Michael

"God lied to me. I gave everything for him. I loved him. Why? I'm not even the only Michael."

- Michael

Michael is the first and oldest of the four Archangels created by God, making him the very first angel ever created, as well as one of the oldest and most powerful beings in the universe. 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 66 Seals. He was the Viceroy of Heaven in God's absence and 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.

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.

An alternate version of Michael exists on an apocalyptic Earth, where he won against Lucifer in the Apocalypse. Following the alternate Michael's death at the hands of the Nephilim Jack, this Michael is the only known archangel left alive in both universes.

Michael was trapped in the Cage with Adam and was supposedly driven mad during his time with Lucifer. However, when God decided to end the world, he opened every door in Hell including the door to the Cage, giving Michael the opportunity to leave. Though he initially didn't take the chance, Michael eventually escaped. Now sharing control with Adam, Michael was left disillusioned by his father's betrayals and provided the Winchesters and Castiel with the means to trap God, though he refused to help them any further.

Early Life
"My father and I have been together for eternity! I exist because he willed it!"

- Michael to Adam Milligan

Arguably one of God's first creations was Michael, the first Archangel, the first of the four archangels: Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel, and the very first angel in general. Before life, the Earth, and even the universe itself existed, Michael and the other archangels fought a war with God against the Darkness, whom God tricked and sealed away using the Mark.

Upon imprisoning the Darkness, 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 happy together.

After God locked away the Leviathans in the monster realm Purgatory and after he started the creation of Heaven and its angels and Earth and its people, he commanded all of the celestial beings to bow before mankind, asking them to love humans more than him. Though Michael obediently did so, Lucifer questioned this order, insisting that they are "broken, flawed abortions." Lucifer then sought out Michael for support, but Michael refused to listen and therefore, under God's orders, cast Lucifer out of Heaven. When Lucifer had corrupted man and created demons, Michael, again under God's orders, cast Lucifer into his cage. 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) were either forced to cooperate with their plans or were cast out of Heaven.

Season 2
During some investigations, Sam notices a painting of Michael casting Lucifer down by the Renaissance painter Raphael in the church he and Dean are investigating.

Season 4
Shortly before Lucifer's rise from the Cage, as 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
Upon Lucifer's rising from the Cage, Zachariah reveals to Dean that he is the Archangel's true vessel and they plan for Michael to use Dean Winchester to kill Lucifer once and for all. However, Dean needs to give his consent to be the vessel but the latter refuses and Zachariah's attempt to force him are stopped by Castiel.

In The Song Remains the Same, Michael 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, conversed with John Winchester from Heaven, telling him that he can save his wife, if he allows him to take possession of his body. John consents.

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 his sister 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. An anxious Mary then questions who or what the archangel is. Michael reassures her that "John is fine" before knocking her out with a touch.

Michael then turns to Dean, remarking on their awaited talk as Dean realized who he was and demanded that Michael heal Sam, but Michael tells him he will after they 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 Dean and John are 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 loves him, he is going to obey his Father and kill Lucifer. He adds that Dean 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 promises 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, resurrects him, and sends him back to his own time. Michael then walks toward Dean, telling him that he'll see him soon before sending him back to his own time too.

In Point of No Return, Zachariah has been dismissed from his position and is on Earth where he drinks in a bar, awaiting his destruction, when Michael makes contact. The brilliance and sound of the archangel kills the bar patrons. Zachariah expects Michael to kill him on the spot and doesn't try to resist but Michael instead offers Zachariah one last chance to secure Dean as a vessel. Delighted, Zachariah agrees if he is given back his position which Michael grants and Zachariah puts his plan into action.

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, forcing Dean to agree to 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 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 beating Dean up. This continues until Sam reclaims control of his body and opens the portal to Hell. Michael returns just then and tells Sam that he can't jump in because he has to fulfill his destiny by killing Lucifer. Sam doesn't listen and when Michael tries to grab hold of him to stop him from falling, Sam takes hold of his arm and pulls him in, causing Sam, Michael, Adam and Lucifer to all get trapped in the Cage.

