Lucifer

"You know why God cast me down? Because I loved him. More than anything. And then God created... You. The little...hairless apes. And then he asked all of us to bow down before you—to love you, more than him. And I said, "Father, I can't." I said, "These human beings are flawed... murderous!" And for that, God had Michael cast me into Hell. Now, tell me, does the punishment fit the crime? Especially when I was right? Look at what six billion of you have done to this thing, and how many of you blame me for it."

- Lucifer, speaking to Dean

Lucifer, also known as the Morning Star, the Devil, or Satan is the former ruler of Hell, the fallen archangel, and father of all demons. As the second archangel, he is the younger brother of Michael and the older brother of Raphael and Gabriel. According to Gabriel, he was God's favorite celestial, but when God asked for all angels to bow down to humanity, Lucifer refused. He waged war against God, but was banished to Hell by Michael. All of Azazel's actions were motivated with the goal of eventually releasing Lucifer.

As an angel, Lucifer must have the permission of a human to serve as his vessel, as he cannot forcefully possess a person. Being an archangel, Lucifer boasts much more power than any normal angel and also every demon.

He was finally freed and allowed to roam the Earth when the final seal (the death of Lilith) was broken by Sam. Freed from his cage, he took action to bring about the Apocalypse and cleanse the Earth (aka "The last perfect handiwork of God") of human beings (the flawed creation). Even after Lucifer was able to possess his true vessel, Sam's love for his brother Dean allowed Sam to regain control of his body, and seal himself, Lucifer, Michael, and Adam Milligan in Lucifer's Cage.

Personality
Lucifer was once the most beautiful and beloved angels in all of existence. God loved Lucifer the most of all His angels. Because of his status amongst the other angels, and being loved most by God, Lucifer was very prideful. When humanity was created, he was unwilling to accept no longer being God's favorite. And when God commanded all those of Heaven to love His new creation more than Himself, Lucifer refused. Lucifer pleaded: "Father, I can't. These human beings are flawed. Murderous!". Lucifer continued his disobedience, asking Michael to stand by his side in his rebellion against God's orders. Michael refused Lucifer's request, and under God's command, Michael cast Lucifer into Hell.

Naturally, being cast out of Heaven enraged Lucifer, and so, he struck back by tempting and twisting the soul of a human woman, Lilith. After completely stripping her of her humanity, her soul was transformed into the very first demon. Because of this unforgivable blasphemy against God, Lucifer was further punished by being placed into an additional solitary imprisonment within Hell. He remained there in isolation for a millenia. Lucifer's long term goal was to eventually be freed from the Cage, eradicate humanity, and restore Earth to its original "untainted" glory. It is suggested that Lucifer also only uses demons as servants, and would eradicate all of them as well, because, despite them being his creations, he considers demons to be even less worthy than humans. Proof of this is shown, in him casually killing dozens of them.

Lucifer claims that he never lies, because he does not have to. He promises both his vessels, Nick and Sam, that he will be honest with them. He also says that he sympathizes with his vessels, both of whom are victims like himself. He goes to some lengths to get Sam's acceptance, sparing Dean's life once, and allowing Sam revenge against some of the demons that controlled his life. Despite this, Lucifer has been proven to mislead on occasion, suggesting that this is more of a ploy to gain trust, rather than an actual commitment or he bends this rule when he sees it to his advantage.

Lucifer shows concern for his fellow angels, though it is the Archangels he loves most. He captures Castiel, and admires the angel's loyalty in refusing to reveal the presence of his friends. He invites Castiel to join him, and when Castiel refuses, Lucifer respects his decision. Lucifer is remorseful when forced to kill Gabriel, and disappointed when Michael berates him. When preparing to fight his older sibling in their pre-destined battle, Lucifer pleads with Michael to "walk off the chessboard", but Michael remains determined to fulfill his destiny and serve God. Even so, when Castiel molotovs Michael, Lucifer is outraged by the attack on his brother and obliterates Castiel.

Gabriel criticizes Lucifer, describing his actions as "one big temper tantrum". Death and Crowley both make similar observations. Nonetheless, Lucifer sees himself as a tragic figure who was punished for being right. He refuses to accept any blame for his actions, and suggests that God intentionally made Lucifer the way he is, asserting that "God wanted the Devil".

Lucifer is also highly cruel and barbaric to those who get in his way, and despite his claims of being the victim, he has no qualms about killing anything or anyone, even if he has no true reason for killing them. For example, he barbarically massacred all the pagan gods (except for Kali, who was saved and escaped), simply because they plotted against him, despite the fact that they posed no real threat to him.

Powers and Abilities
As an archangel, Lucifer is one of the most powerful beings to exist, the only beings said to be more powerful than him are God, Death and Michael, though he showed no fear when facing the latter. The immensity of his power was further shown by how an improper human vessel, Nick, decayed greatly as a result of containing him.


