"He discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own..." The subject of this article comes from an alternate universe connecting to the main timeline of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This universe is designated by the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wiki as the "Tesseract Powered Kahhori Universe".

The Forbidden Lake is a body of water that contains Space Stone energy and is located in Akwesasne, in present day upstate New York.

History[]

Creation[]

When Ragnarök brought the Destruction of Asgard, the Tesseract fell to Earth, ultimately landing in a lake in Akwesasne, in present day New York. Shattering upon impact, the energy of the Space Stone began to seep into the lake waters, forming a portal to another world underneath.^[2]

Becoming Forbidden[]

The lake was soon discovered by the nearby tribes, such as the Mohawk. Many tribespeople such as Atahraks tried to swim in the water, causing their disappearance. Therefore, a war broke out over it. All of bloodshed caused by the lake left its reputation permanently stained, so once peace was brought back to land it became known as the Forbidden Lake with no one being allowed to swim in its waters.^[2]

Sought by the Spanish[]

Finding the Lake[]

The tales of the lake traveled all the way to Spain where Isabella I of Spain believed it to be the Fountain of Youth.^[4] Therefore, she sent her Conquistadores, led by Rodrigo Gonzolo, to America to find the lake. Meanwhile, two young Mohawks also sought the lake out of curiosity.

Gonzolo and his men landed in America and immediately took the Mohawk hostage to figure out where the Fountain was. As he did so, some Conquistadores were tasked with rounding up Kahhori and Wáhta, who had run away. While being chased, the two Mohawks fell into the cave that housed the lake. They were amazed at the sight, but had to hide as the Conquistadores followed them. A skirmish broke out, causing Luis to shoot Kahhori, making her fall into the lake. Luis confirmed the death and reported that they had found the fountain. Meanwhile, an injured Kahhori sank to the bottom and was transported to Sky World by the Tesseract.^[2]

Risks of the Lake[]

Rodrigo Gonzolo joined his men as they showed him the lake. Gonzolo was pleased at the discovery, asking who wanted a slice of eternal life. The excited Conquistadores then jumped into the water. Gonzolo asked if they felt younger, only to see many of the men suddenly get pulled underwater. Frightened now, Gonzolo yelled at his men to get out, but was unable to help them. In anger, Gonzolo vowed to take all of the Mohawk back to Spain. Meanwhile, the Conquistadores that sank were transported to Sky World.

Later, Kahhori reemerged from the lake and went to go help her tribe. Soon after, the people of Sky World also emerged from the lake to help. From then on, the lake became a passage way to and from Sky World.^[2]

Behind the Scenes[]

• The Forbidden Lake was inspired by conversations between the writers of What If...? and indigenous Americans in which it was mentioned that water has cultural significance as a threshold to travel between worlds.^[6]

Gallery[]

External Links[]

• Fountain of Youth on Wikipedia
• Forbidden Lake on Marvel Database
• Fountain of Eternal Youth on Marvel Database

References[]