DECIBEL

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Real Name: Jonothon “Jono” Evan Starsmore
Aliases: Chamber
Identity: Secret
Occupation: Student, Crime Fighter
Citizenship: United Kingdom Citizen With No Known Criminal Record.
Place of Birth: London, United Kingdom
Known Relatives: None
Group Affiliation: Generation X (formerly), Weapon X (formerly), X-Men (formerly), New Warriors
First Appearance: Generation X Ashcan #1 (1994), Generation X #1 (1994)
History: Life would drastically change for Jonothon Starsmore on a night that he would least expect it. Enjoying the night with his then girlfriend, Gayle Edgerton, Jono’s mutant ability unexpected manifested itself causing an explosion of psionic energy; the result of the blast destroyed his body from his mouth down to his naval, creating a gap of fiery energy that relentlessly burned in his chest.

Sadly, the manifestation of his mutant powers also resulted in crippling Gayle’s legs.

Horrified by what he had done, he fled the scene and would eventually be found by Professor Charles Xavier who would welcome Jono to be one of the founding students for the re-opening of the Massachusetts Academy, and the formation of the team known as Generation X.

Upon arriving in the United States, Jono found himself attacked by Emplate, a villain who would continue to plague Generation X for most of their tenure together. Rescued by his new team mates of Generation X, as well as his two main teachers – Emma Frost and Sean Cassidy (Banshee), Jono was thankful and surprised to see that mutant powers could be controlled.

Jono’s outlook on life continued to be a bleak one as he adopted the name Chamber, and took residence in the basement of the Academy, more often than not cutting himself off from his other teammates.

Gayle would return after striking a deal with Emplate to get her revenge on Jono. However, not surprisingly, once Emplate had Generation X, he turned on Gayle. With the help of M and the X-Man, Bishop, Emplate was defeated and Jono and Gayle reconciled their differences.

Jono would learn to use his powers in unique ways during his tenure with Generation X. While teaming up with Spider-Man, Jono had used his psionic energy to “enhance” Spider-Man “spider sense” which helped prevent a villain by the name of Major Love from slaughtering thousands of people. His power would also help him battle the effects of becoming a vampire, when bitten by none other than Lord Dracula.

Jono’s tenure with Generation X would also lead him to fight along side with people such as Maggot, Nate Grey; he would also go to places such as Madripoor, and team up with the likes of the mercenary Paladin. He would even fight along side the team known as the New Warriors, in their battle against a “villain” named Biohazard.

However, after the tragic death of Moira MacTaggert, the students would leave the school and it would eventually close down. Jono was invited by Professor Xavier to “graduate” and become one of the X-Men.

Scott Summers, better known as Cyclops, would later ask that Jono enroll in the Empire State University’s pro-mutant program to investigate the deaths of mutant students on campus after a bombing. Jono would uncover who was responsible, and when he returned to the X-Men, was surprised to find that Paige was dating the X-Man, Archangel.

Soon after, Jono volunteered himself to also infiltrate Weapon X, a mysterious program for mutants. Pulled in with Weapon X, Jono’s face and chest were reconstructed at Weapon X by superior technology that linked his mutant energy.

His first task was to kill John Sublime, founder of the mutant-harvesting organization known as the U-Men. Jono completed the task seemingly earning Jackson’s trust at Weapon X, however soon after Jono suddenly went missing.

Jono briefly surfaced in Los Angeles to join the group known as Loners, but it was learned that he was there to prevent them from capturing Pride’s runaway children.

After the events of Scarlet Witch’s “altering” reality, Jono was confirmed to be one of the millions of mutants affected by her spell, and had indeed lost his powers, leaving him in critical condition and on life support.

He was, however, kidnapped from his hospital room by agents of Apocalypse, who were now working for Ozymandias. According to Ozymandias, Jono was a descendant of the age-old mutant, Apocalypse. Using Apocalypse’s blood, Jono was transformed into what appeared to be a teenage version of Apocalypse.

He would later appear in the United Kingdom, and be approached by Pete Wisdom to join the new version of Excalibur. Jono refuses and once again went into hiding.

He would eventually be recruited by a man calling himself Night Thrasher and join a team that had adopted the name “The New Warriors.”

Early in this newly formed team of “New Warriors” the team suffers a casualty when Longstrike, Phaser’s sister is killed. Night Thrasher is hard on the New Warriors and tells them that this is a war, and there will be casualties.

Sometime later, at the Appalachian Safehouse, Night Thrasher finds that the entire area is undisturbed. He had hoped that if Dwayne were still alive he would be hiding here. He does however, managed to snag some of Dwayne’s DNA for testing. As he exits the house however, he discovers he’s not alone and is confronted by Counter Force which consists of: Justice, Rage, Debrii, Slapstick and two of the Scarlet Spiders.

