Archangels

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

- Castiel about the Archangels

Archangels are primordial angels, being looked at as Heaven's most fearsome wrath. They were the first and strongest class of angels to be created, making them one of God's first creations. They were created in this order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, and Gabriel. Michael is the mightiest and the most loyal archangel, Lucifer is the most prideful and avaricious, Raphael was the most ruthless and imperious, while Gabriel is the most mischievous and deceptive.

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

Early life
"You think you created the archangels to bring light? No. You made them to create lesser beings; to make you large, to make you lord! It was ego! You wanted to be big!"

- The Darkness The archangels were the four chief angelic creations of God. They were created in this explicit order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. The archangels acted as siblings, and distinctively interacted with themselves and their father.

At some point after their creation, they and God went into war with the Darkness and together, while they couldn't destroy it, they succeeded in binding it. God then created a mark, later to be called The Mark of Cain, that would serve as both lock and key for the Darkness, which he gave to his most beloved son and most trusted lieutenant, Lucifer. After the banishing of the Darkness and helping create Heaven, Michael personally raised his younger brother Lucifer, and accordingly, Lucifer took care of Gabriel, and showed him different tricks.

Following the imprisonment of the Leviathans in Purgatory and 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 because when he was trusted with the Mark, it corrupted Lucifer and drove him to be jealous of humanity. Therefore, 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 while Raphael chose to side with God and Michael.

After God's departure from Heaven, the archangels, according to Metatron, ferociously whined, cried, and wailed. Whilst they wanted their father back, over time, however, they began to shift their attention into ruling the Universe in his absence. Although immensely powerful themselves, to rule the universe they needed the Word 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. The archangels were also believed to have killed Lucifer's elite order of demons, the Knights of Hell by everyone who knew of them. However, unknown to everyone, the truth was that the leader of the Knights, Cain, killed all but Abaddon himself instead of the archangels. According to Cain, only Abaddon knew the truth though Crowley somehow later found out.

Present Life
For millions of years, Lucifer was imprisoned in Hell's depths, Michael and Raphael remained in Heaven under the guise of being God's representatives, and Gabriel lived amongst the humans and the pagan deities under a false identity.

Raphael was entrusted with watching over the new prophet Chuck Shurley (who unknown to him was really his father disguised) and killed Castiel once he rebelled against Heaven and tried to foil Michael's plans.

Eventually, the final seal to Lucifer's cage which was the death of Lilith broken by Sam Winchester and Lucifer was freed which was the first sign of the The Apocalypse.

Readying for battle, Michael sent several angels to get his true vessel Dean Winchester to prepare for the battle but his efforts were foiled, due to the latter's refusal and the efforts of Castiel who was resurrected by God. Likewise, Lucifer himself made contact with his true vessel Sam Winchester but similar to his brother, Sam refused to give his consent.

Not caring which side wins in the war but only wanting the fight to end, Gabriel lured the Winchesters to him and attempted to get them to give their consent to fight. His attempts had failed and his identity was exposed by them and his own brother Castiel.

Very soon, an impatient Michael made one last attempt to get Dean's consent but failed in his efforts were unsuccessful. Having little options, Michael settled on using a substitute vessel in the form of Adam Milligan, the half-brother of his and Lucifer's true vessel.

Downfall
By 2009, the year of The Apocalypse, after the Winchesters were captured by Deities, Gabriel decided to aid Winchesters. Gabriel fought against his three siblings and their desire to fight each other to end everything as he knew humanity was better than the angels even if they were flawed. He was supposedly killed in a confrontation with Lucifer.

Making contact with Death, Dean and Sam are given the keys to Lucifer's cage which causes them to plan for Sam to give consent but take control of his body to throw Lucifer back into his prison. With this plan in mind, Sam tracks down Lucifer and finally consents to Lucifer's possession even though the Devil reveals he already knows of their plan to try to force him back into his Cage. Despite this, Sam goes forward with the plan in an agreed proposition with Lucifer: if Sam wins in their struggle for supremacy, he may jump in the hole and take Lucifer with him; but if Lucifer wins, he wins. Sam then says "Yes". After a brief struggle of control, Lucifer then takes full hold of Sam's body and closes the cage, while taking the rings and vanishes from the area.

With his vessel, Lucifer travels to Stull Cemetery outside Lawrence, Kansas, the place where he is fated to meet his older brother, Michael for their final confrontation. After a few words, the two prepare for battle but before either can make a move however, Dean Winchester arrives in the Impala and demands to speak to Sam. His actions are met with anger by the two angels who want him to leave so they can have their showdown.

