Asmodeus

"I am Asmodeus, here to rule until such time as Lucifer returns with his son. And there are gonna be some changes. (...) The grand old days of fire and brimstone are back. (...) There's a new sheriff in town."

- Asmodeus introducing himself to other demons

Asmodeus is a Prince of Hell and a retired demonic general. He was formerly acting as temporary King of Hell until Lucifer's return. Once he discovered Lucifer was weakened, he decided to officially take the throne and imprison his father along with Castiel. He later prepares for the invasion of Alternate Michael.

Background
Asmodeus is one of four Princes of Hell along with his siblings Azazel, Ramiel and Dagon. He was created by Lucifer himself, making him one of the oldest demons that ever existed. According to Lucifer, Asmodeus is his weakest creation.

At some point, Asmodeus sought to please Lucifer by freeing the Shedim, "things so dark and base God himself would not allow them into the light." In his pride, Asmodeus believed that he could train and use the Shedim despite Lucifer fearing them "as well he should." In his "disappointment", Lucifer inflicted two scars upon Asmodeus' face. Asmodeus felt that the "pain and total humiliation" forged a bond between himself and Lucifer and his loyalty remained steadfast.

At some point, Asmodeus was believed to have died by all including the angels. The demons allowed everyone to believe Asmodeus and the other Princes of Hell to be dead so they could retire on Earth in peace.

In 2010, after the first defeat of Lucifer, Crowley approached Ramiel to take rule of Hell. However, Ramiel refused, stating that the Princes just wanted to be left alone. While Dagon showed an interest in Lucifer's son and eventually began serving Lucifer once more in 2017, Asmodeus was only interested in his hobbies according to Ramiel.

At some point after he was last seen by Lucifer, Asmodeus acquired powers that Lucifer had not given him with one being shapeshifting.

Season 13
In The Rising Son, after the birth of the Nephilim Jack, Asmodeus arrives at Crowley's former lair where he introduces himself, stating that he is there to "rule until such time as Lucifer returns with his son." Asmodeus announces that "the grand old days of fire and brimstone are back" and that the Crowley era is over. Asmodeus calls forward Drexel, Harrington and Sierra and then smites the other five demons in the room, announcing that "there's a new sheriff in town."

Drexel later enters the throne room to report that the demons have scoured all of Hell, even the Cage and have found no trace of Lucifer. Asmodeus decides to focus on Lucifer's son instead and rejects Drexel's suggestion that he is dead. Asmodeus wants Jack to be found and trained to rule in Lucifer's place with Asmodeus as "his humble advisor of course." Asmodeus gets angry when Drexel mentions his experience with Lucifer's "short fuse" and tells Drexel of his attempt to release the Shedim and his punishment for it.

After a demon in the form of a homeless woman finds Jack in the presence of the Winchesters, Asmodeus kills a local bartender and takes on her form to speak with Dean. Dean tells Asmodeus a bit about "the messed up kid" and Asmodeus speaks of "his" own issues with his father. Once Dean leaves, Asmodeus resumes his normal form and takes a drink from Dean's glass.

Taking on the form of Prophet Donatello Redfield, Asmodeus visits Sam and learns that Jack is staying with the real Donatello. Asmodeus questions Sam on how powerful Jack will get to be and Sam reveals that Nephilim lore states that a Nephilim will become more powerful than their angelic sire, meaning that Jack will eventually be more powerful than Lucifer himself. Sam tells Asmodeus about how Jack only has a vague idea about Lucifer and of his hopes that Jack can be molded for good. Asmodeus appears to be interested in the idea of Jack being molded and leaves.

Still in the form of Donatello, Asmodeus takes Jack to the Hell Gate in Wyoming while leaving Harrington and Sierra to kill the Winchesters and Donatello. Asmodeus claims that God wishes Jack to release the Shedim from Hell and is able to convince the naïve Jack to open the Hell Gate and bring the Shedim to the surface. As Jack summons the Shedim, Asmodeus continues to instruct him and reacts ecstatically to the fact that Jack is bringing the Shedim to Earth. However, as the Shedim start to emerge, the Winchesters arrive with the real Donatello, having tracked Jack with Donatello's powers after killing Harrington and Sierra. Seeing Jack lose focus as the Shedim begin to emerge, Asmodeus orders Jack to ignore the others and focus on the Shedim. After Dean shoots him, Asmodeus resumes his normal form and makes his eyes glow yellow in anger. With a wave of his hand, Asmodeus makes the Winchesters and Donatello choke, making Jack lose concentration, closing the Hell Gate and returning the Shedim to their prison.

