Death is the second of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to be mentioned in the show. Of all the riders, he is the only one to whom the text itself gives a name. His existence is hinted at by Alastair when he performes one of the rituals to break the 66 seals. He claims an "old friend" loaned him the weapon, and "between you and me, he doesn't ride a pale horse, but he does have three amigos". Death does not make a physical appearance in "Abandon All Hope...", but his presence was released from its prison in this episode. Lucifer released Death with his ritual. After the ritual is complete, viewers get what is apprently Death's point of view as he rises from the ground in front of Lucifer, who responds, "O hello, Death".
Death is considered the father of all reapers and the creatures who are normally neutral, since death is impartial, all gathered in the town where Lucifer was going to release Death in order to serve him. To date he is the only Horseman who has knowingly served both sides. In the past he served Heaven during the time of the Great Flood and now he serves Lucifer in the Apocalypse. It is unkown if this makes him a netral force or if he simply serves whoever releases him from his imprisonment.
Normally Death is kept locked and chained in a magical coffin 600 feet under the Earth as his power is apparently too dangerous to allow him to roam freely. Heaven only released him when God had something major planned such has the Great Flood, or as Bobby Singer put it "The last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat!".
In recent promotional pictures, he is revealed to be played by Julian Richings. Much like his Reaper offspring, Death is dressed in a dark business suit, though his do not appear rotted. He also carries a steel tipped cane and is indeed very thin like Bobby's wife described (his clothing appears to hang off him somewhat). He also appears to have overly large pupils that expand like the sockets of a skull depending upon his mood. His ring is pure silver and appeares to have no gemstone in it.
History
Abandon All Hope...
Death, as he appears in Bobby Singer's copy of the Book of Revelation.
Death is the main topic during "Abandon All Hope...", as Lucifer is going to summon him. Because of this, numerous of Reapers appear, ready to take his orders when he appears. Lucifer claims while he is releasing Death that the requirements for the summoning are very demanding, and he also appears to have some degree of respect for the Horseman.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
In "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", Death arrives in Bobby's hometown and proceeds to revive the dead in the local cemetery. While still unseen, his presence is heralded by fierce lighting storms. As revealed by Bobby's wife, he appears before her to tell her a message to Bobby: The entire incident was organized to attack Bobby, as he is one of the few remaining elements keeping Sam from saying "yes" to be Lucifer's vessel.
Those who are revived by Death appear normal at first, but after five days, the revived devolve into a stereotypical zombie behavior, developing a craving for human flesh after a high fever.
Two Minutes to Midnight
Dean makes a very costly bargain with Death.
Death appears fully in Two Minutes to Midnight, where he is shown to drive what appears to be a white mustang with the license plate "BUH BYE". He walks through a street filled with people. A man who is not looking where he is going shoves past him, and Death turns to look at the man while brushing the side of his coat where the man touched him. He then watches as the man falls down, dead
At some point after this, he is in a pizza restaurant, the servers all dead, eating pizza. He knows that Dean is behind him, and invites him to eat with him. During their discussion about Lucifer, an alliance is made between them, but at a very big cost for Dean. It is unknown what the price is, but presumably it is to barter for Death's ring, as it will complete the set of the rings of the Four Horsemen that hold the key to Lucifer's undoing.
Family
- Reapers (Kindred)
- Famine (Brother)
- Pestilence (Brother)
- War (Brother)
- Lucifer (Leader)
Powers
- Indestructible - As stated by War and Famine, one cannot kill a Horseman of the Apocalypse, only weaken them by separating their rings. This most likely holds for Death, as well. In "Two Minutes to Midnight", Dean tries to approach him from behind with what seems to be Alastair's Reaper-killing knife, though it is unlikely it works.
- Resurrection - Unlike the Reapers, Death's power to revive the dead is much stronger, as he can revive dead people who have been cremated and without having to take a life in return.
- Instant kill - As seen in "Two Minutes to Midnight", Death is capable of killing a person instantly. It is unknown if it caused by a touch or mind control.
Appearances
Season 5
- Abandon All Hope... (unseen by audience)
- Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (mentioned by Bobby's wife)
- Two Minutes to Midnight
Trivia
- Death's license plate reads "BUH BYE", which translates to "bye bye", an allusion to the power he wields over life and death.