Before they can attempt to remove Dean from the scene, Castiel appears and hurls a molotov cocktail of holy oil at the elder archangel, banishing him. Lucifer, outraged over Castiel's actions, snaps his fingers and obliterates the rebellious angel. He then begins to beat Dean but is shot several times by Bobby Singer before he turns and telekinetically snaps Bobby's neck. Continuing his assault on Dean, the Archangel states that he will break every one of Dean's bones and make Sam feel it. Despite the brutal beating he takes, Dean does not resist and merely tells Sam that he will not leave him.

As Lucifer attacked Dean, Sam managed to regain control of his body and using the cage's keys to open the cage. Michael tried to stop him but was grabbed by Sam which imprisons both Michael and Lucifer along with their vessels in Lucifer's Cage.

In the aftermath of their imprisonment, Castiel was resurrected and improved by God which allowed him to heal Dean and resurrect Bobby. Sam was later freed by Castiel though his soul was left behind, presumably tortured by the archangels in retaliation for his actions.

This act left Raphael as the only remaining Archangel and he took control over Heaven in Michael's place.

Two years later, Raphael acted as Heaven's leader and intended to release his brothers from the cage and restart the Apocalypse but his way of thinking was challenged by Castiel which resulted in a war of Heaven with the supporters of both Castiel and Raphael. Raphael was killed by an empowered Castiel.

Lucifer did not return to the surface until 2016, where he possessed Castiel and he became the only Archangel active and alive, his brother Michael said to having gone insane.

A threat from another reality and the Fate of Heaven
While Lucifer was in the parallel world, he encountered the counterpart of Michael who revealed that he killed his Lucifer and intended to the same to him which ignited a fight between the two. Michael easily defeated and captured Lucifer and reading his mind to see his world, which he made plans to invade by using the latter's grace and a prophet. They were successful in making a spell which opened a rift, though Lucifer used the rift's creation as a distraction to escape his captors and jumps through the rift, returning to his world. Michael was not amused by this act and ordered Kevin to find a way to create a new rift, so he could enter the other world.

Due to Michael's actions, he was weakened and was forced to make peace with his brother and old enemy Castiel as he warned him about Michael, whom he knew would not give up in invading their world. After they were captured by Asmodeus, the latter remarked if Lucifer was right that he'll definitely need Jack on his side.

After Lucifer escaped him, Asmodeus sent Arthur Ketch after him to kill him before he replenished his strength. While struggling in his weakened state, Lucifer made plans to regain his strength by taking the grace of other angels before he was confronted by Castiel, the Winchesters and Ketch but he escaped with the help of Anael. Ketch offered to be a double agent for the Winchesters, due to the threat of Michael.

Lucifer then took control of Heaven promising to build new angels if the others provided some of their grace to him so as to have strength. After Ketch returned to Asmodeus when failing in 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.

The item was an archangel blade which Ketch revealed 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, Jack was imprisoned by Michael after he refused to open a rift for Michael to invade the main world. After Jack escaped with Mary Winchester, Michael dispatches Zachariah and a squad of angels to pursue them and bring Jack back to him. The young Nephilim was forced to deal with attacking angels and was successful in repelling them.

Jack was praised for saving the human colony but he realizes that for the humans of that world to be truly safe in this world is that he has to kill Michael and free the world from his grasp.

In the main universe, Castiel was forced to pry the ingredients from a corrupted Donatello for a spell that could open the rift to the Apocalypse World, he revealed they needed Archangel grace.

In The Thing, Gabriel is shown to be kept in Lucifer's old cage in the throne room of Crowley's old lair. Arthur witnesses Gabriel, who now sports a fearful and nervous personality, having some of his grace extracted by Asmodeus who injects himself with it to power up. Gabriel witnesses the interactions between Arthur and Asmodeus and appears terrified at Asmodeus' beating of Arthur.

After this, Arthur goes against Asmodeus and liberates the captive Gabriel who was unwilling but forced to escape with the man. Arthur brought Gabriel back to the Men of Letters bunker where he showed him to Sam and Dean who were shocked at his survival. They then used the nervous Gabriel's grace for a ritual. Gabriel cringes away in fear until Arthur soothes him and instead supplies the Winchesters with some of the grace Asmodeus had already extracted.