Asmodeus then turns to Jack, telling Jack that the Winchesters want to stop and contain him while Asmodeus can give him the world. After a moment's consideration, Jack angrily turns on Asmodeus for hurting his friends. With Jack's anger making the ground shake, Asmodeus quickly teleports away, breaking his hold over the Winchesters and Donatello.

In the aftermath, the Winchesters realize who Asmodeus must be and worry about the possibility of there being more Princes of Hell. After checking John Winchester's Journal, Sam determines that if it truly was Asmodeus they encountered, then he is in fact the last one.

In Patience, Sam makes a reference to Asmodeus' manipulation of Jack as one of the things that are not Jack's fault.

In War of the Worlds, Asmodeus tries tracking down Jack but is unable to find him as his servants inform the Winchesters don't have him either as he wonders where the Nephilim is if they don't have him. Very soon, he and his followers abduct people who recorded sights of Jack but it isn't helpful and he kills them out of anger. Asmodeus later attacks a bar where Lucifer (who returned to their world) and Castiel are, he expresses relief at seeing his father alive as well as satisfaction at his powerlessness. Lucifer tells him to step down but Asmodeus refuses after seeing his poor state, Asmodeus easily subdues the pair and captures them. He pretends to be Castiel when Dean calls the latter's phone and after the call he talks with Arthur Ketch as he makes plans to find Jack in preparation for the invading Michael, should Lucifer's warning be true.

In The Scorpion and The Frog, Asmodeus once again impersonates Castiel on a phone call to keep the Winchesters from getting suspicious. He also sends a messenger to warn Luther Shrike that the rogue Crossroad Demon Barthamus is coming for him. Though the demon asks that Luther inform them if Barthamus comes, Luther instead exorcises him with the message for Asmodeus that he takes orders from no one.

After stealing the Nephilim tracking spell, Barthamus offers to trade it to the Winchesters in exchange for them stealing a trunk from Luther. Though Barthamus doesn't trust the Winchesters, he states that he trusts Asmodeus even less. He later threatens to give Asmodeus the spell to help force the Winchesters to take the deal.

In The Bad Place, Asmodeus has once again impersonated Castiel on a phone call to Dean, claiming that "he" is following a lead on Jack.

In Various & Sundry Villains, its mentioned that posing as Castiel, Asmodeus calls the Winchesters every day to check in and ask questions which Dean is beginning to find weird. At the same time, the demon Dipper states that Asmodeus has plans for Castiel. While discussing Asmodeus with Castiel, Lucifer tells him that Asmodeus was his weakest creation and that some of his powers, including Asmodeus' shapeshifting ability, were not given to him by Lucifer.

In Devil's Bargain, after getting word of Lucifer and Castiel's escape, Asmodeus is angry at the failure of his subordinates as Arthur Ketch criticizes his leave which he defends as important. To ensure Lucifer doesn't get to full strength, he tasks Ketch with killing him in his weakened state as he believed he could handle it.

Asmodeus soon decides to get information about the Winchester's activities, he disguises himself as Castiel and meets with Donatello. In their talk, Asmodeus gets some information about the Alternate Michael and learns that the prophet is trying to open a rift to the other world to get Mary Winchester and Jack who was sent there from that world. After hearing that only Donatello can read the demon tablet, he orders him to report to him should anything notable happen. When Ketch returns after failing his task, the latter stated he had a means to kill Lucifer before the latter got to full strength and have something to deal with Michael if he invades. He reveals his reason for his earlier leave was because he got word of an item which he thought lost had appeared, the item was an Archangel Blade, which can eliminate both threats permanently.

After Ketch revealed that it can only be used by an archangel but Asmodeus revealed he has just the thing to solve that problem which was a captive that turned out to be a disheveled but still living Gabriel.

In Good Intentions, after stripping the needed spell from Donatello's mind and leaving him brain dead, Castiel reveals to the shocked Winchesters that Donatello was working with Asmodeus. However, Castiel admits that it wasn't of Donatello's own volition.

