Archangels/Abilities and Weaknesses

Powers and Abilities

“	No one gives us the right; we take it.	”
	— Lucifer comments on his and his brothers' powers. in Hammer of the Gods

“	Whatever we want, we get!	”
	— Raphael describing his and his brothers' absolute authority. in Free To Be You and Me

“	No-one makes us do anything!	”
	— Gabriel's description of his and his brother's powers. in Hammer of the Gods

“	And now, this world is mine!	”
	— Michael claiming his victory in Let the Good Times Roll

Archangels are the highest type of celestial being, possessing an immense amount of supernatural power that makes them among the oldest and most powerful beings in the Universe. All four Archangels together are powerful enough to weaken the Darkness, the most powerful entity in existence, albeit assisted by God. They possess the powers and abilities that are inherent in all angels, but to a much higher degree, arguably the highest degree with their power just under that of God himself. Despite their tremendous power, Lucifer himself fears the Shedim, creatures he would not allow to roam free after God locked them in Hell. The Archangels are held in extremely high esteem by angels, being looked upon as "fierce" and "absolute" in power and capability. Archangels have a vast supply of power and can create most things out of thin air. Archangels are shown to be considerably more powerful than the Princes of Hell. While at full power, Lucifer was greatly feared by Asmodeus and Dagon and the weakest archangel, Gabriel, was more than a match for Asmodeus in combat and easily killed him. They are also far more powerful than White-eyed Demons, as Lilith immediately fled in face of the Archangel Raphael's wrath and Michael killed her effortlessly in a single blast. The archangels appear not to have been affected by the Expelling Angels spell as both Lucifer and Gabriel are known to have retained their wings.

Castiel killed by Lucifer

• Lower Tier Nigh-Omnipotence - Archangels have a tremendously vast supply of power; they can accomplish almost anything they desire with only some exceptions. God, the Darkness, Death, and Jack are the only known beings that can defeat them. A great display of their power is also everything from the ability to kill lesser beings with either finger snaps, hand waves or even just by unleashing their powers through their eyes to, collectively and assisted by God, being able to defeat the Darkness. Archangels rank in age in this specific order: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael, Gabriel. As for the power line, the order is the same, with Michael being stronger to an unknown but no significant degree than Lucifer, as the Michael from the alternate reality killed his Lucifer as well as having easily beat the main reality Lucifer in a fight while the main Michael was able to defeat and cast Lucifer out of Heaven as well as imprison him in the Cage and was described as being inevitably capable of killing Lucifer had they fought in the Apocalypse, with their battle being able to destroy much of Earth. They are also far stronger than Seraph's, arguably the second strongest angel class, with even Gabriel being able to outmatch the strongest Seraphim Castiel.
  • Angelic Possession - Even archangels require vessels to manifest physically on Earth and need their consent to do so. By leaving the door in their vessel's mind 'open just a crack', an Archangel can repossess a vessel without needing their permission once again.
  • Apporting - Archangels can teleport people, objects and lesser angels to wherever they want.
  • Astral Perception - They can sense and perceive beings and things that are naturally invisible, such as Reapers and even Horsemen. Lucifer was able to casually look at Death's true form upon his release.
  • Astral Projection - Archangels can display their wings like any other angel.
  • Biokinesis - Archangels can manipulate the bodies of lesser beings, either to harm or to transfigure. Lucifer was able to cause a man to die of a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
  • Chronokinesis - Archangels can travel and send themselves, and/or others, backwards or forwards through time. Gabriel was able to create a time loop.
  • Clairsentience - Lucifer was able to detect the power and life of his unborn son. Alternate Michael was able to identify the main universe Lucifer, stating he “could feel it”. Gabriel could psychically detect Rowena's tracking spell despite her being unbound, although weakened to a noticeable level. Michael was able to immediately sense Lilith in her vessel when she approached him under God's orders.
  • Conversion - Lucifer created the race of demons by twisting humans souls.
  • Deflection - Gabriel was able to effortlessly deflect an energy blast from Asmodeus, while Lucifer deflected a single energy blast from Alternate Michael with some effort.
  • Electrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate electricity with such an intensity that they can cause coastal blackouts as seen when Raphael manifested before Dean and Castiel. With a snap of his fingers, Lucifer was able to disable a fire alarm and turn on music.
  • Electromagnetic Interference - Lucifer was able to cause the lights to flicker with his presence at the Elysian Fields Hotel.

