Michael

"You're wrong. Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me, but still...I don't want this anymore than you would want to kill Sam. You know, my brother -- I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way that most people could never understand, and I still love him. But I am going to kill him because it is right and I have to."

- Michael

Michael is the eldest archangel, making him the oldest angel in creation. He was the Viceroy of Heaven in God's absence, and is one of the most powerful beings in the universe. He commanded the Heavenly Host (God's Army of Angels) before he fell into the Cage with Lucifer. As the highest-ranking archangel, he issued the commands, which went to the higher-ranking angels to disperse the orders down across the angelic chain. During the War In Heaven in the distant past, Michael banished Lucifer from Heaven on God's command, later restricting him to a Cage bound by The 66 Seals.

On Earth, he appears using John Winchester as a vessel to interact with Dean Winchester. There, Michael informs him that anyone in the Winchester bloodline is capable of being his vessel, even though he mentions that Dean Winchester is his one true vessel. He eventually occupies Adam's body while confronting Lucifer, who was using Sam as a vessel. When he falls into the Cage, Heaven loses stability and it results in a civil war between Raphael and Castiel, among other angels.

Presently, Michael is still trapped in the Cage with Lucifer and Adam.

Personality
Michael is a complicated being, having many sides of his personality. He is a strong, but strict leader, having set up a rigid and sturdy hierarchy in Heaven, along with strict rules and harsh punishments; likewise his rule was described as "corrupt" although it wasn't exactly oppressive. Despite this he kept his brethren in the dark on many important matters, including God's leaving.

To his father however, Michael is fanatically loyal, who blindly follows his God's orders without question, as he has said "I'm a good son". He sees himself as a good and loyal son to his father, and that is what matters most to him. He loves his father dearly and despite having not seen him in thousands of years, never lost his faith or his love for him. That is one of the many qualities that he and his one true vessel, Dean Winchester both share. Due to his zealot trust in his father's commands, Michael doesn't believe in free will, not even for himself, believing everything that occurs is how his father planned for.

He also professes his love for Lucifer, his younger brother, and admits to Dean that he doesn't want to kill Lucifer any more than Dean would want to kill Sam, but accepts he must do it due to his father's orders and the actions of his younger brother. His love for Lucifer is proven true, as seen before the fight where he acts in a polite and genuinely saddened manner, and when Lucifer proposes them of walking off the chessboard, Michael seriously considers it for a moment, but he ultimately refuses. Despite loving his younger brother, Michael holds great anger for Lucifer, calling him a monster and blaming him for all their problems, pointing out they were once "happy together" but that Lucifer ruined everything.

Michael considers himself a good person and a loyal son. He also seems to think of himself as magnanimous when he promises to leave Dean intact after having him as a vessel and erasing the memories of his parents of Anna's attack in The Song Remains the Same. He was also shown to be a relatively forgiving person, as he forgave both Uriel and Zachariah, even after Zachariah's constant failures, implying despite being strict or even cruel with them, he does not enjoy killing his own kind.

However he could be wrathful, particularly with anyone who interferes with his destiny, including Dean at Stull Cemetery, and again with Lucifer, when he suggests they refuse to fight. He also kills Anna when she tries to interfere with his plan. It is this insistence on fulfilling his story as written that leads him into imprisonment in the Cage, because he pleaded with Sam, who had recently regained control of his body, that I have to fight my brother, Sam, then grabbed hold of Sam's arm as Sam went tumbling down into the Cage, going down with him.

When it comes to humans, Michael seems to be somewhat uncaring: he does not care if or how many he kills. On one notable occasion, he randomly killed a bar full of people just so he could talk to Zachariah. He referred to Dean at one point as a maggot, just as Zachariah referred to Dean as a maggot inside a worm's ass. Despite this he also doesn't seem to hold any true hatred for humans, never specifically going out of his way to harm any, or even really bothering about them before the Apocalypse occurred. Unlike Lucifer, he was not angered by his father’s love for humans being greater than for him, and when asked to bow before them by him, Michael bowed, though this was most likely out of loyalty to his father. However, Castiel believes that he joined Lucifer in torturing Sam in the Cage as revenge for being trapped there, though this is never confirmed or denied.

Michael is in many ways a tragic figure, as both the people he loved the most, either betrayed or abandoned him, and all he ever really wanted to do was to prove to his father he was a good son- one thing which he never managed to achieve.

