Alex Mercer

**Alex Mercer**  is a main character on *Julie and the Phantoms*. He was the drummer for the band **Sunset Curve** and is now the current drummer for **Julie and the Phantoms.**

He is portrayed by Owen Patrick Joyner.

## Biography

### Early Life

Alex was 17 years old when he died in 1995. Not much is known about his childhood or home life.

When Alex came out as gay to his parents, Luke stated that they weren't okay with it. He and his parents remained unreconciled at the time of his death.

Sometime before 1995, Alex formed a band with his friends Luke, Reggie, and Bobby called **Sunset Curve.** He was their drummer.

On the night of July 22, 1995, Sunset Curve was due to play at The Orpheum, which has kickstarted many bands careers. According to Luke "We're playing the Orpheum. I can't even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge." After a soundcheck Luke, Reggie, and Alex went to get "street dogs" for dinner, which ended up giving them food poisoning and killing them, a mere two hours before they were supposed to perform.

After they died, Alex, Luke, and Reggie then were trapped for an hour waiting in a "black room." Alex spent the time crying, and the other two boys did not comfort him. Unbeknownst to them, 25 years had passed since they died, only returning to the world when Julie played their CD, which released them into the year 2020.

### Season One

When Julie Molina finds a Sunset Curve CD in her late mother's possessions, she plays it, which results in the three dead Sunset Curve bandmates appearing before her in 2020. The guys think they died yesterday, but when Julie looks them up on her phone, she tells them that yes they died, but it was in 1995 when they were all 17 years old. Alex is upset that he was crying in a room for 25 years. The boys annoy Julie by talking about all the ways the world has changed; she tells them they can't stay in her mom's studio. Later, Alex and Reggie listen in when Luke talks to Julie and the three ghosts learn about Julie's mom's death.

Alex teleports with Luke and Reggie to the Orpheum's awning, where Luke explains how he thinks the band's been given a second chance. The three of them teleport down to the sidewalk below, where Alex bumps into Caleb Covington.

The next morning, the three boys teleport into the studio to find Julie playing and singing "Wake Up".

Alex steps forward to comfort a tearful Julie, but Luke stops him. The three teleport outside the door to the studio. Alex tells Luke and Reggie that they're insensitive and don't know what to do when people cry, but he gets interrupted by Flynn entering, also crying. The three ghosts eavesdrop on Flynn and Julie's conversation and end up also listening in on Ray Molina as he talks to his wife in the studio, before teleporting away when Luke and Reggie start to get emotional.

Alex, Luke, and Reggie end up on the beach in front of where Reggie's house used to be — it has been replaced by a bike shop. Alex and Luke begin playing *This Band is Back (Reggie's Jam)* in an effort to cheer Reggie up.

When Julie comes back from school, she finds Alex, Luke, and Reggie in her room, going through her stuff. Alex is trying to pick up a picture of Julie and her mom, but he can't get his fingers to stay solid enough to hold the frame. When he eventually does manage to lift the photo, he drops it on Julie's bed by accident. Julie sets some boundaries for the boys and tells them to get out of her room. After the three ghosts leave, though, Alex sticks his head back through her door — literally — to ask her how it went with the music program.

The next day, Alex, Luke, and Reggie teleport into the gym to watch Julie perform to get her spot in the program back. Alex begins dancing with **Dirty Candy** as they perform *Wow*. When Julie begins to perform *Bright* onstage, Alex, Luke, and Reggie teleport onstage with their instruments and join her in performing the song.

The boys are workshopping *Edge of Great* when they catch sight of Willie checking up on them, causing Alex to go and confront him. Alex is left feeling hurt after Willie tells him they "never should have met" and skates away. Upset, Alex continues to rehearse *Edge of Great* with Luke and Reggie, only to let his anxiety bleed out into his drumming, causing Luke and Reggie to feel concerned.

Luke reassures him that he's a great drummer and guy, advising him to focus on the music. The conversation turns when Reggie points out that passion can be useful in performing—citing Luke and Julie as an example—to which Alex agrees. Luke defends himself by demonstrating his performance chemistry with Reggie. They go back to rehearsing.

Later that day, the Julie and the Phantoms band perform *Edge of Great* as well as the rest of their setlist. After the party, the boys play basketball outside of the Molinas' house, demonstrating a slight mastery of their tactile tangibility. Suddenly, they feel jolts that cause them to collapse in pain.