Season 6
Subsequently, in Heaven, Raphael informs Castiel that he wants to release Lucifer and Michael so that the Apocalypse can be restarted. 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 and Adam's souls. 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 and Lucifer in Lucifer's Cage.

Season 11
In Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire, a demon tells Crowley that after the Darkness was released, there was an uproar from the Cage and it's believed that Michael or Lucifer were trying to warn them about the Darkness.

In Our Little World, after Sam and Dean question Castiel about Metatron, Sam experiences a vision of Lucifer's Cage, which is seen for the first time from the outside. Two hands are seen to be grasping the wall of the Cage, though it remains unclear whether the hands belong to Lucifer or Michael.

In The Devil in the Details, Lucifer tells Sam that prison life has supposedly driven Michael insane and claims that he is now curled in a ball in a corner of the Cage and passes his time "singing show tunes and touching himself".

In We Happy Few, God and Lucifer tell the Winchesters that it took all four archangels to weaken the Darkness enough for God to lock her away the first time. However, God tells them that their team is three short as Gabriel and Raphael are dead and God can't resurrect them in a timely manner while Michael is in no state for battle.

Season 12
In Stuck in the Middle (With You), Michael and Lucifer appear in a painting which represents their fight during the First Heaven Civil War. Later on, Michael is revealed to have crafted a lance specifically for tormenting Lucifer, likely for their battle during the Civil War. The lance fell into the possession of Hell and subsequently Ramiel, who uses it to attack Castiel, but Sam manages to snatch the weapon and kill Ramiel with it. Crowley then breaks the lance to free Castiel of its effects, thus saving his life.

In The British Invasion, Lucifer appears to submit to Crowley's will. When Crowley questions it, Lucifer tells him that "all things considered, I think I'd rather be here than rotting in the Cage with my drooling, insane - and not in a fun way - little bro Michael."

Season 13
In The Rising Son, after encountering an alternate reality Michael, Lucifer states that the other Michael seems like a cheap knock-off of his Michael "and he's a hot mess." The other Michael wasn't amused to hear his counterpart's fate.

In Various & Sundry Villains, Lucifer mentions Michael to Castiel by calling him his "dick brother" and compares him to his counterpart by stating that when Michael's mind is set on something, he does it. Lucifer states that the alternate Michael is no different and would not stop in trying to cross over in the main universe.

During Exodus, Lucifer tells his son Jack about his family such as his uncle Michael who describes him as a "warrior-type." Jack states while he didn't meet the real Michael, he met his counterpart who tortured him as Lucifer states the latter did the same to him.

As of Let the Good Times Roll, Michael is currently the last surviving Archangel of the main universe while his counterpart is loose on Earth possessing Dean, a feat the real version couldn't do.

Season 14
In The Spear, Alternate Michael talks about him and Jack being family but the latter isn't fazed and states his real uncle is trapped in a cage while calling the other Michael a knockoff.

In Nihilism, Dean gets confused when he is told that he is possessed by Michael, stating that Michael is in the Cage as he is unaware that Sam and Castiel mean the alternate Michael.

In Ouroboros, Alternate Michael is killed by Jack, making Michael the last known archangel alive from any universe.

Season 15
In Back and to the Future, the demon Belphegor tells Dean that every door in Hell opened when God started the end of the world. Dean realizes that this includes Lucifer's Cage which Belphegor confirms. Dean asks about Michael and Belphegor tells Dean that the last he heard, Michael was just sitting there. However, Belphegor points out that if Michael got out, he might hold a grudge against the Winchesters for trapping him.

In Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven, the Winchesters learn that God has a secret fear that he only shared with his favorite which they realize means Michael. Though both God and Lucifer claimed Michael to be insane, Dean suspects they might have been lying and the Winchesters and Castiel travel into Hell to search for Michael. However, Michael is now gone.