 * Nigh-Omnipotence - Lucifer, being the second archangel, is incredibly powerful. As only Death and God can defeat him with certainty, and likely Michael as well, Lucifer has incalculable supernatural power. He can even slay ancient pagan deities with ease, despite using an imperfect vessel. With Sam as his vessel, he can use the full extent of immense powers. Unlike most charaters, the extent of his powers are not limited by his presence, as such giving them a near infinite range.
 * Immortality - Lucifer has an indefinitely long lifespan. Time does not degrade his form, like with all celestial beings. He's unaffected by diseases and toxins. He does not tire, and does not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep. On one occasion, Cas clearly says about killing Lucifer, "It's foolish, it can't be done", and later calls the task "insane". However, an Archangel blade can kill him, as can God or Death.
 * Angelic Possession - Even Lucifer is required to use a vessel on earth, as Zachariah emphasizes. And he needs the vessel's permission, like with all angels. Because of the immensity of his power, he must use a vessel descended from Cain and Abel, or it will begin to decay.
 * Invulnerability - Lucifer is impervious to all physical damage, except when harmed by his archangel brethren, penetrated with an archangel blade, or by God. He is unaffected by extreme temperatures; as shown when Kali, the most powerful of the pagan gods at the gathering of the pagan gods, tried to harm him with a pyrokinetic attack, but it had no effect and Lucifer simply smiled at her attempt at harming him. The Colt somehow caused him initial pain but he soon recovered, however It should be noted that his temporary vessel was decaying at the time.
 * Cosmic Awareness - Lucifer has immense awareness of everything. He knows spells capable of binding the Horsemen to him, but he, according to Chuck, didn't know about the Impala.
 * Superhuman Strength - Lucifer is immensely strong, having slaughtered pagan deities with his bare hands. This makes him among the most physically powerful beings in the Supernatural universe. As Gabriel predicted, Lucifer "turned them into finger paint". Lucifer went on a rampage in which he brutally ripped the other gods to shreds, beating them to death, and tearing off their limbs through sheer force. He was able to knock out the powerful pagan god, Kali, with one punch. As the second oldest Archangel, he's significantly stronger than any other angel as well as all demons and Earthly monsters. He was also able to casually overpower his younger brother Gabriel, an Archangel like Lucifer. Humans are powerless against him in terms of physical prowess; he once effortlessly threw Dean into the Impala with great force and literally beat him to a bloody pulp, nearly killing him. Chuck indicated that Dean only survived because Castiel healed him.
 * Regeneration - If Lucifer's vessel receives any damage, the wound will heal instantaneously. When shot with the Colt, for example, the bullet hole healed in under a minute. Interestingly, the ability does not reverse the decay caused to Nick by Lucifer's power. Lucifer is unaffected by diseases or toxins.
 * Shapeshifting - Lucifer could change his form when outside of a vessel. He's the only Archangel to have done so. Also, when in a vessel, Lucifer can change his shape into any person he wants, similar to Gabriel; Lucifer once took the form of a Reaper to lure Castiel away.
 * Teleportation - Lucifer can travel anywhere instantly without occupying the space in between.
 * Power Negation - Lucifer could prevent lesser supernatural creatures from using their powers, as Baldur and Kali where unable to teleport either themselves or the Winchesters when he arrived at the motel where they were hiding.
 * Telepathy - Lucifer had complete access to Sam's memories, thoughts, and emotions while he possessed him. Lucifer describes Sam's mind as a "grapefruit".
 * Advanced Telekinesis - Lucifer could impart kinetic energy on matter with his mind. He was extremely proficient, being able to rip pagan deities apart with this power.
 * Dream Walking - Lucifer has the ability to enter a person's dreams. Even without a human vessel, Lucifer was able to speak with Nick in his dreams while taking on the appearance of his deceased wife. He demonstrated this again when he spoke to Sam in his dreams while taking on the appearance of Jessica Moore.
 * Cryokinesis - Lucifer can manipulate and generate cold. He froze a pane of glass by merely breathing on it.
 * Supernatural Perception - Lucifer can perceive the form of beings invisible to the human eye. Lucifer was able to see the true form of Death when he raised the Horseman out of his prison.
 * Weather Manipulation - When Lucifer was released, he altered the weather by creating severe winds, causing hurricanes and tornadoes across the world. He made the entire city of Detroit's temperature drop simply through his presence.
 * Biokinesis - Lucifer killed Castiel by speeding up his molecules to the point where it caused him to explode simply by snapping his fingers.
 * Reality Warping - Although never displayed, Lucifer reminded Gabriel that he taught him everything he knew about using this power, when the latter tried to use it to kill him. Upon his escape the Koreans made there first successful nuclear test.
 * Spell Casting - Lucifer was able to bind the Horsemen to his presence with a spell, controlling their actions to a moderate degree. He also performed a ritual sacrifice of demons to release Death from his coffin. He also knew how to ward angels from the Angel Tablet.
 * Resurrection - Lucifer can easily revive dead people. He is also said to be able to bring back deceased angels. Interestingly, as the demon god, he can resurrect dead demons. Crowley made note of this in The Devil You Know.
 * Terrakinesis - Lucifer could generate earthquakes through his mere presence on the earth, he was able to cause them at a colossal range, creating several across the whole world, while he was in America.
 * Precognition - Lucifer could see the future, but not the whole picture, he knew he would possess Sam in Detroit, and told him the first time he met him.
 * Master Torturer - Lucifer is skilled in torture, both physical and spiritual. He tortured Lilith's spirit to the point where he turned her into the original demon. He also tortured Sam to the point where the mental damage would have killed him, had Castiel not absorbed the damage.

