History Characters / TheShadowhunterChroniclesMainCharacters

* ArcherArchetype: While Alec is also formidable in hand-to-hand combat, he really stands out most when using a bow. [[spoiler: He is even able to knock the knife out of the hand of an Endarkened that was holding it to Consul Jia Penhallow's throat, without hurting Jia]].

* ArcherArchetype: A cold and calculating fighter whose favored weapon is a crossbow.

* ForcedAddiction: Jem was kidnapped and force-fed the addictive drug yin fen as a child. His dependence on the drug leaves him with just two choices: withdrawal followed by a quick death, or a slow death from repeated doses.

* EvenTheGuysWantHim: De Quincy and Magnus Bane both hint at living him.

* BlackSheep: Isabelle shares her family's black hair, but not their blue eyes (she has brown). It plays a bit into her insecurities and issues with her father, who had an affair with another woman around the time she was born.

* TheBeard: At the end of ''Lady Midnight'', Emma strikes a relationship with Mark to deter Julian from pursuing her. It fails and they decide to "break up" in ''Lord of Shadows''.

* AbortedArc: The question why Isabelle's eye colors do not match with her parents is ultimately never answered. The second half of ''The Mortal Instruments'' implies that Isabelle's true biological mother is not Maryse, but rather the woman Robert had an affair with after he was exiled from Idris to the United States, but this is never confirmed nor disproved and the issue is quietly dropped after Robert and Maryse choose to separate in ''City of Heavenly Fire''. According to WordofGod, [[https://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/89970218289/about-isabelles-eye-color the reason why this was never addressed is that there was never supposed to be a mystery surrounding her eye color to begin with]]. Isabelle has dark eyes because Clare has a friend with brown eyes who has two blue-eyed biological parents; genetics simply don't always work like people think they do.

* NoodleIncident: How exactly did he get himself banned from Peru? [[note]]According to WordOfGod, it has something to do with a [[InherentlyFunnyWords llama.]][[/note]]

* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: While his exact age is never given we know that he looks around nineteen and has to be older than two hundred and younger than seven hundred. Historically speaking (and given that Camille wasn't lying about his ancestry) he can't be much older than three hundred years old. In The Mortal Instruments books he is implied to be lying about his age (telling Alec that he's eight hundred years old) while ''The Bane Chronicles'' flat out state that he lies about it whenever it suits him. He eventually admits to being around four hundred.

* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: While he unquestionably cares for some people, he also considers hurting them emotionally an acceptable outlet for his own {{Mangst}}. Also, can remain prejudiced easily even if the basis of his prejudice towards the target changes. For example, he seamlessly switches from calling Simon "mundane" to [[spoiler:"vampire"]] as if he simply cannot remember the personal names of anyone who is not a Shadowhunter.

* BellyButtonless: Being a warlock (half human[=/=]half demon), he has no bellybutton.

* ButNotTooBlack: According to Creator/CassandraClare, an early cover for one of the ''The Clockwork Prince'' him pulling his hat over his face. The cover was changed when Clare protested.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Usually goes barefoot indoors.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Usually goes barefoot indoors.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: Usually goes barefoot indoors.

* AbortedArc: The question why Isabelle's eye colors do not match with her parents is ultimately never answered. The second half of ''The Mortal Instruments'' implies that Isabelle's true biological mother is not Maryse, but rather the woman Robert had an affair with after he was exiled from Idris to the United States, but this is never confirmed nor disproved and the issue is quietly dropped after Robert and Maryse choose to separate in ''City of Heavenly Fire''.
** According to WordofGod, [[https://cassandraclare.tumblr.com/post/89970218289/about-isabelles-eye-color the reason why this was never addressed is that there was never supposed to be a mystery surrounding her eye color to begin with]]. Isabelle has dark eyes because Clare has a friend with brown eyes who has two blue-eyed biological parents; genetics simply don't always work like people think they do.

%% * CoolBigSis: To Max, who really looks up to her.

* LadyOfWar: Isabelle is the daughter of an old, prestigious, Shadowhunter family. She herself is very talented at DemonSlaying and manages to fight quite effectively even while wearing dresses and high heels. Her preferred tactic is to WhipItGood using her weapon of choice, an enchanted whip made of electrum (an alloy of gold and silver). Also noted for BeautyIsNeverTarnished -- she can join her brothers fighting monsters underground without getting dirty even as they are covered in filth. When asked how she manages it, she remarks:

* WhipItGood: She uses a silver-gold whip when she fights demons, one which can somehow cut through flesh and bone. It's partially magical, however, which explains its unusual cutting capacity.

* MagicIsFeminine: Magnus Bane is a gay male warlock who wears glittering eye shadow, lipstick, and nail polish. He is the only warlock among the main cast.

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: In more than one fashion.
** InsultOfEndearment: Following Jace's lead, the Shadowhunters tend to consistently refer to Simon as "the mundane", despite him proving himself useful (and at one point saving their lives). Later on it gets switched to [[spoiler: "vampire"]], although Isabelle in particular becomes less prone to use the latter.
** MaliciousMisnaming: Magnus calls Simon a variety of names starting with S, and very rarely calls him by his name.

* FieryRedhead: Worth noting that she inherited her red hair from her Persian family, not her English father (who is blond). Anna questions how she can be a redhead, since she thought of Persians as being mostly dark-haired, only for Cordelia to retort that not all non-Europeans are dark-haired.

* BigBrotherInstinct: He cares for Lucie a lot.

* InSeriesNickname: "Jamie".
* {{Intangibility}}: When his powers manifest particularly strong, he can enter and exit the shadow realm to phase through objects.

