Michael (Apocalypse World)

Overview

Synopsis

Abilities and Weaknesses

Major Kills

Quotes

Michael
Seasons	13-14
Species	Archangel
Status	Deceased (killed by Jack Kline)
Title/Alias	Commander (by angels) My Lord (by Zachariah) The Commander of the Host The Cleanser of Worlds Sweet Prince (by Anael)
Occupation	Ruler of Heaven (formerly) Ruler of the Apocalypse World (formerly) Leader of a Monster Army (formerly)
Affiliation	God (formerly) Host of Heaven (formerly) Dean Winchester (formerly) Lucifer (briefly) Vampires Werewolves Djinns Shapeshifters Rugarus Rowena MacLeod
Family	God (father/creator) Lucifer (younger brother) † Gabriel (younger brother) Angels (younger siblings) Unnamed Male (former vessel) Dean Winchester (true/former vessel) † Rowena MacLeod (temporary vessel) †
Portrayed by	Christian Keyes (possessing an unnamed man) Jensen Ackles (possessing Dean Winchester) Felisha Terrell (possessing an unnamed woman) Ruth Connell (possessing Rowena MacLeod)

“	I am the commander of the Host! I am the cleanser of worlds! I will not be challenged by a child!	”
	— Michael's last words to Jack in Ouroboros

Michael was an archangel that existed in the Apocalypse World. He is described as the "victor" and "the Genghis Khan" of that world, having conquered it. He is an alternate reality version of Michael. He was the most powerful angel to ever appear.

Michael encountered Lucifer from the main universe and after defeating him, he captured and made plans to invade his world but Lucifer escaped back to his world and made a few aware of this threat. Michael later encountered Lucifer's son Jack and attempted to use him to open a rift to the main world but Jack escaped with Mary Winchester. Michael sent his forces to capture him but they failed and this caused Jack to form a resistance against the Archangel.

In the months that followed, the two would fight a war before Sam and Dean Winchester along with others arrive to evacuate the resistance from Apocalypse World. At the site of the rift, Michael arrived and met his enemies face to face and after a brief battle with Lucifer, he fought and killed Gabriel. However, his attempts to reach the other world failed as Gabriel held Michael off long enough for the rift to close before he could reach it. Michael then formed a brief alliance with Lucifer to get to the other world.

Following Lucifer becoming super-charged by stealing his son's Grace, Michael formed an alliance with Dean Winchester, his true vessel and the Michael Sword to defeat Lucifer once and for all, albeit with Dean in control. After granting Dean the power to kill Lucifer, Dean and Lucifer engaged in battle, which resulted in Dean finally killing Lucifer. With Lucifer now dead, Michael took full control of his true vessel and was let loose upon the Main Universe.

Michael wandered Earth, asking people what they desire but found none of interest. He soon turned his attention to monsters, kidnapping several different kinds to find ways to cure their weaknesses. After doing so, Michael allied with a pack of werewolves to rid the world of humanity. He also abandoned Dean's body for yet unknown reasons.

Very soon, Michael prepared to unleash his monster army before he was confronted by Team Free Will who were armed with Kaia's spear. Michael then retook control of Dean, after it is revealed that he wanted to break his spirit because of his prior resistance. After destroying the spear, he revealed himself and let his monsters loose on the city.

However, Michael was captured by his enemies and brought to the bunker where Michael's revelations made it clear that he believes all universes are God's failed drafts and that his true intentions are to obliterate every single universe in existence. The group entered Dean's mind to get him to eject the Archangel. A fight broke out and Dean ended up trapping Michael within his subconscious, while causing his monster army to scatter. Michael is left trying to regain control as Dean struggles to prevent his escape.

Despite Dean's best efforts, Michael escapes his mind, and takes possession of Rowena MacLeod, where he smites multiple hunters and intends to kill Team Free Will. However, tapping into the power of his soul, Jack exorcises Michael from Rowena and burns away his essence, killing the archangel at the cost of his own soul. Using Michael's grace, Jack is able to recover his lost Nephilim powers.

