Archangels

"Archangels are fierce. They're absolute. They're Heaven's most terrifying weapon."

- Castiel speaks to Dean about Archangels.

Archangels are the first and most powerful type of angelic being created by God, that he created after Purgatory. Leviathans and Eve are the only known created beings to predate them. Being the oldest of the angels, archangels are at the top of the celestial hierarchy. They possess incalculable power and answer only to God, although few others are more powerful than them. They were created in this order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel. Michael is the mightiest but also the most loyal and obedient, Lucifer is God's most loved but also the most prideful and avaricious, Raphael was the most ruthless and imperious, while Gabriel was the most mischievous and deceptive and is also the only who cares for humanity.

The angel Metatron was also considered to be an Archangel until he revealed that he was simply a regular angel who was chosen to be the Scribe of God.

Early life
After creating the first beasts, the Leviathans, and locking them away in Purgatory, God created his four chief celestial beings whom he christened archangels. They were created in this explicit order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel. They distinctively met and interacted with their father. In Heaven, Michael personally raised his little brother Lucifer, and accordingly, Lucifer took care of Gabriel, and showed him different tricks. Following the creation of mankind, God asked all his children to kneel before them. Although the other three archangels complied, Lucifer refused, and led a rebellion trying to overthrow God. Michael, on God's command, defeated Lucifer, and banished his brother out of Heaven and into Hell. During the turmoil, Gabriel escaped to Earth to avoid taking sides and Raphael chose to side with God and Michael.

After God's departure from Heaven, the archangels, according to Metatron, ferociously whined and wailed. Over time, however, they began to shift their attention into ruling the universe. Although immensely powerful themselves, to rule the universe, they would need the Words of God. However, Metatron, the Scribe of God, predicted the archangels' decision, and proceeded to leave Heaven to protect the tablets and himself. Lucifer, however, was able to take possession of the Angel Tablet sometime after and had it placed in one of his crypts.

Characteristics
According to Castiel, they are known in Heaven as absolute, precise and wrathful creatures, as he has called them, "The most fearsome wrath of Heaven". Like all angels, their true forms are very intense, and have proven not only harmful but also fatal to humans, though Castiel also claimed that special humans can see their true forms. Their presence on Earth outside a vessel is often visualized as a blinding, pure white light, and their arrival can cause minor tremors, as shown by Lucifer when the Chapel shook as he escaped the Cage, and by Raphael while intervening to protect the prophet Chuck Shurley from Lilith. Their true voice also emits a piercing sound, which has proven to be excruciatingly painful to humans. During a subsequent appearance, Raphael caused the entire Eastern Sea Board to experience a black out and generated strong winds and heavy rainstorms. Shortly before his defeat, Lucifer's presence caused the temperature to drop drastically in Detroit.

It has been stated that Archangels are tethered to prophets. Raphael seemed to be the one who monitored and protected prophet Chuck Shurley. Before his fall, Lucifer was God's most beloved angel; he was considered beautiful, and was well respected in Heaven.

Archangels view themselves as the highest authority over all of creation since God's departure from Heaven. As leaders in Heaven, Michael and Raphael commanded the Host of Heaven, issuing orders to the "Senior Management" who were responsible for deploying angels to Earth. They did not share all their plans, especially their intention to allow Lucifer to be freed, to avoid rebellion in the lower ranks. Most of them showed little respect while interacting with humans, although Gabriel eventually confessed his appreciation of humanity even believing humans to be better than them.

The relationships between archangels and their true vessels can be complex. Holding an archangel is psychologically damaging to a human; Raphael's vessel Donnie Finnerman was left a drooling, catatonic mess after possession. Lucifer's continued presence in Nick, an alternate vessel, causes the human's body to breakdown, as evidenced by burn-like marks, scarring and tears on his skin. Lucifer's vessels can be strengthened with demon blood to better survive the ordeal; Castiel later commented that Lucifer was drinking gallons of blood to keep his body intact. However when Lucifer transfered to Sam, Nick would die. Despite his contempt and hatred for humanity as a whole, Lucifer showed some sympathy towards Nick, and towards Sam Winchester, his true vessel. Michael, though condescendingly, was willing to explain his position to Dean Winchester while occupying his father, and promised not to leave Dean a "drooling mess" after his service and even promised to restore John Winchester, whom he was possessing, to "better than new", which he later did. This implies that, possibly because of their deep contempt for humanity, archangels leave their vessels in a dilapidated state not as a consequence of possession, but out of sheer spite.