Later, Sam cuts the stitches holding Gabriel's mouth shut and asks Gabriel what happened to him. Before Gabriel can respond, Dean interrupts with the intention to travel to Apocalypse World immediately. Once the rift is open, Dean entrusts Gabriel into Sam's hands as he and Arthur pass through, leaving Sam and Gabriel alone in the bunker.



In Bring 'em Back Alive, Sam and Castiel are able to learn how Gabriel is still alive as he writes on the walls of his room of how he faked his own death during the Apocalypse to abscond from his responsibilities but was eventually captured and sold to Asmodeus. The two work to try to fix Gabriel who, in his traumatized state, is initially unresponsive to anything.

After Asmodeus invades the bunker, Gabriel recovers and kills the last Prince of Hell. He then absconds from his responsibilities once more and takes off again.

In Funeralia, Castiel returns to Heaven where he attempts to seek out the aid of the angels in finding Gabriel who he reveals is alive, to their surprise. He also states he needs them to help in the conflict of the invading Michael of the parallel world. Castiel discovers that Lucifer has absconded from his duties as Ruler of Heaven and Naomi, believed dead since the Fall of the Angels, is in charge. Naomi explains that there are less than a dozen angels left alive and as a result, Heaven is running out of power. Without Gabriel returning to Heaven to stabilize it, the remaining angels will soon burn out and Heaven will crumble, releasing the billions upon billions of souls upon the Earth. Castiel agrees to help the angels find Gabriel in hopes that, along with helping to defeat Michael, he will return to Heaven to help with the situation there.

In Unfinished Business, Sam and Dean track Gabriel with Rowena MacLeod's help but the latter sensed the spell and went to them. After a conflict with two Deities, he revealed his intention of hunting down and killing the deity Loki who sold him to Asmodeus and decided to get his revenge for the suffering he endured. As he is weakened and wounded, the Winchesters tend to him and offered him help but only if he will help them in their endeavors and he begrudgingly agreed.

Tracking down Loki and his sons at a motel, Gabriel and the Winchesters killed Sleipnir and his men. Sam soon realized Dean went after Loki alone, as Gabriel stated Loki was his and they went to stop Dean. Loki confronted Gabriel in the hallway outside and noted that Gabriel didn't have the sword designed to kill him. Gabriel claimed that he "wanted to do this one old school" and tossed away the sword he was holding. Loki telekinetically flung Gabriel against a wall and began viciously kicking him and mocked Gabriel's inability to keep one promise and then have the audacity to ask Loki for help again. Loki continued his attack, demanding to know if Gabriel thought that he and his sons deserved to die for Gabriel's spinelessness. As Loki grabbed Gabriel again, Dean slid him the correct sword and Gabriel pinned Loki to the wall, holding the sword against his chest. Helpless to stop Gabriel, Loki mocked Gabriel for needing someone to save him again and called Gabriel a joke and a failure that stood for nothing and would eventually die for nothing. Telling Loki "you first," Gabriel drove the sword through Loki's heart, killing him.

After killing Loki, Gabriel thanked the brothers for their help even though he knew they weren't keen on it. Gabriel then decided help them in defeating Michael, as they question his change in mind which he states is because he promised. Gabriel told them he has decided to move on from his past as a Trickster now that he had his revenge and they accept his change. Sam speaks to Gabriel and asked how he really felt as he replied that he felt good about it. Though in truth, Gabriel really felt empty and believed he had nothing more to do and decided to help.

During Beat the Devil, Gabriel went to extract his grace in Dean's room but it wasn't enough.

At a bar, Lucifer drowns his sorrows in a bar and laments that he only wants his son before he is surprised to see Gabriel who disguised himself as he served Lucifer a magical spiked drink before he reveals himself and Lucifer is surprised to see him alive. Lucifer tries to punch Gabriel but he is too weakened to do so. Rowena then helps in binding and capturing Lucifer. Gabriel is confused to hear Lucifer beg for death, though knocks him out. Lucifer is used to power the rift until the others find Mary and Jack, Gabriel joins them in the journey to Apocalypse World. During this time, Gabriel is told by Castiel of Heaven's state and how it may need him to maintain its state. He is reluctant since he once abandoned it.

Back in the prime world, Lucifer works on breaking his bonds and taunting Rowena who retaliates by revealing that Jack is in Apocalypse World. Finally, Lucifer angrily breaks free and attacks Rowena who magically repels him, inadvertently sending Lucifer through the rift into Apocalypse World.

