Alexander Lavelle Harris

Alexander Lavelle Harris also known as Xander is a member of the Scooby Gang and is one of Buffy's best friends.

## Appearance

He has black hair and is taller then Buffy or Willow.

## Personality

Xander's most notable character trait was his sarcastic, flippant attitude and sardonic views on life.

He often joked in serious situations or when someone made what was intended to be a dramatic statement which was usually unnecessary.
He frequently quipped about school his family, and his romantic life; in the case of the former two, this appeared to be a cover of his dislike for both.

He was scared of failing his friends as well as not making something of himself, as indicated by his dreams when he continually returned to his basement.

Xander's hidden feelings of being a failure in the eyes of his loved ones and never being able to help them enough continued to build more and more throughout the years.

While Dawn was on her way to her complete disappearance, he bitterly reflected that all he had ever done was "watch."

He had never been able to truly save his friends when it really mattered, causing a deep-rooted self-loathing and inferiority complex.

This escalated to the point that he had decided to betray Buffy by teaming up with Severin to undo Twilight, unable to sit back and watch anymore if there was a possibility he could do something about it.

Although Xander was often laid-back and easygoing, he could overreact in certain situations and lose his temper.

He also had a frequent tendency to quip against his foes with the most ridiculous choice of words, often finding something insulting to say.

He was usually comically surprised and angry during one of the rare occasions he could not think of one.

Being protective by nature towards his friends, especially Buffy and Willow, Xander was very loyal to friends who he viewed as family.

When Willow was kidnapped, a resentful Xander told Buffy he would kill her if Willow got hurt; after Spike attempted to rape Buffy, Xander remained openly hostile and distrustful of him even after learning that he had regained his soul, certain for some time that Spike would attempt to do so again at the first opportunity.

Xander had also nearly staked Angel when he had snapped Giles' neck under the possession of Twilight, stopped only because of Buffy's interference.

He would speak his mind on issues involving his friends and be always willing to stand by and fight for them when necessary. Xander was never afraid to warn his friends if he considered something they were doing wrong, causing him to clash and argue with his friends many times, especially Buffy.

Despite not being supernatural, Xander became more brave and courageous and was quite useful.

Another notable trait of Xander was his tendency to hold grudges.

It usually took him a very long time to let things go, especially in the case of murderers. He could be very judgmental and critical of others, even if he was no better.

Through the Ferula Gemina, Xander had his personality temporally split into two different beings.

One Xander possessed Xander's more aggressive traits, such as his courage and confidence, easily getting a promotion and a large apartment, in addition to some of Xander's impetuous qualities and impatience.

The other Xander possessed his more passive traits, including his sense of humor and fun, in addition to being highly insecure and paranoid, believing his double to be a demon who was hypnotizing his friends and trying to steal his life.

However, both Xander's sides were protective of Anya.

Shortly before Willow fused them back together, they showed the same quirks, causing Giles to proclaim him "a bad influence on himself."

Xander was something of an expert on pop culture; he read *X-Men* comics and referenced both the Human Torch and Nick Fury.

Xander displayed the ability to read Klingon.

He often demonstrated pop culture knowledge rivaling Andrew's.

Xander was Christian and had a fixation on the Chinese actress Amy Yip.

## Skills & Abilities

Xander never developed any permanent superpowers of his own but gained much experience from battling by Buffy's side.

As Buffy explained to the Watchers Council, Xander had "clocked more field time" than all other Watchers combined.

His gifts of persuasion and empathy were often his most useful assets.

For example, Xander saved the world from Dark Willow using only his words.

He also recognized that Buffy and Riley were "imploding" and forced Buffy to accept responsibility for the failed relationship.

While possessed by a hyena spirit through a Primal ritual, Xander exhibited enhanced strength, heightened senses, as well as predatory instincts, a taste for fresh raw meat, and a lack of social inhibitions.

He lost all of these capabilities when the spirit was exorcised; while he retained his memories of this experience, he kept it secret from everyone except Giles.

Xander was briefly transformed into a soldier under the effect of the Ritual of Janus, when he thereby acquired knowledge of military training, tactics, codes, and weapons handling techniques, enabling him to steal and use a rocket launcher to destroy the Judge, and later to organize and lead a group defense against Mayor Wilkins after his Ascension to Olvikan was completed.

These skills slowly decayed by his own admission, and he was later unable to decipher Riley's military hand-signs while on patrol.

While he also demonstrated knowledge of the First's hypnotic control over Spike, he claimed this was just from seeing military films and not from his "army days."

Even if his long-term strategy skills deteriorated with his military expertise, he retained an expert ability to think on the fly, mostly relating to talking to others in stressful situations.

He managed to convince Jack to not blow up the school with nothing other than his words.

Xander also threatened Angel into submission, even if he didn't have the skills to back up those threats alone.

Additionally, Giles came to depend on his skills to talk Dark Willow down, which he did by relying on memory all the way back in kindergarten.

Xander became a skilled carpenter, gaining practical job experience from repairing damage caused by various conflicts involving the Scooby Gang (most notably the windows at Buffy's House; Xander complained he was doomed to replace their windows for all eternity) and as a foreman of a construction crew.

Spike mockingly referred to Xander as "a glorified bricklayer."

Caleb noted that Xander was "the one that sees everything," as Xander described that he saw more than anybody realized because nobody was watching him. Dawn suggested this may be his superpower.

Xander used his military knowledge to lead a paramilitary group of Slayers, witches, and seers based in a Scottish castle, viewed from outside as an international "terrorist" organization.

The organization which he and Buffy headed employed high-tech and magical weaponry.

Xander oversaw and orchestrated the efforts of Willow, Dawn, Buffy, and his Slayers through cameras and earpieces.

He again displayed a broad knowledge of warfare and military operations by instructing the Slayers in the use of various modern weapons and basic strategy.

## Family

* Jessica Harris (Mother)
* Anthony Harris (Father)
* Rory Harris (Uncle)
* Dave (Uncle)
* Carol Harris (Cousin)
* Karen Harris (Cousin)
* Rigby (Cousin)