Princes of Hell

"It's just a name. Doesn't mean anything."

- Ramiel to Crowley on the Princes of Hell

The Princes of Hell were the first generation of demons created by Lucifer himself after the creation of Lilith. In the demonic hierarchy of Hell, they ranked among the highest, eclipsed only by the original demon Lilith. They were originally generals of Lucifer's demonic armies, but have since become separated from Hell, opting instead to hide out on Earth. The one known exception to this was Azazel, who remained loyal to Lucifer until his death. After a promise to rule at Lucifer's side, Dagon briefly served him once more as the protector of his son. Following the deaths of Azazel, Ramiel and Dagon, Asmodeus was the only remaining Prince of Hell and became the King of Hell. Following Asmodeus' death at the hands of the archangel Gabriel, the Princes of Hell were left extinct.

History
"The oldest of the old demons, the first generation after Lilith. Lucifer turned them himself, before the oceans drank Atlantis."

- Crowley After creating the first demon, Lilith, Lucifer created the four Princes of Hell as the first generation of demons aside from Lilith. These demons were Lucifer's rightful successors to the throne of Hell and acted as generals of the demonic forces. They were also created around the same time as Cain when Lucifer passed the Mark over to him, and the Knights of Hell who were also handpicked by Lucifer as an elite fighting force of demons trained by Cain as far superior to regular demons, and were the first of the fallen humans. Eventually, three of the Princes, Ramiel, Asmodeus and Dagon lost interest in Lucifer's plans and left Hell to live peacefully on Earth. These Princes of Hell were believed to have been killed afterwards by even the angels, but the demons simply allowed everyone to believe so. Apparently unknown to most demons, Asmodeus attempted to release the Shedim at some point, but was stopped by Lucifer himself and punished for it. Though Asmodeus left Hell, he remained loyal to Lucifer. Also at an unknown point in time, Dagon apparently failed Lucifer, and sought to please him in any form, and maintained a healthy respect and fear of him.

However, Azazel remained fanatically devoted to Lucifer and became the Ruler of Hell, setting out to find a way to release Lucifer and begin the Apocalypse. In 1972, Azazel was able to contact Lucifer in his cage from St. Mary's Convent and was given instructions to release Lilith from Hell to find a very special child to act as Lucifer's vessel. Azazel went on to make a series of deals that would allow him to enter the homes of couples with six month old children in ten years time. At the time of fulfilling the deals, Azazel killed several of the mothers if they interrupted him, including Mary Winchester. This set her husband John and his sons Sam and Dean on a path of vengeance. With the help of Jake Talley, Azazel succeeded in releasing Lilith, but was killed by Dean with the Colt. As a testament to his strategic mind as a general of hell's army, Azazel and his master plan, despite his death, was a success; Azazel's ritual prepared Sam's body as Lucifer's vessel, Lilith then broke the seals on Lucifer's cage, freeing the fallen archangel, and thus started the Apocalypse which almost succeeded.

In 2010, following the defeat of Lucifer, the King of the Crossroads Crowley approached Ramiel to take rule of Hell as was his rightful place with Lucifer locked away and Lilith and Azazel dead. However, Ramiel refused, stating that Azazel had been a fanatic but the other Princes had lost interest in Lucifer's plans long ago and simply wished to be left alone. Before leaving, Crowley left the Lance of Michael and the Colt with Ramiel.

In 2017, a resurrected Mary Winchester was sent by the British Men of Letters to steal the Colt from Ramiel. The attempt left Wally dead and the Seraphim Castiel mortally wounded. Ramiel was eventually killed by Sam Winchester with the Lance of Michael and Castiel was saved, but Ramiel warned that his sister, Dagon, had taken an interest in Lucifer's son. Indeed, Dagon later saved the pregnant Kelly Kline from two angel assassins sent to track her down and kill her. Under the promise of ruling at Lucifer's side if she protected his son, Dagon served as Kelly's protector from both angels and hunters.

With less than a month left before Lucifer's child is born, he briefly empowers Castiel and gives him the power to kill Dagon, leaving Asmodeus as the only surviving Prince of Hell.

A few days after the birth of Jack and Lucifer being trapped in an alternate reality, the last Prince of Hell Asmodeus takes control of Hell. Asmodeus announces that he will rule until Lucifer returns or Jack takes his place with Asmodeus as his advisor. Asmodeus states that the era of Crowley is over and under Asmodeus, Hell will return to fire and brimstone. As one of his first acts, Asmodeus attempts to use Jack to release the Shedim, but is stopped by the Winchesters and the Prophet Donatello Redfield.

