Jamie Madrox's mutant ability was apparent as early as his birth. He created his first duplicate when the doctor smacked him on the bottom. Two weeks later, Jamie's father resigned from the Los Alamos Nuclear Research Center and moved his family to an intentionally isolated farm in Lawrenceville, Kansas at the suggestion of Professor Charles Xavier. Later, Damien Tryp, of Singularity Investigations, made his own offer to look after Jamie, claiming that Jamie was not in fact a mutant, but a "changeling," a predecessor to mutants whom manifest their powers at birth. Jamie's parents, however, refused to give Jamie to Tryp. From a young age, Madrox was given a special suit to wear that would neutralize his mutant power, but before this could be explained to him a freak tornado killed his parents when he was 15, later revealed to have been caused by Tryp.
Madrox spent the next six years alone caring for his parents' farm. When he was 21, malfunctioning control elements in the suit caused a power surge that released his inhibited power and caused the suit to begin absorbing ambient electrical energy. Confused, frightened, and driven mad by isolation, Madrox felt himself drawn to New York City. There, he clashed with the Fantastic Four until Xavier arrived to defuse the situation. With the help of Xavier and Reed Richards, Madrox's suit was repaired and he accompanied Xavier back to his mansion in Westchester County. There, Madrox's temporary madness was cured and, after learning to cope with his powers, he was invited to join the X-Men. He declined, and instead accompanied Xavier to Muir Island where he became a laboratory assistant to mutant researcher Doctor Moira MacTaggert.
