Donna Hanscum is the sheriff of Stillwater, Minnesota and a hunter.
History[]
Background[]
Donna grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota. She has at least one sibling, who has a daughter Wendy. Previously was married to another sheriff named Doug, who left her because of her weight.
Season 9[]
Donna went to Canyon Valley Health Spa to lose weight. The first day she lost 10 pounds due to a Pishtaco sucking the fat out of her. She was unaware of what happened and blew the Winchesters cover to the monsters.[1]
Season 10[]
Donna attended a sheriff convention in Hibbing where she met Jody Mills. They were paired up as partners, much to Jody's dismay. They investigated a case where a man was eaten almost entirely. Jody called Sam and Dean Winchester to help. Donna ran into her ex-husband Doug, who treated her horribly, but she just took the insults. Jody tried to stand up for her by telling Doug that he was a douche. Donna became very upset with her after that. She went outside and found a blood trail. She followed it only to find Sheriff Cuse, the sheriff of Hibbing, standing over a dead body with vampire fangs. She told Jody who informed her that vampires were real and Cuse was one of them. She formally met Sam and Dean, who told her of what really occurred at the weight loss retreat, disappointing her about the supposed miracle treatment. She decided to go along with Jody and Winchesters to the vampire nest, though they were captured. While captured, she brought up Cuse's vampire manners when he found a corpse before she watches him refuse to kill and being killed by Starr. Dean and Donna broke free and she killed Starr, before she got to Jody. Jody then congratulated her act and offered to teach Donna to hunt and she liked the idea.[2]
Season 11[]
Now covering Cottage Grove as well due to budget cuts, Donna was called in on a case where a man in a bunny mask murdered Stan Hinkle. After the mask wouldn't come off, Donna called in the Winchesters for help. As the Winchesters tried to identify the man, Donna tried to take him to the hospital with the help of her deputy, Doug Stover. However, the man attacked the two, forcing Doug to kill him.
Donna was horrified to learn that the young man, Mike Hooks, was controlled by the mask that the Winchesters believe to be a cursed object and was thus another innocent victim. Donna burned the mask and they believed it to be over, but a court jester attacked the local high school coach, Phil Evans, and left him in a coma. Realizing that they were dealing with a ghost, Dean informed Donna that salt or iron should break the spirit's possession. Though Donna offered the salt she uses for her diet, Dean instead pulled out a shotgun and shot the jester with rock salt, breaking the spirit's hold over the young woman, Michelle. Knowing Michelle didn't deserve to go to prison for a crime that wasn't her fault, Donna agreed to make up a story and release her as no one ever saw Michelle's face.
The three learned that Rita Johnson donated the costume, so Donna distracts Rita's son Max while the Winchesters spoke to Rita. Afterward, they informed her that they believed Rita's brother Chester was their ghost and they needed to locate and burn the remaining costumes. Donna agreed to do that with Doug, having already had Doug collect all the costumes from the high school. Sam later called her after a possessed old man killed Phil at the hospital. Donna lied to an increasingly-disbelieving Doug who Sam pointed out she was mistreating due to her past with her ex-husband Doug.
Afterward, Donna continued her search with Doug's help, eventually locating and burning all of the costumes. After setting them all on fire, she called Sam who asked her about a deer's head mask. Donna told him it wasn't on her list as Max Johnson, possessed by Chester through the deer's head mask, attacked Sam. After the Winchesters dispatched Chester, Donna and Doug visited the scene and the Winchesters tell her she's now an official hunter as she has three cases under her belt, leaving Donna excited. Donna apologized to Doug for her behavior and he forgave her, telling Donna he has baggage too. Donna then relaxed around Doug and even joked with him.[3]
Season 12[]
In Who We Are, Donna is stated to be waiting at a safe house for Alex when she says goodbye to Jody Mills before Jody goes to help take down the British Men of Letters.
Season 13[]
In Wayward Sisters, Alex tells Jody that she called Donna and Walt, but neither had seen any sign of the Winchesters.
Later, after fleeing from an attack by monsters from the Bad Place, Jody calls in Donna for backup. Donna shows up with a vehicle full of weapons and is stated to have killed "a lot of vampires." Donna helps determine where the rift to the Bad Place is located and joins Jody in searching the ship. The two locate the rift but come under attack by the monsters. Claire kills one with Donna's flamethrower and Donna teams up with Jody, Alex, and Patience Turner to defend the rift as Claire and Kaia Nieves travel through to rescue the Winchesters. Working together, the group kills the attacking monsters and Claire rescues the Winchesters, but Kaia is killed.