Powers & Abilities
As the first archangel, Michael is among the oldest and most powerful supernatural beings in existence. Castiel describes him as the only being, besides God and Death, to be stronger than Lucifer. Castiel even mentioned that Michael, in comparrison to Raphael, is much more powerful. Even Castiel, when empowered with 40 million souls and being able to effortlessly destroy Raphael, opted to keep Michael in the Cage, though it's unknown how the archangel would have fared against the soul-empowered Castiel. Only God and Death are known to be more powerful than him.


 * Nigh-Omnipotence - Michael, being the first and oldest archangel, is one of the most powerful beings in existence, surpassing even his younger brother Lucifer. He can do and create almost anything out of nothingness. For instance, he killed Anna with a fiery touch, and sent Uriel back to Heaven with a snap of his fingers. It was said that if Michael got his chance to battle Lucifer, their fight alone would destroy a large portion of the planet as collateral damage.
 * Possession - Michael requires a vessel to act on Earth, and he must have the vessel's permission. His power can only be contained by someone descended from Cain and Abel. Dean is his true vessel.
 * Immortality - Michael has an indefinitely long lifespan. His vessel doesn't weaken or age over time. He is not affected by diseases or toxins and he does not require food, water, sleep, or oxygen to sustain his vessel.
 * Invulnerability - Michael is next to indestructible and cannot be killed by any conventional weapon. Even Holy Fire was only able to banish him for a short time. Only God, Death, and an archangel blade are capable of killing Michael.
 * Regeneration - If in anyway his vessel becomes damaged, he is able to heal it instantly and completely. For instance, his whole vessel was set ablaze by Holy Fire, but upon his return minutes later, he didn't have a scratch either on his skin or even his clothing.
 * Apporting - Michael could send angels back to Heaven with a simple snap of his fingers.
 * Superhuman Strength - Being the oldest and most powerful archangel, the physical strength that Michael endows his vessel with is astronomically incalculable. He can overpower and kill anything from top-level demons to any lesser angels, pagan god deities, monsters, ghosts, and humans. His immense strength is only rivaled by Lucifer's, as the demon who was possessing Bobby at the time called Michael, "The toughest sumbitch they got."
 * Superhuman Stamina - As an archangel, Michael's stamina is incalculable and needs nothing to maintain strength, to strive, or operate, as he is self-sufficient.
 * Weather Manipulation - Michael's control over the weather exceeds even his own brothers. Upon arriving on Earth to John Winchester, he caused sudden severe winds.
 * Advanced Chronokinesis - Michael has complete control over time. He sends Sam and Dean from the past to the present with ease.
 * Advanced Telekinesis - Michael is a powerful telekinetic, able to move and control objects with his mind effortlessly, he was even able to move objects in areas where he hadn't fully arrived. He demonstrated this when he closed and locked the door to the beautiful room when Adam tried to escape it.
 * Advanced Healing - Michael can easily heal others of any injury, wounds and diseases.
 * Resurrection - Micheal can resurrect humans, angels, and other creatures with ease.
 * Mental Manipulation - Michael can erase, restore, alter, and fabricate the memories and perception of a human.
 * Sedation - Just like an average angel, Michael can sedate humans by touching their forehead.
 * Teleportation - Michael can travel from one place to another instantly, without occupying the space in between. He can also take people with him, in the blink of an eye. Although he can travel virtually anywhere in existence, he is unable to leave Lucifer's Cage once the door is closed, as it was designed to hold an Archangel. Oddly Zachariah had to use a chant to call him to the green room, where Dean was being held, though it was likely a way to contact him.
 * Advanced Pyrokinesis - Michael can generate and manipulate fire. When he used this ability to kill Anna Milton, it destroyed the angel and the vessel, turning the latter into nothing but ash, suggesting the fire is spiritual as well as physical.
 * Thermokinesis - He made the door knob to the beautiful room extremely hot to prevent Dean from being able to open it and save Adam.
 * White Light - Michael can generate an overwhelming white light that is capable of obliterating anything from other living things to entire cities and buildings. With this power he can destroy a large part of Earth.
 * Cosmic Knowledge - Michael has a tremendous knowledge of the universe. His knowledge exceeds even that of Lucifer's.
 * Precognition - Michael can see into the future, but not the full picture.
 * Supernatural Perception - Michael can sense and see things even if they're naturally invisible.
 * Terrakinesis - Michael is able to cause powerful earthquakes by thought or presence alone.

