WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for X-Men: Unlimited #4, available now on Marvel Unlimited.
Living openly as a mutant has never been an easy feat in the Marvel universe. Those who possess the X-gene are in constant danger of the normalized bigotry of humans, being hunted by murderous Sentinel robots, stalked by psionic parasites, or getting kidnapped by supervillains to be used as tools for their nefarious agendas.
Luckily for mutants, the same superhuman powers responsible for their ostracization from humanity can be wielded as weapons against those who would oppress them. After being put through a particularly bad day by agents of Advanced Idea Mechanics (A.I.M.), the fan-favorite X-Man Jonothan Even Starsmore, AKA Chamber, takes the time to remind A.I.M. how powerful he can be when he gets angry.
The X-Men: Unlimited series (available on Marvel Unlimited) begins with Wolverine pursuing an A.I.M. ship as it escapes from The Peak, the orbital headquarters of the extraterrestrial intelligence agency S.W.O.R.D. As he hacks his way through the halls of the ship, Wolverine keeps his thoughts focused on his current mission; rescuing the three mutants that A.I.M. has kidnapped in hopes of harvesting their DNA for an operation known only as Project Tundra. In X-Men: Unlimited #4 (by Jonathan Hickman, Declan Shalvey, and VC’s Joe Sabino), Wolverine arrives at one of the A.I.M. bases holding the captive mutants with the help of his long-time teammate Kurt Wagner, AKA Nightcrawler, the first mutant he rescued. While Wolverine keeps the guards busy, Kurt manages to free Chamber from his prison.
Chamber first entered the world of the X-Men as a member of Generation X, which made its debut during the “Phalanx Covenant” crossover event. Like many young mutants, Jonothan had lived a completely normal life before his mutant ability manifested, which in his case happened during a party he was attending with his girlfriend Gayle Edgerton. Chamber’s power allows him to produce, store, and emit immense amounts of psionic energy, not unlike a nuclear reactor. Unfortunately, the initial awakening of his powers destroyed large portions of his body, including his lower jaw, although the immense energy also regenerates what remains of his body and keeps him alive.
While Chamber was initially a moody and uncooperative member of Generation X, he opened up over time and came to develop a strong sense of empathy towards mutants with physical deformities, which eventually earned him a position as a teacher at the Jean Grey School of Higher Education. However, Jonothan’s old temper proves to be very much alive after Nightcrawler frees him. Chamber was fully awake inside the containment unit where A.I.M. was storing him, and he makes it clear that the hours he spent within the claustrophobic space were extremely unpleasant. With one massive burst of energy Jonothan wipes out every A.I.M. soldier in the building, only realizing after the fact that he accidentally caught an unhappy Wolverine in the blast radius.
Chamber’s feat of power is very impressive, although that’s not exactly surprising, given how much his abilities have evolved over the years. During his early days with Generation X, Jonothan’s offensive abilities were mostly limited to smaller energy blasts that could only encompass small groups of people at best. However, his powers were eventually upgraded by Clan Akkaba, who had discovered that he was a direct descendent of Apocalypse. While the Clan’s augmentations to Jonathan’s body were eventually removed, it appears that the massive power-boost that his powers received from them remains, as he was not only able to disintegrate an entire battalion of soldiers but reduce the resilient body of Wolverine’s to a charred husk as well.
A.I.M.’s goal in kidnapping Chamber remains shrouded in mystery, as does the newly revealed Project Tundra, as M.O.D.O.K. didn’t explain much about the project to Wolverine. Regardless of whether they need these three specifically or they were just the most convenient targets, A.I.M. just made a powerful enemy in Jonothan Starsmore. Stronger than he’s ever been, the Generation X veteran is sure to be hungry for revenge.
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