Following Lucifer's return from Apocalypse World in a weakened state, Asmodeus imprisons his "father" and Castiel and takes full power in Hell for himself. With the threat of Michael looming, Asmodeus ramps up his search for Jack, hiring Arthur Ketch to help him search. At the height of his power and after the escape of Lucifer and Castiel, Asmodeus procured the archangel blade which is the one weapon that can kill an archangel such as Lucifer or Michael. He also reveals that he holds the archangel Gabriel prisoner, using Gabriel's grace as a source of power.

After Asmodeus brutally beats him, Arthur betrays Asmodeus and rescues Gabriel, stealing the archangel blade and Asmodeus' store of Gabriel's grace in the process. Incensed, Asmodeus tracks Gabriel to the Men of Letters bunker and leads a demon incursion to recapture Gabriel and kill Sam and Castiel. The threat to his friends causes Gabriel to snap out of his traumatized state and fight back. Asmodeus proves to be no match for the enraged archangel who incinerates the demon. With Asmodeus dead, the Princes of Hell are left extinct.

Powers and Abilities
"If anyone - anything - bothers a Prince of Hell, it's gonna be on your head, Crowley. And you don't wanna know what happens when you piss us off."

- Ramiel As some of the first demons ever created, the Princes of Hell are among the most powerful demons to ever live, representing the highest authority in Hell after Lucifer and Lilith. The Princes of Hell encountered by the Winchesters display many powerful and sometimes rare abilities. It is noteworthy that while they are all considered the same class of demons and share some powers in common, they also appear to each possess their own different abilities. According to Lucifer, he gave the Princes their powers when he created them. In The Thing and Bring 'em Back Alive, it was revealed that Asmodeus, once the weakest Prince of Hell, grew far more powerful by regularly injecting himself with the grace of the archangel Gabriel, granting Asmodeus several new powers.
 * Demonic Possession - As demons, the Princes of Hell require a vessel to walk the Earth.
 * Super Strength - As among the most powerful Demons, the Princes of Hell possess extradionary levels of superhuman strength that far surpasses that of most Demons and Angels. Azazel enhanced his host's physical strength to a superhuman level, to an even greater extent than most other demons do. Azazel was able to casually snap John's neck and could overpower humans, demons, and even ghosts. Ramiel was strong enough to effortlessly throw around Crowley, a powerful demon in his own right, with enough force to instantly knock him out and easily defeat Castiel, a weakened Seraphim. Dagon effortlessly defeated Castiel and the Winchesters in combat, casually breaking Dean's arm at one point and lifting Castiel off the ground with one hand as well as throwing Sam through the air with immense force.
 * Advanced Telekinesis - Azazel could move people and objects using only his mind. He was very skilled with this ability, able to use it on multiple targets at once, restraining them so they couldn't even cry out for help, and throwing grown men considerable distances, by flicking his wrist. He was able to keep Mary pinned to the ceiling, without even being in the room. Dagon was similarly able to fling around several hunters effortlessly. Ramiel was telekinetic as well as seen with him closing the doors of his house with a wave of his hand, but appeared to prefer physical combat to using telekinesis to fling his enemies around. Asmodeus was able to casually pull a demon to him with just a hand gesture.
 * Biokinesis - Azazel demonstrated the ability to physically injure humans, even inducing fatal internal bleeding with a mere glare. One of the omens of Azazel's arrival also included mass cattle deaths. Asmodeus was able to make the Winchesters and Donatello Redfield choke with a hand gesture. When Asmodeus clenched his fist, the demons that he smote started gasping for air before the smiting took place.
 * Pyrokinesis - Azazel could generate and manipulate fire. His power over fire was extensive enough that he could render entire buildings ablaze in minutes or even seconds.
 * Immunity - Azazel was immune to several demonic weaknesses: he was immune to holy water, salt and was able to walk on holy ground. Ramiel was immune to devil's trap bullets.
 * Invulnerability - Princes of Hell cannot be harmed by normal means. The only weapons known to be able to kill them are the Colt, the First Blade, Death's Scythe and the Lance of Michael. Ramiel was immune to demon killing knife and angel blades, however the knife and angel blade caused him a slight amount of pain. When Dagon was shot several times, she was not only unharmed, but it appeared to cause her no pain. Castiel states that Dagon is extremely hard to kill, at one point. Similarly, when Dean shot Asmodeus the only effect was for Asmodeus to drop his disguise.