Weaknesses
Death and God are more powerful than him. Also, his immediate brethren, the Archangels, can harm him, like Gabriel did with Lucifer. However, he is significantly stronger than Gabriel and as mentioned by Castiel, much more powerful than Raphael. Lucifer potentially rivals him, although a selection of angels (like Castiel and Zachariah) recognize that if Lucifer fought Michael, Michael would inevitably win again. He has even fewer weaknesses than his archangel brethren, as even Holy Fire can't kill his vessel. The Cage can keep him contained.

Early Life
God created Michael, the first archangel, the eldest of four brothers, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel. After the creation of Heaven, its angels, and Earth and its people, God commanded all of the celestial beings to bow before mankind, asking them to love humans more than himself. Lucifer questioned this order, insisting that they are "broken, flawed, murderous beings." Lucifer then sought out his older brother, Michael, for support, but Michael refused to listen. At some point, God left Heaven. Michael assumed command of the angels, and then ran Heaven and Earth (and possibly the entire universe) for millenia.

When demons began making plans to free Lucifer, Michael decided to allow the seals binding Lucifer to be broken. He and a group of other angels, including Raphael and Zachariah, wanted the Apocalypse to occur so that he and Lucifer could battle. Michael expected to be victorious, so as to bring about paradise. Lesser angels, like Castiel, were not privy to the plan, and were deployed to make it look as though Heaven is fighting the Devil's release.

Season 2
In "Houses of the Holy", Sam notices a painting of Michael casting Lucifer down by the renaissance painter Raphael in the Church they visit to investigate.

Season 4
In "Lucifer Rising", while Zachariah is informing Dean of his true purpose, he is looking at an illustration of Michael in a painting in the Green Room.

Season 5
In "Sympathy for the Devil", upon Lucifer's rising from the Cage, Zachariah reveals to Dean that the angels' plan is for Michael to use Dean Winchester as his vessel and kill Lucifer once and for all. However, Dean needs to give his consent to be the vessel.

In "The Song Remains the Same", Michael first manifests when Sam, Dean and Castiel have traveled back to 1978 to stop Anna Milton from killing John Winchester and Mary Campbell in order to prevent Sam’s birth, and thus his use as Lucifer’s Vessel.

After Anna Milton injures Mary and kills Sam Winchester by stabbing him in the stomach, Michael, The Archangel, converses with John Winchester from Heaven, telling him that he can save his wife, Mary, if he allows him to take possession of his body. John says "Yes," allowing Michael to inhabit his body.

When Anna is about to kill Mary, Michael calls out to Anna. Anna turns around and immediately realizes that Michael is possessing John. Michael lays his hand on Anna and kills her by setting her ablaze. Uriel then calls out to Michael and apologizes, saying that "He didn't know," most likely referring to the fact that he didn't know Michael had plans for the family. Michael says goodbye to Uriel and sends him away with a snap of his fingers.



Michael then turns to Dean and says that this conversation is long overdue. Dean demands that Michael heal Sam, but Michael tells him that they need to talk first. Dean asks Michael how he could possess his father since he was his "one and only" vessel. Michael corrects Dean stating that he is his true vessel and that he can inhabit the body of all those that share the Winchester bloodline due to the fact that he and John were descendants of Cain and Abel.

He then explains to Dean that even though Lucifer defied their Father and betrayed him, he doesn't want to kill him any more than Dean would want to kill Sam. Michael then says regardless of the fact that he raised Lucifer and still loved him, he is going to listen to his Father and kill Lucifer. He then explains to Dean that he will eventually say "Yes" to him because free will is an illusion and that his choices, regardless of what they may be, will lead him a step closer to his destiny that was planned out by God.

Michael tells a saddened Dean to cheer up because, unlike his brothers, he won't leave him a drooling mess after he's done "wearing" him. He then tells Dean that he will erase John and Mary's memories of the whole incident and that they won't remember anything about angels, him, or Sam. Michael walks over to Sam's body, heals him, and then sends him back to his own time. Michael then walks to Dean, telling him that he'll see him soon before sending him back to his own time.

In "Point of No Return", Zachariah has been dismissed from his position and is drinking in a bar, awaiting his destruction, when Michael makes contact. The brilliance and sound of the unshielded archangel kills the bar patrons and Michael offers Zachariah one last chance to secure Dean as a vessel.

Meanwhile, seeing no other way to defeat Lucifer and save the planet, Dean is prepared to consent to becoming Michael's vessel when it is discovered that his half brother Adam Milligan has been resurrected. The angels hold Adam as bait, and Sam and Dean attempt to rescue him.

