Chamber (comics)
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Chamber (Jonothon "Jono" Evan Starsmore) is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero associated with the X-Men. Created by writer Scott Lobdell and artist Chris Bachalo, he first appeared in Generation X #1 (September 1994).
A British mutant, Chamber possessed the ability to cast energy blasts from his chest. He had limited control of his power and destroyed much of his chest and lower face when his powers emerged.
Chamber was a member of the X-Men’s junior team Generation X, although he was sullen and moody and had difficulty bonding with teammates. He was briefly a member of the X-Men as well.
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[edit] Fictional character biography
[edit] Origin
Jonothon Evan Starsmore ("Jono" to his friends) is a native of London and a mutant who possesses a furnace of psionic energy in his chest. This power first manifested in an explosion that destroyed much of his chest and lower face and crippled his then-girlfriend Gayle Edgerton. As a result of his disfiguration, Chamber can only speak via telepathy. He does not eat, drink, or breathe; it is believed that either the psionic energy sustains him without needing his vital organs, or that his body is merely a shell, and he is actually made up of psionic energy. This is further supported by the fact that Chamber is immune to the "Death Factor" of Omega Red, meaning that he is not sustained by "life force". The primary manifestation of his abilities is his ability to fire powerful blasts of psychokinetic force. It has been implied at numerous times that Chamber is potentially one of the most powerful mutants to walk the earth (most notably the scale of his mutagenic aura as seen by Emplate in Generation X #1, also at times when he is seen to 'cut loose' with his abilities) but his emotional issues have apparently prevented him from significantly exploring this potential. His disfiguration also left Chamber sullen and angry and his teammates have often found him difficult to get along with.
[edit] Generation X
Shortly after his mutant powers manifested, Jonothon accepted an invitation to join Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. At the airport, he was attacked by Emplate, a vicious evil mutant who feeds on mutant genetic material to survive, and the fledgling team of Generation X (M, Husk, Synch, Skin, and Jubilee) arrived to fight Emplate off. Shortly after, Chamber convinced the crazed Penance to stop attacking the team, as he could sympathize with her freakish appearance; she came to live with the team.
Emplate captured Chamber with Gayle's help, and then imprisoned both of them. Gayle blamed Jono for ruining her life, but the two managed to get over the pain after the rest of Generation X freed them. Chamber later became romantically involved with Husk, although their relationship was awkward and strained, and was terminated on more than one occasion.
Chamber grew even more depressed when he saw that Synch, who could duplicate a nearby mutant's powers, was more proficient with Chamber's own powers than Chamber himself was. When the school was outed as harbouring mutant students, an anti-mutant group attacked the school. After Synch was killed preventing a bomb from killing nearby human students, the Generation X kids felt that their training was over, and they had to use their powers to help humanity.
[edit] X-Man, Weapon X and beyond
When the students moved on from the Massachusetts Academy of Higher Learning, Jono was offered a position with the X-Men. He declined however and returned to London, where he hooked up with pop star Sugar Kane, creating a publicity blitz for the singer, but she and Chamber parted company after her manager staged her abduction by anti mutant forces following a phony tabloid story about her pregnancy to Jono.
As an X-Man, Chamber investigated the apparent murders of mutant students at Empire State University. He got to know a reptilian mutant, Amber[1], who was the only mutant student to remain at ESU when they shut down their mutant program.
Returning to the X-Men, Chamber saw Husk in the arms of Archangel. He attacked Archangel, destroyed the bar they were in, and left. Having had enough of his antics, the X-Men decided to police their own and turned Chamber over to the authorities. While in prison, locked in a power-dampening helmet, Chamber received a visit from Brent Jackson, who offered him an invitation to join the Weapon X program. He accepted, though in reality he infiltrated the group on behalf of the X-Men. Weapon X restored his damaged body, but the Weapon X series was cancelled before his story could continue.
It was believed Jono had damaged his face again and joined a new team of retired teenage superheroes called Excelsior, but it was revealed (to the reader, not to the rest of Excelsior) that this was merely someone posing as Chamber.
[edit] House of M and Decimation
Recently, following the warping of reality by the Scarlet Witch, Jono was one of the many mutants who were depowered when reality was restored. His lower face, chest and heart missing once again, the X-Men left him to be cared for at a hospital on life support while things cooled down at the mansion.
In the Apocalypse vs Dracula mini-series written by Frank Tieri, it is revealed that in London, 1897 Apocalypse's genetic descendants called the Clan Akkaba had a member called John "Jack" Starsmore among its ranks. This John Starsmore had the ability to project flames from his mouth. It was hinted that a Starsmore would make his way to The New World (America). Given the similarity in powers and allusions made within the mini series, it is assumed that Chamber is a descendant of the 19th Century Starsmore and therefore a descendant of Apocalypse.
Chamber was recently moved to a hospital in England, but was abducted by his therapist a few weeks later - his therapist being Frederick Slade, a member of the Clan Akkaba. Under orders of Ozymandias, Chamber was afterwards completely healed by the Clan, regaining a normal human body, albeit one that looks like a junior version of Apocalypse himself. A scan of Chamber's energy signature has revealed that his powers have possibly evolved to Omega-level.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Due to the events of House of M, Chamber had been depowered. He currently possesses unknown powers as a result of Clan Akkaba mixing his blood with that of Apocalypse.
Previously, Chamber possessed a vast furnace of psionic energy in his chest and mouth. He was able to concentrate these energies as concussive blasts of energy or—when properly focused—dilated to the size and strength of a laser. Although these powers removed otherwise vital parts of his body, Chamber's powers have compensated for this loss: he possesses limited telepathic abilities which allow him to communicate, and has no need to eat or even breathe. On one occasion in Generation X Annual '97, Chamber blew up—and was able to reconstitute—his entire body by sheer force of will, including repairing his damaged body. However the results did not last as his powers were too much for his frame to contain. This has led to the suggestion that his physical form was actually simply a shell for pure psychic energy. At one point, fellow Generation X member Synch used his own "synching" ability to tap into and copy Chamber's powers and flew. Jonothon himself had never exhibited this ability before or since.
After being taken by Apocalypse's clan, Chamber was physically changed and his new power-level was measured to possibly be at the omega level.
He is also talented at playing the guitar and lock picking.
[edit] Bibliography
- Chamber #1-4
- Generation M #1
- Generation X #1-15, 31-55, 60-61, 63
- Generation X 1995
- Generation X 1997
- Generation X 1998
- Generation X 1999
- Generation X: Crossroads
- Incredible Hulk 1997
- Marvel Team-Up vol. 2 #1
- New Excalibur #9
- New Warriors vol. 2 #5
- Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe 2006 #2
- The Order #5 - 6
- Uncanny X-Men #395-400, 402-405, 407, 422-423
- Uncanny X-Men Annual 1995, Annual 2001
- Weapon X vol. 2 #15-18
- Wolverine vol. 2 #94, 141
- X-Man #50
- X-Men vol. 2 #49
- X-Men Annual 1996
- X-Men Unlimited vol. 1 #20, 23