Personality

“	Saw your world. That paradise you left behind? Believe I'll take up residence, lend my guiding hand... While I was in your head, I saw what you're afraid of– being locked up again, like you were in the Cage. So after I'm done, you'll be left here, alone, in agony, forever.	”
	— Michael to Lucifer in War of the Worlds

“	I could have done this quick, but I wanted to enjoy it. That moment when the soul leaves the body. It's beautiful.	”
	— Michael to Dean in Let the Good Times Roll

“	Jamil: What do you want? Michael: What I've always wanted. A better world.	”
	— Michael to Jamil Hamed in Stranger in a Strange Land

Castiel described him as "much, much worse" than Michael of the Main Universe in Funeralia. He has great reasoning skills which may be responsible for his highly cynical and psychopathic existential nihilism. During his fight with Lucifer in the original world, Michael waited desperately for God's arrival to deliver salvation as well as answers. But after spending months in the Main Universe, he finally deduced that God probably created many realities which are all 'drafts' and that his world and this world are just 'failed drafts' and God kept on creating new realities with better improvements than his previous realities. This caused Michael to develop an extreme destructive form of existential nihilism and gained the determination to destroy all realities in existence.

Michael appears to share his counterpart's dislike for Lucifer and took pleasure in murdering his own brother. He was eager to grant the same horrible fate to the Lucifer who had traveled from the main reality and considered the chance to do so a "good thing". However, though his counterpart admitted his love for his younger brother, this version of Michael seemed to have no such feelings. This lack of sentiment seemingly extends to Michael's other siblings to a lesser extent. When he saw Gabriel, he appeared both surprised and pleased upon recognizing his brother's alternate reality counterpart, but had no qualms about fighting and killing him, and furthermore grinned sadistically as he watched Gabriel's essence burn out. He did take a slight amount of care when shrugging off and laying down Gabriel's vessel upon killing him.

He is unlike the main reality Michael who only wanted to kill Lucifer, as God told him to, and would take no pleasure in it as he told Dean in The Song Remains the Same. Ramiel even stated that Lucifer was the only angel Michael ever wanted to kill. A good example is when this Michael was not concerned by Lucifer killing some of loyal angels, only expressing curiosity in Lucifer in their first meeting. Another example is during their first encounter and after telling the main reality Lucifer that he had killed his Lucifer he stated “Can’t get enough of a good thing”, stating that he took pleasure in killing his brother.

He is devoid of his main universe counterpart's sense of compassion, and is very ruthless as he didn't hesitate to engage and torture Lucifer and Mary Winchester, an innocent human (though it is later revealed that he doesn't exactly view humans as innocent). He was not above harming his own subordinate, after he failed in his efforts to get Jack to open a rift. Michael even attacked the young Nephilim for his defiance against him. He appears to know of his own cruelty as he stated Team Free Will thought he was bad after he was defeated by Jack and Lucifer stole the latter's powers.

He is quite power hungry as after discovering that the pair came from another world and seeing it from reading Lucifer's mind he became very eager to invade the prime world. When it came to his own world he was incredibly wrathful and oppressive to the point that, combined with his tremendous power, it caused his own subordinates to be terrified of him. As mentioned in Bring 'em Back Alive, Michael is also willing to take humans he believes will be useful and enslave them to do his bidding, further showing his ruthlessness. Even Lucifer, the self proclaimed Devil and despite his own cruelty, was shown to be disgusted by Michael's malevolence to the point that he outright called him "pure evil." He also told Castiel that his reason for wanting to destroy the main world was simply because he could.

Michael taunts Lydia, moments before killing her.

He also appears to be sadistic, as he was shown taking pleasure in taunting and torturing Lucifer and chose to torture him in a cage simply due to Lucifer's fear of being imprisoned. When ordering Zachariah to kill Mary in front of Jack, he even told him to "make her feel it". He also promised Kevin Tran entry to Heaven if he were to act as a living bomb, to kill Jack's friends to break the latter's spirits of being unable to protect everyone even if he won. After using the vampire, Lydia Crawford as bait to lure Sam, Bobby and Mary to him, Michael couldn't resist in taunting her by saying that "once the trap has been sprung you don't need the bait anymore," before murdering her and then proudly smiling at her corpse. Michael also told Dean that he owned him, after the latter attempted to get him to leave his body and locked him back in his subconscious. His cruel amusement is usually directed at those who have angered him, who he hates or holds resentment for, a good example being Lucifer, or those who he considers inferior to him. Michael even took pleasure in delivering a savage beating to Castiel and revealing that he wanted to break Dean's spirit before he retook control in him and taunted his family before he unleashed his monster army on the world.

