Alex

Alex is a Mercury Adept and major character in the Golden Sun series. While he is largely involved in the story, he is an NPC throughout both games and does not serve any gameplay roles. In spite of this, Alex is considered one of the series' main antagonists.

=Biography=

Alex was presumably born and raised along with Mia in the wintry town of Imil in the continent Angara's northernmost region. Alex and Mia are, at least by the present age when the events of Golden Sun begins, the last known living descendants of the ancient Mercury Clan who once lived in this region to guard the nearby Elemental Lighthouse of Water, Mercury Lighthouse. As Mercury Clan members, Alex and Mia are Mercury Adepts and share the abilities of healing and the conjuring of watery and chilling Psynergy-driven spellcraft, and they are the only two individuals on Angara able to enter and exit the normally sealed-off Lighthouse at will. And as the upholders of their bloodline's decree to ensure the Mercury Lighthouse is never activated, Alex and Mia lived in Imil together to support Imil's populace year-in and year-out, taking care of the ill and battling the regular cold and flu epidemics that Imil experiences annually.

In the English version of Golden Sun, Alex is described as being Mia's apprentice. However, this is inconsistent with the Japanese version of the game, which describes Alex as having been the apprentice to Mia's unnamed father, who is presumably dead by this point. Considering how Alex is a young man who appears to be older than Mia, this is the more commonly accepted background for Alex.

At any rate, it is not known whether he was like this to begin with or if some specific past event influenced him, but Alex came to possess a strong desire and admiration for power. He studies and practices the Psynergy arts hard enough that by the present day he has mastered very advanced and powerful Psynergy abilities no other Adept is seen being able to use, including self-levitation that borders on flight, summoning powerful geysers out of the ground that can shoot objects heavy as human bodies far up and away into the sky, and the ability that can be considered his unofficial "trademark", the Warp. He can instantly disappear in a flash of light, remain in an apparently invisible state for either a moment or a while, and then reappear elsewhere in a location that may be a good distance away from his previous location, and he can warp himself along with another person accompanying him so that both individuals can disappear, travel, and reappear together.

Alex is perhaps the most powerful Adept in all of Weyard as is, having mastered all of these amazing abilities on his own. But his true desire is on a far grander scale: Those who are familiar with the legend of Alchemy know that mastery of Alchemy's quintessence, which would manifest as the Stone of Sages, will equate to mastery of the building blocks of reality and therefore the possession of supreme, unmatched power necessary to achieve dominion over the world.

Quest for Alchemy with Saturos
Within the three-year time period before the present, Alex encounters and is approached by the foreign Mars Adepts, Saturos and Menardi, who are currently conducting research on each of the four Elemental Lighthouses. Alex learns everything from them: Saturos and Menardi aim to break Alchemy's seal and restore the force to the world, which can be achieved by activating each of the four Elemental Lighthouses situated across Weyard using each Lighthouse's respective element. The four Stars are currently hidden within Sol Sanctum inside Mt.Aleph on Angara southwest of Imil, and Saturos and Menardi recently tried to raid the sanctum but failed because they triggered a trap. Currently preparing for a second, future raid of Sol Sanctum, Saturos and Menardi have now found that in order to enter each Lighthouse, they will need at least one Adept of each Lighthouse's element.

Alex decides to join Saturos and Menardi's objective as the Water Adept that will allow them to enter and activate Mercury Lighthouse in the near future; as he secretly leaves Imil with Saturos' group, he effectively abandons Mia and betrays his bloodline oath. By this point he has finalized his master plot: To assist Saturos' objective in restoring Alchemy to Weyard, and then to be at the location where Alchemy's return would commence so he can gain the supreme power of Alchemy for himself.

Alex accompanies Saturos and Menardi back to their hometown of Prox further up north and apparently stays there for a while, getting to know the Venus Adept Felix in the meantime: Felix is a former resident of the town Vale at the foot of Mt.Aleph and Sol Sanctum, and was someone Saturos and Menardi rescued from death shortly after their previous failed raid attempt of Sol Sanctum. Felix is thereby sworn to their cause as an ally and will be the Adept that helps them enter and scale the Venus Lighthouse in the future. With Saturos and Menardi themselves able to grant the group access into Mars Lighthouse, they now have the Adepts necessary to activate three of the four Lighthouses, with the exception of Jupiter Lighthouse; they will need to acquire a Jupiter Adept and an artifact named the Shaman's Rod in order to gain entry and properly scale that lighthouse in the future. Finally, in the present day and age, Saturos, Menardi, Alex, and Felix depart Prox on Menardi's Lemurian Ship on their worldwide effort to initiate Alchemy's return.