    

    Michael and Lucifer battle

  • Energy Blasts - Lucifer was able to launch blue energy blasts at Alternate Michael, which only pushed him back and did no visible damage. Michael was then able to use the same attack to injure Lucifer.
  • Exorcism - With just a snap of his fingers, Lucifer was able to exorcise a demon back to Hell.
  • Healing - Archangels can cure any disease, wound, or injury. Michael even said that after he used Dean, he would just simply undo all the damage done to his body. Lucifer was able to heal the angel Anael. and the paralysis of Wendy Vincente as part of a deal with his vessel.
  • Flight - Like regular angels, archangels have demonstrated the ability of flight. While battling a Michael-powered Dean Winchester, Lucifer was able to fight in mid-air as was Dean while using Michael's powers. In Apocalypse World, Michael would often arrive at a location by flying in in the form of a comet.
  • Holy White Light - Archangels can blast almost anything into oblivion with holy energy. This power can also be controlled and concentrated from completely obliterating something to only severely damaging it. Michael and Lucifer's fight was prophesied to destroy half the Earth. The Apocalypse World Michael was able to blast down the door to the Men of Letters bunker with a concentrated blast of white light. Michael effortlessly destroyed Lilith with a blast of light without even gesturing, just by lighting his eyes.
  • Localization - Archangels are able to track and locate beings, although not if they are warded by Enochian sigils.
  • Molecular Combustion - Archangels have demonstrated the ability to explode lower angels into their component molecules with snaps of their fingers. Lucifer could use this power to kill demons and humans as well.
  • Smiting - Like all other angels, archangels are capable of smiting other beings but are far more powerful. Raphael would have smote Lilith had she not fled and Lucifer noted he could effortlessly smite Crowley. While super-charged, Lucifer attempted to smite Dean Winchester and the alternate Michael, but the smiting failed. The Alternate Michael could smite a monster from a distance by just lightning his eyes.
  • Power Augmentation - Lucifer's presence enhanced the powers of Jesse Turner.
  • Power Granting - Archangels can grant protection or powers to other beings as shown when Raphael made Crowley immune to Castiel's angelic killing touch. Gabriel, when posing as The Trickster, granted Superhuman Strength to the women he created for Dean and a few years later have Dean himself the temporary ability to speak Japanese. Lucifer gave the Princes of Hell their unique powers. Naomi also stated that the presence of a single archangel is enough to power heaven. While using Dean as his vessel, the alternate Michael was able to grant Dean the use of several of his powers even without Michael being in control.
  • Power Negation - Lucifer was able to prevent deities from teleporting.
  • Precognition - Archangels can see into the future, although they do not always see the full picture; as Michael has apparently been "wrong", and neither Lucifer nor Gabriel foresaw their defeats.
  • Pyrokinesis - Archangels can manipulate, control and generate fire. They can incinerate any other angel type, all demons, alphas, all monsters, deities, and humans. Michael incinerated Anna, burning her from the inside out. Gabriel was able to effortlessly incinerate the last Prince of Hell Asmodeus with just a hand gesture despite Asmodeus' incredible power and his diminished grace.
  • Reality Warping - Like some Angels and Seraphs, Archangels can alter reality, albeit to a tremendously greater degree. This ability is better demonstrated by the archangel Gabriel, who can create anything he wants out of thin air and can even put people in a TV universe. Lucifer, who taught Gabriel his tricks, was able to simply snap his fingers and make a song play in Limbo.
    • Conjuration - Archangels can create almost anything out of thin air.