Michael can be condescending to people that he sees beneath him, as seen when he looked down on Lucifer's strength and during his talk with Jamil Hamed where he labeled himself better than Gabriel. When speaking to Anael, he called her desire of love and a place to belong as pathetic. He also declared that angels and demons of the main Earth wouldn't be a factor in stopping his plan when talking to werewolves. When speaking to a reaper, he told her of how he enslaved her kind in his world and said so with a smile, which left her disturbed. Michael also extended this to Jack by mocking his weakened state and calling him a mere boy. However, this proved to be his undoing as Jack would use his powers to kill Michael and steal his grace to replenish his own.

Lucifer compares this Michael to his own version of his brother, as he stated that when he puts his mind to something he'll do it no matter what the cost or who has to die to make it happen. This was seen when Lucifer told Castiel that nothing will stop Michael's invasion which goes along with his order to Kevin Tran to re-open a rift, after it closed when Lucifer went through it and later, when Jack who he attempted to use to open a rift managed to escape, Michael immediately sent his forces to re-capture him, proving that he will not stop trying and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. According to Mary Winchester, Michael was going to kill her in front of Jack if he didn't comply with his demands, further showing his desire to get what he wants. Michael was even willing to make a deal with Lucifer get to the other world, despite his previous attempts to kill him. To obtain Kaia's spear and break Dean's spirit, he abandoned Dean's body but retook control after the latter had the weapon, which he destroyed to eliminate any hindrances in his army being unleashed.

Even while captured, Michael remains undaunted.

He is also incredibly confident to the point of being arrogant. When faced with opponents such as Lucifer and Castiel, he did not even attempt to prevent them from attempting to attack him. When he first met the main version of Lucifer, he showed no signs of fear when he made it clear he wanted to fight him, only showing signs of eagerness to fight Lucifer again after killing his worlds Lucifer. When faced with an angry Castiel, he even went so far as to attempt to provoke Castiel into attacking him. A hunter in Apocalypse World also believed that there was nothing he was scared of. While his incredible power and his ability to beat two versions of Lucifer as well as the main reality Gabriel proved his point, this confidence of his proved to be something of a weakness as he seemingly did not anticipate that Lucifer would betray their deal after making it to the Main Universe, as he was shown to be quite angry and appeared somewhat shocked after Lucifer betrayed their deal and allowed Jack to attack, and nearly kill him. He also did not do anything to prevent Sam from praying to Jack for help when Michael attacked Sam, Dean and Castiel at the Men of Letters Bunker, either because he did not notice, or was simply was not worried, despite Jack's immense power. This caused him to be violently almost killed by Jack, only stopping him, by exposing his deal with Lucifer. Michael was also confident that he and his monster army would win the war he was waging and stating he could kill Alternate Kaia despite her owning a weapon capable of harming and possibly killing him but while he did prove able to outfight her rather easily, his arrogance caused him to fail to kill Kaia as he did not knock out Kaia before going after her spear, seemingly not anticipating that she would be able to recover quick enough to catch him off-guard and this allowed Kaia to inflict a wound on him and escape along with the spear. The shock that the fact she recovered quickly to catch him off guard also prevented him from reacting quick enough to prevent her from regaining the spear and harming him with it before escaping. During the fight in Dean's mind, he boasted that leaving the hunter could damage him beyond repair, which unintentionally gave Dean the idea to trap him in his mind that also stopped his monsters. However, due to his immense tactical strategy and ruthlessness combined with his phenomenal power, this weakness of overconfidence in Michael's case, is a rather insignificant one as he has all but survived the setbacks caused by his arrogance. When Jack nearly killed him for attacking the bunker, Michael came up with a plan to stop him by distracting him by exposing his deal with Lucifer, which also, albeit inadvertently led to him gaining Dean as a vessel as exposing his deal with Lucifer eventually caused Lucifer to steal Jack's grace, which led Dean to say yes to him. When he made the arrogant mistake of not killing Kaia and failed to get the spear from Kaia he left Dean's body partially as a plan to retain the spear and when Dean retained the spear, Michael retook control of Dean and destroyed the spear.