Alex, Saturos, Menardi, and Felix sail to the continent Gondowan and anchor their ship at a peninsula named Idejima, and they travel north to Angara to Vale and Sol Sanctum. Before they enter Vale itself, Felix forces Alex and Saturos to promise him not to let any of Vale's people, particularly his former childhood friends Isaac and Garet and especially his younger sister Jenna, get involved in what they're trying to do. When the four commence their secretive raid of Sol Sanctum, by coincidence they find that these very three people, along with the scholar Kraden, are conducting an investigation of their own within the sanctum's Elemental Star chamber, and they immediately seize the situation: They take Jenna and Kraden hostage and force Isaac and Garet to fetch the Elemental Stars for them. Isaac and Garet hand Alex three of the Stars and go to retrieve the fourth, the Mars Star, for him.

When Isaac removes the Mars Star from its pedestal, the mountain begins to erupt as a volcano and the star chamber begins to collapse, and everyone watches as the almighty entity and protector of Alchemy's seal, known as the Wise One, emerges into view. Saturos' group realizes that they cannot get the Mars Star without very likely dying, so they must flee with their own lives as they leave Isaac and Garet and the Mars Star behind. Obviously it would be truly horrid if the Mars Star was lost with the two boys for good, but before they flee Alex proposes to take Jenna and Kraden with them as hostages to accompany their group on their global trek; if Isaac and Garet survive, they will pursue Saturos' group to try to free Jenna and Kraden from their grasp in the near future, at which point they can relieve Isaac of the Mars Star by force. Felix lashes out at Alex for breaking their promise, but Alex states that the circumstances have obviously changed since then and that Jenna would probably die if they didn't take her with them. With this decided, Alex and Saturos' group reluctantly flees the erupting mountain.

The Mercury Lighthouse
Alex and Saturos' group have already begun to change the world by causing Mt. Aleph's eruption, which caused Psynergy stones to rain all over Weyard and affect many people and animals. And now, the four travelers and their two captives aim to enter and light the nearest Lighthouse, which is Alex's own Mercury Lighthouse. In their journey to Mercury Lighthouse, the now-six-member group first passes through the town of Vault, briefly staying there, and then they travel through Goma Range and then north through Bilibin Cave to reach the continent's snow-capped region, where Imil and the Mercury Lighthouse are located. Alex intentionally avoids his hometown on his way to the Lighthouse even as the rest of his associates pass through the town, obviously because Mia is there. Once the group gathers at the Lighthouse's entrance, Alex admits them entry into the tower by using his Mercury Psynergy Ply. Doing this causes the lighthouse to glow briefly, which Alex is certain that Mia would notice and therefore come to investigate and possibly impede their efforts. As such, as they proceed to climb up through the lighthouse, they set up obstacles that would block Mia from following them. Once they arrive at the tower's top, Saturos and Alex cast the Mercury Star into the well of the Mercury Lighthouse to light the Mercury Beacon.

As soon as the lighthouse beacon is activated, fate plays a hand as a group of four young traveling Adepts are suddenly transported up to the aerie via the Lighthouse's enchanted transportation system, and they are none other than Mia, a young boy named Ivan, and Isaac and Garet, who survived the Mt.Aleph incident and have indeed come to stop Saturos' quest and take back Jenna and Kraden. Alex and Saturos immediately hide behind the now-active beacon to discuss what they will do, and Saturos soon presents himself to Isaac's party and declares he will defeat them all. Alex secretly watches as Saturos engages Isaac and his friends in a one-on-four brawl, but he does not help fight Isaac because he is certain Saturos will win. Alex is personally surprised, however, when Isaac's group actually beats Saturos.

Alex decides to make himself known to Isaac and Mia after Isaac's victory, and Alex and Mia see each other for the first time in a long while. Mia is horrified by Alex's betrayal of her and their shared former duties, but Alex, stalling for time while Saturos recovers, explains how the activated Mercury Lighthouse was the cause for their victory: The Mercury element of the Lighthouse itself suppressed Saturos' Mars powers enough that he was being physically weakened, and at the same time the lighthouse was supplying Mia with unlimited Mercury Psynergy reserves. Alex also tries to subtly convince Mia that such power as what is held within each Lighthouse is not something that should be kept sealed away, and he confirms that Isaac has the Mars Star. Alex, with his final statement to Mia being "I can't stay the same Alex you knew forever...", then Warps away with Saturos to leave the Lighthouse. The two rejoin the other four and immediately resume their journey to activate the Elemental Lighthouses, while Isaac and Mia's party resumes their hot pursuit.

