.
Biography
Raye Dempsey was born into a military family that perished during the early purges of the Ascendancy regime. Recruited as a teenager into a covert resistance cell, she quickly rose through the ranks as a top-tier sniper and covert infiltration expert. After the betrayal of her unit by a double agent, Raye went underground, re-emerging years later as “Valkyrie,” an alias drawn from the mythic warrior-women who chose the fates of fallen soldiers.
Eventually recruited by Suicyde King, Raye brings not only elite combat capabilities but also cold pragmatism and moral clarity in a world plagued by chaos.
Appearance
Raye is visually striking and formidable:
Long black hair with one side shaved
Wears a sleek black leather corset top and black leather jeans
Knee-high black heels that double as weaponized stiletto spikes
A black collar necklace with a silver emblem
A black mask that covers her eyes and enhances her scope vision
She carries herself with intimidating grace—stylish, dangerous, and completely in control.
Personality
Raye is confident, focused, and emotionally disciplined. She operates with a strict code of personal ethics rooted in battlefield justice and survival instinct. While she can be blunt and critical, she is never reckless. Her sharp tongue masks an equally sharp intellect.
She values precision, loyalty, and honesty—and has little patience for emotional games or unclear missions. She is not easily intimidated, and her presence often silences even the most chaotic of Suicyde King members.
Despite her cool exterior, Raye has a deep sense of empathy, particularly for those caught in the crossfire of oppression.
Abilities and Skills
Raye’s combat style is a blend of range, agility, and technical precision:
Hybrid marksmanship – Adept at long-range sniping and mid-range gunfire
Silent movement – Masters infiltration and stealth-based operations
Close-quarters combat – Trained in mixed martial arts and tactical knife-fighting
Tactical analysis – Provides strategic insight during missions
Emotional discipline – Resists most forms of psychological manipulation
She often acts as both scout and enforcer on key of Suicyde King's missions.
Equipment
Signature hybrid weapon: a custom gun with a built-in crossbow and long-range scope
Explosive bolts and tracking darts for various missions
Reinforced heels with retractable blades
Optic-enhancing visor mask for night and thermal vision
Utility belt with encrypted comms, flares, and smoke capsules
Relationships
Swytch – Complex friends. While they’re similarly skilled, they often butt heads over tactics and trust.
Suicyde King – She distrusts his unpredictability but secretly empathizes with his pain. She keeps a careful eye on him during missions.
Story Arcs
VVaywards: Black Wings
Raye leads a sniper-led extraction operation but becomes stranded behind enemy lines. The issue follows her survival and dismantling of a full regime unit alone.
VVaywards: Cold Honor
Her old handler returns with an offer of power in exchange for betraying Suicyde King. Raye must face the ghosts of her past and decide where her loyalty truly lies.
VVaywards: Crossed Lines
Forced to work with Swytch, the two engage in a high-stakes infiltration of a regime AI core. The mission’s failure could shatter the team—but its success depends on their cooperation.
Reception
Raye has been lauded for her elegance, power, and emotional complexity. Critics highlight her as one of the most well-balanced female warriors in modern comics—neither oversexualized nor one-dimensional. Fans praise her visual style, intelligent dialogue, and moral confidence.
Trivia
Her codename, “Valkyrie,” was self-assigned after a dream where she walked through flames untouched.
She refuses to kill unless absolutely necessary, preferring disabling shots or warnings.
Raye sharpens her own bolts by hand, a personal ritual of focus before every mission.
Her black mask has a hidden retinal scanner and emotional dampening filters.
She meditates with a knife in hand—a grounding practice to stay mentally sharp.