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You think his friends just called him Yellow Eyes? He had a name. This article is about a canonical individual whose real name is unknown, and is known only by a conjectural title, nickname or alias. |
The Alpha Shapeshifter was the very first shapeshifter and the one who spawned all the others. They walked the earth, and created more children as humanity grew into civilization. By the time he was captured and killed by Crowley during his search for Purgatory, there were more than an (estimated) thousands of active shapeshifters.
History
Early life
It was the first shapeshifter created by Eve. Its age remains unclear, but as the stories of its children are around thousands of years old, it is likely the alpha has been alive since its mother last walked the earth, ten thousand years ago. They have taught their children to blend in with humanity, and as technology advanced so did they. They were able at some point of time to go comfortably underground, until so much has time passed the world deemed them a myth. All but their children, their siblings, as well beings just as old if not older than them knew for their existence before Crowley began tracking the Alpha's down.
Season 6
The alpha reunites with one of his children.
In Two and a Half Men, this shapeshifter starts gathering a following of its 'offspring' and is apparently reproducing with women by morphing into their husbands. When Sam and Dean rescue one of its children, the Alpha Shapeshifter storms the Campbell's compound and kills Mark Campbell, overcoming several gunshot wounds and tranquilizer darts, as well as a silver knife to the heart. This shapeshifter is able to transform in just a few seconds without shedding its skin. It then takes the baby from Dean, but doesn't kill him.
The alpha dead, after being interrogated by Crowley for Purgatory's location.
In Caged Heat, Crowley has captured the Alpha Shapeshifter who takes on the form of Crowley himself and is held in Crowley's Monster Prison. Crowley tortures the Alpha Shapeshifter on the location of Purgatory with no luck. Crowley reveals that through torture on lesser shapeshifters, he has discovered that iridium is painful to them despite how outrageously expensive it is. Crowley tortures the Alpha Shapeshifter with an iridium knife, but he refuses to break. Next, Crowley reveals that he has multiple shapeshifter children held captive in the prison and threatens to kill them in front of the Alpha Shapeshifter. After a moment, the Alpha Shapeshifter tells Crowley to go ahead as the shapeshifters will just make more. Enraged, Crowley snatches a machete and decapitates the Alpha Shapeshifter, killing him. Standing near the Alpha Shapeshifter's headless body, still in the form of Crowley, Crowley jokes that "I guess I kind of lost my head."
Personality
The Alpha Shapeshifter is shown to be very loyal to Eve, ordering his children to create more of their kind on Eve's command along with all of the other monster species following the start of Crowley's search for Purgatory.
While the Alpha Shapeshifter cares for his children, it is not on the level of the Alpha Vampire and his children as the Alpha Shapeshifter wasn't too moved when Crowley threatened an entire nursery full of baby shapeshifters, stating defiantly that they can just make more. The Alpha Shapeshifter appears to enjoy taking on the form of his opponents when facing off against someone, possibly as a form of psychological warfare. It's shown to be a rather straight-forward being, choosing to storm Samuel's base even at the cost of the hunters awareness of his presence. It only killed when it was attacked directly, and did not linger to inflect torture on the vulnerable hunters. This could also be read as arrogance, since it knew the hunters couldn't hurt or kill it. The arrogance could also play into the alpha purposely shifting to the form of almost every person it encountered, to taunt them of it's power.
Despite the threat of the hunters. It only killed one, merely hurting the others, and knocked Dean out when it had him pinned to the wall, as Dean tried shield Bobby John. Possibly because it has Bobby John's interest at heart, and didn't want to accidently hurt their child. Once it had Bobby John in their arms, they left as quick as they came and presumably took the child to a nursery with the rest of their children and took care of Bobby John.
Powers and Abilities
Unlike almost all of its children, the alpha doesn't shed when shifting.
The Alpha Shapeshifter has all the traits and abilities of normal shapeshifters, although at unbelievable levels. It also has several unique powers, which come with being an alpha.
- Shapeshifting - It can morph its body to match any human appearance. Unlike the majority of its children, it does not shed or peel off its skin while altering its shape. It can change its form in seconds and it can also copy clothing. Its shapeshifting ability was such that it was akin to the shapeshifting of stronger beings like Eve and the leviathans.
- Superhuman Strength - Its strength is monumental compared to that of all other shapeshifters, being able to overpower four hunters simultaneously, lift a grown man into the air with one hand, and rip a solid iron door off its hinges. He was also able to choke Dean to near unconsciousness.
- Regeneration - Able to heal wounds caused by knives and bullets incredibly quickly.
- Immortality - It can live forever, provided it isn't killed by decapitation or iridium.
Alpha Abilities
- Super Stamina - Its durability and threshold for pain are extremely high, being only susceptible to iridium, though decapitation works too. According to Samuel, the alpha merely chuckled when shot with an elephant tranquilizer.
- Immunity - Unlike lesser shapeshifters, the alpha is immune to silver.
- Telepathy - Like all alphas, he has a telepathic link to its children, thus allowing him to locate them, regardless of where they are.
- Invulnerability - Like its children, the Alpha Shapeshifter is invulnerable to all normal forms of harm. However, its invulnerability is greatly enhanced as an Alpha, resulting in massive doses of tranquilizers failing to even slow it down. As an Alpha, its invulnerability is so great that the Alpha Shapeshifter possesses very few weaknesses.
Weaknesses
| “ | I hope you appreciate just how much effort I've gone to to find something that can actually hurt you. (...) Would've been cheaper to drop a castle on you, but I think we all agree - worth it. | ” |
As one of the Alphas, the Alpha Shapeshifter has very few weaknesses, including being invulnerable to many regular shapeshifter weaknesses.
- Iridium - One of the few things known to be harmful to the Alpha Shapeshifter. Being stabbed with an iridium knife was very painful to him, similarly to how silver affects normal shapeshifters.
- Decapitation - Crowley was able to kill the Alpha Shapeshifter through decapitation.
- The Colt - Can kill all but five things in existence. The Alphas are vulnerable to the Colt as seen when Sam Winchester used it to kill the Alpha Vampire.
Death
Killed By
After being captured by Crowley during his search for Purgatory, the Alpha Shapeshifter was tortured for information on its location. When the Alpha Shapeshifter continued to refuse to cooperate, a frustrated Crowley decapitated him with a machete.
Appearances
- Season 6
- Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting (non-canon, mentioned only)
Trivia
- The Alpha Shapeshifter is the first alpha to be killed in the series. It was the only alpha to be killed on-screen before Sam Winchester killed the Alpha Vampire with the Colt in The Raid.
- A few of the Alpha Shapeshifter's children are shown to share its ability to change form seamlessly. These shapeshifters include the Lassiter Family and Magnus' Shapeshifter. The reason they are different from the others is not stated.
- The Alpha Shapeshifter is the first shapeshifter to take on the form of Sam.
- The Alpha in Two and a Half Men, the shifter noticeably only took forms of the hunters who held Bobby John; Samuel, Sam, Dean, and (possibly) Christen. But none of the forms of the hunters who attacked tit. Possibly to soothe Bobby John if they began to cry, as they'll recognize a familiar face, and calm down.