Azazel (Anime Series)

"The Lord? I was once an Angel of the Lord's. And I know a lot more about God than any mortal. He won't lift a finger for you. He merely stands by and watches. You've been praying for Him to save your daughter and what has He done? Her health continues to deteriorate and still He does nothing."

- Azazel to Meg's mother

Azazel (アザゼル), also known as the Yellow Eyed Demon, The Demon, and The Devil, was the main antagonist of Supernatural: The Anime Series, an animated Japanese remake of the first two seasons of the original TV series.

Biography
Azazel was once an angel in Heaven before falling from grace and becoming a demon, presumably as the leader of the entire demonic race.

Usually, Azazel gathered his minions by making deals with various people, and having them possessed by demons. He was shown to uphold his end of the deal at least twice.

Azazel eventually decided to create a group of Special Children, who were each fed demon blood as an infant and were expected to grow and develop powers by their mid-20s. Azazel kept watch of each child, and more often than not he was responsible for the deaths of their mothers, as the mothers tried to intervene in his "ceremony".

Among them was Sam Winchester, whose mother Mary tried to intervene and was subsequently killed in a fire. This led John Winchester to pursue Azazel for the rest of his life. Azazel stayed mostly in the background as the Winchester family sought for a way to kill him.

When the time was ripe, Azazel gathered all of his Special Children and forced them to fight each other to the death, in hopes of obtaining a champion. This turned out to be Jake Talley. Azazel then ordered Jake to open the Devil's Gate in Wyoming, thus unleashing a vast number of demons from Hell.

Dean Winchester, with the help of his father's spirit, managed to kill Azazel with the Colt, thus ending his reign of terror.

Powers and Abilities
Azazel was ranked high in Hell's hierarchy; being a kind of demonic overseer and army leader for Hell's legion. His exact angelic rank in Heaven was never revealed, although his demonic powers suggest he was of considerable status. Even in his fallen and corrupted state as a demon, Azazel retains a great deal of his paranormal powers as a former angel.

Basic Powers
Azazel possessed the basic powers of a demon.
 * Immortality - Azazel was centuries old at the time of his death, maybe older. Possession by Azazel also rendered his vessel similarly unaging and infirm.
 * Demonic Possession - As a demon, Azazel was a disembodied spirit who required a human vessel to exist physically on Earth. He forcefully inhabit a human's body through their mouths. Over the course of the series, Azazel always inhabited the body of a well-dressed middle-aged Caucasian man.
 * Flight - While disembodied, Azazel could fly or soar through the air at moderate speeds as a cloud of black smoke.
 * Super Strength - Being of a higher echelon of demons, Azazel exhibited immense strength while possessing a vessel; increasing the vessel's strength threshold well beyond the limits of most supernatural creatures. When Jake Talley attacked him angrily, Azazel simply sent him several yards through the forest at high speeds like a meteorite, leaving a clear path of bent trees in his wake, all with little effort. However, this strength seemed to be purely physical as he was unable to immediately break free when the ghost of John Winchester restrained him.

Unique Powers
As a higher demon, Azazel exhibited several unique powers that went beyond the standard demonic threshold.
 * Teleportation - Azazel could envelop himself in darkness to de-materialize and then re-materialize in another location.
 * Apporting - He could also do this with others. Interestingly, when he teleported Sam to the ghost town of Coldcreek, it left behind searing hot areas where his smoke had touched.
 * Dream Walking - Azazel entered into the dreams of Sam and the other Special Children at Coldcreek. In the dream, Azazel manifested as either a giant floating yellow eyeball or as a giant version of his human vessel.
 * Healing - Azazel could heal damaged or ailing organic matter into a healthy state. He cured Meg Masters of her otherwise-incurable illness, however it seems he required her mother's permission before he could do so.
 * Resurrection - Azazel restored a dead flower to life simply by picking it up. His fingers gave off an eerie yellow glow when he manifested this power. However, it was never revealed if he could resurrect the dead, although considering his conversation with Dean, it seems he would require a Faustian deal to be made with him before he could do so, similar to a crossroads demon.
 * Telekinesis - Azazel could move objects and people with only a thought or a hand gesture. He pinned Mary Winchester to the ceiling of Sam's nursery.
 * Pyrokinesis - Azazel set Mary Winchester alight with only a thought.

Binding

 * Ghosts - While they could not harm him, Azazel's vessel could be temporarily restrained by a ghost. It seemed that the ghost would have to have been particularly strong, as only John Winchester possessed the willpower to do so.

Destroying

 * The Colt - Like all supernatural creatures, Azazel was vulnerable to the powers of the Colt. It was this vulnerability that ultimately cost him his life.

Appearances

 * Temptation of the Demon
 * The Alter Ego (in Sam's nightmare)
 * Nightmare
 * Darkness Calling
 * All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2

Trivia

 * In this version, Azazel was originally an Angel before becoming a Demon (revealed in Temptation of the Demon) while in the live action TV series, he was a human soul that was tortured and corrupted by Lucifer himself. He was also one of the four Princes of Hell.
 * In this version, it would seem that Azazel was also the devil, however it can not be confirmed, since when called "the Devil" Azazel never denied it. When he and John Winchester were negotiating a deal, Azazel expressed his surprise that John was "making a deal with the devil".
 * Anderson also refers to Azazel as "The Devil".
 * Along with Eisheth from the novels, he is one of only known Angels to have lost their grace, therefore becoming human before going to Hell and having their human soul turned into a demon.
 * ​Curiously, all the demons with this past are from non-canon media.