    • Self-Duplication - Gabriel was able to create multiple copies of himself.
  • Regeneration - If they are in some way harmed, they can instantly heal all non-fatal wounds. Lucifer was able to quickly heal a wound from the Colt while Gabriel instantly healed all of the injuries he had received from Asmodeus' torture.
  • Resurrection - Archangels can bring deceased individuals back to life. Michael was able to resurrect Sam after he was fatally stabbed by Anna Milton. After Sam's death in Apocalypse World, Lucifer was able to resurrect him after recharging his grace by feeding on some of Michael's angels. At the request of Jack, Lucifer resurrected Maggie following her murder by what turned out be Lucifer himself.
  • Shapeshifting - Archangels can change form, as Lucifer did when he appeared to Nick using Sarah's visage. He also did this to Sam while using Jessica's visage. Gabriel also demonstrated this ability several times, in conjunction with his reality warping abilities.
  • Soul Channeling/Soul Absorption - Lucifer was able to draw power from human souls.
  • Spell Breaking - Lucifer was able to break Rowena's binding spell.
  • Spell Casting - Archangels can cast spells.
  • Superhuman Reflexes - Raphael was able to catch an angel blade thrown at him from behind, all without turning around.
  • Supernatural Concealment - Archangels are able to hide themselves from other beings.
  • Super Senses - Gabriel was able to hear things from many floors up and between walls.
  • Super Speed - Lucifer was able to use super speed to pin Rowena MacLeod to a wall.
  • Super Stamina - Archangels' vessels need nothing to maintain their strength, to strive, or operate, as they are self-sufficient. "Falling", or being banished doesn't affect their powers at all, whereas it causes normal angels to lose the ability to smite and heal.
  • Super Strength - As the first and most powerful angels, Archangels can exert or apply extreme immense amounts of physical force to people, objects, creatures, and beings. They can overpower and kill anything, besides God, Death, or the Darkness.
  • Telekinesis - Archangels can move and otherwise exert force on matter with their mind.
  • Telepathy - Archangels can read and feel/sense the thoughts of humans.
    • Dream Walking - Archangels can appear in peoples' dreams, and they usually use this ability to communicate when they can't find the person they're looking for, or when they want to talk privately.
    • Empathy - Archangels can read, and feel/sense the emotions of humans.
    • Memory Manipulation - Archangels can erase, fabricate and restore the memories of people.
    • Mental Projection - Archangels can communicate with humans by projecting images into their minds. Lucifer used this to communicate with his vessels Nick and Vince Vincente to get a "yes" from them. Once his cage was damaged, Lucifer was able to use this power to communicate with Sam Winchester in the form of visions.
    • Pathokinesis - Lucifer was able to cause Sam to feel calm.
    • Sedation - Michael used this to put Mary Winchester to sleep.
  • Teleportation - Archangels can disappear and reappear anywhere that's not sigil-protected instantly. Even after Metatron's Spell, Lucifer was still able to teleport, as his wings are fully intact. Gabriel also retained this ability, having kept his wings like Lucifer did. After getting out of the Cage, Michael proved to have retained this ability, as his wings remained fully intact.
  • Terrakinesis - Archangels can cause full-fledged earthquakes, regardless of whether they are in a vessel or not.
  • Thermokinesis - Archangels can alter the temperature of their surroundings. Lucifer's presence could cause a massive drop in temperature, and he could cause ice to form on a window just by breathing on it. He was also able to heat up a pair of Supernatural Handcuffs until they popped off of his wrist. He later melted a pair of the handcuffs. Michael was also able to cause a door knob to heat up drastically to prevent Adam from escaping.