On Earth, Michael allows Adam to have control as his vessel enjoys a burger in a diner. Michael, manifesting as a duplicate of Adam, admits that he doesn't know what to do now with the other archangels dead and God gone from Heaven and sees Adam as his guide in the new world and the two commiserate over having difficult families.

As they discuss what to do next, Lilith arrives looking for Michael on God's orders. Instantly taking control, Michael is skeptical of the demon's claims and intentions and obliterates her in a flash of white light when Lilith insists. Noticing that the entire diner witnessed his actions, Michael erases their memories with a snap of his fingers.

After getting rid of Lilith, Michael begins bouncing all over the globe, finally ending up in Cairo, Egypt with Prophet Donatello Redfield sensing his movements. Castiel reaches out to Michael through prayer, asking for him to come, acknowledging their past and the greater war that is taking place against God. Michael agrees to meet with Castiel in a factory, but is less than pleased to see his brother as Castiel called him Assbutt, set him on fire, and then helped send Michael to Hell. As Michael speculates if Castiel has come to beg forgiveness, Castiel surrounds the archangel in a ring of Holy Fire. As the Winchesters enter with the Supernatural Handcuffs, Michael angrily demands to know what Castiel has done.

Taken back to the Men of Letters bunker in handcuffs, Michael calls their actions stupid and starts to comment on how Sam looks compared to the last time Michael saw him in the Cage. Sam cuts Michael off and insists that they need his help. Michael is incredulous that they want him to trust them when Castiel doomed him to Hell and Dean let Lucifer walk free while Adam was trapped in Hell. Sam explains that with what they do, they have gotten too used to losing people and with Adam they said goodbye because they thought they had to but were wrong. Michael then returns control to Adam, surprising the Winchesters that Michael lets Adam have control. Adam explains that he and Michael reached an agreement in the Cage where they only had each other.

Michael quickly retakes control and demands to know why he is there. Sam and Dean explain that they need his help because God is back and while Michael thinks God will bring paradise, paradise is boring and God only wants to be entertained meaning they are all his puppets, especially Michael. Michael refuses to listen, claiming that they are lying and returns control to Adam who states that Michael isn't listening. Alone, Adam attempts to convince Michael that the Winchesters might be right, pointing out that while he doesn't forgive them, they always try to be on the right side and maybe Michael doesn't know his father as well as he thinks. Adam finally gets Michael to admit that he won't consider the truth as it would mean that Michael - the Good Son, the Favorite - doubts his father which is against everything Michael has been and believed in his whole life. Adam questions if Michael really still believes that after God abandoned him in Lucifer's Cage.

When Castiel returns, Michael has retaken control and refuses to betray his father and everything he believes in. Castiel tells the archangel that he never really liked him, even when he was just another angel. Castiel always thought Michael to be too haughty and "to paraphrase a friend, you had an entire oak tree shoved up your ass." Castiel now pities Michael as he was never God's favorite but just a tiny part of God's story and figures that at least Lucifer knew that God couldn't be trusted. Enraged, Michael attacks Castiel who shows the archangel his memories of God's betrayal, the fight with the Darkness, the murder of his nephew Jack and the Apocalypse World Michael.

Disillusioned, Michael orders his brother out to process his thoughts. He later causes the bunker to shake and agrees to help. Michael provides Dean and Castiel with the spell that can lock God away, but it requires a Leviathan Blossom which only grows in Purgatory. With a snap of his fingers, Michael opens a twelve-hour rift, but refuses to come with them and help further. Dean removes the handcuffs and at Dean's request, Michael returns control to Adam so that Dean can apologize to his brother before Adam and Michael leave the bunker.

Characteristics
Like all angels, Michael's true appearance can't be safely perceived by humans. Michael entering a bar in his true form to talk to Zachariah caused the deaths of all of the human customers.