He does not seem to have any personal loyalties, as he seemingly had no qualms in abandoning his faithful army of angels to invade Earth with Lucifer, despite leading them for centuries. This was seen when he showed no emotion when seeing Lucifer destroy them in their first meeting. He also implied that he'd kill Zachariah if he failed to procure Jack. However, while attempting to find a way to the main world, he initially wanted to take his army with him but ultimately decided to go alone when he actually managed to open a rift to get there. During his talk with Castiel, he spoke highly of the latter's counterpart, showing he somewhat cared for his younger siblings. In addition, he was genuinely disappointed when Anael failed to live up to his expectations of what an Angel should be, saying that at first he wanted to help but seeing her made him convinced that the Angels are not worthy of saving, similar to Lucifer's statement in Bring 'em Back Alive.

He is also very manipulative, as he attempted to convince Jack that his loyalty to Team Free Will would eventually fade, in an effort to get Jack to join his side, and later when he retook possession of Dean, Michael attempted to convince Sam, Cass, and Jack that Dean doesn't really care about them and deep down actually thought of them as his responsibilities, as part of his plan to prevent them from saving Dean from possession, and even attempted to convince Dean himself of this, in an effort to deceive him into accepting the possession.

“	Now this world is mine. I can save it purge it of sin. (...) I'm not perfect yes I've made mistakes but second times the charm. And you Dean Winchester will be the first life I take in this world, first soul I save. Some would consider that an honor.	”
	— Michael to Dean Winchester in Let the Good Times Roll

Ironically, despite his resentment of Lucifer, Michael has shown an even greater hatred of humanity, as shown by how instead of bringing paradise on Earth, he instead hunted down humans after killing Lucifer. After arriving on the main universe, Michael immediately showed a desire to cleanse Earth of humanity, but to do a better job than he had done in his own world. Michael was not above admitting that he'd made mistakes with his actions in his own world, but only intended to improve upon his methods rather than stop. This version of Michael also stated he enjoyed killing humans, expressing to Dean that he found it beautiful when the human soul leaves the body and wanted Dean to be his first victim. It is shown that his hateful view on humanity is due to their capacity for being corrupt and cruel as he has referred to Humans as Venal when talking to a Werewolf pack leader and said that from his perspective humans are the real monsters of the world. He also seemed to like the thought of himself and the Monsters waging war on and enslaving them, further showing his disapproval for humankind. However, Michael's disdain for man does not appear to be on a fundamental level as he was willing to let the Alternate Kaia live and join his side if she would give him her spear.

Somewhat similar to beings such as Ramiel, Michael appears to prefer using his fighting skills when going up against his opponents more than using his own innate powers. In his first fight with Lucifer, Michael fought and beat him without using any of his powers and simply using hand to hand combat skills. This was also seen again when he fought Gabriel and even when he went up against the Alternate Kaia for her spear, despite her using the spear to fight and possibly killing him if she'd hit him in the right place with the weapon. However, he does use sometimes use his powers when fighting his enemies such as when he used an energy blast when fighting Lucifer a second time.

Despite usually being very confident in his abilities, following his defeat by Jack, and Lucifer becoming super-charged, Michael showed a more defeated side, accepting that Lucifer could not be defeated. He also recognized his own limits and freely admitted them, stating that he could not defeat Lucifer in his current state though he enjoyed the thought of being able to kill Lucifer a second time. Even in his true vessel, he was not above admitting that he is not as powerful as God, though he still considered himself the closest thing to being him. It is currently unknown how his relationship with his father is, but given the main reality Michael's view on his father, it can be assumed that Michael may have respected God's authority and power enough to acknowledge that even he is not God's equal. When talking to Castiel, he told Castiel that when he fought Lucifer, he believed his father would return once the Apocalypse was over but that didn't happened. Michael expressed resentment at his father's leaving, unlike the original who held faith in his father.

