Knights of Hell

Knights of Hell are hand-picked by Lucifer himself. They are of the first-fallen, first-born demons. – Henry Winchester, 8.12 As Time Goes By

History

Manuscript page detailing the Knights of Hell.

The Knights of Hell were handpicked by Lucifer from among the first fallen humans to be made into demons, the first of which was Cain, who in turn trained the Knights and built the entire demonic order with his own hands, using the Mark to forge their newly condemned souls into demons. However, Cain was the only one that was turned by the Mark when he was still alive, after he tried and failed to kill himself with the First Blade. They were created sometime after the first demons Lilith and Alastair and the Princes of Hell.

The Knights of Hell operated for centuries as the elite guard of Hell, bringing darkness and chaos everywhere they went. The Knights were rumored to have all been killed by the archangels, though one survived -- Abaddon. It is eventually revealed that Cain was the one who wiped them out, killing them in revenge for the kidnapping and death of his wife, Colette Mullen, but allowed Abaddon to flee as his wife made him promise to stop his murderous ways. By 1958, Abaddon was then sent by parties unknown to kill Father Max Thompson when they caught word of his experiments on demons in search for a way to restore their humanity, but as he told her about the process before his death, Max also told Abaddon about a new recruit, Josie Sands. Not long after, Josie and Henry Winchester came across Abaddon in one of her factories, where she intended to steal human souls and forge them into demons. She decides to study the Men of Letters, taking a deal with Josie to possess her whilst sparing Henry, intending to destroy them and plunder their vast knowledge. Once she ravaged through the Illinois chapterhouse on August 12, 1958, she traveled through time in pursuit of Henry and the box to 2013, eventually becoming trapped inside Josie's meatsuit, cut into pieces, and buried under cement.

Abaddon would escape not long after Sam and Dean Winchester exhumed and reconstructed her body, to try and use her for the third trial to close the Gates of Hell. Abaddon later tries to kill Crowley in order to usurp his throne, and can take over Hell. Before she is able to give a killing blow to Crowley, Sam Winchester doused her in holy oil and set her on fire, burning her meatsuit, and forcing her to vacate Josie's body. With the aid of Jason, a demon minion, Abaddon has Josie Sands' corpse restored and starts a crusade to take over both Hell and Earth.

Abaddon nearly succeeds in taking over Hell by inciting chaos and fear, but she gets brutally slain by Dean Winchester, who wielded the First Blade along with powers granted by the Mark of Cain, leaving Cain as the only Knight remaining until the Mark transforms him into one after being killed by Metatron. After weeks of gallivanting with Crowley, and being fed Abaddon loyalists to keep the Mark sated, Sam eventually captures Dean and administers the demon cure in the Men of Letters Bunker.

After once again falling under the Mark's influence, Cain begins targeting his descendants, believing that his bloodline is tainted by his past actions. After confronting Cain, Dean eventually kills him in Ohio, leaving the Knights extinct. Eventually, the Mark of Cain is destroyed, preventing Dean from becoming one again and permanently eliminating the means to create more Knights of Hell and/or kill them, as the Mark is also the source of the First Blade's power.

Characteristics

Knights of Hell, being some of the first fallen human souls, are more powerful than standard black-eyed demons. They also appear have the powers of normal demons, as well as abilities and powers far beyond that of any other demons, as shown by Abaddon imparting part of her demonic essence into her victims to access their memories. Like run-of-the-mill demons, however, they are susceptible to devil's traps, holy water and holy fire. They are resistant, however, to the demon-killing knife, though being stabbed with one can cause temporary pain and discomfort. The only known weapon that could kill a Knight of Hell was the First Blade.

