Cain

"Abel wasn't talking to God. He was talking to Lucifer. Lucifer was gonna make my brother into his pet. I couldn't bear to watch him be corrupted, so I offered a deal — Abel's soul in Heaven for my soul in Hell. Lucifer accepted...as long as I was the one who sent Abel to Heaven. So, I killed him. Became a soldier of Hell — a knight."

- Cain to his descendant, Dean Winchester

Cain, also known as The Father of Murder, was the first born of Adam and Eve, the brother of Abel, as well as the original knight of hell. Cain and his brother are also the direct ancestors to Sam and Dean. Cain became the worst demon to ever exist before retiring for love. After coming out of retirement to fight Abaddon's forces, Cain fell back under the influence of the Mark of Cain and began slaughtering his descendants leading to Dean killing him.

History
Cain was the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, and the older brother of Abel. Although it was originally and commonly thought that Cain was jealous of his brother Abel for being God's favorite, and killed him out of rage and contempt, Cain later revealed that Abel was in fact talking to Lucifer, not God, as formerly thought. In an effort to protect his brother from corruption, Cain offered Lucifer a deal. Cain offered himself in Hell to Lucifer so that Abel would go to Heaven instead. Lucifer agreed, on the condition that Cain himself would send his brother to Heaven. Thus, Abel was struck down by Cain using the First Blade, which he created from the jawbone of an animal. This act of killing between brothers would set the precedent of their descendants being the vessels of Michael and Lucifer, and thus, again require a brother killing a brother during the Apocalypse.

After Abel's death, Lucifer transferred The Mark onto Cain's right arm, and somehow bound it to the First Blade. After killing Abel and receiving the mark, Cain moved to the east, and had children. With the mark branded on his arm, his seed was tainted, making his offspring more likely to become killers. Cain was likely a teenager when he killed Abel, as receiving the mark is what "tainted" his bloodline, by passing down the darkness. Soon afterwards, the mark turned Cain in to a raging killer. Later, Cain grew tired of killing and hated what he was becoming, so he turned the First Blade on himself. Only, the Mark didn't let go and Cain rose not only as a demon, but the first Knight of Hell. After his rebirth, Cain descended into Hell and became a high-ranking demonic soldier of Hell. Co-existing with both Lucifer and Lilith, Cain was also the founder and mentor of the Knights of Hell, and created the entire order with his bare hands, including Abaddon. Cain was considered to be the worst, deadliest, and most terrible demon to ever walk the face of the Earth before suddenly vanishing, killing thousands, as Crowley put, "the best at being the worst."

1863


In the 19th century, in Jasper Springs, Mississippi, Cain fell in love with a human woman named Colette. She forgave him for all of his past sins, if he would only promise to lay down the First Blade and never kill again. Cain agreed, and they eventually married. But once the rest of the Knights of Hell found out about Colette, they captured her, forcing Cain to pick the First Blade back up and slaughter all but one. Abaddon, the last remaining Knight, possessed Cain's wife in an attempt to coerce Cain to return to his work, reminding him of the affair they had previously shared. Cain declined and tried to kill Abaddon, but she fled Colette's body, and Cain succeeded only in stabbing his wife. It was then that Cain made a promise to a dying Colette that he would retire from his work as a Knight.

During Cain's disappearance, all other demons thought, or at least hoped, he was dead. Crowley described him to be "the best at being the worst."

Season 9
Cain lived the rest of his life alone, as a bee collector in Missouri. He met Dean and Crowley when they came looking for the First Blade to kill Abaddon. Cain was initially unwilling to help and sent them away, warning them to never return. However, still searching for the blade, they broke back into his home, and were caught when Cain returned. Meanwhile, a veritable horde of demons arrived. Intrigued by Dean, Cain tested him to see if he could live up to his reputation. Cain realized that the hunter was similar to himself. Going back to his wife's grave just as the demon forces were advancing, Cain agreed to transfer the Mark of Cain to Dean, when Dean promised to eventually return and kill him with the First Blade. He then teleported Dean and Crowley to safety and engaged the entire army of demons single-handedly and massacred them.

After Dean was killed by Metatron, Crowley visited his body and told him the story of Cain's own demonic transformation from the mark's power and Dean moments later went through the same process.

Season 10
Following Dean starting to fall under the Mark's influence once more, Castiel began searching for Cain in hopes of learning a cure from him as he'd lived with its power for so long.