In The Thing, Asmodeus was extracting Gabriel's archangel grace out of the archangel and injecting it into himself while he was making Arthur Ketch wait outside of the throne room.

Powers and Abilities
As one of the Princes of Hell, Asmodeus is one of the most powerful demons to ever live. He displays many powerful abilities, some of which are generally not seen in demons. According to Lucifer, Asmodeus was his "weakest creation" and has acquired some of his powers from somewhere other than from Lucifer himself. In The Thing its revealed that Asmodeus has been injecting himself regularly with grace from the archangel Gabriel, presumably the source of his new powers.
 * Demonic Possession - As a demon, Asmodeus requires a vessel to walk the Earth.
 * Advanced Telekinesis - With a hand gesture, Asmodeus was able to pull Drexel to him. He was also able to throw Castiel and a weakened Lucifer with a flick of his hand.
 * Biokinesis - With a wave of his hand, Asmodeus caused several demons to clutch their throats in pain with the audible sound of bones breaking. He also strangled the Winchesters and Donatello Redfield.
 * Invulnerability - As a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus cannot be harmed by most common demonic weaknesses. When Dean shot him, he was completely unharmed, displaying no wounds from the shot.
 * Immortality - As a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus is many millennia old and has stated that he has served Lucifer for "eons". He will never die or age unless killed.
 * Shapeshifting - Asmodeus can take on the form of others. He is able to change form seamlessly with a brief distortion of his form happening when he makes the change like the Alpha Shapeshifter. According to Lucifer, he did not receive this power from him and got it from somewhere else.
 * Teleportation - Asmodeus was able to teleport away when threatened by Jack. He later teleported from across the room to behind Arthur Ketch in the blink of an eye.
 * Electromagnetic Interference - Asmodeus' presence caused the lights in the room to flicker.
 * Photokinesis - When Asmodeus arrived at Needham Asylum, his presence emitted a strong white light in the doorway behind him.
 * Smiting - With just a clench of his hand, Asmodeus was able to smite five demons at once in a similar manner to angels and Sam when drinking demon blood.
 * Molecular Combustion - With a wave of his hand, Asmodeus caused a man to explode into dust.
 * Voice Mimicry - Asmodeus was able to mimic Castiel's voice to trick the Winchesters on a phone call.
 * Clairsentience - Asmodeus was able to sense Lucifer's return. He also believed he could detect Jack's presence, however, since Jack was cloaked, he could not.
 * Mind Control - By touching two fingers to Donatello Redfield's head, Asmodeus was able to implant a command in his mind without Donatello ever remembering their encounter.
 * Super Strength - As a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus possesses a level of strength beyond even the vast majority of demons. With just a few punches, Asmodeus beat Arthur Ketch badly. He was easily able to lift Arthur above his head and slam him down with such force that Arthur's impact shattered a table.

Weaknesses
As one of the Princes of Hell, Asmodeus possesses very few weaknesses.
 * Archangels - Lucifer was able to inflict lasting scars upon Asmodeus. Even with his considerable power, Asmodeus feared what would happen if Lucifer regained his full strength or the alternate reality Michael arrived on Earth.
 * Nephilim - When Jack was enraged, Asmodeus fled rather than face his wrath.

Personality
Asmodeus, like his siblings Azazel and Dagon, sought to please Lucifer but in order to do so he decided to free the Shedim against Lucifer's wishes, thinking himself capable of taming the creatures. This angered Lucifer to the point that Lucifer left him with two scars on his face. Like Ramiel and Dagon, Asmodeus took no part in freeing Lucifer from The Cage nor played any known role during The Apocalypse, instead he attended to his hobbies, as stated by Ramiel.

It took the death of Crowley and Lucifer's imprisonment in the alternate universe for Asmodeus to take an active role in current events. He chose to proclaim himself the new Ruler of Hell in Lucifer's absence, insisting that he was only acting temporarily until Lucifer's return. He then mercilessly killed a number of demons he did not want to keep, which showed that he held little regard for the lesser demons. He appeared to favor Drexel, a demon who had once assisted Lucifer in a time of need. After Lucifer returned, Asmodeus met him and was happy to see him again but after seeing his father's weakened state he took the time to exact his revenge for previous torturing by subduing him. Asmodeus then decided to fully claim the throne of the Ruler of Hell since he saw that Lucifer was powerless before him.