Powers & Abilities
"No one gives us the right; we take it."

- Lucifer comments on his and his brothers' powers. "Whatever we want, we get!"

- Raphael describing his and his brothers' absolute authority.

"No-one makes us do anything."

- Gabriel, about his and his brother's powers

Archangels are the highest type of celestial being, who possess a large amount power. They possess the powers and abilities that are inherent in all angels, but to a greater degree.

There are few beings that are stronger than Archangels. Castiel, while imbued with 30-40 million souls and Leviathan, could erase entire realms, and, therefore, archangels from existence. Imbued with ginormous and unimaginable power by their creator, the archangels are four of the most powerful beings in all of creation (not including Leviathan and Eve). They are held in extremely high esteem by angels, being looked upon as "fierce" and "absolute" in power and capability. All archangels have tremendous power over other supernatural beings.


 * Nigh-Omnipotence - Archangels have a tremendously vast supply of power, but they can't do everything. They can create people, animals, objects, and places out of thing air. Having great power and dexterity, archangels can overpower other angel types,  demons, monsters, humans, and presumably all fairies and deities.
 * Cosmic Awareness - Archangels have near-absolute knowledge and awareness of basically everything.
 * Immortality - Archangels aren't affected by time, or disease, and don't need to breathe, eat, or sleep to sustain themselves. Archangel blades can kill them and all of Heaven's weapons working together can mortally wound, if not kill, Gabriel or Raphael.
 * Angelic Possession - By God's law, even archangels require vessels to manifest physically on Earth, with the vessel's consent. Archangels are highly particular about their vessels (even more so than average angels); any vessel that an Archangel such as Michael or Lucifer possesses that is not part of Cain and Abel's bloodline will burn up and deteriorate over time. It also seems that they cannot be expelled by the vessel's consent being revoked.
 * Holy White Light - Archangels can blast basically anything into oblivion with holy energy. This power can also be controlled and concentrated from completely obliterating something to only severely damaging it.
 * Implosion Smiting - Archangels can explode, or implode, any other angel type, all demons, all fairies, alphas, all monsters, deities, and humans. Chuck describes it as popping a balloon full of chunky soup.
 * Invulnerability - Archangels cannot be damaged or injured by anything that's at least not supernatural. Archangel blades can kill them, and all of Heaven's weapons acting together can mortally wound, if not kill, Gabriel and Raphael. Lucifer experienced some pain when shot by the Colt, but completely recovered very quickly.
 * Immunity - Archangels have immunity to that which affects lesser angels. Michael was not killed holy fire as lesser angels are, and Lucifer is one of the five things in all creation that the Colt cannot kill, though it can still inflict pain upon him for a time.
 * Super Strength - Archangels can exert or apply extreme amounts of force to people and objects. They can overpower and kill anything, besides God, Death, War, Famine, Pestilence, Leviathan and Eve.
 * Super Stamina - Archangels' vessels need nothing to maintain their strength, to strive, or operate, as they are self-sufficient. "Falling", or being banished doesn't affect their powers at all, where as it causes normal angels to lose the ability to smite and heal.
 * Telekinesis - Archangels can move matter with their mind.
 * Teleportation - Archangels can disappear and reappear anywhere that's not sigil-protected instantly.
 * Apporting - Archangels can teleport anything they touch to somewhere else.
 * Telepathy - Archangels can read and feel/sense the thoughts of humans.
 * Empathy - Archangels can read, and feel/sense the emotions of humans.
 * Precognition - Archangels can see into the future, although they do not always see the full picture; as Michael has apparently been "wrong", and neither Lucifer nor Gabriel foresaw their defeats.
 * Summoning/Banishing - Archangels can summon and banish angels at their command. This was demonstrated by Michael.
 * Memory Manipulation- Archangels can erase, fabricate and restore memories of people.
 * Shapeshifting - Archangels can change form, as Lucifer did when he appeared to Nick using Sarah's visage. Gabriel also demonstrated this ability several times, in conjunction with his reality warping abilities.
 * Enhanced Reality Warping - Like some Angels and Seraphs, Archangels can alter reality, albeit to a greater degree. This ability is better demostrated in the archangel Gabriel, who can create anything he wants out of thin air and can even put people in a TV universe. He learned this ability from Lucifer.
 * Chronokinesis - Archangels can travel and send themselves, and/or others, backwards or forwards through time.
 * Resurrection - Archangels can resurrect deceased individuals back to life.
 * Power Granting- Archangels can grant protection or powers to other beings as shown when Raphael made Crowley immune to Castiel's angelic killing touch.
 * Supernatural Perception - They can sense and perceive beings and things that are naturally invisible, such as Reapers and even Horsemen. Lucifer was able to casually look at Death's true form upon his release.
 * Weather Manipulation - Practically every Archangel changes the weather upon first emergence. The sheer presence can drastically alter the Earth's weather and surroundings, and they are capable of causing raging storms and generating strong air-currents.
 * Pyrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate fire. They can incinerate any other angel type, all demons, all fairies, alphas, all monsters, deities, and humans with a tap. Michael incinerated Anna, burning her from the inside out.
 * Thermokinesis - Archangels can alter the temperature of their surroundings. Lucifer's presence could cause a massive drop in temperature, and he could cause ice to form on a window just by breathing on it. Michael was also to cause a door knob to heat up drastically to prevent Adam from escaping.
 * Electrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate electricity with such an intensity that they can cause coastal blackouts.
 * Terrakinesis - Archangels can cause full-fledged earthquakes, regardless of whether they are in a vessel or not.
 * Biokinesis - Archangels, by snapping or clicking their fingers, can spontaneously destroy angels, and therefore monsters and humans alike as well.
 * Regeneration - If they are in some way harmed, they can instantly heal all non-fatal wounds.
 * Flight - Like regular angels, archangels have demonstrated flight, though not when in a vessel.
 * Sedation - Michael used this to put Mary Winchester to sleep.
 * Healing- Archangels can cure any disease, wound, or injury.
 * Voice Mimicry - Archangels can perfectly mimic the voice of mortals.
 * Dream Walking - Archangels can appear in peoples' dreams, and they usually use this ability to communicate when they can't find the person they're looking for, or when they want to talk privately. Lucifer was able to talk to his future vessels in their dreams.
 * Astral Projection - Like angels and Seraphim.
 * Eidetic Memory - Angels have the faces of every prophet who has existed or will exist etched into their memories. This ability also makes them aware of reality warping and timeline changes.

