The Marvel Cinematic Universe began with a single mission: adapting Marvel Comics into a film series. Without a doubt, it worked. But as the MCU – and superhero movies basically – reach a dangerous crossroads, the franchise needs fresh blood.
While characters proceed to be lifted from the page to the screen yearly, adaptations have gotten looser and the envelope continues to push. What did all these experiments result in? What if…? Season 2, Episode 6, which finally does something that the MCU has someway avoided for its entire existence: creates a completely original hero.
The episode (titled “What If…Kahhori Transformed the World?”) tells the story of Kahhori, a young Iroquois woman living in pre-colonial America. Fleeing from the Spanish conquistadors, Kahhori stumbles upon the “forbidden lake”, an underground pool of water infused with the power of the Tesseract. After diving to flee, he wakes up in an alternate reality with other superpowered Mohawks. Although Kahhori is blissful simply training and living amongst this latest tribe, she knows that the world she comes from is in trouble. By perfecting her power, she manages to return and defend her people.
Kahhori, voiced by Canadian Mohawk actress Devery Jacobs, is the first completely original hero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While other heroes were transformed from their original versions, Kahhori was built entirely from the ground up. Like Echo, which can premiere in January 2024, Kahhori provides much-needed indigenous representation in the MCU, and its introduction in What if allows it to exist in a universe where colonization can actually be avoided.
It’s a huge risk, however it pays off. Kahhori’s powers come from the Infinity Stone, but in addition they involve being one with the environment, which is the cornerstone of indigenous culture. It fixes a mistake in the MCU, but in addition creates a character from a completely different time and culture that does not must be invented like Atlantis, Wakanda and Asgard.
Kahhori may not exist in the major timeline at this point, but she has opened up latest possibilities for the MCU. So now all bets are off. In the future, any character can develop into a full-fledged hero, whether it’s an adaptation of a comic book character or a character created specifically for movies. Who knows, perhaps we’ll even see the tables turn and Marvel comics start adapting latest characters like Kahhori.
What if…? Season 2 is now streaming on Disney+.
Credit : www.inverse.com
