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 oldest Archangel, making him the oldest angel, and the third oldest being in creation besides the Leviathans. 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 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 appeared 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 is his one true vessel. He eventually occupies Adam Milligan'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
"Think of a million random acts of chance that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of the million random choices that you make, and yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because it's not random, it's not chance. It's a plan that is playing itself out perfectly. Free will's an illusion, Dean. That's why you're going to say yes."

- Michael to Dean Winchester.

Michael is a rather 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 by Castiel 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, and punished any who displayed disobedience with death.

To his father God, however, Michael is fanatically loyal and blindly follows God's orders without question, as sees himself as a "good son", 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 the Lord (one of the many qualities that Michael and his one true vessel Dean Winchester both share). Due to his zealous 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 it.

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 they "walk off the chessboard," Michael seriously considers it for a moment before ultimately refusing. 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 Lucifer ruined everything by "betraying them, betraying all of us" and therefore "making our [their] father leave."

Michael 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 that, despite being strict or even cruel with them, he does not enjoy killing his own kind.

However, Michael could be wrathful, particularly with anyone who interferes with his destiny, including Dean at Stull Cemetery, and again with Lucifer when Lucifer 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 from Lucifer, that "I have to fight my brother," 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, and referred to Dean at one point as a "maggot," just as Zachariah called Dean a "maggot inside a worm's ass." Despite this, Michael 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 God'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 Michael joined Lucifer in torturing Sam in the Cage as revenge for being trapped there, though this has neither been confirmed or denied.

While it may sound rather strange, Michael is in fact 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 prove to his father he was a good son, the one thing that he never actually managed to achieve.

Powers & Abilities
As the very first angel ever created and being the first and oldest of the Archangels, Michael is the oldest, strongest, and most powerful angel under Gods command, making Michael among the oldest and most powerful supernatural beings to exist in the supernatural universe. Castiel describes him as the only being, besides God and Death, to be stronger than Lucifer. Castiel even mentioned that Michael, in comparison 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 - Being the first, oldest, and most powerful of the Archangels, Michael is one of the most powerful beings in existence, possessing incalculable power that surpasses his siblings, including the other archangels, even his younger brother Lucifer. Michael 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. His power is so vast and so feared that Castiel, even while empowered by millions of souls, showed an open concern in ensuring that Michael remained sealed within the Cage, suggesting that despite Castiel's extremely enhanced state, Michael, either by himself or together with Lucifer, would still be able to defeat Castiel.
 * Angelic 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 Winchester 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, an Archangel (including Lucifer) and an Archangel Blade are capable of killing Michael.
 * Immunity - Michael was resilient to Holy Fire, although he still found it agonizing, damaging and able to banish him; unlike other angels, it couldn't kill him.
 * Telepathy - Michael is able to read the thoughts of humans, and presumably monsters.
 * Empathy - Michael is able to read the emotions of humans and monsters, presumably.
 * Regeneration - If his vessel becomes damaged in any way, he is able to heal it instantly and completely. For instance, his whole vessel Adam 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.
 * Supernatural Strength - Being the oldest, strongest, and most powerful Archangel, the physical strength that Michael endows his vessel with is immensely incalculable. He can easily overpower and kill anything from top-level demons to any other lesser angels, seraphs, pagan deities, monsters, ghosts and humans with his might. His immense strength and powers are only somewhat rivaled by Lucifer's own, 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 - Michael 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, 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 - Much like Lucifer, Michael has an immensely tremendous knowledge of the Universe. However, Michael's knowledge exceeds that of all his archangelic siblings, including that of even 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
Michael is the oldest, strongest, highest-ranking and most powerful angel in existence, and has even fewer weaknesses than his Archangel brethren. However, even with his immense power, there are still a few things that he can be weakened by.


 * Archangels - His closest brothers are capable of harming 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.
 * Holy Fire - Although it doesn't directly kill him, it's still very painful to him and is able to temporarily banish him from his current location.
 * Lucifer's Cage - One of God's very own creations, originally built to imprison Lucifer. This cage has enough power to imprison even the great Archangel himself.
 * Archangel Blade - Designed specifically to kill Archangels, though they are extremley rare as only two have been seen to date.
 * Enochian Sigils - Michael cannot locate someone if they are warded by enochian sigils.

Early Life
After God locked away His first creations, the Leviathans, in the monster realm Purgatory, He then created Michael, the first Archangel, the eldest brother of the other archangels: Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. Michael looked after Lucifer and personally raised him, taking care of him in, as he said, "a way that most people could never understand". He also mentioned that while living in Heaven with God and their siblings, Michael and Lucifer were living happily together.

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. Though Michael obediantly did so, Lucifer questioned this order, insisting that they are "broken, flawed, murderous beings." Lucifer then sought out Michael for support, but Michael refused to listen and therefore, under his fathers orders, cast Lucifer out of Heaven. At some point, God left Heaven and Michael assumed command of the angels, running Heaven and Earth (and possibly the entire universe) for millennia.

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 on Earth. Lesser angels, like Castiel, were not privy to the plan and were deployed to make it look as though Heaven was fighting the Devil's release. However, those angels that did learn of their plans (like Castiel) where either forced to cooperate with their plans or were cast out of Heaven.

Season 2
In "Houses of the Holy," Sam notices a painting of Michael casting Lucifer down by the Renaissance painter Raphael in the church he and Dean 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
 * Sympathy for the Devil (Mentioned only)
 * The Song Remains the Same
 * Point of No Return (incorporeal form)
 * Swan Song
 * Season 7
 * Meet The New Boss (Mentioned only)
 * There Will Be Blood (Painting 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. However due to diolauge from most angels it is assumable that both he and Lucifer are alive and with nothing to do could, Michael (possessing Adam) could be fighting Lucifer (in his true form).
 * 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.