Alec McDowell: Difference between revisions

Alec was named for his "smart alec" attitude. He's a [[transgenic]], though he prefers genetically empowered ("Freak Nation"), and is an [[X5]], like [[Max Guevara/X5-452]] (there are several X series, going up to X8). He was bred, trained, and raised by [[Manticore]], a facility that used experimental genetic technology to produce various classes of enhanced beings for warfare. Born to a surrogate mother, Alec was around 20 years old when he first appeared on Dark Angel. Unlike his genetically identical twin, [[Ben (a.k.a. /X5-493)]], he was never considered to be Max Guevara's "brother," since Ben and Max were not genetic siblings. Alec was from a separate unit, and never met her until he was assigned as her breeding partner in the season 2 premiere.

Just before "[[The Pulse]]" (an electro-magnetic pulse bomb set off over the United States), Max and a number of her unit escaped from Manticore in 2009. X5-494, however, was not one of the '09 escapees and did not achieve his freedom until more than 10 years later when Max instigated the destruction of Manticore and freed the transgenics. Alec was already outside of the compound then, assigned to corral Max back to Manticore and to facilitate the capture and/or death of [[Eyes Only]].

Once free, he engages in various methods, generally illegal, to gain quick cash; one of the first was cage fighting. He wasn't planning on doing this long, but ceased altogether (excepting mental coercion) after he gets caught, is forced to kill, and then nearly killed, by [[Ames White]], the deadly agent assigned to hunt down and destroy all escaped transgenics. Alec then emulates Max by working at [[Jam Pony]] (a bike messenger service) in order to secure a Sector Pass and scout potential places to steal from. He also runs various scams and had shady business dealings around the city. However, he does limit himself to products that won't get his clientele killed, limiting his customer base.

Wired for survival, he's initially looking out only for himself, but through Max's influence (a combination of guilt and bullying), and his own repressed conscience, he changes, enough that he willingly and often risks himself for friends and transgenics in distress. By the end of the series, he and Max work together to build up the new community for Manticore escapees dubbed [[Terminal City]] (a.k.a. [[Transgenic City]], or more commonly: T.C.), a place where they could live and defend themselves from the hostile "[[ordinaries]]" (normal humans), as well as the government, and makes a stand with Max and the other transgenics.

494's identical twin/genetic clone, X5-493, Ben, was one of the children in Max's Unit who escaped in 2009. Ben, however, didn't adapt to the outside world, remained lost and confused, and became a serial killer that Max had to stop, and kill [[Pollo Loco]]"). Max having to kill Ben was a major reason for Max's antagonism towards Alec, since he served as a constant reminder of what she had been forced to do.

X5-493's escape resulted in [[PSY-OPS]] time for Alec, as did his eventual psychosis at a later date.

In the episode "[[The Berrisford Agenda]]", we see flashbacks to 494's first long-term away mission in 2018 when he was ordered to observe, then assassinate, Robert Berrisford, a Manticore subcontractor who was becoming too curious about the supersoldier program. However, while using the alias of the young piano teacher Simon Lehane (whom 494 killed in order to take his identity), 494 fell in love with Berrisford's seventeen-year-old daughter, Rachel. Rachel would have been killed in the car bomb he was supposed to set off, and at the last minute, 494 attempted to stop the execution. Unfortunately, his Manticore handlers were suspicious of 494 and triggered the bomb. Robert Berrisford survived, but Rachel ended up in a coma that lasted for two years. 494 was brutally punished by Manticore for his disobedience. However, he was allowed to live (Manticore having done all they could to make him forget, or not care, about the Berrisford mission) and ultimately resumed his role as a soldier. After the fall of Manticore in 2020, Alec did get the opportunity to say good-bye to Rachel at her bedside before she ultimately died. It was in this episode that Max realized Alec was capable of love and was far more than a killing machine for Manticore.

Alec's adventures with Max continue after the end of the[[The Dark Angel seriesSeries]] in the [[Max Allan Collins]] novels [[Skin Game]] and [[After the Dark]]. There are also details of his years at Manticore in [[The Eyes Only Dossier]] by [[D.A. Stern]].