 * Immortality - The Princes of Hell have existed for millennia, making them some of the oldest demons to ever live with only Lilith, the first demon, being older. They are so old that Dagon referred to the Seraphim Castiel as "kid" when fighting with him.
 * Resurrection (by deals) - Azazel was able to resurrect dying or dead humans, though he had to first make a deal with a living human, he explicitly stated that he couldn't resurrect people unless a deal was made, dismissing it as "red tape". Despite demon deals channeling the power of human souls to grant wishes, Azazel did not need to claim a person's soul to resurrect people, one of the only demons shown to do this.
 * Super Stamina - The Princes do not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain themselves.
 * Reality Warping (by deals) - Azazel could alter the world around him in the context of a demonic deal. Unlike all other demons, he did not require a soul to power the deals he made. However, he still had to obey the rules of the demonic soul deals. As he said in reference to Sam's resurrection at the end of Season 2, "You see, demons can't resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, red tape--it'll make you nuts."
 * Teleportation - Azazel could travel instantly from one place to another including Hell and Earth without occupying the space in between, he was quick enough to use this to avoid bullets. He was able to move fast enough to kidnap Sam and remove him in seconds. Dagon was able to use this ability to quickly dodge attacks, using it in a similar manner to super speed. Asmodeus teleported away from Jack after he became enraged.
 * Dream Walking - Azazel could enter others' dreams, he used this ability to enter the dreams of his special children when they were asleep in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1 and All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2. He was mentioned as having done so in Simon Said and Hunted.
 * Weather manipulation - As great masses of demons can, Azazel's presence alone could cause thunderstorms, massive temperature fluctuations, and sudden gusts of wind. When Dagon teleported to where the Winchesters were with Mick Davies and Renny Rawlings, her mere travel caused high gusts of wind and lightning strikes. When Asmodeus appeared outside a bar, thunder and lightning struck.
 * Healing (by deals) - Azazel restored a comatose, dying Dean to full health in In My Time of Dying and repaired John's broken neck in In The Beginning though in both cases he had to make a deal to do so.
 * Electromagnetic Interference - Azazel's mere presence caused lights to flicker, electronic devices to go haywire, and clocks to stop. He could also do this at his will.
 * Electrokinesis - Dagon was capable of generating electricity strong enough to cause severe pain to an angel as a form of torture.
 * Memory Manipulation - Azazel could erase memories as seen when he erased Dean's memories of his near-death experience and John's memories of Azazel killing him.
 * Super Senses - Azazel was able to tell Dean wasn't one of his Special Children, simply by smelling his neck. Ramiel also could sense Castiel's "smell".
 * Flight - When in his disembodied smoke form, Azazel could fly.
 * Spell Casting - Azazel was able to perform a ritual, by sacrificing a group of nuns, which allowed Lucifer to speak to him while he was still in the Cage.
 * Molecular Combustion - Simply by touching an angel, Dagon was able to make them combust into dust. When she does this, the palm of her hand glows red in a circle that she presses against the angel in question. Asmodeus also displayed a version of this ability, turning a man to dust with just a wave of his hand.
 * Mind Control - Dagon was able to compel Dr. Turner to tell Kelly Kline "everything is a-okay." Asmodeus was able to place the Prophet Donatello Redfield under his control though his use of the power had a more subtle effect on Donatello.
 * Thermokinesis - Dagon was able to heat up the Colt to the point that the barrel fell off and the legendary gun was damaged possibly beyond repair.
 * Photokinesis - When Asmodeus arrived at Needham Asylum, his presence emitted a strong white light.
 * Smiting - With just a wave of his hand, Asmodeus was able to smite several demons at once in a similar manner to angels and Sam when drinking demon blood.
 * Shapeshifting - Asmodeus was able to transform into the shape of others in a manner similar to the Alpha Shapeshifter. According to Lucifer, he did not give Asmodeus this power and he got it from somewhere else. This was confirmed to be the case as Asmodeus regularly stole the grace of Gabriel to help boost his powers.
 * Voice Mimicry - Asmodeus was able to mimic Castiel's voice on a phone call to trick the Winchesters.
 * Clairsentience - Asmodeus was able to sense the presence of powerful beings such as Lucifer when he returned to the Main Universe and the Prophet Donatello Redfield. He actively tried to use this power to search for the Nephilim Jack but could not find Jack while he was cloaked.