Some time after copying the Mark to Dean, Cain has fallen back under the influence of the Mark after slaughtering Abaddon's demons. Believing his bloodline to be "tainted" due to the number of violent criminals in it, Cain decides to kill off his bloodline despite it being "legion" and starts tracking down and slaughtering his descendants. After killing many, Cain draws the attention of Sam and Dean when he kidnaps and kills serial killer Tommy Tolliver. Cain finds Castiel at his victims gravesite, but lets him go so that he will tell Dean and get him to bring the First Blade to kill him so Cain can get it back. Going after Austin Reynolds, Tommy's twelve-year old son, Cain falls into a trap laid for him by Sam, Dean, Castiel and Crowley using an Illusion Spell and is ultimately stuck in a devil's trap. Dean confronts Cain alone with Cain telling him there is no cure for the Mark and it is better to give into its power. Cain and Dean fight and despite the devil's trap, Cain still possesses his superhuman strength and telekinesis and easily beats Dean, something he attributes to the fact that Dean refuses to give in to the Mark. As Cain goes to kill Dean with the First Blade, Dean cuts Cain's hand off with Cain's own knife, defeating him. Dean asks if Cain will stop his killing so he doesn't have to kill him, but Cain tells him he will never stop and bows his head, accepting his fate. Dean stabs Cain in the back with the First Blade, killing him. However, Cain's words leave Dean and Sam deeply worried.

Personality
Unlike most demons, Cain still possessed a good deal of his humanity and was one of the few demons to show love (most likely from turning into a demon from the effects of the mark, rather than centuries of brutal torture in Hell). He dearly loved his brother Abel, willingly becoming Lucifer's soldier to save Abel, and personally murdering him so that Abel would get into Heaven. He spent thousands of years doing terrible and brutal things with the Knights. However, he fell in love with a woman named Colette, who loved him even after she found out what he was. Following his love dying because of Abaddon, Cain gave up his life of violence in a promise to her, and buried his head declaring himself retired.

By the time Dean came to him looking for the First Blade, Cain was living an isolated life like a normal man and showed a passion for bees. Initially seeming apathetic and uncaring towards Dean, Cain refused to help, but once Dean proved his strength, Cain agreed to return partially to old ways. However, he was tired of life and what he was going to do, he asked Dean to kill him once Abaddon was dead, showing a death wish.

Cain also had an interest in Dean Winchester, having, despite being retired, heard a lot about him. He considered Dean to be a lot like him and was impressed to see Dean lived up to his reputation. He eventually agreed he was worthy of taking the Mark of Cain, making him the one to kill Cain. When the two fought to the death, Cain continued to show respect for Dean despite being evil again and encouraged him to give into the Mark's power. He also felt like he was doing Dean a favor by killing him as it would prevent Dean from following Cain's path. Cain also seemed to see Dean as a worthy opponent during their fight and was surprised he wasn't showing more power from the Mark.

Cain also showed an affinity for bees, taking up beekeeping after retiring, he considered them noble creatures.

After slaughtering Abaddon's demons, Cain fell back under the Mark's influence, believing that his bloodline was "tainted" (its implied he might have been partially right, as it did have unusually high number of killers) and that it was his duty to kill them all. Never the less he did retain his politeness and respect for Dean Winchester. He came to feel he should never have resisted the Mark's influence and that it was inevitable that he and Dean fall to it. However, when Dean defeated him, Cain showed an acceptance of his fate, bowing his head and waiting for the fatal blow.

Due to his level of sheer power, Cain seems to be somewhat overconfident as a fighter, though well-deservedly. Even without most of his powers, Cain is still a powerful opponent, but his level of skill causes him to underestimate his opponents as Dean was able to catch him off-guard by simply cutting off his hand with his own knife when Cain allowed himself to get too close to Dean. Cain was also so over-confident that he walked straight into a devil's trap while chasing an illusion of his target. At least after his retirement, Cain doesn't seem to personally engage opponents, or at least fight to kill unless he sees them as worthy of facing him. This is shown with Castiel who he dismisses as a threat upon their first meeting and leaves alone, though he later admits that this is partially due to the fact that he wants Castiel to bring Dean and the First Blade to him. However, upon their second meeting, Cain doesn't bother doing more than knocking Castiel out even though he could've very easily killed the angel, seeming to not see him as worth his time. However, Cain does show a level of respect for enemies who manage to outthink him in battle as seen when Sam and Crowley lure him into a devil's trap. While telling them that the devil's trap can't contain him long, Cain admits that its a clever trick and seems to be genuinely impressed with the move.

