Alex

Debuting in Street Fighter III and returning from V, Alex is once again a grappler specializing in burst movement and relentless pressure. Where Manon's gameplan is about mixups and Zangief's is about landing the SPD, Alex instead is a high-aggression, high mobility brawler who specializes at getting into medium-close range and forcing your opponent into constant guesses.

Alex's buttons are long reaching and strong, giving him good pokes that allow him to roll into his game plan. St. MK has incredible range for harassing enemies, st. HK is excellent as a big punish and trap tool, and st. HP has an utterly gargantuan disjointed hitbox to win poke wars. Both of the standing heavies can be charged too, which gives him better frame data and—in HP's case—the ability to special cancel, which he is without otherwise. Cr. MP and st. MP are his go-to cancelable pokes, and his st. LK can be linked after certain moves for longer combo extensions.

Condition them to block with Flash Axe, his brand new light and medium variant of the powerful Flash Chop. Axe is safer on block and easier to combo into, as the powerful Chop only cancels properly on charged st. HP or cr. HP. Knee Smash returns as his anti-air special; The light and medium versions are extremely fast and both give good oki, while the heavy is your ideal combo tool. Power Bomb and Hyper Bomb are Alex's high-damage command throws, and it even retains the Street Fighter III 'back turn' mechanic, where moves that cause your opponent to spin before the throw (such as Heavy Lariat or Flash Chop) pay out better screen positioning and damage.

Brand new to Alex's kit is Prowler Stance, which functions similar to Chun Li's Serenity Stream. It can be input raw to low profile Alex, or done out of combos to fire the vast arsenal of new and returning moves from it. From Prowler, his options are limitless—the all new Palm Thrust is a quick jab that's cancelable into basically anything, Air Stampede and Slash Elbow are as terrific approach tools, Sweep Combination is a low target combo that gives you good oki and big damage on counterhit, Shoulder Launcher can catch and punish any jump or air move including Psycho Crusher or Honda Headbutt, and Heavy Lariat now comes with armor to catch your opponent attempting a Drive Impact or fireball. And when Alex has them conditioned to only block or Parry, sneak in a quick Hyper Takedown or Dangerous Armbar to punish their hesitance. Taking one knockdown from Alex can be incredibly stressful just from the sheer arsenal of moves and approach angles he has at his disposal.

Mr. America's incredible oki roulette comes at a steep cost; His defensive tools without spending Super are subpar, forcing him to rely on carefully timed jumps and buttons when he's pressed against the turnbuckle. He lacks many cancellable normals, especially from lows, limiting his ability to both get inside and punish walking out of his pressure. His command throws are strong but need back turn to get big damage, something a pure grappler like like Zangief doesn't have. Prowler Stance is a phenomenal tool, but it has specific and limited ways to cancel into, and though he can move in it, he's limited to dashes and he cannot block. He also lacks a simple throw loop, forcing him to spend drive (or Prowler into Takedown) to keep the opponent scared. And like all grapplers, he struggles with zoners and fireballs -- moreso than even Zangief, as his charged heavies do not have armor.

All in all, if you like big damage, relentless offense, or you just really like looking at his muscles, Alex has a 141 and 2/3% chance of being your character.