Hunter Pittman

Hunter Pittman is an original fictional character who first appeared in New X-Men #5.

Background
Hunter grew up on a small family dairy farm just outside Macon, Georgia, with his parents and his younger sister, Samantha. Polite and hardworking almost to a fault, Hunter made a good farmhand and a capable student throughout his youth. However, hard times hit the Pittman family in the wake of the 2007 financial crisis, and after suffering repeated years in the red, the Pittmans were forced to declare bankruptcy, and lost their land.

The Pittmans packed what they could and moved into Macon to find work, with little success. Rationalizing that three people looking for work is better than only two, Hunter dropped out of high school at 15 and managed to strike a deal with the same people who had taken over his family farm. Hunter was allowed to work the land for a sallary, at least until it was ready for development into a mega farm. Thanks to the extra money, the family managed to hold things together for another two years, and Samantha was able to stay in school. It was a temporary solution at best, but better a lot better than nothing.

New X-Men
Hunter was one of four North American mutants to be located and identified by Cerebra shortly after the reformation of the X-Men. Nathan Jacobe was sent to approach the boy, and offer him a chance to study at the Xavier Institute.

Nathan's efforts were hampered by Hunter's unwillingness to believe he was a mutant, based on the fact that he had no apparent powers or physical signs of mutation. Further complicating matters, Hunter's staunchly anti-mutant boss reported Nathan to the Initiative, claiming to have been the victim of an assault. However, when Ultragirl, leader of The Cavalry, the Georgian Initiative team, showed up, she immediately took Nathan's side, and even managed to confirm Hunter's mutant status.

Faced with the truth, Hunter agreed to move into the Xavier Institute on the condition that he be given an honest job to be able to continue sending money home to his family in Macon. Once there, his Gamma-level potential was confirmed, and he underwent a series of tests with the hopes of better understanding his mysterious power.

When Nathan's tests turned up empty, physical tests were conducted instead. While stress trials failed to force his mutation to the surface, Nathan was able to observe and identify Hunter's uncanny ability to learn, as the boy rapidly progressed in combat training after only a single wrestling session. Later, he was able to accurately reproduce a 30 minute laboratory procedure of great complexity, despite having barely a 10th grade education.

Powers and Abilities
Hunter is a Gamma-level mutant whose mind has a seemingly limitless capacity for learning. He has an eidetic memory capable of memorizing and recalling every detail he experiences with perfect clarity, an ability which appears to extend even to his muscle memory, enabling him to unerringly repeat any action he has performed correctly at least once. Provided time and access to an appropriate teacher, Hunter can rapidly learn any subject or discipline.

Hunter is strong and physically fit for a young man of his age, and is a capable farmhand.