Powers and abilities

• Exorcism – Abaddon showed the ability to exorcise a demon simply by choking them.
• Immunity – Abaddon is shown to be immune to demonic exorcisms. When Dean became a Knight of Hell, Castiel stated that an exorcism would have been useless as he wasn't actually possessed at the time.
• Invulnerability – Knights of Hell were shown to be resistant to the demon-killing knife. In Abaddon's case however, the knife still appeared to cause intense pain for a brief period.
• Possession – Like all demons, Knights are capable of possessing humans. Abaddon also showed the ability to imbue a portion of her demonic smoke into a human in order to read their thoughts.
• Superhuman strength – Knights of Hell possessed strength that exceeded that of humans and regular demons.
• Telekinesis – Knights of Hell can move objects and throw people with a simple gesture.
  • Biokinesis – Abaddon was shown the ability to cause victims to bleed from their eyes. While Cain was able to render Crowley mute.
  • Terrakinesis – The arrival of a Knight of Hell could cause tremors to the surrounding area. Abaddon uses this ability to break a devil's trap that had imprisoned Crowley.
• Teleportation – Knights of Hell were capable of teleporting anywhere in the world, as well as teleporting others.

Weaknesses

• Angels – Abaddon chose to flee rather than confront Gadreel after witnessing him decimate her demons. However, Cain was able to overpower angels such as the seraphim Castiel with telekinesis.
• Demon-killing knife - While Abaddon was affected and felt pain from being stabbed with the knife, the effects were only temporary. Cain on the other hand showed complete immunity to the effects of the knife due to the Mark.
• Devil's trap – A devil's trap has the ability to hold and render a Knight of Hell powerless. Cain was able to show a level of resilience, still retaining his strength and telekinesis, as well as claiming that the trap would not hold him for long.
• The First Blade – The only known weapon capable of killing a Knight of Hell, when working in conjunction with Mark of Cain. The entire demonic order, sans Abaddon was slaughtered by Cain using the First Blade.
• Holy fire – Can damage / destroy a Knight's meatsuit, forcing them to escape into a new one.
• Holy water – Holy water is capable of causing pain to a Knight, like other demons.
• Mark of Cain – Bearers of the Mark are immune to the powers of a Knight when they also wield the First Blade, as shown when Dean was able to overcome Abaddon's attempted use of telekinesis on him while in possession of the First Blade.

Episodes

The crest of the Knights of Hell.

8.12 As Time Goes By

In the 1950s, Abaddon possesses Men of Letters initiate Josie Sands, to get access to the Men of Letters in order to steal the box under the orders of an unknown party. She kills all but Larry Ganem and Henry Winchester who escapes through time with the box. Abaddon is able to follow Henry through time and easily throws Sam and Dean around. Dean manages to stab her with the demon-killing knife which hurts her, but Abaddon proves immune to being killed by it. Abaddon reads the memories of the motel clerk to learn what he knows about Sam and Dean and then kills him.

Abaddon travels to Astro Comics - which was originally the Men of Letters headquarters. She reads the Clerk's mind what she knows, and kills her. Using the clerk's memories, Abaddon tracks down Larry Ganem and apparently disguises herself as or possesses his wife and listens as Sam arrives and learns about the storehouse that the box opens and gets the coordinates to it. Abaddon kills Larry and knocks Sam out. She then calls Dean and demands that he trade Henry and the box for Sam's life which he agrees to.

At an old processing plant, they make the trade, but Abaddon goes back on their deal, trapping Sam and Dean and fatally wounds Henry. Unknown to her, they expected her betrayal. Henry shoots Abaddon in the head with a bullet engraved with a devil's trap though Abaddon doesn't realize what he has done at first. Abaddon is angered to discover that the box she was given is a fake and demands to know where the real one is. When no one tells her, Abaddon tries to read Henry's memories and discovers that she is unable to impart her essence into him as well as unable to move her legs. Realizing what happened, Abaddon points out that they still haven't killed her, but Dean tells her that she will wish they did and cuts her head off. Dean explains that with a devil's trap bullet in her head, Abaddon is bound forever to her meatsuit so they will cut her into small pieces and bury them in cement, forever entombing Abaddon and defeating her.