  • Torture - Lucifer was highly skilled at torturing, being able to torture Lilith's spirit into a demon. Raphael also expressed confidence that he could break the tremendous will of Dean Winchester with torture beyond that Zachariah was capable of.
  • Voice Mimicry - Archangels can mimic voices.
  • Weather Manipulation - Practically every Archangel changes the weather upon first emergence. The sheer presence can drastically alter the Earth's weather and surroundings, and they are capable of causing raging storms and generating strong air-currents
  • Portal Creation - Through magic, Raphael, Lucifer and the alternate Michael could open portals to alternate realities while Michael could open rifts to Purgatory with just a snap of his fingers.
• Nigh-Omniscience - Being around for billions/trillions of years, the Archangels have vast knowledge and awareness about many things and can detect events happening throughout the universe. Even when Lucifer was trapped in the cage, he had knowledge about what Sam has been through. Michael similarly was aware that his brothers have died while trapped in the cage. Gabriel was aware of Castiel searching for God despite not being told of Castiel's search. Lucifer claims to know how to create angels, as well as how to restore all angel's wings, though he later admitted to Anael that he lied. However, while they are aware, at least vaguely, that there are Alternate Universes, they were initially unaware that there are alternate versions of them in some of these universes.
  • Eidetic Memory - Like all angels, the Archangels have the faces of every prophet who has existed or will exist etched into their memories. As seen when Lucifer identified Alternate Kevin, despite never seeing him and being aware of the main universe Kevin's fate. This ability also makes them aware of reality warping and timeline changes.
• Immortality - Archangels aren't affected by time or disease and don't need to breathe, eat, or sleep to sustain themselves. They predate creation and the universe itself making them more than 13.8 billion years old, the only beings confirmed to be older than them are Death, God, and The Darkness.
  • Invulnerability - Archangels cannot be damaged or injured by anything that's at least not supernatural.
  • Immunity - Archangels have immunity to that which affects lesser angels. Michael was not killed by holy fire as lesser angels are while Lucifer could eventually overcome Holy Fire even if it was amplified by Enochian Sigils. Lucifer is also one of the five things in all creation that the Colt cannot kill, though it can still inflict pain upon him for a time. The archangels appear to be immune to the effects of Metatron's Expelling Angels spell as Michael Lucifer and Gabriel retained their wings and full power. They also appear immune to humans expelling them from their bodies, unlike regular angels as when Dean demanded for the Alternate Michael to leave him nothing happened. Lucifer at least appears to be immune to Angel Blades, with angel-killing bullets barely fazing him and surviving being stabbed in the chest without much pain, although the giant angel blades that composed his cage, when impaled on him, caused Lucifer agonizing pain and both Michael and Castiel were able to remove his grace with a normal Angel Blade, meaning they do have the ability to harm him. Even when weakened, he was still able to withstand yet another stab to the chest, although it visibly pained him, and over time would not be killed by a stab to the heart. Despite this, Raphael chose to catch an angel blade aimed at him, leaving it uncertain if the younger Archangels share the same immunity. Michael also proved to be resilient to Supernatural Handcuffs, as he was still much stronger than Castiel and could shake the ground and open a rift to Purgatory while they were on, although oddly the even more powerful Alternate Michael could not use his powers at all, but he did seem confident that they won't hold him forever while Michael asked Dean to remove the handcuffs rather than just breaking it himself.