The Venus Lighthouse and Idejima
In the extended period of time to come, Saturos and Alex's group travels all across Angara, along the way either directly or indirectly causing problems for the various towns they go through, such as causing an avalanche at Alpine Crossing, to impede the progress of Isaac's pursuing party. They eventually take a ferry service across the Karagol Sea to the continent Gondowan, where the next lighthouse, the Venus Lighthouse, is located. After they stop in Tolbi, they travel through the Suhalla Desert in the Lighthouse's direction, during which Alex uses his water Psynergy to hold off the Tornado Lizards that patrol the desert with their sandstorms and allows Saturos and Menardi to slay them. They eventually happen upon the young girl Sheba lost in the desert. They see she is in fact a Jupiter Adept, and therefore the one they've been looking for, so they take her captive just like Jenna and Kraden. After they pass through Sheba's hometown of Lalivero, Felix, like Alex with Mercury Lighthouse, uses his Venus Psynergy to admit them entry into the building.

In Venus Lighthouse, Saturos' group climbs up through the tower, but apparently has some trouble because, in Alex's words later on, "they are somewhat lacking when it comes to solving the mysteries of the lighthouses." But they eventually make it, and Saturos and Menardi take Sheba with them to the top while Felix and Alex are supposed to lead Jenna and Kraden outside to Idejima, the place where Menardi moored their ship a long while back. Alex is impressed when Felix decides to head back up to the aerie to confront Saturos over the involvement of Sheba in their quest. By this point Isaac's party has surely come to Venus Lighthouse to stop Saturos, and Jenna says she must go up to the aerie too to prevent a deadly brawl from happening between Felix and Isaac, but Alex stops her by stating that Isaac and his party are sworn to stop their objective to activate the Elemental Lighthouses and thus are their enemies.

So Alex, Jenna, and Kraden exit Venus Lighthouse, to be greeted by the sight of regiments of soldiers and ruffians from Lalivero and Tolbi who have come to take Sheba back from her kidnappers. To make it to Idejima, Jenna says they have to fight the soldiers outright, to which Alex responds by saying he will shoulder her burden. Alex confronts the Tolbi soldiers and uses his incredibly powerful Mercury Psynergy to shoot the soldiers far up and away, intimidating all the other grunts into outright fleeing. Alex follows the retreating Tolbi soldiers to Lalivero, and keeps the rest of the numerous Tolbi soldiers stationed at Lalivero at bay entirely by himself to allow Jenna and Kraden passage to Idejima.

Alex eventually arrives at Idejima to rejoin Jenna and Kraden, but notice that the Lighthouse is only now getting lit by Saturos and Menardi. Then suddenly the lighthouse causes the entire area to experience a severe earthquake, and the quake tears a rift through the Suhalla Range, literally disconnecting Idejima from the rest of the mainland and turning it into its own island, and the island actually starts floating east out into sea with Alex and the other two still on it. Now the three are effectively marooned on a buoyant island drifting far away somewhere, and all they can do is wait; after all, while Menardi's Lemurian Ship is on the island, the Black Orb she and Saturos used to commandeer the ship is with them, and the ship is useless without it.

Indra and Osenia
Alex, Jenna, and Kraden are now marooned together on the floating island of Idejima as it floats out into the Great Eastern Sea. Sometime after Idejima has broken away from Gondowan, Alex finds that Felix and Sheba themselves have washed up on the island, having fallen/jumped from the Lighthouse as the earthquake happened and landed in the ocean water where they could then swim to the island in time. When the two regain their senses they report that Isaac and his group have killed Saturos and Menardi in direct combat, to the considerable surprise of Alex and the other two.

The five that are together now on Idejima have a prickly situation to contend with: If they are to continue their quest to activate the Jupiter and Mars Lighthouses, they will need to find a ship, as Menardi's ship is now useless to them since they don't have a Black Orb anymore. But as for the matter of actually getting off the island, they soon find that Idejima is passing by the continent of Indra to the south, but is not going to collide with it.

Their problem is effectively solved by a global disaster: A Tidal Wave originating from the Sea of Time in the middle of the Great Eastern Sea, created in response to the fact that two of the four Lighthouses are now lit, washes over Idejima, Indra, lower Gondowan, and the continent Osenia. The wave drives Idejima into the north end of Indra, and the entire continent of Indra itself is actually made to shift its position on the world map southwest and effectively sandwich itself between Gondowan and Osenia. Everyone is knocked unconscious by the wave, but Alex wakes up before everyone else and decides to leave to explore Indra by himself.