The group come across humans who they save from vampires and are told that Jack and Mary are at a camp which is where they are headed and there is a shortcut but vampires are there, Gabriel wanted to avoid it but Castiel tells him it is the best way. Traveling through a tunnel, they deal with swarms of vampires where they lose Floyd and Sam.

Very soon, they find an area with warding which halts Castiel until Gabriel gets rid of it before they are found by armed humans led by Mary who takes them to the camp and they find Jack. When Jack becomes distraught at Sam's fate and asks why they didn't revive him, Gabriel tells his nephew that they aren't strong enough to resurrect Sam before the latter arrives with Lucifer. Lucifer greets his surprised son as the others are surprised to see him.

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 transferred 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.

Death revealed that it was the archangels that fought off and entrapped the Darkness that existed before God created the universe. God and Lucifer both later stated that it took the four archangels to weaken the Darkness enough for God to lock her away and even then God could barely do it.

God tells the Winchesters that the archangels are beings of primordial creation. As a result, it is extremely difficult, but not impossible, for God to resurrect them from the dead unlike lesser angels such as Castiel. However, God states that resurrecting archangels would take time.

In general, all archangels appear to be more powerful than any existing demon. The first demon Lilith fled when faced with Raphael coming after her. At full power, Lucifer was feared by the Prince of Hell Asmodeus, but was no match for him with his grace diminished. After Gabriel recovered from his torture by Asmodeus, the Prince of Hell proved to be no match for the weakest archangel who effortlessly killed him.

According to Castiel, angels cannot heal the injuries of an archangel. This extends to Seraphim such as Castiel as well as regular angels.

Powers and 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's description of his and his brother's powers.