After returning to Earth from Lucifer's Cage, Michael appears to have adopted the form of his vessel Adam Milligan as his preferred appearance as Lucifer appeared to prefer the appearance of Nick even while not possessing Nick's body. When communicating with Adam while Adam is in control of their shared body, Michael appears as an identical duplicate of his vessel rather than taking on another shape.

Like several other angels, including his alternate self, Michael can cause his eyes to flash blue. He typically does this when switching with Adam or when he's annoyed such as when Michael kills Lilith.

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 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 him (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.

According to Lucifer, when he puts his mind to something he'll do it no matter how many have to die. This goes along with his intent to let the Apocalypse proceed to fight his brother as his father commanded and bring paradise. He also shares this trait with his counterpart.

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 "making [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 (although this could also be a case of restraint as he just tells Dean he isn't part of this and tells him to leave as opposed to killing or forcing him), 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 God, 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, and Sam only remembered Lucifer torturing him, suggesting Michael didn't. While Michael appears to have an uncaring view of humans, this isn't as extreme as his counterpart, who openly admitted to enjoying killing humans and ordering a genocide of the humanity in his world.

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 to prove to his father, God, that he was a good son, the one thing that he never actually managed to achieve.

According to Lucifer, being locked in Lucifer's Cage didn't sit well with Michael and it drove him insane, leaving Michael curled up in a ball in the cage and "singing show tunes and touching himself." God later stated that calling Michael into battle against the Darkness is not an option as he isn't in any shape to fight. When meeting Michael's counterpart, Lucifer further added that Michael was also a drooling, hot mess. After God's betrayal, Dean suspects that both God and Lucifer were simply lying about Michael's insanity.

After escaping from the Cage and Hell, it is shown that God and Lucifer were in fact lying and Michael retains his sanity and much of his old personality. However, his time in the Cage has changed Michael somewhat by the time of his escape, making him somewhat more mellow and unsure of his place in the world due to the other archangels being dead and, as far as he knew, God being gone. When faced with the Winchesters and Castiel, Michael was both irritated and enraged, both for their role in trapping him in the Cage and in the present time and for abandoning Adam to the same fate, showing a fondness for his vessel. When confronted with the truth about his father, Michael acted like a petulant child at one point, giving Adam control simply so that he wouldn't have to listen to the truth.

When confronted by Adam about his insistence on refusing to listen to the truth, Michael admits that it comes from the fact that he feels that if he doubts, Michael will be betraying who he is as the Good and Favorite Son. After being confronted with Castiel's memories of God's betrayals, including the war with the Darkness, seeing his alternate reality counterpart and the murder of Jack, Michael finally lets go of his view of God and becomes completely disillusioned in his role as God's Favorite Son, stating that he didn't even know there was more than one Michael. Michael proves willing to provide Dean and Castiel with the means to trap God and even opens a rift to Purgatory to facilitate their efforts, but he refuses to do anymore and leaves.

Michael is shown to have something of a unique relationship with his vessels compared to the other archangels and even regular angels. While possessing John Winchester, Michael promised to leave him "better than new" and even saw it as a kindness that he was erasing John's memory of the experience. While Michael permitted Zachariah to torment Dean to get his consent, he also attempted to talk to Dean directly and convince him as one older brother and good son to another that they had no other choice. Michael originally appeared disdainful about Adam Milligan, stating that "Adam isn't home right now" when Dean addressed his brother and saw Dean as no longer important since he had Adam as a vessel. However, his relationship with Adam changed during their years trapped together in the Cage when Michael and Adam only had each other. Having reached an understanding with Adam, Michael chose to share control with his vessel rather than remaining dominant at all times unlike other angels and even held conversations with Adam and sought his advice. Notably, Michael's expressed anger at Dean was for abandoning Adam in the Cage while Dean was willing to let Lucifer roam the Earth.