Alex by this point has decided that his supposed companions are no longer worth their weight in their ability to complete the rest of their quest, and somehow believes that the goals of the late Saturos and Menardi to activate Jupiter and Mars Lighthouses will be achieved sooner if he works separately from Felix's group. After a while of exploring Indra on his own, Alex goes to Daila seeking a boat that can be used to sail across to the Great Western Sea where the Jupiter and Mars Lighthouses are. He speaks with Daila's mayor, saying he would pay the mayor a fortune to buy whatever boat he might have, but the mayor simply does not have any boats and tells Alex to travel down south to Madra to look for one. As Alex leaves, he bumps into none other than Felix's party. Alex reports that there are no ships for them to use and that he will be going to Madra next, but when Felix offers for Alex to travel with his party down to Madra, Alex is almost eager to refuse, citing that he is merely "preoccupied" and that he simply prefers to work alone. He leaves Felix and the town in somewhat of a haste, to Jenna and Sheba's annoyance.

Alex travels south across the continent to Madra; along the way, he sees a Lemurian Ship at East Indra Shore that is much like Menardi's ship, and he witnesses the apparent captain of the ship, a young man named Piers, being taken away by Madrans while unconscious and captive. Alex is intrigued and follows them down to Madra where Piers is imprisoned on suspicion of being a Champa pirate in league with the pirate Briggs. Then Felix's group arrives at Madra and enters the jail cell, and as Alex secretly watches he and everyone else witness Piers casting the Frost Psynergy at one of the townspeople goading him, learning that he is a Mercury Adept.

But getting back to the issue at hand, Alex learns that Madra's ships were destroyed by the tidal wave, but the town Madra trades with, the bustling town of Alhafra at Osenia, recently completed a massive sailing ship that is powered entirely by catching wind in its sail. So Alex now travels to Osenia (apparently using his warping Psynergy to bypass the security at Madra Drawbridge and to cross the bridge to Alhafra that Briggs and his crew destroyed recently to prevent Madran pursuers) and arrives in Alhafra, which turns out to be another town that was thoroughly damaged by the tidal wave. And once again to his dismay, he finds that the famous sailing ship has been sold to Briggs and that the ship itself was damaged by the tidal wave. Having traveled long and hard, Alex lodges at the inn and uses his apparently vast wealth to get a two-bed room entirely to himself.

While he is staying at Alhafra's inn, Felix and his party once again encounter him, them having come to Alhafra to both look for a ship and to confront Briggs over both the latter's piracy and the fact Piers is falsely imprisoned because of Briggs. Alex suggests to them to try to fix the ship while they're at it. After Felix's run-in with Briggs plays out successfully and they try to fix the ship (but aren't able to do the job completely), Alex warmheartedly teases them about their honorable deeds, mentioning that Mia would have done the same.

Sometime after Felix's party leaves Alhafra, Alex leaves after them to return to Indra. In his mind's eye he has exhausted every other possibility, so when he sees that Piers has left to lower Gondowan and Felix's party has departed to Gondowan in pursuit of him, he entertains the option of taking Piers' ship for himself, which in his perspective is his "borrowing" the ship. (It is not made clear whether he uses the term "borrow" to mean actually steal or if he was honestly planning on returning it to Piers at some point, and it isn't known how Alex would have been able to take the ship for himself since he does not have a Black Orb to control the ship with.) Moments before he can make his move, however, Felix's and Piers' party returns from Gondowan, having retrieved the Black Orb that the warlike Kibombo Tribe had recently stolen, and Alex must withdraw again.

But because he remains on Indra as Felix and Piers' party leaves on their Lemurian Ship, Alex is then able to meet with Karst and Agatio, fellow warriors to Saturos and Menardi from Prox, who have sailed out here originally to assist Saturos and Menardi but are now seeking vengeance upon Isaac's traveling party because Isaac murdered the latter pair. Alex reports to Karst and Agatio everything he knows about the quest to restore Alchemy and its current circumstances, and he then joins Karst and Agatio on their own ship because in his perspective the Mars Adepts are more powerful and capable than Felix's party.

The Great Eastern Sea and the Jupiter Lighthouse
Alex, Karst, and Agatio sail the Great Eastern Sea together, aware that the Jupiter Star that is the key to everyone's next shared objective, the activation of Jupiter Lighthouse, is currently in the possession of Felix's traveling party. It occurs to Alex, however, that Felix and his party are not as incompetent as he once believed; after all, they went all the way to Gondowan and singlehandedly retrieved Piers' Black Orb from the warlike Kibombo tribe. And Alex is secretly distrusting of his new companions because, in his mind's eye, Karst and Agatio are just as inept at solving and climbing Lighthouses as Saturos and Menardi were. These observations lead him to decide to not take the Jupiter Star for themselves, instead leaving the task to Felix. The three Adepts also get a hold of the news that the lord of Tolbi, Babi, has passed away, apparently shortly after Alex and Saturos' original party passed through Tolbi a while back.