Archangels are the highest type of celestial being, possessing an immense amount of supernatural power that makes them among the oldest and most powerful beings in the Universe. All four Archangels together are powerful enough to weaken the Darkness, the most powerful entity in existence, albeit assisted by God. They possess the powers and abilities that are inherent in all angels, but to a much higher degree, arguably the highest degree with their power just under that of God himself. Despite their tremendous power, Lucifer himself fears the Shedim, creatures he would not allow to roam free after God locked them in Hell. The Archangels are held in extremely high esteem by angels, being looked upon as "fierce" and "absolute" in power and capability. Archangels have a vast supply of power and can create most things out of thin air. Archangels are shown to be considerably more powerful than the Princes of Hell. While at full power, Lucifer was greatly feared by Asmodeus and Dagon and the weakest archangel, Gabriel, was more than a match for Asmodeus in combat and easily killed him. The archangels appear not to have been affected by the Expelling Angels spell as both Lucifer and Gabriel are known to have retained their wings.
 * Lower Tier Nigh-Omnipotence - Archangels have a tremendously vast supply of power; they can accomplish almost anything they desire with only some exceptions. Only God, the Darkness, and Death can defeat them. A great display of their power is also everything from the ability to create alternate universes to, collectively and assisted by God, being able to stand up to the Darkness. Archangels rank in age in this specific order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel. As for the power line, the order is the same, with Michael and Lucifer being equals, or Michael very slightly stronger, as the Michael from the alternate reality killed his Lucifer as well as having easily beat the main reality Lucifer in a fight. They are far older than The Universe itself.
 * Angelic Possession - Even archangels require vessels to manifest physically on Earth and need their consent to do so.
 * Apporting - Archangels can teleport people, objects and lesser angels to wherever they want.
 * Astral 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.
 * Astral Projection - Archangels can display their wings like any other angel.
 * Biokinesis - Archangels can manipulate the bodies of lesser beings, either to harm or to transfigure. Lucifer was able to cause a man to die of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
 * Highly Advanced Chronokinesis - Archangels can travel and send themselves, and/or others, backwards or forwards through time. Gabriel was able to create a time loop.
 * Clairsentience - Lucifer was able to detect the power and life of his unborn son.
 * Conversion - Lucifer created the race of demons by twisting humans souls.
 * Deflection - Gabriel was able to effortlessly deflect an energy blast from Asmodeus, while Lucifer deflected a single energy blast from Alternate Michael with some effort.
 * Electrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate electricity with such an intensity that they can cause coastal blackouts as seen when Raphael manifested before Dean and Castiel. With a snap of his fingers, Lucifer was able to disable a fire alarm and turn on music.
 * Electromagnetic Interference - Lucifer was able to cause the lights to flicker with his presence at the Elysian Fields Hotel.
 * Energy Blasts - Lucifer was able to launch blue energy blasts at Alternate Michael, which did no visible damage. Michael was then able to use the same attack to injure Lucifer.
 * Exorcism - With just a snap of his fingers, Lucifer was able to exorcise a demon back to Hell.
 * Healing - Archangels can cure any disease, wound, or injury. Michael even said that after he used Dean, he would just simply undo all the damage done to his body. Lucifer was able to heal the angel Anael.
 * Flight - Like regular angels, archangels have demonstrated flight, though not when in a vessel.
 * Highly Advanced Holy White Light - Archangels can blast almost anything into oblivion with holy energy. This power can also be controlled and concentrated from completely obliterating something to only severely damaging it. Michael and Lucifer's fight was prophesized to destroy half the Earth. The Apocalypse World Michael was able to blast down the door to the Men of Letters bunker with a concentrated blast of white light.
 * Molecular Combustion - Archangels have demonstrated the ability to explode lower angels into their component molecules with snaps of their fingers.  Lucifer could use this power to kill demons and humans as well.
 * Smiting - Like all other angels, archangels are capable of smiting other beings. While super-charged, Lucifer attempted to smite Dean Winchester and the alternate Michael, but was interrupted before he could complete the smiting.
 * Power Augmentation - Lucifer's presence enhanced the powers of Jesse Turner.
 * Advanced Power Granting - Archangels can grant protection or powers to other beings as shown when Raphael made Crowley immune to Castiel's angelic killing touch. Lucifer gave the Princes of Hell their unique powers. While using Dean as his vessel, the alternate Michael was able to grant Dean the use of several of his powers even without Michael being in control.
 * Power Negation - Lucifer was able to prevent deities from teleporting.
 * 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.
 * Highly Advanced Pyrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate fire. They can incinerate any other angel type, all demons, alphas, all monsters, deities, and humans. Michael incinerated Anna, burning her from the inside out. Gabriel was able to effortlessly incinerate the last Prince of Hell Asmodeus with just a hand gesture despite Asmodeus' incredible power and his diminished grace.
 * Highly Advanced Reality Warping - Like some Angels and Seraphs, Archangels can alter reality, albeit to a greater degree. This ability is better demonstrated by the archangel Gabriel, who can create anything he wants out of thin air and can even put people in a TV universe.
 * Highly Advanced Conjuration - Archangels can create anything out of thin air.
 * Self-Duplication - Gabriel was able to create multiple copies of himself.
 * Advanced Regeneration - If they are in some way harmed, they can instantly heal all non-fatal wounds. Lucifer was able to quickly heal a wound from the Colt while Gabriel instantly healed all of the injuries he had received from Asmodeus' torture.
 * Resurrection - Archangels can bring deceased individuals back to life. Michael was able to resurrect Sam after he was fatally stabbed by Anna Milton. Raphael even hinted Lucifer could resurrect dead angels. Lucifer himself even told Sam that he could easily resurrect him if he tried to kill himself. After Sam's death in Apocalypse World, Lucifer was able to resurrect him after recharging his grace by feeding on some of Michael's angels. At the request of Jack, Lucifer resurrected Maggie following her murder by what turned out be Lucifer himself.
 * Shapeshifting - Archangels can change form, as Lucifer did when he appeared to Nick using Sarah's visage. He also did this to Sam while using Jessica's visage. Gabriel also demonstrated this ability several times, in conjunction with his reality warping abilities.
 * Soul Channeling/Soul Absorption - Lucifer was able to draw power from human souls.
 * Spell Breaking - Lucifer was able to break Rowena's binding spell.
 * Spell Casting - Archangels can cast spells.
 * Superhuman Reflexes - Raphael was able to catch an angel blade thrown at him from behind, all without turning around.
 * Supernatural Concealment - Archangels are able to hide themselves from other beings.
 * Super Senses - Gabriel was able to hear things from many floors up and between walls.
 * Super Speed - Lucifer was able to use super speed to pin Rowena MacLeod to a wall.
 * 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, whereas it causes normal angels to lose the ability to smite and heal.
 * Highly Advanced Super Strength - As the first and most powerful angels, Archangels can exert or apply extreme immense amounts of physical force to people, objects, creatures, and beings.  They can overpower and kill anything, besides God, Death, or the Darkness.
 * Advanced Telekinesis - Archangels can move and otherwise exert force on matter with their mind.
 * Highly Advanced Telepathy - Archangels can read and feel/sense the thoughts of humans.
 * 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.
 * Empathy - Archangels can read, and feel/sense the emotions of humans.
 * Memory Manipulation - Archangels can erase, fabricate and restore the memories of people.
 * Mental Projection - Archangels can communicate with humans by projecting images into their minds. Lucifer used this to communicate with his vessels Nick and Vince Vincente to get a "yes" from them. Once his cage was damaged, Lucifer was able to use this power to communicate with Sam Winchester in the form of visions.
 * Pathokinesis - Lucifer was able to cause Sam to feel calm.
 * Sedation - Michael used this to put Mary Winchester to sleep.
 * Teleportation - Archangels can disappear and reappear anywhere that's not sigil-protected instantly. Even after Metatron's Spell, Lucifer was still able to teleport, as his wings are fully intact. Gabriel also retained this ability, having kept his wings like Lucifer did.
 * Advanced Terrakinesis - Archangels can cause full-fledged earthquakes, regardless of whether they are in a vessel or not.
 * 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. He was also able to heat up a pair of Supernatural Handcuffs until they popped off of his wrist. He later melted a pair of the handcuffs. Michael was also to cause a door knob to heat up drastically to prevent Adam from escaping.
 * Torturing - Lucifer was highly skilled at torturing, being able to torture Lilith's spirit into a demon.
 * Voice Mimicry - Archangels can mimic voices.
 * Advanced 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
 * Nigh-Omniscience - Being around for billions/trillions of years, the Archangels have vast knowledge and awareness about many things. Even when Lucifer was trapped in the cage, he had knowledge about what Sam has been through. Gabriel was aware of Castiel searching for God despite not being told of Castiel's search. Lucifer claims to know how to create angels, as well as how to restore all angel's wings, though he later admitted to Anael that he lied.
 * Immortality - Archangels aren't affected by time or disease and don't need to breathe, eat, or sleep to sustain themselves. They predate creation and the universe itself making them more than 13.8 billion years old, the only beings confirmed to be older than them are Death, God, and The Darkness.
 * Invulnerability - Archangels cannot be damaged or injured by anything that's at least not supernatural.
 * Immunity - Archangels have immunity to that which affects lesser angels. Michael was not killed by 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. The archangels appear to be immune to the effects of Metatron's Expelling Angels spell as both Lucifer and Gabriel retained their wings and full power.
 * Eidetic Memory - Like all angels, the Archangels 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 very powerful, the archangels possess a few weaknesses which are common to all angels.