Weaknesses
Due to their sheer power, the Princes of Hell have very few known weaknesses.
 * Devil's Trap - A devil's trap was able to keep Azazel out, but devil's trap bullets had no effect on Ramiel. However, Ramiel had to avoid the trap set by the brothers, implying that while immune to devil's trap bullets, Princes of Hell are still vulnerable to an actual devil's trap.
 * Holy Fire (possibly) - It was used against Ramiel to trap him before he broke free by using the Lance of Michael. However, even before breaking free, Ramiel was more amused than anything to have holy fire used against him.
 * The Colt - This gun was able to kill one.
 * Lance of Michael - The Lance was able to kill one.
 * Nephilim - In general, Nephilim are more powerful than Angels, and according to Nephilim lore, Nephilim become more powerful than the Angel who sired them. While empowering Castiel, Jack, the Nephilim spawn of the Archangel Lucifer, was able to bestow Castiel with the strength to easily overpower Dagon, render her powerless and burn her to ashes. Asmodeus fled rather than face Jack's wrath after angering him.
 * Primordial Entities - God, The Darkness, Death, and Archangels can easily annihilate any Prince of Hell. Lucifer could easily severely hurt Dagon by merely screaming while telepathically communicating with her and was able to easily terrify and intimidate Dagon by casually threatening to cause her eternal pain. Lucifer was able to inflict lasting scars upon Asmodeus's face after becoming angry over Asmodeus' attempt to release the Shedim. While confident of his superiority in Lucifer's weakened state, Asmodeus showed fear of what would happen if Lucifer regained his full power. He even showed fear at the thought of having to face an Alternate Michael as well. After regaining his strength, Gabriel effortlessly incinerated Asmodeus despite his diminished grace.

Known Princes of Hell

 * Azazel
 * Ramiel
 * Dagon
 * Asmodeus
 * Alternate Reality Azazel
 * Belial

Azazel
During the Battle of the Devil's Gate, the ghost of John Winchester emerged from Hell and pulled Azazel from his vessel long enough for Dean to retrieve the Colt. After Azazel overpowered John and reentered his vessel, Dean shot Azazel in the heart with the Colt, killing him.
 * Dean Winchester

Ramiel
During a fight between the Winchesters and Ramiel, Sam struggled with Ramiel over the Lance of Michael until Mary Winchester created a distraction by stabbing Ramiel in the back with an angel blade, allowing Sam to gain control over the Lance of Michael. Sam then stabbed Ramiel in the heart with the Lance of Michael, ultimately causing the Prince of Hell to combust into dust.
 * Sam Winchester

Dagon
As Dagon prepared to kill Castiel, Jack empowered him from the womb, allowing Castiel to restrain Dagon one-handed and render her powerless. Castiel then set Dagon and her vessel ablaze, burning Dagon to ashes.
 * Castiel

Asmodeus
When Asmodeus was torturing Sam and Castiel, Gabriel broke free of his captors and healed himself. After knocking aside a blast from Asmodeus, Gabriel set both Asmodeus and his vessel ablaze, burning him to ash.
 * Gabriel

Appearances

 * Season 1
 * Pilot
 * Scarecrow
 * Nightmare
 * Shadow
 * Dead Man's Blood
 * Salvation
 * Devil's Trap
 * Season 2
 * In My Time of Dying
 * Everybody Loves a Clown
 * Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
 * Simon Said
 * Croatoan
 * Hunted
 * Born Under a Bad Sign
 * All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 1
 * All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2
 * Season 3
 * The Kids Are Alright
 * Sin City
 * Season 4
 * In The Beginning
 * Yellow Fever
 * It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
 * When the Levee Breaks
 * Lucifer Rising
 * Season 5
 * Dark Side of the Moon
 * Swan Song
 * Season 6
 * Exile on Main Street
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much
 * Season 7
 * Reading Is Fundamental
 * Season 8
 * Trial and Error
 * Goodbye Stranger
 * Season 9
 * King of the Damned
 * Season 10
 * Fan Fiction
 * Season 12
 * Mamma Mia
 * Stuck in the Middle (With You)
 * Family Feud
 * The Raid
 * Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
 * The British Invasion
 * The Memory Remains
 * The Future
 * There's Something About Mary
 * Who We Are
 * All Along the Watchtower
 * Season 13
 * Lost & Found
 * The Rising Son
 * Patience
 * War of the Worlds
 * The Scorpion and The Frog
 * The Bad Place
 * Various & Sundry Villains
 * Devil's Bargain
 * Good Intentions
 * The Thing
 * Bring 'em Back Alive
 * Unfinished Business
 * Exodus
 * Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting
 * Supernatural: Bone Key

