Raphael first appears in season 5 "Free to Be You and Me", though not much is known of him in the present, as he disappeared after the last war, but he is known as being the only one who knows where God is. It is for this reason Castiel is said to begin a quest to find him. In biblical law Raphael is a healer, and the writers of Supernatural have said this will carry over to the series, though he is never shown with healing abilities within the show.
It was stated that Raphael is Chuck's Archangel, who killed Castiel in "Lucifer Rising". As an archangel, Raphael has immense powers. In the episode "Free to Be You and Me", Castiel claimed that trapping him in order to interrogate him is harder than "catching a hurricane with a butterfly net".
History
Free to Be You and Me
It is stated by Castiel that the one who killed him, was Raphael, and so he asks for Dean's protection to meet and interrogate him; as Dean is Michael's true vessel, he will not hurt them. They visit his vessel, Donnie Finnerman, who has become completely brain-dead after his possession. They manage to communicate with Raphael, making him use his vessel again, in an old abandoned house. When Raphael came to the ground, his power blacks out the eastern seaboard. Raphael goes on to threatening Castiel with death, to which the fallen angel states that he would not dare, as God was the one who brought him back, meaning he would punish Raphael for killing him again. However, Raphael states that Lucifer may have been the one to resurrect Castiel rather than God, as "he needs all the rebel angels he can get". He also threatens Dean with something "imaginative" to force him into allowing himself as Michael's vessel. But Dean states they knew he was coming, and traps Raphael in a ring of burning holy oil for interrogation.
When questioned about the whereabouts of God, Raphael states that God is dead, as that is the only possible reason for his abandonment of the angels and the humans. Disheartened by God's desertion, Raphael states that the angels started the Apocalypse, not God, in order to defeat Lucifer and create paradise. When Dean and Castiel turn to leave, Raphael demands to be released, and when rejected, he swears vengeance on Castiel.
Demonstrated powers
As an archangel, Raphael is extremely powerful and far more powerful than Zachariah and other lower-leveled angels. His current limits of his powers are unknown, but he posses some godlike abilities, though it is likely he is the weakest archangel, as Gabriel states that he is the Winchesters' only hope of killing Lucifer without Dean saying "yes" to Michael, who is said to be one of the two only beings that can kill Lucifer, the other being God.
- Immortality
- Omniscient - Like his brothers, Raphael possess an almost-infinite degree of knowledge of the Universe.
- Electrokinesis - Raphael can generate electricity from his body and can then emit it from his body. When Raphael first appeared before Dean and Castiel surges of electricity were coming out of his back.
- Telekinesis - Raphael's telekinetic power far surpasses the telekinetic power of all lower-level angels. With a mere thought, Raphael can shatter windows, doors, and objects, and in "Lucifer Rising" he destroyed Castiel completely. He does this with such magnitude that the ground beneath him shakes.
- Holy Light - Raphael first demonstrates this power in "Free to Be You and Me". Raphael decides to come to Earth in order to deal with a skirmish demon related problem. He leveled an entire gas station by emitting an angelic ball of pure white energy. All of the demons that were near the gas station were completely obliterated.
- Teleportation - Raphael can teleport himself along with other people to any location around the Globe by using teleportation. He can also teleport himself to other Universes; there were implications made that prove this.
- Weather manipulation - Raphael first demonstrated this power in Free To Be You And Me. Shortly after Raphael's arrival, terrible winds and storms erupted in many different places around the Globe; as stated by Raphael, his mere presence blacked out an entire Eastern Sea Board along with blacking out a house.
- Invulnerability - Raphael's invulnerability renders him as an indestructible being. However, Raphael can be killed with an archangel sword. Holy Fire can banish Raphael to a distant location temporarily. Death's Scythe can kill Raphael . Gabriel can penetrate through Raphael's angelic invulnerability. Other archangels can penetrate through Raphael's angelic invulnerability.
- Angelic Possession - Like all angels, Raphael needs the consent of his vessel in order to possess the human. Raphael’s angelic spirit can be very overwhelming to ordinary vessels. However, unlike his brothers, he won't burn out his vessel. However, after Raphael left his vessel, he left Donnie in a brain-dead state. Raphael later returned to his vessel.
Relationships
- God (father)
- Michael, Lucifer, and Gabriel (archangel brethren)
- Other Angels (brothers and sisters)
- Chuck Shurley (prophet under his protection)
- Donnie Finnerman (chosen vessel)
Appearances
Season 4
- "The Monster at the End of This Book" (possibly)
- "Lucifer Rising" (seen in holy light)
Season 5
Trivia
- Dean calls Raphael a "Teenage Mutant Ninja Angel" the first time he hears his name. This is a reference to the series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, in which one of the heroes is named Raphael.
- In the Christian Bible, Raphael sent the fallen angel Azazel to a desert. In Supernatural "Lucifer Rising", the demon Azazel stated that he felt as if he has been lost in a desert wondering and searching for Lucifer. It is unknown if Azazel is mocking the Bible's version of his story, or if he really is a fallen angel that Raphael banished, as it is never mentioned within the series.