Powers and Abilities
As the very first angel ever created, Michael is the oldest, strongest, and most powerful angel under God's command, making Michael among the oldest and most powerful supernatural beings to exist in Creation. Being the highest in Heaven's hierarchy, Michael has immense powers. Castiel describes him as one of the few beings that are stronger than Lucifer. Castiel even mentioned that in comparison to Raphael, Michael is much more powerful. Even when Castiel was empowered with 40 million souls and being able to effortlessly destroy Raphael, he opted to keep both Lucifer and Michael in the Cage. Only a few beings are known to predate and are capable of overpowering Michael. As an archangel, Michael has many powers. Below are listed all of the powers that Michael has displayed.
 * Lower Tier Nigh-Omnipotence - As the oldest Archangel and the first angel in general that God ever created, Michael has a tremendously vast supply of supernatural power, making him the most powerful celestial being that God created. Other angels, even some of the most powerful angels fear Michael's capabilities and powers. Noted to be far superior to the younger Archangels, such as Raphael, with Castiel describing the amount of damage hosting Michael could do to Dean as being beyond that Raphael's vessel sustained, he is even ultimately more powerful than Lucifer, with all angels being convinced that Michael would be capable of eventually killing him in battle, it has also been noted that had Michael fought Lucifer, the impact of their battle would destroy much of Earth. He can effortlessly kill and banish lesser angels at whim, as shown by how with a single touch, Michael easily burned Anna, a powerful angel, from the inside out to death and sent Uriel back to Heaven with a snap of his fingers. By placing two fingers on Sam's forehead, Michael brought him back to life while also, at the same time, heal his wounds and sent him back to the future all at once. He was also capable of creating a weapon called the Lance of Michael that can kill demons and angels, including Archangels, as evidenced with Lucifer. In addition, he could effortlessly kill Lilith, the first demon, and erase the minds of those watching with just snaps of his fingers and was also able to open a portal to Purgatory with yet another finger snap, which not even Raphael was able to replicate without a special spell. Even when powered by 30-40 million souls, Castiel still felt the need to keep Michael in the cage further showing the immensity of his powers. The only known beings more powerful than Michael are God, Jack, Death, and the Darkness.
 * 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.
 * Apporting - Michael could send angels back to Heaven with a simple snap of his fingers, as he did with the angel Uriel.
 * Conversion - Michael was able to undo Zachariah's status as a fallen angel and restore him back to full power.
 * Chronokinesis - Michael, as an Archangel, has advanced chronokinetic powers, being able to easily travel back in time to the past to stop Anna from killing Sam and Dean and back as well as return Sam and Dean to the present with just a single finger tap.
 * Healing - Michael can easily heal others of any injury, wound and disease. Michael healed the young John Winchester from the extensive injuries he sustained after having been punched through a window by Anna. He also "fixed" Sam from the injuries he obtained from having a pipe launched through his stomach. He even went as far as to say that he could simply undo the massive damage Dean would have sustained had he became his Vessel.
 * Holy White Light - Michael can easily generate an overwhelming white light that is capable of obliterating other beings, as he did to Lilith by simply flashing his eyes.
 * Precognition - Michael can see into the future, but not the full picture.
 * Pyrokinesis - Michael can manipulate and generate earthly, and even spiritual fire. He uses this ability on disobedient angels, such as he did when he set Anna ablaze, painfully killing her, instead of snapping his fingers like Lucifer.