Willie appears and finally tells the trio that the shocks are from the stamps they received from Caleb. He reveals that Caleb owns his soul and "everybody's soul at the club." With the stamp, he explains, Caleb makes them choose between spending eternity in his house band and ceasing to exist. Willie tells them that the only solution is if the boys complete their 'unfinished business' so they can cross over.

Alex is unsure whether to trust anything that Willie is saying. At this, Willie confesses that he cares deeply about him and feels regret at ever bringing him (and his friends) to Caleb in the first place. After Willie leaves, the boys realize that their unfinished business is playing at the *The Orpheum*.

Later, Alex sits alone in the Orpheum, remembering the hope that **Sunset Curve** had about the future of their musical careers the night they died. Willie teleports next to him and hesitantly sits down, unsure if he is welcome. Alex tells him he understands his actions. Alex tells Willie what the band's unfinished business is.

## Background

### Personality

Alex is a very anxious person with a tendency to overthink and worry about the details, more so than the other two phantoms. He started playing drums to help him relax due to his anxiety. He has a tendency to be modest and dismissive about his abilities (drumming, dancing, etc.), but easily acknowledges his better traits with the gentle encouragement of others, particularly his friends.

Alex is very kind-hearted and empathetic, as shown through his concern for Julie and his easy forgiveness of Willie's actions after processing his predicament with Caleb. At the same time, Alex can be very sarcastic. His quips are often in retort to his friends or to the situation he finds himself in. Of the Sunset Curve trio, he seems to have the most level-headed personality, although he also has his moments of drama and leaps of logic. He can also be very silly, as evidenced by his improvised dance during Dirty Candy's performance of *All Eyes On Me*.

### Appearance

Alex is the tallest of the phantoms at 5'10". He has blue eyes and blonde hair, done in a curtain-hairstyle common in the 1990s. Key staples of his outfits include the black fanny pack he wears on his chest, a distressed jean jacket, unique socks, and sometimes his pink Champion hoodie and a baseball cap he wears backward. Like all the band members, he wears a plain gold chain necklace.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Teleportation:** Ghosts can appear and disappear, travelling great distances instantly.
* **Intangibility:** Ghosts have no mass, because of that they have the ability to pass through physical matter
	+ **Tangibility:** With enough concentration, a ghost can touch and interact with objects.
* **Invisibility:** After death ghosts are no longer visible to humans
	+ **Conditional Visibility:** The ability to be visible only by certain conditions. (The boys can be seen by others when they play music with Julie).
* **Summoning:** The power to summon forth an object. (They can only summon their instruments)
* **Corporealization:** The ability to become tangible and solid. (This ability might be temporary.)

## Relationships

### Family

* Unnamed father
* Unnamed mother

### Friends

* Luke Patterson (bandmate/best friend)
* Reggie Peters (bandmate/best friend)
	+ See also Alex and Reggie
* Grace Moreno (best friend)
	+ See also Grace and Alex
* Julie Molina (bandmate/best friend)
	+ See also Alex and Julie
* Jocelyn Osorio (friend)
* Flynn (friend)
* Willie (friend/mutual crush)
	+ See also Alex and Willie

### Enemies

* Caleb Covington
* Trevor Wilson (former bandmate/former friend)

## Trivia

* He is the first openly gay character in one of Kenny Ortega's productions.
* He plays the drums in **Julie and the Phantoms** as well as for **Sunset Curve.**
* Alex meets Willie when skateboarder Willie crashes into him while Alex is taking a walk to clear his head. When Willie takes off his cracked helmet, Alex is smitten.
* He enjoys dancing.
* He carries a fanny pack.
* Just like Carrie, his signature color appears to be pink which is possibly his favorite color.
* He has anxiety.
* According to Reggie, Alex was crying in a dark room for 25 years.
* Alex's canonical last name, Mercer, was first confirmed on December 9 2020 by the official Julie and the Phantoms Instagram account.

## Notes

* The article Julie looks at on her phone is dated "July 29, 1995" and reads: *last week the music industry lost an up and coming band that would have taken the world by storm and topped the charts.*

## References

1. ↑ Official Instagram Account dropped last names