4,699
edits
Changes
From Super-wiki
→Strengths and Weaknesses
In the case of [[archangel]]s, the human host takes on even greater risk, as the sheer power of an archangel can inflict permanent mental damage on a vessel (however, this does not seem to be something the archangel cannot control. [[Michael]] was able to protect [[John Winchester]] from suffering significant damage when he took John as a host for a few minutes in the 1970s). [[Donnie Finnerman]] suffered brain damage after his occupation by [[Raphael]], and [[Castiel]] tells [[Dean]], were Michael to possess him, Dean would suffer even greater damage.<ref name="five03">[[5.03 Free to Be You and Me]]</ref> [[Lucifer]]'s presence causes [[Nick]] to deteriorate slowly during his time as a vessel; saying that Nick can barely contain him,<ref name="five03" /><ref name="five19">[[5.19 Hammer of the Gods]]</ref> forcing him to consume gallons of [[demon blood]] to retain enough stability to operate in Nick until [[Sam]] will consent to him. Some years later, Crowley was eventually able to 'fix' Nick so that he could serve as a permanent vessel for Lucifer, but this required twelve different demons working together to create the necessary rituals, and this procedure was primarily intended to trap Lucifer in Nick rather than allow Lucifer to use Nick long-term to pursue his own agenda<ref name="twelve13">[[12.13 Family Feud]]</ref>.
Vessels are sometimes destroyed. It has been shown that an archangel has the power to obliterate the vessel of another [[angel]], and the angel himself.<ref name="five01">[[5.01 Sympathy for the Devil]]</ref> The [[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]] can harm occupied vessels, as demonstrated by [[Famine]]<ref name="5.14five14">[[5.14 My Bloody Valentine]]</ref> and [[Pestilence]]<ref name="5.21five21">[[5.21 Two Minutes to Midnight]]</ref> exerting their influence on [[Castiel]] (although his weakened condition at this time may have contributed to their ability to attack him -- [[Pestilence]] noting in particular that his powers affecting Castiel while in a vessel was a sign that he was "out of angel juice" -- making it unclear how the Horsemen would deal with an angel at full strength). [[Holy fire]] can destroy an angel and its vessel if the angel walks through the flames<ref name="five03">[[5.03 Free to Be You and Me]]</ref>, although archangels are at least able to recover from this attack if given enough time. Powerful artifacts of Heaven, such as [[Lot's Salt]], can permanently destroy a vessel (although Raphael was able to escape the vessel before being destroyed himself).<ref name="six03">[[6.03 The Third Man]]</ref> Another angelic weapon, the [[Staff of Moses]] can harm angels in a vessel.<ref name="six03">[[6.03 The Third Man]]</ref> As mentioned above, [[Anna]]'s human body was destroyed when she regained her grace, but was recreated as her vessel.
[[File:AngelExorcism.jpg|thumb|right|350px|[[Alastair]] attempting to eject [[Castiel]] from his vessel.]]
An angel can be pulled from its vessel by other angels, or even powerful [[demon]]s;<ref name="four20" /> [[Alastair]] once attempted to [[exorcise]] [[Castiel]] from his vessel using a [[spell]], but he was interrupted before he could finish, leaving it unclear whether he would have been able to actually banish Castiel from Jimmy Novak.<refname="four16">[[4.16 On the Head of a Pin]]</ref> According to Castiel, there is an open connection between an unoccupied human vessel and its angel.<ref name="five03" /> This connection can be used to summon an angel back to its vessel using the proper incantation. Conversely, a team of demons led by Crowley were able to trap Lucifer in Nick by performing complex rituals that essentially turned Nick into the new cage, although Lucifer was eventually able to overcome these rituals enough to restore himself to full control of his powers while still stuck in Nick's body.<ref name="twelve17">[[12.17 The British Invasion]]</ref>
If the vessel has a great enough strength of will, they are capable of overpowering the angel controlling them for a time to varying degrees. Sam managed to overpower [[Lucifer]]'s control of him and move around without a visible apparent struggle<ref name="five22">[[5.22 Swan Song]]</ref> while Castiel was visibly struggling with holding Lucifer back and stated it was taking all of his strength to do so to the point he couldn't expel the archangel.<ref name="eleven14" />
Vessels possess the ability to expel the angel using them if they are strong enough and aware of the possession. [[Gadreel]] kept Sam from knowing about his possession to prevent exactly this, especially as he was vulnerable in his weakened state, but was eventually expelled by Sam when [[Crowley]] possessed him to bring the truth to his attention.<ref name="nine10">[[9.10 Road Trip]]</ref> Castiel later regained control from Lucifer but was unable to expel him, telling Sam it was taking all of his strength just to keep Lucifer from killing Sam and he had no strength left to expel the archangel.<ref name="eleven14" /> While Dean was able to manifest himself in a mirror while possessed by [[Michael (Apocalypse World)|Michael]], his attempt to order Michael out of his body completely failed.<ref name="fourteen02">[[14.02 Gods and Monsters]]</ref>