 * Reality Warping - Being God's strongest angel, Michael can alter the fabric of reality to a tremendous degree, being able to manipulate time and create portals to other realms.
 * Regeneration - If his vessel becomes damaged in any way, he is able to heal it instantly and completely. For instance, his 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.
 * Resurrection - Michael can resurrect humans with ease. He rose Sam from the dead after Anna killed him with a pipe through the stomach.
 * Supernatural Perception - Michael can sense and see things even if they're naturally invisible.
 * Super Stamina - As an Archangel, Michael's stamina is incalculable and, even when in a vessel, needs nothing to maintain strength, to strive or operate, as he is self-sufficient.
 * Super Strength - Being the oldest, strongest, and most powerful Archangel, the physical strength that Michael endows his vessel with is immense. Due to his status and power as the oldest angel, Michael is the strongest angel and the only one who holds strength superior to Lucifer's own, as the demon who was possessing Bobby at the time called Michael the "toughest son of a bitch they got." Even while restrained with upgraded supernatural handcuffs, Michael was still able to surpass a fallen Seraph's strength with ease, able to easily slam Castiel to a table with enough force to stun him and then effortlessly lift him overhead and restrain him firmly, with Castiel being unable to break out and having to resort to showing Michael the truth.
 * 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 in. He demonstrated this when he closed and locked the door to the beautiful room when Adam tried to escape it.
 * Telepathy - Michael is able to read the thoughts of humans.
 * Empathy - Michael is able to read the emotions of humans.
 * Mental Manipulation - Michael can erase, restore, alter and fabricate the memories and perception of a human. He was able to erase John and Mary's memories of Anna Milton's attempt to kill them and with just a snap of his fingers, erased an entire diner's memories of him causing Lilith to disappear in a flash of light.
 * 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.
 * Terrakinesis - Michael is able to cause powerful earthquakes by thought or presence alone. When descending to a bar on Earth to speak to Zachariah, the bar began to quiver in a manner comparable to a full-fledged earthquake. In his distress, Michael later causes the Men of Letters bunker to shake.
 * Thermokinesis - He made the door knob to the beautiful room extremely hot to prevent Dean from being able to open it and save Adam.
 * 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.
 * Portal Creation - With just a snap of his fingers, even while restrained by Supernatural Handcuffs, Michael was able to open a twelve-hour rift to Purgatory.
 * Nigh-Omniscience - Like his brothers, Michael has a deep understanding of many things, due to him being older than the universe itself. As the oldest of the Archangels, Michael's knowledge exceeded all his brothers and he even knew of the spell that can trap God.
 * Immortality - As the eldest archangel, Michael has an infinitely long lifespan. He is the first angel and has existed before the universe itself, making him well over 13.8 billion years old. The excessive passing of time does not degrade his vessel, like with all celestial beings. His vessel is unaffected by diseases and toxins. He does not tire, and does not require food, water, oxygen, or sleep to sustain his vessel.
 * Invulnerability - Michael cannot be killed by any conventional weapon. Even Holy Fire was only able to banish him for a short time.
 * Immunity - Michael was resilient to Holy Fire, although he still found it agonizing, damaging and being able to banish him; but unlike other angels, it couldn't kill him. Michael also displayed similar resistance against the Supernatural Handcuffs, as he retained easily superior strength to Castiel even with the handcuffs on and was able to make the ground shake and open a rift to Purgatory.