Despite his evil nature, Michael has shown himself to be surprisingly somewhat honorable, making a deal with Dean Winchester to gain Dean as a vessel and actually honoring it rather than going back on his word once he had Dean's consent, as he only gave Dean the power to fight Lucifer rather than taking control and fighting himself. Only after Lucifer's death did Michael go back on his word and take full control of Dean. His anger when Lucifer broke their deal rather than actually keeping it implied that he would have let Lucifer and Jack go wherever they want and not attempt to do anything to them had he kept their deal. After abandoning Dean's body, he didn't leave him an unresponsive husk (like Raphael did to his vessel) instead leaving him in his regular condition. Also, rather than take revenge on Jack for his attempt to kill him, he instead had him captured and offered him the chance to join him since they were both powerful beings. Michael even kept Dean comfy in a dream that the hunter had about owning a bar with Pamela Barnes, though at least part of this was revealed to be due to needing Dean to be content in order to keep him under control, as Dean, revealed by Sam, thrives on trauma.

When things do not go his way, Michael is capable of expressing extreme rage that proves uncontrollable. This was seen where after Dean and his family overpowered and trapped him, he would later bash on a door and throw objects around to escape Dean's subconscious and retake possession. After escaping Dean's mind, he no longer wanted to possess Dean but instead get revenge on him for humiliating him by taking Rowena as alternative vessel and torturing Dean and his friends. However, as he knew Dean's strength of mind and plan to use the Ma'lak Box to trap him, this may have also been an act of self-preservation to prevent Dean from potentially retaking control and using the Box to trap Michael for eternity, particularly as all versions of Dean's fate with Michael escaping had Michael using Dean's body to destroy the world.

Eventually, his pride led to his fall; after miscalculating Jack's power with the Enochian magic, Michael was exorcised and incinerated by Jack, who also absorbed his grace to restore his own power.

Physical Appearance

Michael's first vessel

Michael's first vessel appears as an African American man in his late-30s to early-40s with short black hair, black beard, and dark eyes. He wears a long dark coat over a jacket and trousers.

Michael as perceived by another angel

After gaining Dean Winchester as a vessel, Michael changed Dean's attire to that of a 1920's era suit.

Once he abandoned Dean, he took an unnamed African American woman in her mid 30s to early 40s for a vessel. He sometimes wore a long coat over her outfit. Michael later took back control of Dean and changed his attire to that of a suit.

It seems Michael has taken Dean's form as his preferred form, even when he's not possessing Dean, he used his form, as Lucifer does with Nick.

After escaping Dean's mind, he possessed Rowena MacLeod as an alternative vessel.

When viewed through Anael's eyes, Michael appears as a bright blue-white aura surrounding Dean's body. In this form, his wings are visible as more than a shadow, appearing completely corporeal.

It's indicated Michael's true form is similar but not identical to his Main Universe counterpart's, as Lucifer only recognized him on their first meeting after receiving a hint, and subsequently quipped Michael "seem[ed] like a cheap knock-off" to his counterpart.

Death

Killed By

• Jack Kline

By tapping into the power of his soul, Jack was able to exorcise Michael out of Rowena and incinerate Michael's essence away, killing him leaving only his grace which Jack consumed.

Appearances

Michael is one of the most recurring Archangels and Primordial entities on the show, even outpacing the main Michael's number of appearances. He has appeared eleven times so far.