Origins
Lucifer was the second archangel that God created, and was then raised by his older brother, Michael, in Heaven. Lucifer was at one time the favorite of God's angels, and his name translated to "The Light Bearer". It was stated that he once had a strong relationship with God and was fiercely loyal and devoted to Him. When God created mankind and commanded that His angels honor humans by bowing to them and loving them even more than God Himself, Lucifer refused to do so. Being prideful, Lucifer refused to bow to a creature that he considered lesser than himself. Eventually Lucifer's arrogance had gotten out of control, to the point where he had even attempted to wage war against God.

Lucifer had approached his older brother, the Archangel Michael, hoping his elder sibling would stand by his side during the rebellion. After Michael rejected Lucifer's request, the older brother cast Lucifer into Hell under orders from God.

Once in Hell, Lucifer became associated with and was often referred to by the name "Satan". This is because the word "Satan" literally means 'The Adversary' or 'The Accuser'. After Lucifer had been cast out of Heaven but before being locked in Hell, he had attempted to spite God by twisting and corrupting the soul of a woman into the very first demon, Lilith. After this unpardonable insult towards God, Lucifer was further punished by being sealed in an impregnable cage within Hell. Although, despite being sealed away, he is still considered the ruler of Hell and the god of all demons.

The cage that Lucifer was imprisoned in was designed so that he may never leave or escape it on his own, and it was then further locked with 600 powerful seals. Any 66 of those 600 seals would have to be broken by an outside being in order to free Lucifer. The seals served to bind Lucifer's power and to keep him from escaping his new prison in Hell unchecked. Of the 66 seals broken to free Lucifer, only 2 of them are specifically required in a specific order. The first seal to be broken must be when a "righteous man sheds blood in Hell" and the final seal must be the death of the first demon. The first seal is quoted by Alastair as, "And it is written, that the first seal shall be broken when a righteous man sheds blood in Hell. As he breaks, so shall it break". The final seal is quoted by Ruby as "And it is written, that the first demon shall be the last seal". Aside from those two seals, any other 64 of the remaining 600 seals will suffice.

In an unspecified time in before his imprisonment, Lucifer had possession of the Angel Tablet, which he hid in one of his crypts. He protected it with wards to keep angels away from it. His motives in keeping the tablet, or if keeping it was a task assigned to him, is yet to be revealed.

The Coming of Azazel
During his long imprisonment within the confines of his cage in Hell, Lucifer was served by his many demons, one of the most prominent being his confidant, the Yellow-Eyed Demon known as Azazel. None of them had truly seen Lucifer, as he was locked away in a special part of Hell that had only one entrance, which was kept locked by the 66 seals; this left the vast majority of demons without hope that they would ever find Lucifer and return him to power, save for one demon in particular: Azazel, who eventually escaped to the Earth in search of a way to free Lucifer from Hell.

In 1972, after leaving Hell and wandering the world for years in search of the entrance to Lucifer's Cage, Azazel discovered the location of Lucifer's prison to be in one of the most ironic of places: a convent. He possessed the body of the chief priest of the church, St. Mary's Convent, in Ilchester, Maryland (the location where Lucifer would eventually be released), and pretended to carry out the priest's current mass, with an audience of eight nuns in attendance. Eventually, the priest's words began to speak of a different Father, Lucifer, and the priest was then revealed to be Azazel, who then proceeded to slaughter the nuns, who screamed in terror as they were horrifically disemboweled.

After they were dead and the church was left a bloody mess, Azazel, still possessing the priest's body, spoke directly to Lucifer himself, who in turn spoke through the body of a nun, calling him his "Father", because of Lucifer being the "Father" and the figure of "God" for all demons. Azazel stated his great relief to hear Lucifer's voice once again after so many ages. Lucifer commended Azazel's unshakeable faith in him and stated that he had done well to find him. Azazel then requested knowledge of what was binding Lucifer in Hell and how he could help Lucifer break free and rise once more. Lucifer then told Azazel that "Lilith will break the seals", to which Azazel reluctantly agreed, mentioning that releasing her will "not be easy".

