Sunday, September 24, 2023

Character Analysis: Alex Mercer (Feat ThankSwalot)

 


Background

Dr. Alexander “Alex” J. Mercer originally spent a life of poverty in his youth, spending his first nine years in foster care (Prototype Prima Guide). At age 10, he was finally able to reunite with his abusive mother who was released from prison. With his father being dead after his birth, the only person he could call family was his sister Dana, who he acted as a parental figure of sorts for. Even though he spent a lot of time with her playing and watching scary movies, Alex grew up full of rage and spite, eventually leading him to grow up trusting no one. He knew he was a sociopath at this point, and it didn’t matter to him.


As an adult, Alex had earned a doctorate in genetics at Columbia University, later working at and climbing the ranks of Gentek, where he and his team were in charge of the Blacklight project. Initially thinking this strain he had worked on was a cure to all diseases, he was incredibly invested in his work. Though, that wasn’t the true nature of the strain, as this Blacklight Virus was actually a bioweapons project capable of mimicking genetic information from infected hosts. Blacklight had actually originated in Hope, Idaho for the purposes of targeting specific racial types, for war. Despite figuring out what exactly he was working on, Alex didn’t care because he was so hooked on its chimeric properties and making it stronger. Even so, Alex was seen as a liability by Blackwatch, an elite army that combats exotic threats no matter the cost (Prototype #2), even with his work being years ahead of others.


This all led Alex down a life-changing, or perhaps life-ending, path. The project was feared by Blackwatch to eventually be leaked after Congress had scrutinized Gentek. They would secretly assassinate employees and scientists who had worked on the Blacklight project, with Alex figuring this out thanks to the help of Dana and planning to expose it, who is an investigative reporter. Discovering this purge, the paranoid Alex attempted to flee. However, he was caught by Blackwatch as he escaped via train. Knowing he was likely to get caught, Alex had brought some insurance with him, a stolen vial of the Blacklight Virus that he then proceeded to smash on the ground, unleashing the biological apocalypse across New York that would cause a lockdown. Alex was shot down by Blackwatch.


However, as his corpse was retrieved, something unknown to everyone was occurring. The virus had infected him after his corpse had landed on it, copying his genetic information, mimicking his body cell by cell and feeding the virus with some of his still living matter. The virus would awaken much later.


This is Alex Mercer. At least, that was what the virus thought it was. With very few memories of the past, this new Alex Mercer began a rampage to find answers to his past, being seen as a terrorist by the general public and on Interpol’s most wanted, all with the goal of killing whoever was responsible for doing this to him and to prevent it from ever happening again, not knowing it was basically himself that did. Even after reuniting with Dana, stopping Elizabeth Greene from spreading her own virus across Manhattan, after he’d released her in pursuit of his past, and preventing a nuclear explosion from destroying the city, Alex still didn’t know where he belonged in the world when he discovered the truth of his creation. He was a hero to the city, but he was also the reason for the infection and deaths of many. He isn’t human, and that truth was something he wished he never learned, and so lost faith in humanity.


But he chose to believe there was some good in the world, going on a trip around the world in hopes of finding someone, anyone, to believe in (Prototype 2 #1). Unfortunately, he was only met with the ugly side of people (Prototype 2 #1), witnessing people’s facades of kindness and meeting their true selves that only cared about their own freedoms (Prototype 2 #1). He was starting to think people weren’t saving, even when others celebrated him for saving them, they were celebrating their own freedom and not also the freedom of those around him. Alex questioned if he even wanted to rejoin humanity (Prototype 2 #1). The straw that broke the camel’s back was his encounter with a family who treated him kindly while he was disguised (Prototype 2 #1).


The father Flint was a mill owner while his daughter Autumn had developed a crush on Alex’s disguised self (Prototype 2 #1). Alex had begun having feelings too, so when the family was threatened by someone who wanted their lands named Zurich (Prototype 2 #1), Alex killed the sent assassins and consumed Zurich to stop him (Prototype 2 #2). The memories obtained through Zurich’s consumption made Alex find out that Flint was a criminal who had been involved in many murders and extortions. Even when confronted and stating he had put that behind him, Alex killed him as well (Prototype 2 #2). All that was left was Autumn, who Alex asked to travel with him, but when he found her, he saw that she was stealing his money for herself (Prototype 2 #2). Autumn then shot Alex in the face, stating that her father taught her well, to only care about herself. He regenerated moments later, consuming Autumn. This was Alex’s breaking point. He thought he finally found the one place and the only people he cared about (Prototype 2 #1), but only had his trust betrayed, deciding once and for all that humanity was full of worthless vermin (Prototype 2 #2). He no longer had his anchor point, so he was going to do something about it to make a better world in his eyes.


Alex sought to create something better than humanity, destroying them and replacing it with something anew. He started a second Blacklight Virus outbreak to accomplish this, where he met James Heller, who sought revenge for the deaths of his wife and daughter during the outbreak. This man caught Alex’s eye for his skill and potential, so he infected Heller with his strain of the Blacklight Virus. Alex would try to manipulate Heller by stating it was not his fault and that he should join him and his Evolved, Alex’s replacement for humanity who have similar powers to him, to form an army that would wipe Gentek, Blackwatch, and the virus off the face of the planet. Alex would also recruit other people to be Evolved in important positions in Gentek and Blackwatch to spy on them, but they would become hostile toward each other again after Heller had started ruining Alex’s plans. Heller would have a final encounter with Alex, having learned that it was his fault for the outbreak and his wife’s death, fighting to save both his actually alive daughter and Dana, who claimed her real brother was dead, but Alex thought of himself and even Heller as beyond Life and Death.


The bloody battle would finally end in Alex’s defeat. He taunted Heller one last time by saying he finally was at the top of the food chain before being consumed, giving Heller enough power to cleanse Manhattan of the second infection Alex had started. Alex had accidentally created the man that would be his own undoing, but their battle still had some of Alex’s body parts left behind that were severed in their final struggle. Who knows if being consumed for something greater was part of Alex’s plan, or if he’ll regenerate in the future, but Alex Mercer is a true example of a hero who lived long enough to become the villain.


More Info


Note

This character sheet features both the first and second Prototype games, including the official canon comics and Prima guide, as the main sources of this analysis. Abilities from Elizabeth Greene, who Alex has consumed, and James Heller, who possesses the same strain of the Blacklight Virus as Alex, will be included.


Other Random Things


Biomass Physiology & Abilities


Blacklight Virus / Disease Manipulation


Adaptation / Reactive Evolution


Immortality


Hive Mind


Shapeshifting


Consume


Adrenaline Surge


Disguise


Regeneration


Sensory Powers


Density Manipulation


Matter Manipulation


Martial Arts / Physical Techniques


Parkour


Air Maneuverability


Mental Uploading


Shockwave Generation


Energy Projection


Resistances


Equipment


Assault Rifle


Machine Gun


Grenade Launcher


Missile Launcher


Military Uniform


Feats

Strength & Attack Potency


Speed


Durability


Scaling


Training & Experience


Weaknesses

No comments:

Post a Comment