That night, Donna helps clean up Jody's house and sits down to dinner with Jody, Alex, Claire, and Patience.
Weeks later, Donna's niece Wendy is kidnapped, she calls Sam and Dean for help as Jody and the girls are busy. They agree to help her since they owed her for rescuing them.
Donna's boyfriend, Doug Stover, also accompanies them in investigating Wendy's disappearance. Now dating Donna but unaware of her hunter lifestyle, Doug is surprised to learn that the Winchesters are supposedly related to Donna and by Dean's rough tactics with Marlon. After realizing that the victims have been kidnapped for a monster auction, Donna is forced to tell Doug the truth about what's out there.
When the Winchesters go after the Butterfly, Doug is left to guard Marlon who reveals himself to be a vampire and attacks Doug, turning Doug into a vampire as well. Donna and Dean return, they are horrified to learn that Doug has been turned. Giving into his new hunger, Doug attacks Donna and attempts to feed on her. However, Dean subdues Doug with dead man's blood and realizes that since Doug has not yet fed, they can cure him. After Donna kneecaps Marlon, Dean is able to get Marlon's blood and Donna interrogates him on her niece's location threatening to kill him. Marlon gives up the location and Donna presumably kills him. She soon feeds Doug the cure in the backseat of the Impala. On the way, they realize Sam was kidnapped by Terrance Clegg who was the actual criminal who was auctioning people to monsters.
At the hideout, Donna located her scared niece who was relieved to see her, but The Harvester entered the room and shoved Donna to the ground, causing Donna to lose her shotgun. The harvester drew his meat cleaver and began swinging at Donna, but Donna dodged his attacks and grabbed a crowbar from a nearby shelf. Donna struck the harvester in the legs and face, stunning him and causing the harvester to drop his meat cleaver. As the harvester came at Donna again, she grabbed the meat cleaver and drove it through the harvester's heart, killing him instantly.
Donna freed her niece as Dean killed Clegg and was able to rescue his brother, ending the illicit business.
After the case is over, Donna takes her niece to the hospital to recover as she and the Winchesters wait for Doug to regains consciousness and he does and is human again. They explain their activities and ask if he can help them, however, Doug is terrified by what he witnessed and went through and refuses to have anything to do with the hunting lifestyle.
Donna listens as Doug states he became a cop because he likes helping people but fighting monsters is too much for him. Though Doug acknowledges that he loves Donna and that she's "a damn hero," he breaks up with Donna and leaves. Sam tells Donna to let Doug go, feeling that he will only get hurt or killed by being involved in Donna's life. Donna breaks down at that rejection and Dean comforts her.
Season 14[]
In Nightmare Logic, in order to give his mother and the alternate Bobby Singer a break from hunting, Sam contacts Donna and gets her permission for them to use her family cabin.
In Damaged Goods, on his way to Donna's Cabin to see his mother, Dean visits with Donna and they sit down to a meal together. Dean dodges Donna's questions about himself, instead asking about Donna, who has had a bit of a rough time since her breakup with Doug and has continued to help Jody train her adopted family as hunters. Before he leaves, Dean gives Donna a hug, making her even more suspicious that something is wrong with him.
Donna later receives a call from a grocery store clerk reporting a strange man asking about Mary Winchester. Donna pulls the man over that night and discovers that he is driving a stolen van. After he won't cooperate, Donna runs the man's fingerprints, only to learn that he is a serial killer named Nick from Delaware. Nick is able to subdue Donna with a stun gun and learns Mary's location from emails on Donna's cell phone. Nick leaves Donna otherwise unharmed.
After waking up in her cruiser's driver's seat, Donna calls Dean to warn him, but Nick has already kidnapped Mary. Donna has her deputies search for the stolen van and they finally spot it on a traffic camera pulling into Mary's Lock-Up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Donna provides the Winchesters a police escort to the lock-up, where she comes face to face with her very first demon, Abraxas. After Nick kills Abraxas with an angel blade, Donna shoots Nick in the leg to stop his attack on Mary, allowing Mary to knock Nick unconscious.
In the aftermath of the events at the lock-up, Donna arrests Nick for his crime spree, but allows Sam a moment to talk with Nick before taking him away.
In Absence, Sam contacts Donna in order to find Jack and his mother, however Donna dosen't know about their location.
Season 15[]
In Despair, Sam contacts Donna who determines an old silo in Hastings, Minnesota to be the safest place for them to protect everyone from Billie. Donna tells Sam that she has put out an APB to everyone she knows and Bobby is doing likewise. Donna asks what the plan is when he gets there, but Sam admits that he's still working on that which Donna accepts before they hang up.