* NearAndDearBabyNaming: He's named for his parents' friend, James "Jem" Carstairs.

* AngerBornOfWorry: The one time that James is furious at Cordelia happens in ''Chain of Thorns'', when [[MistakenForSuicidal he thinks that she will commit suicide by summoning demons]] at the place where her father died (she actually wants to ask information about Belial's current plans). He begins ranting that she is the love of his life, he lives because she exists, and if she dies he will die as well, and then he will haunt her forever for leaving him.

* AllLoveIsUnrequited:
** She is in love with James, who is in love with Grace (albeit [[CharmPerson not entirely of his own volition]]). The family tree seen in ''Clockwork Princess'' indicates that Cordelia would eventually marry James, though Cassandra Clare has stated that the tree is not entirely reliable. In ''Chain of Gold'', there are hints that James is beginning to requite her feelings, but he is currently focused on Grace at the moment.
** In the ending of ''Chain of Iron'', her feelings are finally reciprocated, but various misleading moments and false starts cause Cordelia to believe that James never loves her, hence why she decides to go out with Matthew to be away from him.

* PoorCommunicationKills: Regarding his feelings for Cordelia, ''big time''. Throughout ''Chain of Irons'', he could have communicated them any time, but always end up saying the wrong things or being interrupted by someone. By the time he has gotten the courage to confess it, Cordelia cannot take it anymore and decides to leave him.

* CompellingVoice:
** Other than seeing ghosts that ordinary Herondales can't see, she can compel them to do anything she wants.
** As shown at the end of ''Chain of Iron'', if her will is strong enough, Lucie can even [[{{Necromancy}} bring people back from the dead]].

* {{Necromancy}}: In ''Chain of Iron'', she has plans with Grace to bring Jesse back from the dead. The end of the novel has her bring him back -- not through dark rituals, but using her own will.
* {{Necromantic}}: Assuming that the family tree seen in the first edition of ''Clockwork Princess'' is accurate (which seems unlikely, given many points have been contradicted as of ''Chain of Gold''), Lucie would end up marrying Jesse and became ancestor to the modern-day Blackthorn family, even though Jesse died before the two even met each other.

* SwordCane: His WeaponOfChoice is a jade-tipped one.

* HalfHumanHybrid: She's a warlock-nephilim hybrid. Her father is Belial, a Greater Demon and Prince of Hell who fooled Tessa's Shadowhunter mother into thinking he was human.

** By the time of The Dark Artifices series, Jace, her great-great-great-grandson, is also physically older than her (22 years old).

** Tessa is introduced as the daughter of Elizabeth and Richard Gray, the younger sister of Nate, and the niece of Harriet Moore. Yet at the end of ''Clockwork Angel'', we learn that Richard's just an adoptive father; her actual father is an unnamed Greater Demon, making her a warlock with very strong potentials comparable to Magnus.

!!!'''Played by''': Creator/GodfreyGao (''Film/TheMortalInstrumentsCityOfBones''), Harry Shum Jr (''Series/{{Shadowhunters}}'')

%% * JewishAndNerdy

* {{Nerd}}: He is a shy, awkward, D&D-loving nerd who can't get Clary to notice that he's in love with her (and is eventually rejected in favor of the dashing hero Jace.) In the film he is played by the ''gorgeous'' Creator/RobertSheehan.

* [[IllGirl Ill Boy]]: He has to take a drug to battle a disease he got from being tortured as a child and coughs up blood if he goes too long without it.

Brought up in the [[ButNotTooForeign Institute in Shanghai]], Jem's parents were [[DarkAndTroubledPast killed by a demon who allowed Jem to live]]—but with [[SoapOperaDisease a terrible price to be paid]]. [[IllBoy Frail]] and silver-haired, Jem seems an unlikely demon-killer, but his skills and swift intelligence make him a formidable foe. He finds a kindred spirit in Tessa as both of them feel they are torn between two worlds, neither belonging completely to one or to the other. As Jem's affection for her grows, will Will have to hurt the only person in his life he's ever seemed to care about?

* CartwrightCurse: [[spoiler: A variation that just doesn't cover {{Love Interest}}s. When he was younger, Will opened a Pyxis and ended up being cursed such that anybody who cares for him will die. Or at least, [[BlatantLies that's what the demon]] [[SubvertedTrope told him.]]]]

* DarkAndTroubledPast: When he was a twelve years old, he opened a Pyxis and accidentily released a demon, who told him he put a curse on him, so that everyone who loves him will die. The next day he discovered his older sister was dead, so he ran away and spend the next few years trying to make sure nobody cares about him.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: He is very close with his best friend/parabatai Jem. So much that even though both boys love Tessa, they are willing to let the other one have her and even if Jem died after marrying Tessa, Will would never pursue Tessa as he feels it would be a betrayal to his friend.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: [[spoiler: Will acts like a jerk, but it is only to stop people from caring about him too much - because of his curse, they'll wind up dead eventually. After he finds out that there is no curse, he mellows down.]]

%% * BirdsOfAFeather: Implied to be a big part of the reason he helps [[spoiler: Raphael Santiago]] in The Bane Chronicles. [[spoiler: Magnus knows what it's like to struggle with self-hatred and fear of being damned, and he wants Raphael to have it easier than he did.]]

* BigBrotherInstinct: Seems to have this towards [[spoiler: Raphael Santiago,]] who he spent a lot of time helping after the latter first became immortal.
** The Red Scrolls of Magic also establishes him as having this towards Tessa Gray. He's fully aware that she can take care of herself, but he's known her since she was a teenager and can't help feeling protective.
Magnus is aware that Tessa's fully capable of taking care of herself, but he's known her for almost her entire life and feels protective of her as a result.