Revealing that Lilith would have to be freed from Hell and then sacrificed by a special child with psychic powers strong enough to perform the deed, Lucifer entreated Azazel to devise a way to break this seal and set him free. It is here that Azazel is revealed to be ultimately loyal to Lucifer and that his endgame throughout the series has been the release of Lucifer from Hell. With Lucifer's location now confirmed and now knowing what he had to do in order to release him, Azazel departed his meeting with Lucifer with great hope and a plan in mind to fulfill Lucifer's release from Hell.

The Release of Lilith
Armed with the knowledge of the 66 seals, Azazel crafted a plan to break the final seal by finding the prophesized special child that would be strong enough to kill Lilith when the time came. He also devised a plot to break Lilith out of Hell at the right time. In search of the special child spoken of by Lucifer himself, Azazel began to search far and wide for parents sure to bear children with certain psychic abilities if properly activated. To this end, Azazel would typically blackmail the parents of the child in question, by means of quid pro quo, into allowing him to visit the child in question upon the night of their six-month birthday, as he was unable to enter without their permission. What Azazel did not reveal to the parents, however, was that he would bleed into the mouth of the child, feeding them demon blood and activating/creating their psychic powers. He did this with many children, knowing that one day he would have to determine which would be powerful enough in the end to kill Lilith and release Lucifer from Hell.

Azazel finally learned of a way to release Lilith from Hell, by means of a portal connecting the Earth to Hell called a Devil's Gate. After discovering the Devil's Gate to be protected by numerous backups including a one hundred mile Devils Trap set in place by the legendary Samuel Colt and that the key to the gate itself was the gun created by Colt himself, Azazel began to also search for this key and found another use for the special child he sought: To pass through the barriers Colt had set in place around the Devil's Gate and open the gate itself once the key had been located.

Season 2
This plan came to fruition many years later in 2007 after Azazel pitted many of the now grown-up special children against one another in a battle to the death to see which would ultimately prove strongest, as a means to see which would be best suited to perform the task of killing Lilith. After Jake Talley came out on top after stabbing Sam Winchester in the back both literally and figuratively, Azazel entrusted the Colt which he acquired from John Winchester to Jake and instructed him to use it to open a crypt in an old cowboy graveyard in Wyoming - in truth, the Devil's Gate itself. Despite Sam being resurrected by means of a bargain his brother, Dean Winchester, made with the Crossroads Demon and his allies confronting Jake at the graveyard, Jake was able to insert the Colt into the lock on the crypt and turn it like a key, causing the lock to begin to open before he was shot multiple times by Sam. With this, the Devil's Gate was blasted open, releasing a demon army into the world to serve as a distraction while Lilith was also secretly released from Hell through the gate as well.

Season 3
Although Azazel was killed by Dean using the Colt, Azazel's plan was now set into motion. With Lilith now released from Hell and one special child remaining, tried and tested, the elements were now set in place for the final seal binding Lucifer to be broken when the time was right. It would now take only a guiding hand to nurture the special child, Sam Winchester, to achieve the true goal of his psychic abilities: the killing of Lilith.

The Breaking of the 66 Seals
Dean is dragged into Hell by Lilith's Hellhounds at the end of the third season - this is due to the bargain with the Crossroad Demon to revive Sam in exchange for his soul. Dean spent four months of Earth time in Hell (around 40 years in Hell time) and for the first thirty of those forty years, the chief executioner of Hell, Alastair tortured Dean daily and offered to stop his torture if Dean himself would torture other souls trapped in Hell. Each instance Dean refused the offer; however, after thirty years of pain and misery, Dean began to crack and finally could take no more, and so he accepted Alastair's offer, getting out of his own torture and taking up torturing other souls for a total of ten years.

Little did Dean know however that this was the first seal that bound Lucifer in Hell, and that as long as the true first seal remained intact, the others could not be broken. This had been Lilith and Alastair's plan all along: To force Dean as a righteous man to crack under torture and begin torturing other souls to spare himself from further torment. From the moment Dean first began torturing souls under Alastair's tutelage, the first seal binding Lucifer was at last broken, enabling Lilith and several hundred demons now on Earth to begin breaking others in order to release Lucifer from his prison.

