Azazel (Anime Series)

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This article is about a character appearing in the animated series, which is not canon. You may be looking for the live-action series counterpart, if any.

“	The Lord? I was once an Angel of the Lord's. And I know a lot more about God than any mortal. He won't lift a finger for you. He merely stands by and watches. You've been praying for Him to save your daughter and what has He done? Her health continues to deteriorate and still He does nothing.	”
	— Azazel to Meg's mother in Temptation of the Demon

Azazel (アザゼル), also known as the Yellow Eyed Demon, The Demon, and The Devil, was the main antagonist of Supernatural: The Anime Series, an animated Japanese remake of the first two seasons of the original TV series.

Overview

Azazel was once an angel in Heaven before falling from grace and becoming a demon, presumably as the leader of the entire demonic race.

Usually, Azazel gathered his minions by making deals with various people, and having them possessed by demons. He was shown to uphold his end of the deal at least twice.

Azazel eventually decided to create a group of Special Children, who were each fed demon blood as an infant and were expected to grow and develop powers by their mid-20s. Azazel kept watch of each child, and more often than not he was responsible for the deaths of their mothers, as the mothers tried to intervene in his "ceremony".

Among them was Sam Winchester, whose mother Mary tried to intervene and was subsequently killed in a fire. This led John Winchester to pursue Azazel for the rest of his life. Azazel stayed mostly in the background as the Winchester family sought for a way to kill him.

When the time was ripe, Azazel gathered all of his Special Children and forced them to fight each other to the death, in hopes of obtaining a champion. This turned out to be Jake Talley. Azazel then ordered Jake to open the Devil's Gate in Wyoming, thus unleashing a vast number of demons from Hell.

Dean Winchester, with the help of his father's spirit, managed to kill Azazel with the Colt, thus ending his rain of terror.

Powers & Abilities

Azazel was ranked high in Hell's hierarchy; being a kind of demonic overseer and army leader for Hell's legion. His exact angelic rank in Heaven was never revealed, although his demonic powers suggest he was of considerable status. Even in his fallen and corrupted state as a demon, Azazel retains a great deal of his paranormal powers as a former angel.

Immortality: Azazel was centuries old at the time of his death, maybe older. Possession by Azazel also rendered his vessel similarly unaging and infirm.
Demonic Possession: As a demon, Azazel was a disembodied spirit who requires a human vessel to exist physically on Earth. He forcefully inhabit a human's body through their mouths. Over the course of the series, Azazel always inhabited the body of a well-dressed middle-aged Caucasian man.
Super Strength: Azazel exhibited immense strength while possessing a vessel; increasing the vessel's strength threshold well beyond the limits of most supernatural creatures. When Jake Talley attacked him angrily, Azazel simply sent him several yards through the forest at high speeds like a meteorite, leaving a clear path of bent trees in his wake, all with little effort. However, this strength seemed to be purely physical as he was unable to immediately break free when the ghost of John Winchester restrained him.
Teleportation: Azazel could envelop himself in darkness to de-materialize and then re-materialize in another location. He could also do this with others. Interestingly, when he teleported Sam to the ghost town of Coldcreek, it left behind searing hot areas where his smoke had touched.
Dream Walking: Azazel entered into the dreams of Sam and the other Special Children at Coldcreek. In the dream, Azazel manifested as either a giant floating yellow eyeball or as a giant version of his human vessel.
Healing: Azazel could heal damaged or ailing organic matter into a healthy state. He restored a dead flower back to life with a touch and later cured Meg Masters of her otherwise-incurable illness.
Telekinesis: Azazel could move objects and people with only a thought or a hand gesture. He pinned Mary Winchester to the ceiling of Sam's nursery.
Pyrokinesis: Azazel set Mary Winchester alight with only a thought.

Weaknesses

The Colt: Like all supernatural creatures, Azazel was vulnerable to the powers of the Colt. It was this vulnerability that ultimately cost him his life.
Ghosts: While they could not harm him, Azazel's essence could be temporarily restrained by a ghost. It seemed that the ghost would haft to have been particularly strong, as only John Winchester possessed the willpower to do so.

Appearances

Temptation of the Demon (first appearance)
The Alter Ego (in Sam's nightmare)
Nightmare
Darkness Calling
All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2

Trivia

In this version, Azazel was originally an Angel before becoming a Demon (revealed in Temptation of the Demon) while in the live action TV series, he was presumably a Human soul that was tortured and corrupted in Hell as other demons were.
In this version, it would seem that Azazel was also the devil, however it can not be confirmed, since when called "the Devil" Azazel never denied it. When he and John Winchester were negotiating a deal, Azazel expressed his surprise that John was "making a deal with the devil".
- Anderson also refers to Azazel as "The Devil".