Alpha characters can be defined in two different ways.
(1) Alpha characters are the powers behind many organizations, and maintaining their secrecy and success is of vital importance to them.
(2) The alpha character is a somewhat specific archetypal personality who may not necessarily be described as being “behind” or “with power” at all.
The archetype of the alpha character has been pinpointed by Jungian psychologists as specifically contrasting with what they call beta-type personalities. With that said, many people conceptualize the difference between alpha and beta in various ways on account of individuality playing a role in how we think about ourselves and those around us. One way to define it though might be if someone could say, “No matter what he does, he will still get what he wants.”