Both Rage and Justice try to talk to Night Thrasher but he refuses to discuss it with them and a fight breaks out – and just when it seems like Night Thrasher’s been captured – the arrival of the New Warriors tips the balance once more.

Throughout the fight Night Thrasher is thinking about how Justice and the rest of Counter Force think he’s a Skrull – while he’s wondering if it was Skrull who perished at Stamford, not his own half-brother. As the fight processes, Night Thrasher realizes that this has to end quickly.

He decides to stop the fight and unveil who he is. He explains his actions about looking for the truth about Dwayne – and whether he would ever take part of some reality television show as a part of the “New Warriors.” Justice steps up and informs Donyell that he can help – because he knows the location of Dwayne’s body.

The New Warriors, along with Counter Force, arrive at the Helicarrier only to find it under attack by Skrulls. The New Warriors and Counter Force get out of the plane as Night Thrasher crashes it into one of the Skrull ships. After that, they follow Justice onto the Helicarrier and begin helping the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents against the Skrulls.

As the New Warriors and Counter Force battle the Skrulls, Night Thrasher grabs Justice and enables “ghost mode” – allowing them to phrase through the floor. The others continue to battle the Skrulls – and just when it seems like they might be doing all right – the arrival of a Super Skrull, looking a lot like Nova, appears and tilts the odds back in favor of the Skrulls.

Meanhile Justice leads Night Thrasher to the bodies of what appears to be Dwayne and Microbe, with Nita’s ashes in a jar. Night Thrasher takes a sample from Dwayne’s body and begins the DNA comparison. All three turn out to be positive identifications – proving that the Dwayne, Namorita and Microbe did indeed die at Stamford. Night Thrasher turns to Justice and explains, he’s taking the remains with him. Justice, after a brief pause, agrees to help. They bury the New Warriors and create a memorial plaque for Dwayne, Namorita and Zachary.

Later, the New Warriors burst in through the roof and the Dread Dealers are subjected to Pym Particles and reduced in size.

Their victory is short lived however, with the sudden appearance of Sykes, Givens and the New Warriors Task Force. The New Warriors make a break for it – but Blackwing, who is carrying Night Thrasher gets tagged and the two crash to the ground. Panicking, Tempest screams out and doesn’t see the net shot at her – Wondra tries to push her out of the way but gets snagged.

One of the New Warriors Task Force members fires a shot – but Ripcord kicks him at the last moment. The shot hits the flame tank of another New Warriors Task Force member – and Ripcord stops to try and help him. Skybolt seeing that the tank is about to explode tries to get to Ripcord – he manages to grab her and start flying away – but the tank explodes, causing a blinding flash. Night Thrasher gets the other New Warriors together, and they quickly make their escape – unsure of the fate of both Skybolt and Ripcord. They later learn that both perished in the fire.

The New Warriors are later teleported to an alternate reality, in which Dwayne Taylor has become Iron Man, and Tony Stark has become Night Thrasher. Dwayne has become an evil corporate leader, and while Donyell struggles to not betray his brother, in the end he knows he has to stop him. After a long fight, the New Warriors defeat Dwayne, and return to their own time.

Donyell tells them to keep their tech equipment regardless, because they had definitely deserved it. As everyone exits the room, Wondra approaches Night Thrasher and the two seem to be ready to say something – instead, Wondra kisses Night Thrasher on the cheek then follows the others out of the room, leaving Donyell there to sit and think about all that he had done – and what he was going to do next.

Like Jubilee/Wondra, Jono eventually made his way to the X-Men’s new Island nation of Utopia. Shortly, after his arrival, one of Legion’s split personalities rewrote history – much like the events of Age of Apocalypse, this time turning Jono once again into Chamber, where he regained his lost mutant ability. As Chamber in this alternate reality, he was once again free of the body restorations given to him by Clan Akkaba. When reality was restored, Jono was one of the few X-Men who retained his physical changes from the altered reality, and maintained his mutant ability.

During a split between students, thanks to the schism between Cyclops and Wolverine, Jono sided with Wolverine and joined the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. He took up the position of a teacher, teaching “Coping With Physical Change.” During a battle, where he was defending his students, he was vaporized by one of Legion’s split personalities, but later restored to life, when once again, reality was restored.

Height: 5’9
Weight: 140 lbs.
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Reddish-Brown

Powers: None. Previous to the effects of “House of M” however; Chamber’s body acted as a storehouse for vast amounts of psychic energy. He could project the psionic energy as a standard energy bolt, which had led to his disfigurement when first manifested. In addition, he could communicate telepathically (including projecting destructive mind blasts) and perform limited telekinesis. It was once suggested that Starsmore’s physical form disintegrates a little more with each use of his power. The full range, extent, and nature of Starsmore’s psychic abilities remain unrevealed.
Accessories: Through means currently unknown, Decibel is able to project loud volumes of sound at varying frequencies.

Note: None.