Weaknesses
Despite them being immensely powerful, the archangels possess a few weaknesses which are common to all angels.


 * Archangel blades - Archangel blades can harm and kill archangels.
 * Angel blades - Angel blades can harm archangels to at least some degree, as Raphael caught one Dean threw at him instead of letting it bounce off.
 * Holy Oil - Archangels, except Michael and possibly Lucifer, can be trapped in a loop of holy fire and passing through the flames will kill them and their vessel. Contact with holy fire can temporarily banish and damage Michael's vessel, but not kill him.
 * Enochian Sigil - Can conceal a person's location from all angels, including archangels.
 * Lucifer's Cage - This cell can hold any angel, therefore including archangels, without any internal means of escape.
 * Heaven's Weapons - All of Heaven's weapons acting together can mortally and lethally wound, if not kill, Gabriel and Raphael.
 * Metatron's Expulsion Spell -Gabriel claimed that he had been greatly affected by the fall despite the fact he had been in hiding.
 * Souls - Imbued with 50,000 souls, angels are able to hurt Gabriel and Raphael. Consumption of 30-40 million souls and Leviathan gave Castiel so much power that he could snap his fingers and obliterate Raphael. He could erase entire realms, and, therefore, archangels from existence.
 * Magic - Very strong magic, like the deity Kali's, can affect at least the younger archangels' human embodiment. She was able to bind Gabriel's vessel to her with a blood spell.
 * Leviathans- The Leviathan can overpower and kill any celestial being, so it is highly implied that Leviathans can harm, if not kill archangels
 * Eve - As being older than the archangels and being able draw power from souls, she could most likely harm, if not kill archangels.
 * Jesse Turner - An anti-christ, the offspring of a human and demon, is said to be able to char the entire Host of Heaven, but it's unknown if one could affect archangels seeing as their powers are fueled by Lucifer.
 * Death's Scythe - Can kill anything