The fourth season of the series chronicles the efforts of Lucifer's demon minions to break the other seals. The seals operated as locks on a door. Some of these included the Rising of the Witnesses, the summoning of Samhain and the sacrifice of two Reapers under the Solstice moon. Although there were over six hundred seals in place, no more than sixty-six were required to be broken in order for Lucifer to escape his prison. There was also a stipulation in the initiating and ending of the process of breaking the seals: The first seal and the final seal had to both be satisfied regardless of what other seals were broken. The first seal, which had to be satisfied before the others could then be broken, was the cracking of a righteous man in Hell. Dean broke this seal unknowingly during his imprisonment in Hell, he is rescued soon after, before he is recruited, along with his brother Sam, to fight against Lilith's forces to save the other seals from being broken. As it was nearly impossible to know which Seals Lilith would choose to target, it was also next to impossible to stop her from breaking others.

Sam was also slowly but surely turned into a demon-blood addict by the demon Ruby, as she prepared him to fulfill his own secret role in Lucifer's release: Carrying out the execution of Lilith and becoming strong enough to take his place as Lucifer's vessel. Finally, near the end of the fourth season, only the true final seal remained: The death of Lilith herself. Lilith had planned out the breaking of the seals, and once sixty-five of them were broken, she prepared to play her own personal role in Lucifer's release, to die in order to ensure the release of her creator and the coming of the Apocalypse.

The Rising of Lucifer
By this point, Dean had been rescued from Hell by the angel Castiel, who had hoped to rescue Dean before he gave into his torture in order to prevent the first seal from being broken, and Sam had honed his demonic powers with the help of Ruby, who had been preparing Sam to be able to battle and kill Lilith (convincing him that this would prevent the final seal from being broken and as an act of revenge for Lilith sending Dean to Hell in the first place). What Ruby did not confide to Sam or his brother, however, was that the truth was just the opposite: Lilith must die, as her death was the final seal necessary to be broken in order to fully release Lucifer, something Lilith herself already knew and was willing to undertake.

By the time Dean realised this and escaped confinement by the angels (who wished to confront the demons and Lucifer in the Apocalypse so as to ultimately defeat them and bring about paradise on Earth), he was too late to warn Sam that killing Lilith would, in fact, ensure Lucifer's release rather than prevent it. Sam was torn for a moment between listening to Dean's cries to stop and Ruby's screams for him to kill Lilith, but when Lilith mocked him, that overrode all else. Sam killed Lilith with his powers, and Ruby then goaded him for having in fact caused the Apocalypse rather than having stopped it, revealing she had been working with Lilith the entire time and that Lucifer himself had foretold that only Sam could kill Lilith and thus ensure his release from Hell. Dean killed Ruby with her own demon-killing knife, but the Winchester brothers watched together in horror as Lilith's blood revealed the mouth of Lucifer's Cage, which began to open, allowing the Devil himself to rise out of his prison.

As the gate to Hell fully opened and Lucifer's true angelic essence began to ascend out of the cage to Earth, the brothers attempted to flee, only to have the chapel's doors slam shut and lock. Seeing that running was futile, they turned and watched in horror as the portal opened and the Devil's piercing true angelic voice rang through the church. Though they fell to the ground in pain, God personally intervened to save the brothers from Lucifer's rising by teleporting them onto a plane passing over Ilchester at that moment, from which they watched as Lucifer's essence shot up into the sky from where St. Mary's Convent stood, blowing it apart. This signalled the beginning of the Apocalypse.

Preparations for the Apocalypse
Now free, Lucifer set out to find a vessel, someone Lucifer could take control of in order to walk the Earth. Lucifer's chosen vessel turned out to be a lonely man named Nick, whose wife and baby were killed by an intruder who broke into their home one night. Lucifer began to manipulate and mentally torture Nick, making him start to see things in his sleep, like mass amounts of blood dripping out of his dead child's crib, hearing his dead child crying through a baby monitor, and making his child's swing move without apparent cause.

Lucifer then appeared in Nick's dream again, taking the form of his dead wife to communicate with him. Lucifer explained to Nick that he needed his permission to take over his body, but Nick refused. Lucifer then told Nick some of his origins, such as how he loved God "too much" and felt that though God created them that He should not be allowed to "toy" with them. He went on to further manipulate Nick, explaining that God didn't do anything to stop the death of his family, making Him either sadistic or meaning that He simply didn't care. Lucifer then tempted Nick, saying that it was God's fault that his family died and that if he allowed him to take over his body, he would make sure justice is served. Nick agreed, and in a burst of bright light, Lucifer took over his vessel, regaining much of his former strength and full corporeal form.

In "Good God, Y'all", Lucifer inside his vessel Nick, indirectly creates high-altitude winds, which causes some damage to humans. In "Free To Be You and Me", it was revealed that Sam is Lucifer's true vessel, and that the vessel he now occupies is only an improvisation. Sometime later in "Abandon All Hope..", it is shown that Nick's body is beginning to decompose and deteriorate, as he cannot properly contain Lucifer's angelic essence. Lucifer's physical angelic complexion, as is the case for all archangels, proves overwhelming to a normal human vessel that is not their true, pre-destined vessel (like Sam is for Lucifer). True vessels give archangels a full corporeal body to manifest in while on the Earth. The fact that Lucifer's improvisational vessel is "wearing a bit thin" means that Lucifer would likely be placing a greater focus on finding Sam and somehow obtaining his consent to inhabit his body, in a similar way that the angels seek to obtain Dean's consent to allow the Archangel Michael into his body as he is Michael's true vessel.