8.22 Clip Show

After Sam and Dean find a way to cure a demon, they recover Abaddon's body parts and sew her back together. When she reanimates, she tries to release her demonic form from the body but is unable as she is still confined due to the devil's trap bullet inside her meatsuit's head. She also realizes that her hands have been cut off and placed in a box next to her; a precaution from Sam and Dean. Realizing that she won't be able to escape, she tells Sam and Dean about her involvement in Father Max Thompson's murder after word got out about his experiments on demons. This lead her to find out information about Josie Sands and the Men of Letters. When Sam receives a phone call from Crowley, Dean explains to her that Crowley is the new King of Hell, which shocks her and angers her and they both leave Abaddon unattended to answer it. Abaddon then uses the opportunity to escape by forcing her hands to remove the bullet from her head which allows her to use her powers to vanish.

8.23 Sacrifice

After Crowley calls for help, Abaddon arrives, breaks the devil's trap holding him, disarms Sam and overpowers him. However, Abaddon is not there to save Crowley and is enraged to find that Crowley is the ruler of Hell in 2013. Abaddon mercilessly attacks Crowley and tells him they need to talk about a regime change, but at that moment Sam returns and douses her in holy oil before setting her on fire. Abaddon writhes in pain and is forced to leave Josie Sands and escapes in her smoke form.

9.02 Devil May Care

Abaddon has a demon loyal to her perform a ritual to restore Josie Sands' body to use as her meatsuit once more. Abaddon then gathers a group of four demons and announces her plans to take over Hell and the world, saying that Crowley is not fit to lead as all he does is make deals for things they should take by force. When a crossroads demon among the group questions her, Abaddon exorcises her, telling her to warn all the demons in Hell that she is coming.

Pretending to be a bus driver, Abaddon helps her demons get better meatsuits by possessing soldiers from a military base. She then kidnaps Irv Franklin and forces him through torture to tell her where to find other hunters and captures Tracy Bell as well. Calling one of Dean's numbers, she gets Kevin Tran and has him pass on a message with her location to lead the Winchesters into a trap.

Finding Dean and a freed Tracy, Abaddon confronts them and avoids being taken down with devil's trap bullets once more by wearing a bulletproof vest. Dean distracts her with holy water, allowing Tracy to go get the Impala while he confronts Abaddon with an angel blade. Abaddon disarms Dean and offers him a deal: tell her where to find Crowley and she will kill him quickly, refuse and she will rip off his anti-possession tattoo, possess him and force him to watch her commit horrors. Abaddon is shocked when Ezekiel reveals his true form nearby and flees after learning that Sam and Dean brought an angel with them to confront her.

9.06 Heaven Can't Wait

Crowley uses a goblet of blood to contact Abaddon who is amused by his call. Abaddon reveals that she has gone back on all of the deals Crowley has made and collected the souls early, doubling the amount of souls in Hell. She is also reshaping Hell to be more chaotic and claims that since Crowley has disappeared, he doesn't have much support left. When Crowley warns her that a chaotic Hell will only backfire on her and she will burn, Abaddon says she's looking forward to it and hangs up on him.

9.10 Road Trip

A demon who has seen Crowley with Dean and Castiel contacts Abaddon with a goblet of blood to let her know. Abaddon is alerted by Cecily to the fact that Crowley visited her. Cecily lets her know what Crowley wanted and where he went, but Abaddon is furious to learn that Cecily is playing both sides, and kills her with an angel blade. Tracking down Crowley with two minions, Abaddon confronts him in a warehouse and orders her minions to kill him. However, they hesitate and Crowley tells them he sympathizes with them, for having turned to Abaddon for leadership when he disappeared, but now that he is back, they question their loyalty to the knight. He tells Abaddon that the struggle for the crown of Hell is not a fight, but an election between the demons loyal on either side of the struggle. He leaves after telling them to spread the word.

Trivia

• According to Jensen Ackles, a Knight of Hell with the Mark of Cain such as Cain or Dean Winchester is an "über-demon", a special sub-class of the Knights of Hell. However, this term was not canonically used within the show to described either Cain or the demonic Dean.