Upon returning to his old ways, Cain is shown to be somewhat arrogant, believing in his power and superiority as a result. He also believes he is superior due to giving into the Mark of Cain. Due to his arrogance, Cain is more amused than angered when faced with enemies attacking him. After being unaffected by Castiel's white light, Cain didn't display any sign of anger for the attempt on his life and simply knocked Castiel out and moved on. When Sam and Crowley lured him into a devil's trap, Cain continued his arrogance by simply being amused by the tactic, though he admitted it was a clever one. He arrogantly told them the devil's trap wouldn't hold him for long and didn't even try to break it in the time Sam and Crowley had left until Dean arrived to fight him. Rather than trying to free himself, Cain just cleared the devil's trap of the hay covering it and was unconcerned about fighting without most of his powers.

Powers and Abilities
As one of the oldest demons to appear and the first Knight of Hell, Cain is an extremely powerful demon; In fact, it is possible that Cain is the most powerful demon to ever live, as part of his power was derived from The Darkness (a being/force older than God), through the mark on his arm. As the Darkness is arguably the most powerful force in the universe, needing both God and his archangels to fight in a terrible war to lock it away. It's possible Cain was more powerful than even higher Angels. His reputation alone made Crowley reluctant to go anywhere near him, opting that he and Dean go "a world away" from Cain as possible. He could kill other demons with a mere touch. He could even prevent Crowley, the King of Hell and a powerful demon himself, from escaping and speaking just by a simple gesture. His strength was also shown when he killed an army of demons single-handedly. His power is such that even confined by a devil's trap its not fully bound.
 * Immortality - Being one of the original humans as well as one of the original demons, Cain had the potential to live forever. He hasn't aged since he became a demon.
 * Demonic Possession - Like all demons, Cain can possess humans to exist on Earth. However, since he has been in the same vessel for thousands of years and since Cain became a demon through the Mark's effects rather than being tortured in Hell, it is possible that the body he is possessing is in fact his own original body.
 * Super Strength - Being the original Knight of Hell, Cain is considerably stronger than humans, monsters, spirits, Angels, and other demons, casually overpowering and lifting one off his feet with one hand and snapping his neck with very little effort. He later massacred a whole pack of demons with his bare hands. Even when Dean was powered by the Mark of Cain, Cain effortlessly beat him despite being held in a devil's trap. Though according to Cain, this was at least partially because Dean refused to give into the Mark's power. The devil's trap also didn't bind this power unlike other demons. Cain mentioned that he could "swat" Castiel like a fly, implying that he's stronger than angels.
 * Telekinesis - He could move objects and beings, even ones as powerful as angels, by snapping his fingers and with a wave of his hand. Unlike other demons, Cain retained this power in a devil's trap.
 * Teleportation - He could teleport from one place to another instantly. He teleported from across a field to beside Dean and Crowley and then to Collette's grave and back. He was also able to teleport out of a prison cell and into a barn when the door was locked.
 * Terrakinesis - Cain's arrival could create local tremors.
 * Weather Manipulation - His arrival could also cause sudden gusts of wind. His death also seemed to cause a clap of thunder.
 * CainKillingTouch.PNGSmiting - An ability unique to himself as the very first Knight of Hell, Cain can kill other entities with a demonic smiting ability that is similar to an angel's touch. In Cain's case however, the color is red rather than bright white, and it doesn't burn out the victim's eyes. He can use this ability to kill humans, demons, and possibly Angels, as he said he could "swat Castiel like a fly" when he had no weapon capable of killing an angel.
 * Immunity - As one of the oldest demons, Cain is completely immune to the Kurdish demon killing knife. Only the First Blade can kill him. He is also partially immune to the powers of a devil's trap, something that can render demons powerless. Instead of being completely powerless, Cain is instead confined and still retains his superhuman strength and telekinesis.
 * Invulnerability - Cain's vessels, being physical and contactable, can be pierced and penetrated, however Cain himself is very resistant to the damage; Dean cut off one of Cain's hands and as he was in a Devils trap, it hurt him, but it wasn't fatal despite him bleeding a lot. So he is invulnerable to normal and mortal harm. The only thing that can kill him is the First Blade. Even angelic white light has no effect but to ruffle his hair.
 * Apportation - Cain was able to teleport Dean and Crowley outside with a touch.
 * Biokinesis - Cain was able to strip Crowley of his ability to speak with a simple gesture.
 * Electrokinesis - Cain was able to cause all the lights in a prison to turn off as he walked through the prison.
 * Power Negation - Cain was able to strip Crowley of his ability to teleport.
 * Demonic transformation - Using the powers of The Darkness through the Mark on his arm, Cain was able to twist human souls into demons. These demons, the Knights of Hell are more powerful than ordinary demons, and even high-tier demons, due to their power source.
 * Skilled Fighter - Being the Father of Murder and the trainer of the Knights of Hell, Cain was a very skilled fighter, better than even Dean Winchester and was able to block or counter almost all of his attacks casually.