In "The End," Zachariah finds Dean and sends him five years into the future so that Dean can see the repercussions which will follow if he refuses to be Michael's vessel. In the year 2014, Dean travels with the older version of himself, Future!Dean, and a group of other hunters, including Future!Castiel, to Detroit to confront the Devil. In this future, Sam consented to serve as a vessel, and the world is ending. Future!Dean tries to use the Colt on Lucifer, but the Archangel snaps Future!Dean's neck with his foot. Lucifer, wearing Sam, tells the Dean of the past that he does not want to destroy the world, but to rid it of an imperfection. He insists that he was unfairly cast out. Lucifer also tells Dean that Sam will always consent to him in Detroit; no matter what they do, Sam will become his vessel. Zachariah then retrieves Dean and he returns to his current year.

In "Abandon All Hope" Lucifer is in Carthage, Missouri on a mission to summon Death, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. He manages to trap Castiel inside a ring of holy oil, and his demons trap Sam, Dean, Jo, and Ellen. Lucifer speaks to Castiel, asking him whether he came with the Winchesters. Castiel lies that he came alone, but Lucifer is not fooled, though he admires the other angel's loyalty. Castiel asks about his vessel, which is breaking down. Lucifer invites Castiel to join him, reasoning that, as two of Heaven's castoffs, they are on the same side and Heaven will hunt Castiel if they manage to defeat Lucifer. Castiel refuses. Meg approaches her father, asking what to do with the Winchesters, and Lucifer tells her to leave them be, and gives her a reassuring touch.

Lucifer begins conducting the ritual to free Death. The Winchesters locate him, and while Sam distracts him, Dean shoots him through the skull with the Colt. He crumples to the ground, but after a few moments reawakens, and slowly gets to his feet. He punches Dean into a tree, and continues work on the ritual. When Sam asks him about the missing townspeople, Lucifer reveals that the women and children are in the mass grave he has been filling in, and that all the men are possessed. He tries to convince Sam that it was necessary, and insists that Sam should understand what he is doing, as someone who has always been out of place in his own family.

Lucifer completes the ritual by commanding the demons around him to sacrifice themselves. Castiel, who has managed to escape, takes Sam and Dean away. Lucifer sees, but does not interfere. He turns, and greets Death.

In "Changing Channels", Gabriel reveals to Dean and Sam that they were, since the birth of humanity, destined to be the Vessels of Michael and Lucifer respectively. While noting comparisons between the Winchester brothers and the two Archangels, Gabriel states that their relationship mirrors Michael and Lucifer's.

''"Michael, the big brother, loyal to an absent Father, and Lucifer, the little brother, rebellious of Daddy's plan. You were born to this, boys. It's your destiny! It was always you! As it is in Heaven, so it must be on Earth. One brother has to kill the other." - ''Gabriel to Dean and Sam Winchester

In "Hammer of the Gods", a group of Pagan gods of the supernatural realm gather to discuss the Apocalypse threatening to destroy the Earth while holding the Winchesters captive. Lucifer is tipped off about their meeting by Mercury. Upon arrival, Lucifer expresses his disgust with the pagan gods' lack of loyalty and obliterates at least 8 of them in a bloody massacre until only Kali and the Winchesters remain. It is here that Gabriel intervenes on their behalf and sends them away before confronting his brother alone. Gabriel tells Lucifer that he still loves him and that he is on nobody's side but humanity's.

He tells Lucifer that he has no legitimate grievance and is merely jealous that humanity replaced him in the foremost of God's affections and that it is time for him to grow up. Gabriel wields his Archangel Blade against Lucifer (one of the few weapons that could truly kill him and his kind) which causes him to remain cautious during their exchange.

Gabriel attempts to keep Lucifer distracted with a copy of himself while the real Gabriel tries to sneak up behind him and stab him. Lucifer sees through the charade, however, and turns his brother's own blade upon him, telling him that the trick he just tried to pull amounted to "amateur hocus pocus" and reminding him that Gabriel learnt all of his tricks from him.

After Gabriel died, Lucifer looks down upon his brother's corpse and lightly grieves for his brother's passing, openly weeping. The Winchesters learn in a posthumous message from Gabriel, that they have no chance at all of killing Lucifer without his aid, though they can still trap him back in his cage in Hell if they can acquire the four rings of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Once they possess all of the rings, a plan is formed for Sam to consent to possession by Lucifer and then for him to jump into Lucifer's Cage with the Archangel in tow, a plan which Dean initially is resistant to but ultimately comes to accept the idea after realizing that Sam is now grown up and can make his own choices.