Zachariah tortures Sam and Adam in front of Dean, and Dean tells Zachariah he will consent. Zachariah utters an incantation that summons Michael to their location, only for Dean to kill a distracted Zachariah with an Angel Blade. Sam and Dean manage to escape before Michael descends, but Adam is trapped inside the room and vanishes with Michael. Adam is technically a vessel, if only a temporary one, for Michael, being of the Winchester bloodline.



In "Swan Song", Michael's appears at Stull Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas in possession of Adam's body in order to face Lucifer in the final battle of Armageddon. Lucifer tries to convince Michael that they shouldn't fight because God made Lucifer the way he is, because he always wanted the Devil. Michael isn't convinced and the two prepare to fight just as Dean drives down into the cemetery and interrupts them.

As Dean tries to talk to Sam, Castiel and Bobby appear and Castiel hits Michael with a holy oil molotov cocktail in order to send him away temporarily. After Lucifer makes Castiel explode and breaks Bobby's neck, he begins to beat Dean. This continues until Sam reclaims control of his body and opens the portal to Hell.

Michael returns and tells Sam that he can't jump in because he has to fulfill his destiny by killing Lucifer. Sam jumps in and Michael tries to grab hold of Sam to pull him back. But Sam is already too far in and Michael gets pulled in with him into the portal, trapping Adam, Sam, Lucifer and Michael in Hell.

Season 6
Subsequently, in Heaven, Raphael informs Castiel that he wants to release Lucifer and Michael so that the Apocalypse can be re-started. While talking with Dean, Castiel speculates that Lucifer and Michael are probably abusing Sam's soul, as they see their imprisonment as his fault. Balthazar makes a similar assumption, as does Crowley. Dean explains to Death, who already knows, that Michael, still inside Adam Milligan, also fell into the cage, and requests that the Horseman retrieves both Sam's soul and Adam. But Death forces him to pick one - Dean picks Sam.

Season 7
In "Meet The New Boss", Castiel tells Crowley he's keeping Hell as a place for his enemies, and to keep Michael in Lucifer's Cage.

Family

 * God - Father
 * Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel  - Archangel Brothers
 * Other Angels - Siblings
 * Dean Winchester - True Vessel
 * Winchester Bloodline  - Are all capable of containing Michael

Appearances

 * Season 2
 * Houses of the Holy (Mentioned only)


 * Season 5
 * The Song Remains the Same (possessing John Winchester)
 * Point of No Return (Doesn't actually appear corporeal, but his presence is felt)
 * Swan Song (possessing Adam Milligan)
 * Season 7
 * Meet The New Boss (Mentioned only)
 * Season 8
 * The Great Escapist  (Mentioned only)

Trivia

 * His name is meant to be translated as a rhetorical question, "Who is like God?"
 * Michael is considered the "Viceroy of Heaven," meaning, the ruler of Heaven in God's stead.
 * It is unknown what happens to Michael at the end of Swan Song as he (in Adam's body) fell in with Sam (possessed by Lucifer) into the portal to Lucifer's Cage.
 * So far in the series, Michael has used two vessels: John Winchester and Adam Milligan.
 * Outside of the series, creator Eric Kripke has stated in The Official Companion Season 5 that Death is more powerful than Michael.
 * Interestingly, when Castiel struck Michael (in Adam's body) with a molotov of Holy Fire, Michael's anguished screams through Adam's voice became lower in pitch, distorted, and the distinctive high pitched sound that angels emit in their true forms can be heard.
 * Michael is the only Archangel who never possessed his true Vessel, as Lucifer possessed Sam for a short time, Gabriel appeared to have found his true Vessel, and Raphael had found his (either Donnie, or the other vessel.)

In Lore

 * Many exorcisms invoke the name of the Archangel Michael, to defeat and banish the demon.
 * In the final judgment, Michael is shown as the weigher of souls.
 * Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael are the only angels who are also saints.
 * Michael holds the keys to Heaven and Hell.
 * He is the Archistratege of God ('Archistratege' being a military rank of the highest degree, superior to a field marshal or grand admiral).
 * He is the only angel in the Bible named as an Archangel; the rest were named in different interpretations of the Bible and other biblical scrolls, or given the title by the Catholic Church. This is why he is considered the Archangel.
 * Michael is known as the 'Prince of the Seraphim' (the Seraphim being the highest order of angels).
 * He is often shown as the angel who spoke to Moses as a burning bush, delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, and fought with Lucifer over Moses' body and won.
 * In the Apocalypse, Michael leads the army of Heaven and defeats Lucifer and the Antichrist.