Known Vessels

 * Dean Winchester - Michael's true vessel (not used).
 * Sam Winchester - Lucifer's true vessel.
 * Nick - Lucifer's "Plan B" vessel. Presumably deceased after Lucifer abandons his body to possess Sam.
 * Donnie Finnerman - Raphael's first vessel. Killed when Balthazar uses Lot's salt on Raphael which kills Donnie but Raphael survives.
 * John Winchester - Michael's temporary vessel, restored to normal once Michael was finished. Was killed in 2006 by Azazel.
 * Adam Milligan - Michael's replacement vessel. Incapacitated when he, along with Michael possessing him, are thrown into Hell by Sam containing Lucifer where Adam still remains.
 * Unnamed male - Gabriel's only known vessel.
 * Unnamed female - Raphael's second vessel. Was killed along with Raphael by Castiel.

It has been implied that Cain and Abel, as they are the ancestors to Sam and Dean, could also have been vessels for Michael and Lucifer.

Appearances

 * Season 2
 * Tall Tales (Gabriel)


 * Season 3
 * Mystery Spot (Gabriel)


 * Season 4
 * The Monster at the End of This Book (Raphael's presence)
 * Lucifer Rising (Raphael's presence and Lucifer's voice)


 * Season 5
 * Sympathy for the Devil (Lucifer)
 * Free To Be You and Me (Raphael and Lucifer)
 * The End (Lucifer)
 * Changing Channels (Gabriel)
 * Abandon All Hope... (Lucifer)
 * The Song Remains the Same (Michael)
 * Point of No Return (Michael's presence)
 * Hammer of the Gods (Gabriel and Lucifer)
 * Swan Song (Michael and Lucifer)


 * Season 6
 * The Third Man (Raphael)
 * The French Mistake (Raphael)
 * The Man Who Would Be King (Raphael)
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much (Raphael; Michael and Lucifer in flashbacks)


 * Season 7
 * Meet The New Boss (Raphael's corpse, Lucifer as a hallucination)
 * Hello, Cruel World (Raphael's corpse, Lucifer as a hallucination)
 * Repo Man (Lucifer as a hallucination)
 * The Born-Again Identity (Lucifer as a hallucination)
 * Season 9
 * Meta Fiction (Gabriel)

Trivia

 * Even though in some religions there are seven archangels, only four have been confirmed in Supernatural - Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel - and a few fans have argued that the fact that Metatron (when asking if Sam and Dean worked for any of the archangels in The Great Escapist) only mentioned these four archangels would suggest that there aren't any other archangels in Supernatural. Though given Metatron's lowly position within Heaven, before leaving and cutting himself off from angel radio, there could be more that he was unaware of.
 * The archangels are collectively one of the most dangerous and powerful antagonists in the entire series.
 * After Season 6, it appeared that no Archangels remained as Michael and Lucifer were trapped in the cage and Gabriel and Raphael were dead; however in Season 9 it was shown that Gabriel might have tricked everyone and survived.
 * Metatron was described as an archangel in one of the Word of God tablets, but he revealed that he was simply an angel that was chosen to be a scribe.
 * To date, no one has ever used an Angel Banishing Sigil or an Angel Supressing Sigil on an Archangel so it is unknown how it would affect Archangels.
 * It was originally believed by the Men of Letters that the Archangels were responsible for the extermination of the Knights of Hell except Abaddon, it was actually the knights founder, Cain. Whether or not this rumour was started by the angels or by Cain himself is currently unknown.