Defeat and Re-imprisonment
In "Swan Song", Lucifer is tracked to Detroit, Michigan. Having ingested gallons of Demon Blood, Sam 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".

The archangel quickly abandons his vessel to become one with Sam Winchester, knocking both out momentarily. This gives Dean the time he needs to open the cage before Sam seemingly recovers and walks toward the cage's mouth only to turn around and reveal that Lucifer is now in control of Sam's body. He closes the cage, takes the rings and vanishes.

Lucifer gathers several members of Azazel's demonic minions before him. Demon-possessed humans from Sam's past that secretly manipulated his entire life as they worked for Azazel just as Brady had done. The Devil decides to "take the gag off" and allow Sam to speak, telling him that he is his true family and that he should embrace their union. Hoping to appease Sam, Lucifer offers an olive branch to him by killing the demon-occupied people such as Sam's prom date, one of his former teachers, and all others present in revenge for their manipulation of Sam's life. Sam is only able to speak as his own reflection and finds himself outmatched by Lucifer.

The next day, Lucifer travels to Stull Cemetery outside Lawrence Kansas, the place where he is fated to meet his older brother, Michael, who has since gained consent from Adam Milligan for their final confrontation. Lucifer tries to dissuade Michael from their battle and blames their current situation on God, suggesting that they may be able to just walk away. Michael, however, refuses to back down, stating that he must be a "good son" to their Father while chastising Lucifer for not taking any of the blame for what has happened. Michael calls him a monster. Before either can make a move however, Dean Winchester arrives in the Impala and demands to speak to Sam. Michael is annoyed by Dean's audacity and demands that he leave, stating that he has no place on the battlefield now.

Before he can do anything else however, Castiel hurls a molotov cocktail of burning Holy Oil at him, banishing Michael for several minutes and allowing Dean time to try to reach Sam. Lucifer, outraged that Castiel would strike Michael, snaps his fingers and obliterates Castiel. 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 attacks Dean, he glances in the back of the Impala at an old army figure Sam had stuck in the ashtray as a child. The Archangel is then overwhelmed by all of Sam's happy memories of his life with Dean leading up to now, with his love for his brother finally breaking Lucifer's grip on Sam's body, allowing Sam to take control of the Devil at last. Sam tells Dean that everything is going to be all right and that he now has Lucifer under his control before tossing the Horsemen's rings to the ground and reciting the incantation to open Lucifer's Cage. As Sam goes to the mouth of the pit to throw himself in, Michael reappears and demands a fight with Lucifer, stating that it is his destiny to do so.

Sam disregards this however and, with one last look at Dean, outstretches his arms and begins to fall backwards into the mouth of the cage. Michael attempts to stop him but only ends up being pulled down into the pit alongside his brother as the portal shuts behind them in a thunderous flash of white light, leaving behind only the red-hot rings of the Horsemen. Dean, after being healed by Castiel, who also resurrects and heals Bobby after being restored himself by God, returns to the home of Lisa Braeden and sits down to dinner with her and Ben. The street light flickers outside her house and there, standing beneath the light and watching them, is Sam.

Season 6
Although Sam was brought back from the cage, albeit without his soul, Lucifer and Michael were still inside the Cage. Castiel said that they were in the deepest corner of Hell and that they were probably torturing Sam's soul, having nothing else to do and blaming him for their imprisonment. Although they both were locked up, it is still possible to release the two of them. Raphael was attempting to break Michael and Lucifer free to continue God's plan. There was a Civil War in Heaven. Raphael's side wanted to continue the Apocalypse by setting Michael and Lucifer free, while Castiel's side wants to prevent it from happening again. At the end of season six, Raphael's side loses the civil war as Castiel has killed Raphael (and soon after his followers) after imbibing all the souls of Purgatory into his vessel (along with the Leviathans).

Season 7
Lucifer is still in the cage, but appears as a hallucination, due to Sam's memories of his time in Hell. This first happens with Sam in "Meet The New Boss", where Lucifer tells Sam that the world he has been in for the last year is not real and Sam is still in the cage. A new form of torture which Lucifer prides himself on as being his best yet.



In "Hello, Cruel World", Lucifer continues to taunt Sam on how this world isn't real. He points out that he made this world, because it was the most believable. Later Sam confronts Lucifer and asks him why doesn't he end this dream world to which Lucifer responds by saying that he will only end it when Sam can no longer take it anymore. Lucifer later changes into Dean and tricks Sam into leaving Bobby's house.

Once at the destination, he reveals himself to prove he can control Sam's "dream". Although Lucifer is proven to be a hallucination when Dean explains to Sam how to tell the difference between hallucinations and reality. Despite being proven a figment of Sam's imagination, Lucifer informs Sam that he's not going anywhere.

