Alec McDowell (X5-494) is a fictional television character portrayed by Jensen Ackles in the 2000–2002 cyberpunk television series Dark Angel, created by James Cameron.
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 (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, 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.
