For the first time ever, an MCU character seems to be crossing over directly to the Marvel Comics timeline

Kahhori, the new Marvel hero who debuted in the MCU’s What If…? animated streaming series as one of the first MCU characters with no direct ties to comics, is now coming to the core Marvel Universe in her own comic as part of the Marvel’s Voices line. And it seems that, in what may be a first, the version of Kahhori who will make her debut in comics later this year is not an alternate version of Kahhori created specifically for comics or a Variant of some kind – it’s apparently the exact same character from the MCU.

At least, that’s how Marvel’s official press release for the Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds one-shot makes it sound. Here’s Marvel’s official description, which by all indications seems to say that Kahhori will be making the jump straight from the MCU to comics, while leaving just enough ambiguity to make the passage slightly less than definitive:

“The Mohawk warrior Kahhori fell into Sky World and into our hearts from her first appearance fighting invaders to her home. She’s already helped save all of reality from a demented Doctor Strange and secured peace in her own world… So what NOW? Award-winning storyteller Ryan Little launches Kahhori into the 616! Chasing a threat out of Sky World, she lands in the fiery streets of Hell’s Kitchen! But culture shock’s gonna be the least of her problems as her strange adversary tears through NYC. Featuring exciting guest stars and the comics debuts of some extraordinary creators, Marvel’s Voices brings you an extra-special anthology celebrating Indigenous heritage and one of the most exciting characters to emerge from the MCU!”

(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The one-shot, which will be released in November to celebrate Native American Heritage Month, will feature a main story written by Kahhori’s co-creator, What If…? animated series writer Ryan Little, which lends some solid credence to the character’s apparent jump from the MCU to comics. Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds #1 will also include contributions from Indigenous creators Arihhonni ‘Honni’ David, Kelly Lynne D’Angelo, David Cutler, Jim Terry, and more yet to be named. 

If we’re reading everything correctly, and that sliver of ambiguity in Marvel’s announcement isn’t misdirecting what seems to be the first occurrence of a character from MCU continuity coming to Marvel Comics continuity, there’s still a slight caveat in Kahhori coming to Marvel Comics from the MCU.

That is of course that she’s from What If…?, which showcases alternate timelines in the MCU Multiverse, so she hasn’t exactly interacted with the core Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline. Even with the caveat, Kahhori’s comic debut will make the first direct connection with a character who exists, in the same exact form, in both continuities. Kahhori’s powers stem from the Tesseract/Space Stone, so it also seems to be in her power set to cross universes.

Other characters from the MCU such as Phil Coulson have been adapted to comics after first appearing in movies or shows. But in basically all those cases, the versions of those characters who have appeared in comics are their own independent versions, much like how there is a comic book Steve Rogers and a cinematic Steve Rogers that are separate, distinct versions of the character.

We’ll have to wait and see what the further implications of Kahorri’s crossover from the MCU to comics may have when Kahhori: Reshaper of Worlds releases on November 6 with a cover by Afua Richardson, seen above.

There’s a long tradition of bringing characters from other media like TV, movies, and video games in comic books.