• Season 13
  • The Rising Son
  • War of the Worlds
  • Various & Sundry Villains (mentioned only)
  • Devil's Bargain (mentioned only)
  • Good Intentions
  • Bring 'em Back Alive (mentioned only)
  • Funeralia (mentioned only)
  • Unfinished Business (mentioned only)
  • Beat the Devil (mentioned only)
  • Exodus
  • Let the Good Times Roll
• Season 14
  • Stranger in a Strange Land
  • Gods and Monsters
  • The Scar (flashback only)
  • Mint Condition (mentioned only)
  • Nightmare Logic (mentioned only)
  • Byzantium (mentioned only)
  • The Spear
  • Nihilism
  • Damaged Goods
  • Prophet and Loss
  • Lebanon (mentioned only)
  • Ouroboros
  • Peace of Mind (mentioned only)
  • Game Night (mentioned only)
  • Absence (mentioned only)
  • Jack in the Box (mentioned only)
  • Moriah (mentioned only)
• Season 15
  • Our Father, Who Aren't in Heaven (flashback and mentioned)
  • Destiny's Child (flashback only)

Trivia

• He is the second "alternate" archangel on the series with Lucifer from the Season 5 episode The End being the first one.
• Alternate Michael is the main antagonist of season 13 and season 14.
• He is one of the few main antagonists who actually wins at the end of a season. The others are Castiel after he is empowered by Purgatory's souls and obliterated Raphael in the end of Season 6 and Lilith when she killed Dean in the end of Season 3.
• He is the only archangel and character to beat two different versions of Lucifer; one he killed from his reality, and the one from the main reality he physically beat in a fight. He later played a role in the death of the Main Universe's Lucifer though he did not kill him personally.
• This Michael in this universe is the only version of the archangel to reveal his wings in the series, as the Michael in the main universe never showed them. His wings are much larger than that of an ordinary angel's wings.
  • However, the size at which his wings were portrayed is inconsistent: his wings were at their largest while possessing his original vessel, having apparently shrunken down slightly upon possessing Dean, and being perceived as much smaller than average angel's wings through Anael's angelic eyes.
• He is the second archangel to take on an African American vessel with Raphael of the main reality being the first one.
• He's the only being that killed more than one archangel: he killed his universe's Lucifer, Gabriel from the main reality, and allowed Dean to use his power by possessing him to kill the main reality Lucifer.
  • He is also the first character to ever kill an archangel from a universe other than his own.
• He seems to prefer classic/formal clothing, as he is seen wearing an old 1920's styled suit just moments after obtaining Dean as a vessel. After retaking Dean as his vessel, he immediately changed clothes.
• He has played a role in the deaths of two distinct versions of Lucifer, though he only provided the power necessary to kill one rather than killing him himself.
• He is the only angel to possess Dean Winchester.
• He seems to be a perfectionist, as he dismiss the humans, angels and demons because their desires are too complicated for them to be honest about them, and chose monsters because most of them just want to eat, what he sees as truly pure desire.
• His experiments on monsters are a bit similar to what Eve did in the second half of Season 6; they both tried to enhance monsters in an attempt to use them to conquer Earth.
• Michael is the only angel to ever defeat Sam and Dean while on even grounds. All other angels who came out on top did it mainly due to their far greater physical prowess. This is made even more impressive by how Sam and Dean were also aided by Castiel. Only Virgil has been seen to come close to achieving the feat, surpassing the brothers one-on-one and taking them both on at once for a time.
• He was the first Big Bad Jack killed.
• He is the only solo main antagonist of a season to not make it to the season finale.
• Michael is the second archangel to have been exorcised from their vessel.
  • The first was when Lucifer was exorcised from Castiel in We Happy Few.
  • In Michael's case, he was exorcised from Rowena MacLeod by Jack using the power of his soul.
• Though unconfirmed, Dean's plan to use the Ma'lak Box to trap Michael may have been what ultimately changed Michael's tactics when he did in fact escape Dean's mind. Previously, all versions of Dean's fate but using the Ma'lak Box had Michael use Dean's body to destroy the world. When Michael escaped, he instead took Rowena as a vessel and displayed knowledge of the Ma'lak Box plan, suggesting that the threat of Dean possibly retaking control and using the Box after all changed Michael's plan and thus Dean's fate.
• He is only Archangel to be in the same episode as two other Archangels.
• His death marks the third Archangel to be killed by a member of Team Free Will.
• Andrew Dabb suggests the Apocalypse World Michael's differing personality traits compared to his counterpart at the start of Season 13 are due to his experiences in the Apocalypse wars of his universe and his successful conquest.