Harming, Misleading, Banishing, and Trapping

 * Angel banishing sigil - An angel banishing sigil can banish an archangel.
 * Enochian sigils - They can conceal a person's location from all angels, including archangels. Enochian sigils were also used to keep Lucifer confined in a cage in Limbo.
 * Lucifer's Cage - This cell can hold any angel, therefore including archangels, without any internal means of escape.
 * The Colt - While the Colt could not kill Lucifer, it still caused him considerable pain and he was unconscious for a short amount of time when he was shot in the head.
 * Holy Oil - Archangels can be trapped in a loop of holy fire for a period of time. Lucifer could extinguish the holy fire in a few minutes after being trapped in it. Raphael was able to escape from holy fire off-screen. Holy fire was unable to kill Michael unlike lower angels but it caused him great pain and banished him temporarily. Unlike his siblings, when contained by holy fire, Gabriel acted as if it would contain him permanently unless released. When barred by a line of holy fire, the Apocalypse World Michael appeared to be trapped until the fire presumably ignited a nearby gas pump and destroyed the area.
 * Heaven's Weapons - All of Heaven's weapons acting together could hurt and might have killed Raphael. Lot's Stone was able to disintegrate his vessel.
 * Hand of God - The power from a Hand, is capable of knocking an Archangel down and prevents them from using their powers temporarily.
 * Magic - Powerful magic and spells can have limited effect on an archangel as Rowena could paralyze Lucifer briefly and Kali could bind Gabriel to herself.
 * Hyperbolic pulse generator - It is capable of expelling an archangel from their vessel.
 * Mark of Cain - The Mark is capable of corrupting even Archangels, as seen with Lucifer.
 * Grace Removal - As seen with Lucifer, even Archangels can have all or most of their grace removed, as Lucifer had much of his grace removed the Alternate Michael. This rendered Lucifer almost human, and was unable to counter Asmodeus. In this weakened state, Lucifer was more vulnerable to angel blades as well.