Still fixated on freeing the Shedim, Asmodeus sought out Lucifer's son Jack and disguised himself as Donatello. He proved himself as a talented actor and was able to fool Jack into thinking he was one of Jack's allies. This was seen again after he pretended to be Castiel in a phone call with Dean after he captured the real one.

Asmodeus also possessed a sense of self-preservation and chose to flee the scene when Jack became angry. He even stated to Lucifer that he knew better than to try attack him back when the latter had power but despite his supposed loyalty, Asmodeus decided to toss him aside in his grace-depleted state, and later hold him prisoner. Though Asmodeus imprisoned Lucifer while he was weak, he showed fear of Lucifer regaining full strength.

As mentioned by himself, Asmodeus prefers to be prepared for anything as he realized he could use Castiel and Lucifer for future plans after locking them up. When he heard of the possibility of an invading archangel he made a deal with Arthur Ketch to procure Jack, just in case it got hairy. After the possibility was confirmed, he had Donatello put under his control to keep him informed of his enemies' actions. He even went as far to obtain the right weapon for disposing of the potential threat and Lucifer after he escaped.

As revealed by Lucifer, Asmodeus' shapeshifting was not from his archangel creator. This suggested that Asmodeus was resourceful or ambitious enough to improve himself by acquiring more abilities.

Asmodeus appeared to respect strength to a certain degree, even in humans. When Arthur Ketch openly criticized him and didn't back down from Asmodeus' obvious attempt at intimidation, Asmodeus backed down rather than threaten or harm Arthur as if in respect for Arthur's fearless attitude. Instead of treating Arthur as a subordinate, Asmodeus appeared to treat Arthur more as his equal. This has somewhat changed during the events of The Thing, as Asmodeus was seen to belittle Ketch and order him around, even stating that Ketch now worked 'for him'.

Physical Appearance
Asmodeus's vessel is a middle aged man with dark, graying hair and dark eyes. His beard is the same color. He wears an all-white suit much like Lucifer from the alternate timeline. Asmodeus has two connected scars in the shape of a giant V around his left eye that he states Lucifer gave him. He speaks with a Southern accent.

Lore
Asmodeus (/ˌæzməˈdiːəs/; Greek: Ασμοδαίος, Asmodaios) or Ashmedai (/ˈæʃmᵻˌdaɪ/; Hebrew: אַשְמְדּאָי‎‎, ʾAšmədʾāy; see below for other variations) is a king of demons, mostly known from the deuterocanonical Book of Tobit, in which he is the primary antagonist. The demon is also mentioned in some Talmudic legends; for instance, in the story of the construction of the Temple of Solomon. He was supposed by some Renaissance Christians to be the King of the Nine Hells. Asmodeus also is referred to as one of the seven princes of Hell. In Binsfeld's classification of demons, each one of these princes represents one of the seven deadly sins (Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride). Asmodeus is the demon of lust and is therefore responsible for twisting people's sexual desires, as seen in the book of Tobias especially. He is also said to be here on Earth after millions of years in hell.

It is said in Asmodeus; Or, The Devil on Two Sticks that people who fall to Asmodeus' ways will be sentenced to an eternity in the second level of hell.

In the Dictionnaire Infernal, he is depicted as a chimeric creature with a king's crown donned on his head.

Appearances

 * Season 12
 * Stuck in the Middle (With You)
 * Season 13
 * 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

Trivia

 * When Asmodeus uses his smiting power, it matches that of an angelic smiting down to the burned-out eyes unlike Cain's smiting which has a different effect.
 * Ramiel pronounced Asmodeus' name as "As-MO-dee-us", while Sam Winchester and Asmodeus himself pronounced it as "As-mo-DAY-us", the latter being the more common pronunciation, used for characters of the same name in Redwall and Charmed.
 * Lucifer calls Asmodeus "the runt of the litter," indicating that he may be the youngest and/or the weakest Prince of Hell. Lucifer later reveals that Asmodeus is his "weakest creation."
 * Ironically, in the show he showed the strongest powers and abilities among the Princes. According to Lucifer, at least some of his powers were not given to him by Lucifer.