Weaknesses
Although Cain is the Original Knight of Hell, thus making him one of the oldest and most powerful demons to exist, he still has weaknesses of his own. However, with the help of the Mark, Cain can't be killed by anyone.

Harming, Misleading and Trapping

 * Devil's Trap - Like all demons, Cain can be imprisoned by a devil's trap. However, he states that it won't hold him long and unlike other demons still retains his superhuman strength and telekinesis inside it.
 * Magic - The Mark on his arm could have been removed by the Mark of Cain Removal Spell. Furthermore he was tricked by an illusion spell.

Killing

 * The First Blade - Cain himself stated that the First Blade was the only thing that could kill him as it was powered by the Mark of Cain and thus the Darkness. This was proven when Dean killed him with it.
 * The Darkness - As a primordial evil force that predate God, Death and surpase their power and as the source of The First Blade it can kill Cain.
 * God - As the creator of the mark, He could have been able to remove the mark from Cain's arm (at the time Cain was alive) and then kill him.
 * Death - Given that Death offered to remove the Mark from Dean's arm if he were to share it with another, it is likely that Death could have been able to remove the Mark from Cain's arm (at the time Cain was alive) and then kill him.

Trivia

 * The set for Cain's home is the same as Bobby's.
 * Cain is the first and only demon to display the ability to smite.
 * Cain is similar to Dean in many ways. Both of them wanted to keep their younger brothers from being corrupted. They also took extreme measures to make sure their brothers were saved, regardless of the rest of the consequences. Cain also remarked that Dean's bravery was very much like his. They both had gone to Hell for a deal they made to protect their brothers. They both carried the same bloodline that could host the archangels. Finally, both of them were humans who became demons due to the Mark of Cain, and they both wanted to die so that the mark would not make them something they were not. The only noticeable difference is that Cain saved his brother from corruption by killing his brother whereas Dean refused to kill his brother regardless of what happened.
 * Cain showed a considerable amount more humanity than any other demon, this is possible because he made the agreement to become a demon out of love towards his brother. Most likely, because Colette loved him unconditionally.
 * As the result of his and Abaddon's death and Dean being cured, The Knights of Hell are now extinct.
 * As shown when Dean killed Abaddon, the First Blade creates an effect similar to Cain's smiting ability when killing a Knight of Hell.
 * Cain was portrayed by Timothy Omundson, also appeared together with Zachariah's portrayed Kurt Fuller in Psych.
 * As Dean returned using his human body as his vessel when the Mark of Cain resurrected him, its possible that Cain isn't actually possessing anyone at all but is using his original human body.
 * According to Sam, Cain didn't actually transfer the Mark to Dean but copy it and still has it. Sam also suggests that Cain is able to fight the Mark's power because he does it consciously.
 * Interestingly when Dean kills him there is only the sound effect of stabbing, rather than the demonic glow effect usually shown when a demon is killed. This break of the usual pattern of showing a supernatural being dying has made fans speculate that Cain is not really dead.
 * As Cain asked Dean to kill him for what he was about to do, it's possible he knew that taking out all those demons would cause him to fall back under the Mark's influence and warned Dean ahead of time while he still cared that he would have to be killed in the future.
 * When Cain got the First Blade back from Dean, the veins in his arm near his right hand suddenly started becoming pronounced when a close-up shot of Cain's hand holding the Blade is shown.

Appearances

 * Season 6
 * The Man Who Would Be King (Flashback only)
 * Season 9
 * First Born


 * Season 10
 * There's No Place Like Home (Mentioned Only)
 * The Executioner's Song


 * Season 11
 * Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire (Mentioned Only)