Alex Mason

"I don't know any numbers!"

- Mason being tortured

Captain  Alex Mason is a Studies and Observation Group (SOG) operator and the main playable character in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Early Military Career
Born and raised in Alaska, the geographical proximity of his home state to Communist Russia brought the threat of the Cold War that much closer to his doorstep than most Americans. This was a key contributor to his fervent anti-Communist ideals and eventually led to his enlistment in the USMC. He spent his youth hunting elk and grizzlies in the Alaskan wilderness with his father (a WW2 veteran and recipient of the Purple Heart for his actions at the Makin Atoll); as such, he is adept in cold weather combat techniques and is an excellent sniper (at the age of 20 he became the youngest Wimbledon Cup winner in the history of the marksmanship competition). He was recruited to SAD/SOG at the age of 25 after an exemplary term of service with the Marines. Having served with distinction since joining the Agency, Mason has a long standing friendship with many of his fellow Agency colleagues and shows a particular intimacy with operative Frank Woods. Always itching for action, Mason's tendency towards impulsiveness is the one trait that may not have been completely "trained out of him." However, close friend Woods is well aware of this, and knows exactly when and how to reign him in. He has appeared as the playable character in the Pre-Release E3 version of the level "Victor Charlie". He also appears as the playable character in the level "Payback". The whole game will revolve around Mason being stuck in a dark room being interrogated, where he revisits his previous military operations.

Quotes

 * "I got you, Woods!" - Mason.
 * "UV-32's, assigned. 12mm Cannon, assigned." - Mason, checking the Helicopter controls in "Payback."
 * "Got it, gimme' the stick." - Mason awaiting control of the helicopter.
 * "Chain-load system on the 32's, nice." - Mason.
 * "Reznov! You nearly took a bullet!" - Mason, almost shooting Reznov when he jumped through a hole right in front of Mason in the tunnels in "Victor Charlie".
 * "Woods, you look like hammered shit!" - Mason to Woods.
 * "Dead." - Mason in "Victor Charlie" when Reznov asks him where Swift is.
 * "Clear. Let's fly this bird." - Mason says to Woods after they defeat the Russians guarding the Hind.
 * "Just be cool Woods, alright?" - Mason to Woods at the beginning of Operation 40.
 * "Fuck you!" Mason when asked his name while getting tortured.
 * "My name is Viktor Reznov, and I will have my revenge!" - Mason, said before killing Steiner.

Trivia

 * The man in the grey suit behind the black haired man (Robert McNamara) and Jason Hudson in the pentagon is Mason, as he has the same face as in the interrogation screenshot and in one of the files before Mason's name is blacked out in the single player trailer.
 * According to his dossier, Mason is 27 at the time of the game, is 5'11", 190lbs, has green eyes, and brown hair.
 * Mason is voiced by Sam Worthington.
 * Mason is one of the playable characters to speak, and one of the few to do so under the player's control) like Jason Hudson, John "Soap" MacTavish, the Thermal Imaging TV Operator, Nichols (debatable), the characters in Finest Hour and "Stretch" Roger from Call of Duty 2: Big Red One (a playable crew member of a plane on the mission Liberators), Private First Class Joseph Allen (before Cliffhanger), and playable characters in Nazi Zombies: Tank Dempsey, Takeo Masaki, Edward Richtofen, Nikolai Belinski as well as the random Marines from Verrückt.
 * It was revealed in the Black Ops Single Player trailer that Mason's first name is Alex and that he holds the rank of Captain.
 * Mason is the second playable Captain in the Call of Duty series, the first being Captain MacTavish during Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * It is possible that we have seen Mason's father, due to the fact he was a WW2 veteran who received the Purple Heart for his actions on Makin Atoll