Killing

 * Archangel Blades - An Archangel Blade can harm and kill an archangel. However, it must be wielded by another archangel to work. An archangel blade wielded by a vessel with an archangel powering them is also capable of killing an archangel.
 * Souls - Imbued with 50,000 souls, Castiel could banish Raphael. Consumption of millions of souls and Leviathans gave Castiel so much power that he could snap his fingers and obliterate Raphael.
 * Primordial Entities - God can negate an archangel's powers completely. The Darkness can kill an archangel.
 * Lance of Michael - A weapon created by Michael in order to kill Lucifer slowly and painfully.

Main

 * Michael
 * Lucifer
 * Raphael
 * Gabriel

Alternate Reality

 * Michael (Apocalypse World)
 * Lucifer (The End)
 * Lucifer (Apocalypse World)
 * Gabriel (Apocalypse World)

Known Vessels

 * Dean Winchester - Michael's true vessel. Currently possessed by an alternate reality Michael.
 * Sam Winchester - Lucifer's true vessel.
 * Nick - Lucifer's "Plan B" vessel. Repaired and improved in 2016 by Crowley to act as Lucifer's vessel once more.
 * Jimmy Novak - Originally, Castiel's true vessel. Lucifer took over his body after Castiel agreed to possession. Lucifer was later expelled from Jimmy by the Darkness.
 * Donnie Finnerman - Raphael's first vessel. Killed when Balthazar used Lot's Stone on Raphael which only Raphael survived.
 * 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 where Adam still remains.
 * Unnamed male - Gabriel's only known vessel. He was killed by Alternate Michael.
 * Unnamed female - Raphael's second vessel. Was killed along with Raphael by Castiel.
 * Multiple unknown - Lucifer's temporary vessels he went into after being ripped from Castiel by Amara. All destroyed because of their inability to contain him.
 * Vince Vincente - After multiple other vessels, Lucifer was able to find a vessel that could contain him, a rock star. Vince lasted for about a month before deteriorating completely.
 * Jefferson Rooney - Lucifer possessed the President of the United States for a short time following the death of Vince Vincente. Lucifer was ultimately exorcised from Rooney by Sam Winchester with a hyperbolic pulse generator. Rooney survived his brief possession.
 * Unnamed Male - This man is currently being used as the vessel of the Apocalypse World Michael. It is unknown how this is possible as Dean was never born in the timeline of Apocalypse World. Vacated by Michael in favor of Dean Winchester and presumably died of his injuries afterwards.

Appearances

 * Season 2
 * Houses of the Holy
 * Tall Tales
 * Season 3
 * Sin City
 * Malleus Maleficarum
 * Mystery Spot
 * Season 4
 * Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean Winchester
 * Monster Movie
 * It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester
 * I Know What You Did Last Summer
 * Death Takes A Holiday
 * On The Head Of A Pin
 * The Monster at the End of This Book
 * When the Levee Breaks
 * Lucifer Rising
 * Season 5
 * Sympathy for the Devil
 * Good God, Y'all
 * Free To Be You and Me
 * The End
 * Fallen Idols
 * I Believe the Children Are Our Future
 * Changing Channels
 * Abandon All Hope...
 * Sam, Interrupted
 * Swap Meat
 * The Song Remains the Same
 * My Bloody Valentine
 * Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
 * Dark Side of the Moon
 * 99 Problems
 * Point of No Return
 * Hammer of the Gods
 * The Devil You Know
 * Two Minutes to Midnight
 * Swan Song
 * Season 6
 * The Third Man
 * You Can't Handle The Truth
 * Caged Heat
 * Appointment In Samarra
 * Like A Virgin
 * The French Mistake
 * The Man Who Would Be King
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much
 * Season 7
 * Meet the New Boss
 * Hello, Cruel World
 * The Girl Next Door
 * Defending Your Life
 * Slash Fiction
 * Repo Man
 * Out With The Old
 * The Born-Again Identity
 * Reading Is Fundamental
 * There Will Be Blood
 * Season 8
 * As Time Goes By
 * Goodbye Stranger
 * The Great Escapist
 * Season 9
 * Road Trip
 * First Born
 * Meta Fiction
 * Do You Believe In Miracles?
 * Season 10
 * Fan Fiction
 * The Executioner's Song
 * Inside Man
 * Brother's Keeper
 * Season 11
 * Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire
 * Baby
 * Our Little World
 * O Brother, Where Art Thou?
 * The Devil in the Details
 * Into the Mystic
 * The Vessel
 * Beyond the Mat
 * Hell's Angel
 * The Chitters
 * Don't Call Me Shurley
 * All in the Family
 * We Happy Few
 * Alpha and Omega
 * Season 12
 * Keep Calm and Carry On
 * Mamma Mia
 * The Foundry
 * American Nightmare
 * The One You've Been Waiting For
 * Celebrating The Life Of Asa Fox
 * Rock Never Dies
 * LOTUS
 * First Blood
 * Stuck in the Middle (With You)
 * Family Feud
 * Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
 * The British Invasion
 * The Future
 * Twigs & Twine & Tasha Banes
 * There's Something About Mary
 * Who We Are
 * All Along the Watchtower
 * Season 13
 * Lost & Found
 * The Rising Son
 * The Big Empty
 * Advanced Thanatology
 * War of the Worlds
 * The Bad Place
 * Various & Sundry Villains
 * Devil's Bargain
 * Good Intentions
 * A Most Holy Man
 * Scoobynatural
 * The Thing
 * Bring 'em Back Alive
 * Funeralia
 * Unfinished Business
 * Beat the Devil
 * Exodus
 * Let the Good Times Roll
 * Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting

Trivia

 * Even though in some religions there are many archangels and 7 of them are the favorites of God, 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.
 * 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.
 * Michaelmas, also known as the Feast of Saint Michael, is a Christian festival observed on September 29, to honor the Archangels, specifically Michael, and sometimes Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. This day is also coincidentally the birth date of Adam Milligan, Michael's second vessel.
 * The archangels are collectively one of the most dangerous and powerful antagonists in the entire series. So far, they have not been shown working alongside each other.
 * Season 5 is the only season in which all four archangels are active. In Season 12, only Lucifer is, as Raphael and Gabriel are dead and Michael is in The Cage. Season 13 marked the resurrection of Gabriel, although he is currently held captive by Prince of Hell Asmodeus.
 * While it is unknown what an Angel Suppressing Sigil would do to an archangel, Sam was able to use the angel banishing sigil against Lucifer successfully in The Vessel, showing that archangels can be affected by that sigil.
 * 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 rumor was started by the angels or by Cain himself is currently unknown.
 * Gabriel, so far, is the only archangel for the main universe to only use one vessel.
 * He is also the only Archangel to never have been a ruler of Heaven or Hell.
 * Michael is the only archangel who wasn't introduced with a vessel specifically for him. For Lucifer, it was Nick; for Raphael, it was Donnie; and for Gabriel, it was his unnamed vessel.
 * This is not the case following the introduction of Michael from an alternate reality.
 * Lucifer is the only Archangel to impregnate a human in the series.
 * Raphael is the only Archangel to use both a male and female vessel.
 * Through dream walks, Lucifer has taken on the form of various women, such as Sarah and Jen. However, he prefers male vessels.
 * It has been implied that Cain and Abel, as their blood line contains the vessels of Michael and Lucifer, also could've been vessels for the latter.
 * Lucifer's eyes are shown to glow reddish orange in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, this implies that the color Archangels eyes would glow with the same color whereas the eyes of Castiel and other angels glow bright blue. However it is unknown if this trait is unique to Lucifer. It is possible that Lucifer appeared that way as he makes use of theatrics when talking with certain people, such as Sam and Dean, to psychologically get under their skin.
 * In Season 12, Lucifer's eyes often glow in this color, further implying this is his natural eye color.
 * All four archangels have acted as antagonists towards the Winchesters, however, only Gabriel and Lucifer have become at least temporary allies to them.
 * The Archangels are the only creations of God confirmed to exist pre-Universe, and thus his only known primordial creation.
 * So far, only an alternate reality version of Michael and Lucifer have appeared.
 * Curiously, all versions of Michael and Lucifer introduced so far tells a different story of how The Apocalypse could have ended, Michael and Lucifer from the Apocalypse World, tells what happens when Michael wins the Apocalypse, Michael and Lucifer from the Alternate Universe of The End, tells what happens when Lucifer wins the Apocalypse, and Michael and Lucifer from the main universe tells what happens when both lose/draw the Apocalypse.
 * Season 9 is the only season where an Archangel appears, and does not play some sort of antagonistic role.
 * Michael of the main reality is the only recurring Archangel to not show his wings. Lucifer, Gabriel, and Alt Michael showed theirs in shadow form on walls behind them and Raphael through lightning from his back.
 * Raphael is the only Archangel to not share screen time with another Archangel.