Alex forsees that Felix's party will be headed to the cliff-side town of Champa on Angara's lowest border, and he and the Mars Adepts go and wait there until Felix's party arrives. Alex first mockingly remarks about how he sees Felix has "replaced" him with Piers as their new water Adept, and admits he was once going to "borrow" Piers' ship. Then he lets Karst and Agatio threaten Felix by saying if Felix doesn't hurry up on his goal to reach and light Jupiter Lighthouse, they will take the Jupiter Star themselves to do the task themselves. Alex does not have any moral qualms, however, about letting everyone know through insults that he does not consider any of them terribly useful and/or intelligent, and that includes Karst and Agatio and the deceased Saturos and Menardi. He clarifies that he is "on no one's side" through all of this; his only concern is to see all four Lighthouses lit once again. Alex and the Mars Adepts promise Felix that they will always be near Felix's group to push and pressure their way to Jupiter Lighthouse, and as Alex and the Mars Adepts leave, he remembers what he learned about Babi's death and announces it to Kraden. In his mind's eye he's doing Kraden a favor, as the old man now shouldn't have a reason to continue putting himself in danger on this quest for Babi's sake.

Presumably for the next period of time Alex, Karst, and Agatio follow Felix's travelling party as both groups sail around the Great Eastern Sea, Alex always making sure that Felix does not stray unnecessarily from his quest. But in spite of all this, Alex and Felix's groups do not physically encounter each other again until Felix has made it into the Great Western Sea and has reached Jupiter Lighthouse itself and has started to explore and climb it.

Alex, Karst, and Agatio enter Jupiter Lighthouse after Felix, and then see that Isaac's party has entered Jupiter Lighthouse as well, and Karst and Agatio prepare a trap to divide Isaac's group so that they can then engage them in battle and kill them. When this event happens, however, Alex has completely abandoned his two "companions", leaving them to do the dirty work themselves. Alex, after all, witnessed Felix's party watching Isaac from below fall into Karst's trap: when Felix's party rushes up, Alex materializes before them and speaks what's on his mind directly: He knows Felix will not emotionally handle Isaac's death enough to light Jupiter Lighthouse since Felix lacks, in Alex's own words, Alex's ability to "discard someone who is no longer of use to [him]". Thus, Alex personally heals Felix's party before sending them off to save their friends. (Alex also admits that despite his motives and what he is capable of, he would still rather not directly inflict harm on Mia, and would probably part ways with Karst and Agatio after this.)

Much drama and physical confrontation occurs between Felix's party and Karst and Agatio before the activating of Jupiter Lighthouse with the Jupiter Star, which Felix does eventually achieve as Alex believed he would. But an outright fight to the death ensues between the two groups in front of the now-lit Jupiter beacon, right after Karst steals the Mars Star. Whether the victors of this battle are Felix's group or Karst and Agatio, Alex steps in before one side can finish the other off for good and announces that Isaac's party has recuperated and is coming after them, and that Karst and Agatio are too drained from their battle to fight them off too. He uses this argument along with the fact that now Karst and Agatio have their needed Mars Star to convince the pair to flee Jupiter Lighthouse with him while they can. Thus the three Adepts leave as Isaac's party arrives to encounter Felix's.

The Return of Alchemy
After the events at Jupiter Lighthouse, Alex and Karst and Agatio are all too happy to part ways. Karst and Agatio, with the Mars Star now in their possession, depart for their hometown of Prox to the north so they can then enter Mars Lighthouse and activate it themselves to complete Saturos' original objective. Alex, in the meantime, immediately prepares for the final phase of his master plan: He knows that once all four Lighthouses are activated, the place for him to be is at the top of Mt. Aleph, so he sails from Atteka across the Great Western Sea to Angara with all haste. (While it is not ever explicitly stated in the game, it is most likely that Alex steals, or "borrows" to use a more appropriate term, Isaac's Lemurian ship for himself for this purpose because Isaac's ship is never seen in-game and Isaac's party comes to join Felix's party and quest on Piers' Lemurian ship for the rest of the game.) He lands on Angara and travels a good distance over mountains back to Vale, and then climbs the outside of the mountain entirely by himself.

No sooner than when Alex reaches Mt. Aleph's very tip does the Mars Lighthouse get activated and the great, global process that heralds the return of Alchemy to Weyard commences. The four Lighthouse Beacons shoot out their beams of purified energy into the airspace above Mt.Aleph and merge to form one golden sphere of pure Alchemic power named the Golden Sun, which in turn shoots down into Mt.Aleph to give shape to the Stone of Sages within the mountain. Alex, for standing in the center of the path which Golden Sun's beam of Alchemy enters into the mountain while passing through his body, gains immense power and near-limitless life: effectively, the power of the Golden Sun itself.