Weaknesses
Although Michael is God's oldest and most powerful angel, making him vastly more powerful than any other type of angel, even he has the same weaknesses as the other archangels.

Harming, Misleading and Trapping

 * Enochian sigils - Even Michael cannot locate someone if they are warded by Enochian sigils.
 * Holy Fire - Holy fire can't kill Michael, but it can damage his vessel momentarily. Holy fire causes Michael quite a great deal of pain. Following his escape from Hell, the Winchesters and Castiel were able to trap Michael in a ring of holy fire for long enough to put the Supernatural Handcuffs on him. It is unknown how long the holy fire could've held him without Michael being otherwise restrained.
 * Lucifer's Cage - This cell can hold any angel, including Michael, without any internal means of escape.
 * Supernatural Handcuffs - Having been upgraded by Bobby Singer to hold Michael's Apocalypse World counterpart, the cuffs were capable of restraining Michael. Despite this, he retained some of his Super Strength even in the cuffs, easily overpowering the weaker Castiel and he was able to make the bunker shake when distressed. In addition, Michael, with just a snap of his fingers, opened a rift to Purgatory while the cuffs were still on. However, Michael could not remove the cuffs on his own and had to ask Dean to take them off.

Beings

 * Primordial Entities - Primordial entities such as God, Death and the Darkness can effortlessly kill Michael.
 * Archangel Blades - The only weapon capable of killing an archangel. The blade is only effective when wielded by another archangel.

Relationships

 * Michael and Castiel - Michael's relationship with his rebellious brother Castiel.
 * Michael and Dean Winchester - Michael's relationship with his true vessel, Dean Winchester.
 * Michael and God - Michael's relationship with his father, God.
 * Michael and Lucifer - Michael's relationship with his younger brother Lucifer.
 * Michael and Adam - Michael's relationship with his vessel Adam Milligan.

Appearances

 * Season 2
 * Houses of the Holy
 * Season 4
 * The Monster at the End of This Book
 * Lucifer Rising
 * Season 5
 * Sympathy for the Devil
 * Good God, Y'all
 * Free To Be You and Me
 * The End
 * Fallen Idols
 * Changing Channels
 * Abandon All Hope...
 * Swap Meat
 * The Song Remains the Same
 * 99 Problems
 * Point of No Return
 * Hammer of the Gods
 * Two Minutes to Midnight
 * Swan Song
 * Season 6
 * Caged Heat
 * Appointment In Samarra
 * The Man Who Would Be King
 * The Man Who Knew Too Much
 * Season 7
 * Meet the New Boss
 * There Will Be Blood
 * Season 8
 * The Great Escapist
 * Season 10
 * Fan Fiction
 * Season 11
 * Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire
 * The Devil in the Details
 * We Happy Few
 * Season 12
 * Stuck in the Middle (With You)
 * The British Invasion
 * Season 13
 * The Rising Sun
 * War of the Worlds
 * Various & Sundry Villains
 * Devil's Bargain
 * Bring 'em Back Alive
 * Unfinished Business
 * Exodus
 * Season 14
 * The Spear
 * Nihilism
 * Moriah
 * Season 15
 * Back and to the Future
 * Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven

Trivia

 * Michael is the secondary antagonist in Season 5.
 * His name's meaning is a rhetorical question meant to glorify God's characteristics, "Who is like God?"
 * Michael is considered the "Viceroy of Heaven," meaning, the ruler of Heaven in God's stead.
 * 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 to be in one season (not counting the appearance of his alternate reality self in Season 13). Gabriel was in four seasons, (including an illusion) Raphael was in two and Lucifer (including hallucinations) was in five. He later appeared in Season 15.
 * Despite being the oldest of the four Archangels, he used the youngest vessels - Adam Milligan at about 19/20 and John Winchester at about 24.
 * Michael is the least appearing archangel and primordial in the series, only physically appearing in 3 episodes (not counting his alternate reality self).
 * Michael is God's oldest known creation still alive.
 * It is hinted at that God created many other things before Michael, but said things were destroyed by Amara, driving God to have her locked up to protect his remaining creations.
 * He was never seen interacting with Raphael or Gabriel, it is also unknown what terms he was on with them. However he seemed displeased when he talked about their death in Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven.
 * Michael is the second known angel to suffer from severe mental trauma, the first being Castiel. Both were driven to insanity as a result of Lucifer's Cage (though Castiel became insane as a result of taking on Sam's memories of the Cage). However, it is later revealed that God and Lucifer were lying about Michael's insanity.
 * Due to the Winchesters traveling back in time, chronologically Michael was the first Primordial entity and angel to meet the Winchesters, having met them before they were born in the timeline.
 * Michael is the only known archangel alive in any universe.
 * When talking through a vessel, Michael appears to use a deeper voice than that of his vessel. This can best be seen when he is interacting with Adam in Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven when Adam speaks and Michael responds off-screen with a deeper voice though he manifests as a duplicate of Adam.

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).
 * Archangel Michael is celebrated yearly on September 28, the day known as Michaelmas, or the Feast of Saint Michael.
 * 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.
 * Some believe the Archangel Michael and Jesus Christ are one and the same.