Alex Mack (character)

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Alex Mack

Publisher	Nickelodeon
First appearance	"The Accident"
Created by	Ken Lipman Thomas W. Lynch

Characteristics
Alter ego	Alexandra Louise "Alex" Mack
Species	Human
Affiliations	None
Notable aliases	"The Kid in the Accident"
Abilities	Electrokinesis, telekinesis and limited shapeshifting.

Alexandra Louise Mack, or rather just Alex Mack, is a fictional character from the live action series The Secret World of Alex Mack and is the show's main protagonist. Alex is portrayed by Larisa Oleynik.

[edit] Origins

Alex was born and raised in Paradise Valley, California, a sprawling corporate community where much of its financial income came from the local chemical plant. At first, she didn't think much of the plant and the fact that it practically controlled the entire town, but her thoughts towards it would soon change.

One day, Alex was walking home after a miserable first day of Junior High school when a plant-owned truck nearly hit her and began to swerve out of control. Alex managed to avoid getting hit by the truck, but she wasn't quite able to avoid getting hit by its cargo. As a result, Alex was drenched from head to toe in an odd chemical substance dubbed "GC-161". Scared and confused, Alex ran off before the driver, Dave Watt, could get a good look at her.

Shortly after the incident, Alex ran home and began to recount the events to her longtime friend, Ray, and her older sister, Annie. It was around that time that Alex's chemically-endowed powers began to manifest, and Alex initially panicked. Annie, however, being of a brilliant scientific mind, managed to help Alex get herself under control to the point where she wouldn't trigger her newfound powers by accident.

Since then, Alex had been hiding the knoweldge of her powers to the public, with Annie and Ray being the only ones who know anything about her, and with good reason. The plant's CEO, Danielle Atron, had only recently heard of the accident and the child who was drenched in GC-161, and now wanted to find the child for her own plans. With Danielle having put out a reward for any information regarding "The Kid in the Accident", Alex couldn't risk telling anyone else about her, not even her own parents who worked at the plant themselves.

Despite the new twist to her life, though, Alex strived to continue living her teenage life in the only way she wanted to. Still, it was clear that, to quote Alex, "she wasn't so average anymore".

[edit] Powers

As a result of the chemicals that altered her body structure, Alex has developed several superhuman powers, which she uses quite extensively. It should be noted that the book series has expanded a bit on the development on her powers.

Telekinesis – Alex is capable of physically moving objects through simple thought. Though normally, she can only move objects that are in her general line of sight, she has occasionally managed to move objects merely by memory of the object and its surroundings. The exact strength of Alex's mental strength is unknown, but she has once been able to lift an entire piece of concrete pipe through her will alone.
Electrokinesis – On many occasions, Alex has been able to focus electricity through her fingers and unleash it into a bolt emitting from her fingers. These "zappers" allow Alex to channel electricity into electrical wiring and charge up various devices.
Shapeshifting – By far her most well-known power, Alex, through mental concentration, can alter her physical structure into a liquid-like substance, after which she then takes the form of a puddle. Alex has complete mental control over the puddle, can seep through almost any small opening, and is capable of climbing walls and ceilings through molecular adhesion. Alex can also morph anything within direct physical contact of her, such as her clothes, her backpack, and even other people. At first, Alex could only hold her form for roughly five minutes, but her ability to maintain her form came to increase over time. According to the book series, Alex can maintain her form longer at lower temperatures, but her movement speed greatly decreases and she can also run the risk of freezing solid. Intense heat, however, can cause Alex to evaporate, making it dangerous.
Electromagnetic Shield – A lesser known power. Alex can mentally create a powerful shield to block various physical objects. Alex has only ever used this power twice on the show, but she uses it more often in the book series.
Glowing – Not a real power, but more of an inconvenient side effect. Alex's face glows brightly whenever she experiences emotional distress, such as fear, nervousness, or excitement.
Other powers – Due to the unstable nature of GC-161, Alex has also gained other powers for limited durations. One of her more memorable incidents came when she gained super-strength from eating her mother's new curry recipe. A less glamorous moment, however, was when she started to hiccup bubbles for unknown reasons.

[edit] Personality

At first glance, Alex seems just like any other girl growing up in the corporate community of Paradise Valley, California. Alex can be a little bit of a tomboy, mainly due to her preferred style of casual dress, but, above all, Alex is genuinely caring and friendly. Unfortunately, her kindness and her desire for acceptance from her peers can sometimes get her into trouble, such as one time when she agreed to take the fall for another student's actions in exchange for becoming her friend.

Despite these occasional incidents, Alex generally means well, and seems to have some sense of justice. If she thinks that something's amiss, she'll usually try to fix the problem, mainly with her powers, as well as with help from Annie and Ray.