Ecstatic and triumphant over the success of his plan, Alex eagerly tests his newfound power by targeting the now-empty town of Vale far below at the base of the mountain, and calls out to the sky to summon a storm to attack the town. To his puzzlement, however, no storm appears. He is then confronted by the Wise One himself, who Alex last encountered inside Mt. Aleph, and the Wise One announces that Alex has only gained a lot of power, but not mastery of reality itself like Alex was expecting. Alex, believing the Wise One is trying to anger him, confidently pushes the Wise One away with the bolstered Psynergy he does have, but the Wise One telepathically drives Alex into the ground and completely immobilizes him.

Alex is aghast at how the Wise One is beating him so soundly if it is Alex who has gained ultimate power, and demands to know how and why this is. The Wise One gives it to him: Long ago in Sol Sanctum when the Elemental Stars were first pilfered by Alex and Saturos and they had to leave with the Mars Star in Isaac's possession, the Wise One predicted Alex would make a move like this in the future and took a precaution by imbuing the Mars Star with a certain magical property. This property caused the Mars Star, when it was cast into the Mars Lighthouse's well, to not contribute all of its essence originally intended for just the Golden Sun that Alex just took power from, but instead enter Isaac's body on Mars Lighthouse. This has caused Isaac to unwittingly possess the portion of the Golden Sun's power that Alex now lacks, effectively meaning that Isaac has robbed Alex of his dream for complete mastery of the building blocks of reality.

It is then that the entire mountain and the surrounding landscape begin to change and collapse as part of the last phase of the process that signifies Alchemy's release. The Wise One instructs Alex to flee the mountain if he wants to save his own life, lest he be "drawn into the heart of the earth forever". Alex exclaims he can't even move right now, to which the Wise One responds that now Alex sees the limits of his power, and that Alex may not survive falling with the mountain as it submerges itself underground. The last words Alex hears before he meets his supposed demise is this cryptic final statement by the Wise One: "If you survive, perhaps we shall meet again someday..."

=Trivia=
 * Hidden within the code of Golden Sun (and The Lost Age by extension), even beyond the reach of what the various Debug Rooms showcase, is this image of Alex that appears very similar to, yet somewhat different from, the image of Alex seen throughout the actual games.
 * In a related detail, particularly interesting is where this alternate portrait is placed in the games' internal lists of facial portraits; in the first game, it is the eighth portrait following the portraits of Isaac, Garet, Ivan, Mia, Felix, Jenna, and Sheba, and in The Lost Age Piers is placed right after the alternate Alex portrait at slot 9. This may suggest that Camelot, during development, possibly considered making Alex a playable character for perhaps The Lost Age, before adding Piers in and making him take Alex's place as the Lost Age party's resident Mercury Adept.

=Quotes=
 * In the Elemental Star Chamber:
 * Alex: "The Mars Star... It's a pity that we have to leave it, but perhaps we'll be seeing it soon..."


 * At Mercury Lighthouse:
 * Mia: "Alex, do you realize what you've done?"
 * Alex: "Hah! Of course... I have freed a great power that has long been sealed away. Mercury, the lighthouse of Water... What a mighty force."
 * Mia: "Alex, you... Are you mad!?"
 * Alex: "No, Mia... Don't you understand? The lighthouse granted you great power during your battle with Saturos."
 * Mia: "It's true... I could use my power without ever depleting it."
 * Alex: "Don't you see? The Mercury Lighthouse supplied you with limitless Psynergy."
 * Mia: "Psynergy? Are you telling me my powers come from Psynergy?"
 * Alex: "You and I are both members of Mercury Clan... Masters of Water Psynergy."


 * Garet: "I won't let Saturos escape!"
 * Alex: "And just what are you going to do? Will you finish him off?" (If Isaac says no) "Yes, Isaac. You seem like a smart warrior. You can't beat our combined might, now that we've seen how you fight. And I doubt you are the type to 'finish' anyone off!"


 * Alex: (To Mia) "Ah, well... I can't stay the same Alex you knew forever... Well, it seems that my ride has returned while we were speaking. And so, I bid you adieu."


 * It Venus Lighthouse:
 * Alex: "So... Felix went back to the top of the lighthouse?"
 * Kraden: "Why do you seem so pleased, Alex?"
 * Alex: "Why shouldn't I be? After all, the lighthouse will soon shine brightly once again!"
 * Jenna: "Alex, why do you want to see the beacon lit so badly?"
 * Alex: "Oh, so it's my turn to answer questions, is it? Once, Alchemy was commonplace throughout this world... With its power, mankind worked wonders across the land..."
 * Kraden: "The lost age of man..."
 * Alex: "I want to see that world restored once again, and..."
 * Jenna: "And what, Alex?"
 * Alex: "We've spoken long enough already. Let us continue this another time."


