‘What If…?’ Season 2: How did Kahhori Lift Mjolnir?
The Season 2 Finale of ‘What If…?’ showcased a multitude of Marvel’s formidable villains, along with a rich array of powerful weapons and artifacts that became crucial in Kahhori and Peggy’s battle against the demonic Strange Supreme. A notable moment occurred when Thor threw Mjolnir to Kahhori and Peggy. Despite Mjolnir’s renowned enchantment, which dictates worthiness, Kahhori successfully wielded the hammer in the fight. This raises questions about Kahhori’s worthiness and how she managed to lift the hammer in the first place.
Mjolnir is safeguarded by a distinctive worthiness enchantment
It’s important to note that, despite Kahhori’s noble intentions and seemingly virtuous character, the conclusion of ‘What If…?’ Season 2 didn’t steer the narrative toward her being deemed worthy of Mjolnir. The enchanted hammer’s worthiness enchantment is designed to allow only those considered worthy to lift, wield, and summon it—examples in the MCU include characters like Thor, Captain America, and Jane Foster.
During the confrontation with the demonic Strange, Kahhori was visually in proximity to Mjolnir, yet she did not physically touch it. Instead, she manipulated the space around the hammer, evident from the blue aura emanating from her Space Stone-based powers. This allowed her to lift the hammer without directly interacting with it. In a strategic move, Kahhori employed the same principle to launch the hammer at Demonic Strange.
As Kahhori’s powers are derived from the Tesseract, mirroring those of the Space Stone, she possesses the ability to teleport, create portals, manipulate space around objects, and levitate objects of varying masses and densities.
The conventional wisdom is that magic and other powers should not impact Mjolnir’s worthiness enchantment
In theory, Odin’s worthiness enchantment is designed to remain impervious to “technicalities” such as lifting the hammer through magical means or other similar powers. However, historical instances in both the comics and the MCU have demonstrated otherwise. Magneto, for instance, was observed manipulating Mjolnir in the comics, and in the MCU, Thanos appeared to “lift” Mjolnir by supporting Cap’s arm.
Given that the established canon of Mjolnir has been disrupted before, it suggests that such norms can be challenged in the ‘What If…?’ Universe as well. The rules governing Mjolnir and the nuances of wielding it in the expansive ‘What If…?’ Universe remain uncertain. If you have additional insights, feel free to share them in the comments below!
