Alexander "Alec" Gideon Lightwood is Nephilim. His sister is Isabelle Lightwood and his younger brother is Max. His parents are Maryse and Robert Lightwood and in his family tree you can also find the Penhallows, though the Nephilim race is so old that almost all Nephilim are related to one another. Alec is described as having a thin, wiry build and black hair and striking blue eyes.
Relationships
Jace Wayland
- "You don't believe me?" Jace asked. "Fine. Go ahead. Kiss me right now."
- Alec stared at him in horror.
- "Exactly. Despite my staggering good looks, you actually don't like me that way."
- - Jace and Alec in the City of Glass
Jace Wayland is his adoptive brother (and Parabatai), whom he first believes he is in love with. After years of Alec's infatuation, Jace confronts him, telling him that he only loves Jace because he is safe (Alec can use their relation as an excuse to hide his feelings) and there is no possibility of being hurt. He says that Alec is afraid and only uses his love for Jace to avoid pursuing other relationships. At this, Alec realises that he will never be with Jace, and that he truly loves Magnus Bane. In City of Fallen Angels, Alec consistantly sends pictures of himself and Magnus to Jace from their travels.
Magnus Bane
When Clary Fray confronts the Clave and proves her rune powers to them, the Rune she draws makes people see who they love the most. It is implied that Alec saw Magnus when she did this, as looks confusedly from Clary to Magnus, who was standing beside him. Before the big battle between the Clave and Valentine's army of demons, Alec kisses Magnus in a crowded hall, revealing his homosexuality to his parents and the Clave. In City of Fallen Angels, Alec is on a world tour with Magnus with stops in Germany, Austria, and France. Alec's resembalence to William Herondale is noted. They have several fights about Magnus's sexual history and Alec's mortality, but they eventually make up. In one of the last scenes of City of Fallen Angels, they are seen kissing.
Their relationship becomes complicated throughtout City of Lost Souls. Alec has difficulty getting over the fact that he would die some day and Magnus never would. Therefore, when given the chance, he goes to see Camille Belcourt. She reveals that there is no way to make him immortal. However, there is a way to take away Magnus's immortality. Alec, unable to agree to her terms, refuses her offer. Then, when Magnus discovered that Alec even considered it, he ended their relationship. He said that he love Alec, but he couldn't forgive Alec for trying ot shorten his life.
Isabelle Lightwood
Being the eldest Lightwood children, Isabelle and Alec are very close and are always looking out for one another. It is stated that the reason Alec has never killed a demon is that he is always looking out for her and Jace. Earlier in the series, before everyone found out about Alec's sexuality, Isabelle looks out for him, telling Clary particularly to not tell anyone, concerned of what others might think of a gay Shadowhunter.
Clary Fray
Alec initially disliked Clary due to Jace's obvious attraction towards her, never bothering to hide it. But when he realizes that Jace truly loved Clary and that she was a nice person in her own right, he began to open up towards her. He is especially kind to her after Clary and Jace discover that they are supposedly siblings (This could possibly be because of the fact that he feels Jace is now "off limits" to her.) and continues to like her more and more throught the series. Even after the truth is revealed, that Clary and Jace are not siblings, he continues to be kind to her as he is now in love with Magnus.
Personality
Despite their similar looks, Alec is very much the opposite of his sister in the sense that he is self conscious and serious. In the special "Kissed", Alec is described as straightforward by Magnus and is said to be blunt as it is the only way he knew to be. Clary perceives that Alec appears "uncomfortable in his own skin." This is possibly due to his fear of admitting to others that he is a homosexual. He convinces himself to believe he is in love with Jace as a way to escape his fear of being hurt by falling for Magnus. Alec is very protective of his family and assumes the most responsibility as the oldest of his siblings. He and Jace are parabatai, meaning that they are warriors who fight together and are closer than brothers.
He seems to pride himself in being allowed into the Court in City of Glass, him being the only one of the Lightwood children to go.
Alec is often soft spoken and serious in most situations. He tries his best to act wisely, and is shown not be as brave as Jace is. Up until later in the story, he had never killed a demon. He shows himself to be extremely caring of the ones he loves, and is willing to do anything to protect them, aslo he is said to be "easily guilted".Between the whole group, Alec is the most clever. Alec, as seen in City of Fallen Angels, can also become extremely jealous, getting angry at Magnus when he discovers Magnus' long dating history and relationship with Camille, a vampire woman.
Powers
Nephilim Abilities:
- Angel Blood: All Shadowhunters have some of the angel, Raziel's , blood in their veins. This gives Shadowhunters the ability to survive having runes marked on their skin.
- Marks : Alec has had several [1] placed on his skin, including healing, strength, stealth, and stamina runes.
- Superhuman Physiology: Shadowhunters have physical abilities superior to mundane humans , which are separate from abilities gained from runes.
- Superhuman Strength
- Superhuman Agility
- Superhuman Stamina
- Superhuman Coordination
Alliance Bond with Magnus Bane:
- *Warlock Powers:
- *Spellcasting: Alec had access to Magnus' array of spellcasting ability, including the ability to create Portals, memory manipulation, healing and curing of others of demonic poison, levitation, in addition to other magical effects.
Paraphernalia
Equipment:
- Stele: Alec has utilized a stele, mostly for healing purposes for himself, his family and friends.
Weapons:
- Bow and Arrows: Alec uses a bow and arrows as his primary choice weapon in battle.
- Feather-Staff: Alec will utilize a feather-staff as a second choice for a weapon in battle.
- Seraph Blades: Alec has been seen using a seraph blade in battle.
- Dagger: Alec has also been shown to use a dagger.
Trivia
- Alec is scared of spiders.
- Alec's middle name, Gideon, is the same as his ancestors from The Infernal Devices trilogy.
Name Meaning
- Alexander/Alec's name means 'Defending men' in Greek.
- His name is perhaps a reference to the way he fights, as Jace stated that Alec never killed demons because he was busy protecting and defending him and Isabelle instead.