Today’s episode of What If…? on Disney+ is a big one. Titled “What If… Kahhori Reshaped The World?” we meet an entirely new character to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Kahhori. In fact, we meet several new Indigenous characters, all with superpowers, a big, inclusive change for the superhero universe.
But who is Kahhori on What If…? Who does the voice of Kahhori? What are Kahhori’s powers? And how — if at all — does Season 2, Episode 6 connect to Marvel’s 1602? Read on for the answers to those questions, and many more, as we break down everything to know about Kahhori.
Who Is Kahhori In What If…?
When we first meet Kahhori, she’s happily living her life in pre-colonial America with the rest of her tribe in what is now upstate New York (but wasn’t back then), aka the Akwesasne region. She’s part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, specifically the Mohawk Nation. What she doesn’t know is that due to a battle between Surtur (Clancy Brown) and Odin (Jeff Bergman), a piece of the Tesseract, aka a form of the Infinity Stone known as the Space Stone, fell into a lake near where she lives. She does know myths of a place called Sky World, and turns out: they’re true.
After a near-deadly encounter with Conquistadors, Kahhori is shot, falls into the lake, and through a portal to Sky World. There she meets a whole other tribe of people, all of whom fell into (or traveled into) the lake at various points. The main one is Atahraks (Jeremy White), who mentors Kahhori in the ways of the Sky People.
Only thing, she doesn’t really need the help… They’re all able to harness the power of the Tesseract, but Kahhori learns incredibly quickly, and uses her newfound powers to travel back to Earth, stops the Conquistadors, and even goes to Spain to flip the balance of power in the world. The age of exploration and appropriation is over. Now begins the age of Kahhori. Or, it would if Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) didn’t show up to take Kahhori… Somewhere. More on that later in the season.
Who Voices Kahhori In The What If Cast? Meet Devery Jacobs:
Kahhori is voiced by Devery Jacobs, also sometimes credited as K. Devery Jacobs, full name Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs. The currently 30-year-old actress identifies as queer and is a member of the Kanien’keha:ka, better known as Mohawk to the world at large.
Jacobs is probably best known for her role in FX and Hulu’s critically acclaimed Reservation Dogs, where she played Elora Danan for three seasons. She was also a writer and director on the series and received multiple awards nominations for the role.
Fans might also know her as Sam Blackcrow from Starz’s short-lived American Gods, Jess Wells on Peacock’s Rutherford Falls, or as Lilith Bathory on Netflix’s The Order.
Beyond playing Kahhori on future episodes of What If…? Jacobs will also make her live-action MCU debut next month, playing a character on Marvel’s Echo which is confusingly credited as “Bonnie” on Wikipedia and “Julie” on IMDb, so take your pick.
Is Kahhori In Marvel Comics?
Nope! Kahhori has never appeared in the Marvel Comics source material. She’s a completely original creation for the MCU. However, Marvel has been aiming to create more characters of Indigenous origin in the comic books as of late, at least in part to make up for the… Let’s say, not very responsible way they were depicted in the past.
Ryan Little, who wrote the episode, addressed this during Marvel’s announcement of the new character.
“I had a wonderful writing mentor who worked extensively with the Indigenous community in upstate New York, and I was excited to draw on that experience to build an entirely original corner of the MCU with storylines for new Indigenous heroes written from a place of respect for past generations and optimism for future ones,” Little said. “Kahhori, pronounced ‘KAH-HORTI,’ is a real, Wolf Clan name, meaning ‘she stirs the forest’ or is someone who motivates those around her. In her debut adventure, Kahhori will have to live up to her name to recruit powerful allies into the fight to save her people and change the course of history forever.”
Though Kahhori is not currently in the books, another MCU original, Scarlet Scarab, recently made her way from Moon Knight: The TV Show to Moon Knight: The Comic Book, so it wouldn’t be too surprising if Kahhori did the same.
What Are Kahhori’s Powers?
Similar to how Scarlet Witch’s (Elizabeth Olsen) powers are “red” Kahhori’s powers are “blue.” I’m sort of joking, but like Wanda, a lot of what Kahhori can do seems dictated by “what kind of situation is she in right now?” However, if we were to treat this a little more seriously, I’d venture Kahhori’s powers — since they come from the Space Stone — are the manipulation of space.
During the half-hour, Kahhori demonstrates that she’s able to move at incredible speeds, jump very high, move objects with her mind, and manipulate and create portals. The whole “portals” thing is pretty straightforward since that’s how we’ve seen the Space Stone used in previous Marvel movies and TV shows. The other powers — speed, seeming telekinesis — could be explained as the ability to move things through space; either inanimate objects and creatures (the “telekinesis”), or herself (speed, jumping).
Whether there’s more to it, or we will get some clarification is TBD. We’ve seen a shot of Kahhori in a later episode creating multiple portals in one location, so as is, we don’t know what the limit to her powers are… Or if she has any limits at all.
Is Kahhori in 1602?
So this is a pretty fair question: when is this episode set in time? And is it 1602, given What If…? Season 2, Episode 8 is titled “What If… The Avengers Assembled In 1602?” The answer is no, this episode is not set in 1602. In fact, without getting into spoilers, we can safely say that this episode does not lead directly into Episode 8 at all.
So when is “What If… Kahhori Reshaped The World?” set in time? We don’t have an exact date, but can make some extrapolations on facts. First of all, there’s the age of the Conquistador, which kicked off in 1492 with our old friend Christopher Columbus, and stretched to about 1572 with Francisco Pizzaro. However, most of their “exploration” was confined to the South and West, and they didn’t really come looking for the Fountain of Youth in Upstate New York and Canada, where this episode is set. Conquistador Gonzolo (Gabriel Romero), the main antagonist of the episode, is also an MCU original.
We can narrow down the timeline a little better, though, based on the guest appearance by Queen Isabella of Spain (Carolina Ravassa). She reigned from 1474 to 1504. So that narrows our window to between 1492 and 1504. Meaning this episode is set at least 100 years before 1602, even if it’s the same universe — which it’s not.
What If…? Season 2 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
Sounds fun, right? But when can you watch it? The weird way Marvel and Disney+ are rolling out these episodes is one per day, over the holidays. So the answer is: pretty much non-stop.
Here’s the full list of episodes in Marvel’s What If…? Season 2, and when they premiere:
- Friday, December 22, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 1 – “What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?”
- Saturday, December 23, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 2 – “What If… Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?”
- Sunday, December 24, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 3 – “What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?”
- Monday, December 25, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 4 – “What If… Iron Man Crashed Into The Grandmaster?”
- Tuesday, December 26, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 5 – “What If… Captain Carter Fought The Hydra Stomper?”
- Wednesday, December 27, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 6 – “What If… Kahhori Reshaped The World?”
- Thursday, December 28, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 7 – “What If… Hela Found The Ten Rings?”
- Friday, December 29, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 8 – “What If… The Avengers Assembled In 1602?”
- Saturday, December 30, 2023: What If…? Season 2, Episode 9 – “What If… Strange Supreme Intervened?”
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