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Agents of SHIELD – What They Become: Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie

By Christina Roberts

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Welcome to the recurring series “What They Become,” where you will find a look back at the first half of Season 2. Journey along as we cover where our main characters have been in the last 10 episodes of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD.

Miss a post? Get caught up: Agent Melinda May  |  Grant Ward  |  Agents FitzSimmons  | Agents Morse and Hunter

This time, I take a crack at one of our more enigmatic, mysterious agents.

Agent Alphonso “Mack” Mackenzie

At the Start of Season 2: Suddenly at SHIELD HQ, working in the garage, slowly befriending Agent Fitz.

At the Winter Finale: Down in the depths of the mysterious city, having collapsed once the Terrigen crystals came out of the Diviner, hopefully meaning he’s back to his normal self and no longer a super-strength fighting machine.

The In-Between: Alphonso Mackenzie is a name you probably don’t recognize right away. I haven’t re-watched the beginning episodes of Season 2, but from what I can recall, Mack was suddenly just around. He is a SHIELD mechanic, and he makes his mark by befriending Fitz.

Without Simmons around, Fitz is hopeless, moping, and not doing much with the team. When our cohorts have to go up against Carl Creel, a.k.a. the Absorbing Man, Mack is the one who figures out why Fitz keeps repeating, “I didn’t fix this today.”

Thus starts the budding bromance of Leo Fitz and Alphonso Mackenzie. The fact that Mack treats Fitz like a human being and is patient with him is more than heartwarming; it’s taking the trope of a mentally unstable person and twisting it on its head, and it’s a breath of fresh air. Throughout the rest of the season, Mack is Fitz’s closest companion, urging him to take part in things with the group and assuring him that he can still be of use. The constant support drives the visions of Simmons out of Fitz’s mind, and even when Simmons returns, he does not revert to what he once was.

On the flip side of things, he has a longstanding history with both Bobbi Morse and Lance Hunter. That’s about all we know.

It is Mack who finally convinces Fitz and Simmons to talk about everything that went down between them and what has gone unspoken. And it’s less of a conviction scenario than it is him telling them the awkward silence is unbearable — and then leaving.

That makes his downfall (or “downfall” or whatever you would like to call what happened to him in the city) all the more heartbreaking. While we don’t know much about Alphonso Mackenzie and his past, the impression he has made on our SHIELD team makes potentially losing him an unbearable thought.

Where He May Be Going: Much like the last two articles I’ve written, a lot of characters’ fates hinge on what happens with Mack.  The rumor-mongering of what happened to Mack, if he has become anything, and what the consequences will be have been flying throughout the internet. My favorite was a snapchat from a friend who took a picture of a Reddit thread that said, “Things Mack could be now: Black Bolt, Luke Cage, an Asgardian, Peggy Carter’s freaking grandson for all I know.”

At the end of “What They Become,” we see Mack collapse to the ground, no longer a silent guardian or guidance to the Temple. Was the city working through Mack, using him as a vessel to do its bidding and protect itself? Or is Mack something more and we just don’t know it yet?

The fallout of what happens may set off a chain reaction within the group. Or if he wakes up in the city and is perfectly fine (aside from the entire structure about to crumble down on everyone), then all of our theorizing and brainstorming will be for naught.

What I would like to see is more of his back story. I want to know why he desperately wants to work on Lola and why Coulson won’t let him. I want to know how he came to be a part of SHIELD. I want to see his history with Hunter and Bobbi. I want to know why he knows what Bobbi is up to.

Mack’s character has so much potential, and the writers should help expand what we know about him.

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