Weaknesses

Despite them being very powerful, the archangels possess a few weaknesses which are common to all angels.

Harming, Misleading, Banishing, and Trapping

• Angel banishing sigil - An angel banishing sigil can banish an archangel.
• Enochian sigils - They can conceal a person's location from all angels, including archangels. Enochian sigils were also used to keep Lucifer confined in a cage in Limbo.
• Enochian Brass Knuckles - Mary Winchester was able to use Enochian Brass Knuckles to harm and knock back Lucifer, even causing him to bleed. However, Archangels are still far more resistant to Enochian Brass Knuckles than regular angels.
• Angel Blades - While at least Lucifer couldn't be killed by Angel Blades, being stabbed by giant angel blades composing the cage Michael trapped him in still caused him a considerable amount of pain and Michael and Castiel were able to remove his grace with one, showing that nevertheless that they couldn't be killed by it, Archangels could still be harmed to an extent by them. In fact, Raphael did not take any chances when Dean threw an Angel Blade at him, choosing to catch it instead, suggesting they may have the ability to harm the younger Archangels to a greater extent.
• Lucifer's Cage - This cell can hold any angel, therefore including archangels, without any internal means of escape.
• The Colt - While the Colt could not kill Lucifer, it still caused him considerable pain and he was unconscious for a short amount of time when he was shot in the head.
• Holy Oil - Archangels can be trapped in a loop of holy fire for a period of time. Lucifer could extinguish the holy fire in a few minutes after being trapped in it. Raphael was able to escape from holy fire off-screen. Holy fire was unable to kill Michael unlike lower angels but it caused him great pain and banished him temporarily. Michael was later able to be contained by it for at least a short period of time. Unlike his siblings, when contained by holy fire, Gabriel acted as if it would contain him permanently unless released. When barred by a line of holy fire, the Apocalypse World Michael appeared to be trapped until the fire presumably ignited a nearby gas pump and destroyed the area. A Molotov of Holy Fire was able to cause the Alternate Michael agonizing pain, stunning him long enough for him to be cuffed by Castiel.
• Heaven's Weapons - All of Heaven's weapons acting together could hurt and might have killed Raphael. Lot's Stone was able to disintegrate his vessel. 
• Hand of God - An indirect blast from a Hand of God is capable of knocking an Archangel down and prevents them from using their powers temporarily.
• Magic - Powerful magic and spells can have limited effect on an Archangel. Rowena could immobilize, cast away and bind Lucifer briefly. Gabriel was bound by Kali's blood spell and the Nordic Supernatural Binding Spell.
• Hyperbolic pulse generator - It is capable of expelling an archangel from their vessel.
• Mark of Cain - The Mark is capable of corrupting even Archangels, as seen with Lucifer.
• Grace Removal - As seen with Lucifer, even Archangels can have all or most of their grace removed, as Lucifer had much of his grace removed the Alternate Michael. This rendered Lucifer almost human, and was unable to counter Asmodeus. In this weakened state, Lucifer was more vulnerable to angel blades as well.
• Shedim - Asmodeus stated that Lucifer feared the shedim as he would not allow Asmodeus to train the shedim and locked them back up after Asmodeus released them.
• Vessels taking control - Sam took back control of his body and overpowered Lucifer before jumping in the cage. Similarly, Castiel took control of himself to stop Lucifer from killing Sam but admitted that he was giving his all to do it. After Michael locked Dean away in his subconscious Dean locked Alternate Michael away and he is unable to escape with Dean ensuring his imprisonment.
• Ma'lak Box - Stated to be especially potent against Archangels, the box is stated to be capable of holding even an Archangel of the Alternate Michael's level of power for eternity.
• Exorcism- Amara exorcised Lucifer from Castiel. Sam was able to exorcise Lucifer from Jefferson Rooney using the hyperbolic pulse generator, and Jack was also able to solely exorcise Alternate Michael from Rowena's body. In all cases, the vessels survived the possession unharmed.

  

  Jack exorcises Michael

• Supernatural Handcuffs - After being upgraded, the handcuffs could contain both Alternate Michael and the Main Universe Michael. However, the Main Universe Michael could still use some of his powers in the cuffs.

Killing

• Archangel Blades - An Archangel Blade can harm and kill an archangel. However, it must be wielded by another archangel to work. An archangel blade wielded by a vessel with an archangel powering them from within is also capable of killing an archangel. Unlike with an angel blade, an archangel's vessel can survive the death of the archangel possessing them by this blade as it is designed to kill the archangel and not their vessel.
• Souls - Imbued with 50,000 souls, Castiel could banish Raphael. Consumption of 30-40 millions souls along with the Leviathans gave Castiel so much power that he could snap his fingers and obliterate Raphael.
• Higher Primordial Entities - God and The Darkness can negate an archangel's powers completely and effortlessly kill them.
• Lance of Michael - A weapon created by Michael in order to kill Lucifer slowly and painfully.

Jack uses his power against Michael.

• Jack - Was able to telekinetically overpower the Archangel Michael and severely damage his vessel, leaving him broken and unable to fight, shocking even Lucifer. He was later able to telepathically force his father to tell the truth, and possessed the power to destroy Lucifer and Michael, had Lucifer not stolen Jack's grace. Even Jack himself assumed at one point that Michael was scared of him. Jack is eventually able to kill Michael after exorcising him from Rowena's body and burns him, absorbing his grace and killing Michael. However, this was done using the power of his soul and it resulted in Jack burning up his entire soul.
• Alternate Kaia's Spear - For reasons unknown, this spear can injure Michael (and presumably the other Archangels as well) as seen when he was stabbed in the shoulder by her. Unlike the Archangels blades, the wielder can be human and still harm him enough for Dean to want to obtain it and kill him. This spear may also harm the other Archangels as well. Dean nearly used it to kill Michael but the latter retook control of him and immediately destroyed the weapon.