Later, Sam and Jack drive up. Jack and Donna greet each other before Jack heads off to set up the warding. Donna hugs Sam and apologizes for his losing Eileen Leahy. Donna tells Sam that Bobby is waiting inside with his crew while they've got more people on the way. Donna also called Garth, Jody and her family to warn them and they are on high alert and ready to act when needed. Sam reassures Donna that as they and Donna aren't on Billie's list, they should be okay. Donna promises to help Sam in any way that she can and heads inside. Later, as she's helping Jack put up the warding, Donna notices a flower growing out of a hole in the door and suggests fixing it.
After Sam performs the Praeses Magna spell, the group prepares to wait, only to have everyone begin disappearing from existence. To Sam and Jack's shock, Donna vanishes as well despite not having been resurrected or come from another world, Billie having revealed to Dean and Castiel that Chuck was responsible, not her.
In Inherit the Earth, after becoming the new God, Jack restores everybody erased by Chuck including Donna.
Later, Donna appears in the flashback sequence at the end.
In Carry On, after a rash of werewolf attacks, Sam receives a call from a police officer in Austin, Texas who was referred to Sam by Donna.
Personality[]
She is introduced as very cheerful person and is always seen happy. However, she had insecurities as she was self-conscious of her weight and timid in the presence of her ex-husband Doug Kontos who often ridiculed her with that fact.
After seeing Len Cuse as a vampire, she was very shaken and couldn't believe monsters existed. Once she wrapped her mind around it, Donna slowly became more open minded to the supernatural and killing a vampire excited her. Donna eagerly accepted Jody's offer to learn how to be a Hunter and how to perform such acts on her own. She also became good friends with Jody and the Winchesters, through their hunts.
Due to how bad things ended with her ex-husband, she was hesitant about getting into another relationship especially when Doug Stover showed interest in her. Originally she had a hard time accepting his affections and was impatient and snippy towards him because his first name was the same as her ex-husband. After he tirelessly helped out with the case they were working on, she apologized and decided to give him a chance, forming a relationship with him. However, when Doug learnt about monsters, he told Donna she was a "Hero" for being a Hunter, but he couldn't be a part of the lifestyle because he feared it. Donna was devastated after he left her. Despite that fact, she was strong enough to move on and continued to work with Sam and Dean, as well as Jody and her family.
Skills and Abilities[]
- Proficient Hunting Skills- Donna has proven to be skilled in hunting, after being told of monsters she was given info on them. She is quite skilled in hunting vampires and easily killed one on her own and was given teaching by Jody Mills how to do so. As seen in Wayward Sisters, Donna has gotten more skilled in hunting and was shown to have an arsenal of weapons in her trunk. She was able to kill many Cloaked Figures and barely get a scratch.
Appearances[]
- Season 9
- Season 10
- Season 11
- Season 12
- Who We Are (mentioned only)
- Season 13
- Season 14
- Nightmare Logic (mentioned only)
- Damaged Goods
- Absence (mentioned only)
- Season 15
- Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven (mentioned only)
- The Trap (mentioned in vision)
- Despair
- Carry On (mentioned only)
Trivia[]
- At one point in Plush, Donna quips "I was born at night Dean, not last night." Bobby Singer said something similar when Soulless Sam tried to kill him in Appointment In Samarra.
- During the filming of The Purge, actress Briana Buckmaster was 7 months pregnant.
- She has been continuously referred to as "Fat Sucker Donna".
- In Hibbing 911, Donna states that she has been hunting game since she was young. She also states that while she works out of Stillwater, she grew up in Hibbing, Minnesota.
- Donna would have been a major character in the upcoming spinoff, Supernatural: Wayward Sisters.
- In Wayward Sisters, Donna shows up with a trunk full of weapons and defends herself as being from Minnesota. Donna calls this trunk "the basics." Her license plate is shown to read D-Train.
- In Wayward Sisters, Jody calls Donna better than the National Guard for backup.
- In Wayward Sisters, Jody and Donna imply that Donna specializes mainly in hunting vampires. When introducing Donna, Jody states that Donna has "killed a lot of vampires" with Donna replying that "I do what I do."
- Donna has had relationships with two men named Doug (one being her ex-husband and the other a boyfriend).
- Ironically, both dumped her but for different reasons, one of them was a jerk and the other was out of fear of her hunter lifestyle.
- Season 13 is the only season where Donna appears in more than one episode.