Trivia

 * All Princes of Hell have yellow eyes.
 * As the son of Crowley, the former King of Hell, Gavin MacLeod considered himself to be a Prince of Hell.
 * Although they are called "Princes", Dagon is female. However, she is still specifically called "Dagon, Prince of Hell" by Castiel to the Winchesters when he warns them about her.
 * Similar to Archangels, there are also only four Princes of Hell.
 * According to Crowley, with Azazel and Lilith's death, Ramiel was the next in line for the throne of Hell, this indicates that the Princes of Hell, like Archangels has order
 * Of the four deceased Princes of Hell, two have been killed by one of the Winchester brothers. Dagon and Asmodeus were instead killed by angels. Additionally, all but Asmodeus were killed by a member of Team Free Will.
 * Of all the deceased Princes, only Azazel left any form of physical remains. Ramiel was exploded into dust and Dagon and Asmodeus burned to ashes, but Azazel left behind his deceased vessel.
 * Before his death, Ramiel possessed both the weapon that killed his brother Azazel and the weapon that would ultimately kill him.
 * Although not revealed until the 12th season, Princes of Hell were the first demons to appear on the show, with Azazel appearing in the Pilot. They were also the first supernatural creature to appear as Azazel appears in the very first scene of the show.
 * In each case that a Prince of Hell was killed by a Winchester, it was done with the aid of one of their parents. In the case of Azazel, John Winchester distracted him long enough for Dean to get the Colt and shoot Azazel. In the case of Ramiel, Mary Winchester distracted him with an angel blade to the back, enabling Sam to grab the Lance of Michael and stab Ramiel.
 * In Supernatural: One Year Gone, Dean has to stop a plot to raise the Four Princes of Hell. In the non-canon novel the Princes are Lucifer, Belial, Leviathan and an unnamed fourth Prince.
 * In the The Satanic Bible by Anton LaVey, the "The Four Crown Princes of Hell" are Satan, Lucifer, Belial, and Leviathan.
 * In The Memory Remains, Sam discovers that the Men of Letters had very little on the Princes of Hell among their many books on demons and nothing useful.
 * Both Azazel and Dagon survived attempts on their lives with the Colt. While Azazel was eventually killed with the legendary gun, Dagon avoided all attempts to kill her with it and eventually destroyed the Colt.
 * While Azazel, Dagon and Asmodeus had at least one demon serving them, only Ramiel acted alone.
 * According to Ramiel in Stuck in the Middle (With You), "Prince of Hell" is actually just a title reflecting the position and status of himself, Azazel, Dagon and Asmodeus.
 * As seen in The Rising Son, the Princes of Hell are mentioned in John Winchester's Journal. It is unclear if they are named in it as the Winchesters were unaware that Azazel was one until Crowley told them, but the journal at least mentions the fact that there are only four of them.
 * Ramiel is the only Prince of Hell to be killed in his inaugural episode. He is also the only one of the Princes to appear in only one episode.
 * Azazel and Asmodeus are the only Princes of Hell to be portrayed by multiple actors.
 * Lucifer called Asmodeus "the runt of the litter," indicating that he is the youngest and/or the weakest Prince of Hell. He later stated that Asmodeus is his weakest creation. Gabriel's story also called Asmodeus "the weakest of Hell's Princes" before he started injecting himself with Gabriel's grace.
 * The Princes of Hell are collectors. Azazel collected Special Children, Ramiel collected weapons, Dagon tried to collect Jack and Asmodeus collects powers.
 * Asmodeus is the only Prince of Hell who was not in some way connected to the Colt. Azazel and Ramiel owned it briefly and Azazel was killed by it while Dagon had three attempts made to kill her with the gun.
 * Every single Prince of Hell has been shot by Dean Winchester at least once. Dean shot and killed Azazel with the Colt in All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2, he shot Ramiel with devil's trap bullets in Stuck in the Middle (With You), he shot Dagon multiple times in The British Invasion and he shot Asmodeus once in The Rising Son. He also attempted to shoot Dagon with the Colt in The Future, but failed. In contrast, Sam has only shot Azazel in Devil's Trap and Dagon in The Future.