 * Outside Venus Lighthouse with Jenna and Kraden:
 * Tolbi soldier: "You think you can take on Tolbi's finest on your own, little man?"
 * Alex: "I do not wish to inflict unnecessary bloodshed."
 * Tolbi soldier: "Don't wish to... What's that supposed to mean?"
 * Alex: "If you lay a hand on these two, I assure you that you will be made to regret it. By advancing, I assume you mean to fight. Permit me to strike the first blow." (Blows two soldiers away with his geyser Psynergy)


 * Alex: (In response to workmen fleeing from Alex in terror) "How undignified... And how shameful."


 * Alex: "You mentioned backup from Lalivero? Let's go meet them together, shall we?"
 * Tolbi soldier: "Hey, pal! When they get here, you'll really be in for it!"
 * Alex: "Do you honestly believe that even a hundred of you could stop me?"


 * At Idejima:
 * Alex: "You expect me to believe Isaac and his companions defeated Saturos and Menardi? Have they really grown so powerful in so short a time?"


 * Jenna: (As the tidal wave approaches and threatens to wash over everyone) "Alex... How can you stay so calm at a time like this?"
 * Alex: "At times like this, where would be the good in panicking?"


 * At Daila:
 * Alex: "Well, well... Our happy little family is back together again."


 * Jenna: "So what do yout [sic] think? Should we go to Madra with Alex?"
 * Alex: (If Felix says yes) "Ah... You...want to travel with me?"
 * Jenna: "What, you don't like that idea?"
 * Alex: "No, that's not it. I'm just...preoccupied."
 * Sheba: "Self-absorbed is more like it!"
 * Alex: "I simply prefer to work alone."
 * Kraden: "If that's the case, we'll let you be..."
 * Alex: "Perhaps you will see me in Madra..." (Leaves in a haste)
 * Jenna: "Gah! The nerve of that guy!"


 * At Alhafra:
 * Alex: (If Felix uses Mind Read on him) "Really, I do wish you would quit using your Mind Read on me... Trust me, my thoughts will become all too clear in due time..."


 * Alex: "So, I hear you caught Briggs..." (If Felix says no) "You have no need to hide such fine exploits from me. Working hard for the benefit of others is quite noble. That's what Mia always said..."


 * Alex: (Thinking) "Feel free to help whomever you like if it truly makes you happy. Perhaps capturing Briggs marks the beginning of your dreams coming to fruition."


 * At Champa:
 * Alex: "Ah, and I see you've made a new friend! You have been busy, haven't you?" (If Felix says yes) "And you've found yourself a new Water Adept! Do you mean to cast me away, like old trash?"


 * Agatio: "They look like an unreliable bunch of ragamuffins."
 * Alex: "Yes, they are rather useless, aren't they? That's why I finally had to abandon them, of course."


 * Kraden: "That must be how you knew Piers was a Water Adept."
 * Alex: "In fact, I was even thinking of borrowing his ship at one point."
 * Jenna: "You would steal someone's boat? That's so typical, Alex!"
 * Alex: "You wound me, Jenna... I only meant to borrow it."
 * Sheba: "Whatever you might have meant, that doesn't make it right!"
 * Alex: "And just when I was about to seize the moment, you had to come back."
 * Kraden: "You mean from Kibombo..."
 * Alex: I was mere moments too late."
 * Kraden: "Isn't that a shame."
 * Alex: "Still, because of that, I did meet Karst and Agatio, so perhaps it was my fate..."
 * Jenna: "Can't you stop talking about yourself for one second, Alex?"


 * Alex: "My experience with Saturos and Menardi suggests that, while they were fierce warriors... They are somewhat lacking when it comes to solving the mysteries of the lighthouses..."
 * Karst: "You mean to say that they failed to solve the riddles?"
 * Alex: "Miserably..."
 * Agatio: "Are you suggesting they were simple brutes, incapable of logic and intelligence? And are you saying the same of us!?"
 * Alex: "I'm afraid so..."
 * Karst: "Alex... Whose side are you on?"
 * Alex: "I am on no one's side. My only concern is to see the lighthouse beacons lit once again."


 * At Jupiter Lighthouse
 * Alex: "Ah, Felix. I've been waiting for you. Have you come here to light the beacon?" (If Felix says no) "Hmph. They consider you their enemy, and yet you pity them. I saw you watching when Isaac's friends fell into Karst's trap. I know you, Felix. I know that if you leave Isaac behind, you'll regret it. You're not like me. You can't simply discard someone who is no longer of use to you. Well, you'd better hurry if you still hope to save them." (Alex heals all of Felix's party with his Psynergy) "There you go! Consider it a gift. You can still make it. Go on..."


 * Alex: (Thinking) "Even now, I want to run to Mia, to give her my aid... It seems I am weak as well... I suppose I have no choice but to part ways with Agatio and Karst."