Lucifer is heard but not seen in "The Girl Next Door" and "Defending Your Life".

In "How To Win Friends And Influence Monsters", Sam and Bobby talk about how things are going. Bobby asks about Sam's mental state and Sam comments that he has it under control while touching his scar. Bobby doesn't believe this but lets it go.

In "Death's Door", Sam is seen using his scar to keep Lucifer at bay while dealing with the state of Bobby Singer after being shot in the head by the Leviathan leader Richard "Dick" Roman.

Lucifer returns in "Repo Man", once again trying to tempt Sam into acknowledging his existence, thereby "letting him in" [to his head] again. He eventually succeeds after 'helping' Sam during the case. The episode ends with him once again gleefully tormenting Sam while Dean sleeps after a hard day's work.

Although not seen, he continued to torture Sam in "Out With The Old" causing him insomnia.

He again returns in "The Born-Again Identity" where his torture got too much and put Sam in a mental institute, Lucifer continued to torture him, linking it to when they were in the pit, making him hallucinate maggots in his food, throwing fire crackers at him to keep



him up. Eventually, it got too much, and Sam snapped, his mind was so broken that it couldn't be healed (reaching the point where all people that Sam saw was Lucifer). However, in a last act to redeem himself for his previous actions in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "Meet The New Boss", Castiel transferred the hallucinations from Sam's mind to his own mind. Lucifer, uncaring about the change, just calmy said, "Hello brother" and presumably went on to torture Castiel as he did to Sam.

Castiel later reveals in "Reading Is Fundamental" that Lucifer's appearance to him was more of an "aftertaste" of Sam's experiences, which quickly wore off, eventually replaced by visions of everything Castiel had done wrong.

Season 8
In Goodbye Stranger, while Lucifer himself doesn't appear, it is revealed that he has a series of crypts that are buried around the world containing important things, including the angel tablet. Only those closest to him know their locations, including Azazel, so when Crowley goes after the tablet, he tortures Meg for the locations as she knows from her time with Azazel. Eventually Dean and Castiel find the tablet in an angel-proofed box in one of his crypts.

Family

 * God (Creator, father)
 * Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Metatron  (Archangel Brethren)
 * Other Angels (Brothers and Sisters)
 * Demons (Creations, Children)
 * Nick (Temporary Vessel)
 * Sam Winchester (True Vessel)

Season 3

 * Sin City (first mentioned)

Season 4

 * Lucifer Rising (for a brief moment through a nun; his presence when breaking out from his prison)

Season 5

 * Sympathy for the Devil (appearing as Sarah, Nick's dead wife)
 * Free To Be You and Me (impersonating Jessica and possessing Nick)
 * The End (possessing Sam in the year 2014)
 * Abandon All Hope... (possessing Nick)
 * Hammer of the Gods (possessing Nick)
 * Swan Song (leaving Nick's body and then possessing Sam)

Season 6

 * The Man Who Would Be King (Flashback of him possessing Sam)

Season 7

 * Meet The New Boss (appearing as Nick in Sam's hallucination)
 * Hello, Cruel World (appearing as Nick in Sam's hallucination)
 * The Girl Next Door (voice only)
 * Defending Your Life (voice only)
 * Repo Man (appearing as Nick in Sam's hallucination)
 * The Born-Again Identity (appearing as Nick in Sam's and Castiel's hallucinations respectively)

Trivia

 * It was announced on June 26, 2009 that Mark Pellegrino would be portraying Lucifer. He is known for playing Jacob in Lost. 
 * He is the main antagonist of the fifth season.
 * The way Lucifer killed Baldur is similar to the way, Albert Wesker killed Ozwell E. Spencer in the video game series Resident Evil, in both method and words delivered upon killing their respective victims.
 * Of all the archangels, Lucifer has appeared the most in the series.
 * So far in the series, Lucifer has used two vessels, Nick and Sam Winchester.
 * Lucifer is the only archangel who's name doesn't end with "el" but end with "er". This is because Lucifer is the Latin calque of the Hebrew Heylel.
 * Before Season 5 it was believed that God was the one who locked him in his cage but it was then revealed in Season 5 that it was actually Michael who cast Lucifer into Hell on God's orders.
 * Mark Pellegrino was cast as Jeremy in Eric Kripke's new show "Revolution".
 * The Devil is known by many names throughout different faiths: Lucifer (Latin for " 'The Morning Star' or 'light bringer'"), The Devil, The Serpent, and Satan (Hebrew for "Adversary").
 * According to Mark Pellegrino in the Season 7 Companion Guide, Lucifer was probably more than just a hallucination and that he was possibly a psychic projection of Lucifer still stuck in The Cage.