 * Agatio: (After Felix's party loses the boss fight against Karst and Agatio, and Felix's party is lying on the ground) "If we stay here much longer, Isaac and the others will come! We should leave!"
 * Karst: "I know... But treason deserves death! We must finish them!"
 * Alex: "There's no time for petty grudges!"
 * Agatio: "Alex! You..."
 * Alex: "You no longer consider me a friend? I do not care."
 * Karst: "It goes beyond that, Alex! You've betrayed us, and treason deserves death!"
 * Alex: "Yes, I heard you the first time. But shouldn't you heal yourselves before making foolish threats? After fighting both Isaac and Felix, you're in no condition to fight me. And if Isaac and the others come, what chance will you have?"


 * On Mt. Aleph:


 * Alex: (After gaining the power of the Golden Sun) "At last! I have it! Eternal life...and limitless power! At last, the power of nature is mine to control as I will! Rise, storms! Rise up and unleash your might upon Vale and the foothills of Mt. Aleph!" (Uneventful silence) "That's odd... I should have limitless power... So why can't I call up a simple storm? Wh-Who are you?"
 * The Wise One: "I am called the Wise One..."
 * Alex: "The Wise One? Vale's protector?"
 * The Wise One: "You wish to have limitless power?"
 * Alex: "Wish to? I just got it!"
 * The Wise One: "No. Your power is nearly limitless, but it has boundaries."
 * Alex: "Nearly limitless? You speak in riddles. Can't you see? The power is mine!"
 * The Wise One: "Yes. You also have nearly limitless life. And your Psynergy is... somewhat stronger."
 * Alex: "If you are trying to anger me, have a little taste of exactly how much power I have attained!" (Telepathically pushes the Wise One back) "Look at me! My body is brimming with power!" (The Wise One telepathically retaliates, driving Alex away into the ground and immobilizing him.) "How!? What's going on? I should be all-powerful! How can you defeat me?!?"
 * The Wise One: "You are not all-powerful, Alex. Your power has its limits, as does your life."
 * Alex: "That cannot be! Who is responsible for this treachery? Who has robbed me of my dream?"
 * The Wise One: "I, the Wise One, imbued the Mars Star with some of the power of the forming Golden Sun. It rests even now in the hands of young Isaac."
 * Alex: "Why?"
 * The Wise One: (The entire mountain begins to tremble and submerge itself into the ground) "The heavens and earth are changing, Alex! You must flee now!"
 * Alex: "Wha-What!?"
 * The Wise One: "Mt. Aleph will soon be drawn into the heart of the earth! You must flee or join it forever!"
 * Alex: "Flee?! I can't flee! I can't even move!"
 * The Wise One: "Ah, yes. You now see the limits of your power. If you are swallowed by the earth, you may not survive. If you survive, perhaps we shall meet again someday..."

=In fan circles= Alex is easily one of the biggest points of debate in Golden Sun among the fan community. Many consider him to be the overall series villain because all throughout the games he pulls the strings of those he claims to be allied with and is only allied with them for the sake of his own purposes, which are mainly his aim to gain the power of dominion over all, and once he gains the power he seeks he has no hesitancy to use it to try to assault the nearby town of Vale and then oppose the Wise One himself. But there are many counter-arguments that aim to indicate that in spite of these actions Alex cannot be proven as an inherently evil individual; Among such points are that while he accompanies the "other antagonists" Saturos, Menardi, Karst, and Agatio, he never joins them in battling their enemies, and at Mt. Aleph when Alex does gain the power he seeks, the town of Vale below his position had already been evacuated when Alchemy is returned. If Alex could see that the town was empty when he tried to test his powers on it, then a player's viewpoint towards Alex as a malicious villain may be potentially challenged by the notion that Alex is only guilty of merely getting a little crazy with excitement over all the power he finally obtained. Of course, there is no way to fully affirm either general opinion of Alex.

There is general consensus that Alex would most likely have a central role in a theoretical third Golden Sun game, with most of the opinion that Alex would be cast as the role of the primary antagonist. After all, at the end of The Lost Age Alex has obtained most of the power of the Golden Sun, but does not have full mastery of reality and the full form of the ultimate power he sought because the Wise One played a ploy that causes the primary Golden Sun protagonist Isaac to possess the portion of the power Alex lacks. Alex, provided he survives his episode at Mt. Aleph (whether he survives and how he does so is another point of debate among the fandom), is often thought to develop a grudge against Isaac and seek him out because his desire for all of the Golden Sun's power would put him in direct conflict with Isaac; this is the basis for many fan speculations and works of fan fiction. And even with this aside, Alex's generally ambiguous nature makes him a versatile character to interpret.

Alex