Azazel

Name	Azazel
Actor	Jeffrey Dean Morgan (1.22) Frederic Lehne (2.01, 2.21, 2.22 and 6.01) Lindsey McKeon (2.01) Christopher B. MacCabe (4.03) Mitch Pileggi (4.03) Rob LaBelle (4.22)
Dates	Before the sinking of Atlantis - 2007 (killed by Dean Winchester) Makes contact with Lucifer in Maryland in 1972. Makes a deal with Mary Campbell to save John Winchester in 1973. Azazel enters Sam Winchester's nursery in 1983.
Location	Fossil Butte Cemetery, Wyoming
Occupation	Demon (Prince of Hell) Demon General of Hell
Episode(s)	1.01 Pilot 1.21 Salvation 1.22 Devil's Trap 2.01 In My Time of Dying 2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two 4.03 In the Beginning 4.06 Yellow Fever (hallucination) 4.22 Lucifer Rising 6.01 Exile on Main St. (hallucination)

I need permission... I need to be invited, into their houses, I know, I know, the red tape'll drive you nuts, but in ten short years, it'll all be worth it. ‘Cause you know what I'm gonna do to your sibling? I'm gonna stand over their crib and I'm gonna bleed into their mouth. Demon blood is better than Ovaltine; vitamins, minerals – it makes you big and strong. – Azazel, 4.03 In the Beginning

History

Azazel was a yellow-eyed demon, a Prince of Hell who commanded the demons and kept order in Hell. Azazel planned to bring his army of black-eyed demons forth from Hell to unleash upon the world in preparation for the Apocalypse. The demon Casey described him as a "tyrant" who nevertheless held the demon army together; without him, the demon's disciplined nature dissolved into chaos and power struggles. He referred to two particular black-eyed demons as his "children" -- Meg and Tom.

Azazel became integral in Lucifer's plans to escape from his prison. Azazel kept faith in Lucifer even after his fellow Princes of Hell gave up on his return, and continued to search for him for years, eventually discovering the site where his prison opened and how to contact him through it. On Lucifer's instructions, he created the Special Children. It is during this mission that he encounters Mary Campbell; after killing her parents and her fiance John Winchester, he makes a deal with her that if she'll allow him entry to her home in ten years time, undisturbed, he'll bring John back to life. On the night Azazel visited Sam's nursery, he killed Mary when she discovered him, and set fire to the Winchester home. These actions caused John Winchester to pursue Azazel for the rest of his life, and Sam and Dean's lives were forever altered.

After years of searching, John had started to pick up of Azazel's trail in 2005. While hunting a Woman in White named Constance Welch, signs of Azezel's presence began to manifest, prompting him to abandon his hunt and focus on tracking Azazel down. In order to push Sam back into the hunting life, Azazel orders Brady to kill Sam's fiance, Jessica Moore, in the same manner as Mary Winchester after Sam returned from hunting with Dean.

Azazel would have Meg follow Sam and Dean while they were looking for their father, who was looking for a way to kill him. Meg would frequently contacted Azazel through a demon goblet giving him updates on her progress. Azazel once again reemerges in Salvation, Iowa when he is thwarted by Sam Winchester while trying to feed demon blood to Rose Holt and kill her mother. After Sam took a shot, Azazel teleported away while the bullet struck the wall. After Sam and Dean were able to save the Holt family from a fire caused by Azazel, he can be seen through the window watching them through the flames before disappearing. Azazel would go on to possess John Winchester in order to get his hands on the Colt, however he is driven out of John's body when Sam shoots John in the leg, allowing John to take temporary control and urge Sam to shoot him while he had Azazel trapped inside him.

After Azazel's demon army was unleashed upon the world, Sam and Dean had been able to discover his true plans for opening the Devil's Gate and they were able to thwart the plans to bring forth the Apocalypse with the help of Castiel and Crowley and all the other hunters working on their side.

Ten years after his death, Azazel is revealed to be one of the four Princes of Hell and the only one still following Lucifer's plan as he is described as a fanatic by his brother Ramiel.

• For the history of Azazel and the Winchesters see the Timeline (Mythological Arc).

Characteristics

Azazel's eyes.

Azazel has yellow irises and white sclerae, but usually does not have visible pupils (though he is clearly depicted as having black pupils when he is possessing John). The irises are shown to include cloudy tints of yellow and gray, with lighting affecting how they appear in different instances. A week prior to an attack by Azazel, the geographical area has cattle deaths, electrical storms, and temperature fluctuations. His presence makes clocks stop and electrical devices go haywire.

Powers and abilities

• Cattle Mutilations – Azazel's impending arrival causes cattle deaths in the days leading up to the murders he commits when he visits his Special Children.
• Deal making – Azazel had the authority to make deals.
• Dreamwalking – Azazel could enter a humans dreams, he would visit his special children in their dreams and in the case of Scott Carey incite him to do violence. Azazel was also able to show Sam the night of Mary's death in his dream.
• Electromagnetic interference – Azazel's presence would cause lights to flicker on and off.
• Invulnerability – Azazel showed he was impervious to holy water while possessing John Winchester.
• Possession – Azazel had the ability to possess humans as well as reapers.
• Superhuman strength and durability – As a Prince of Hell, Azazel's strength and durability exceeded that of even regular demons. Azazel was impervious to holy water and had the ability to walk on consecrated grounds.
• Telekinesis – Azazel could pin and move people with just a thought.
  • Biokinesis – Azazel could inflict lacerations upon humans with his mind that are severe enough to result in fatal internal bleeding for the afflicted human.
  • Pyrokinesis – Azazel had control over fire, usually employing it on mothers who had the misfortune of walking in on him feeding their children his demon blood.
• Teleportation – Azazel was able to teleport anywhere he desired on Earth and Hell. He had also been shown to be able to teleport quick enough to dodge bullets from the Colt.
• Weather manipulation – Azazel had shown the ability to influence the wind, as well as causing lighting strikes in areas he was located and temperature fluctuations according to John's research.

Weaknesses

• The Colt – Believed to be the only weapon capable of killing Azazel.
• Devil's Traps – Despite being a Prince of Hell, Azazel was unable to enter Samuel Colt's devil's trap protecting Fossil Butte Cemetery as it was built using iron railway lines.
• Iron – Azazel was incapable of crossing the iron lines surrounding the Devil's Gate in Wyoming until Jake Talley opened the gate and released an army of demons, destroying the railway lines as an indirect result.
• Vengeful Spirits – John Winchester's spirit, upon his escape from Hell, ripped Azazel out of his meatsuit. This appears to have had lasting damage to Azazel, who despite knocking John to the ground and returning to his meatsuit, was unable to teleport away before Dean shot him with the Colt.

Names

This list contains the following names this character is known by both in fandom and canon:

Canon:

• The Demon (The name all the Winchesters refer to him in season 1.)
• The Yellow-Eyed Demon (Dean uses the name in season 2.)
• Yellow Eyes (One of the Winchesters' nicknames for Azazel which has been used long since his death.)
• Azazel (Casey revealed the true name of the "Yellow-Eyed Demon" in 3.04 Sin City.)

Fandom:

• Celine Demon (A nickname coined by Television Without Pity.)
• Big Bad (A term used by Dean in a draft script for 2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown.)

Episodes

1.01 Pilot

Azazel stands over Sam's crib.

On November 2nd, 1983, Azazel appears by Sam's crib. Mary Winchester sees him but assumes he is her husband and he lets her go, pretending to be so. However, Mary realizes John is asleep downstairs and returns to Sam's nursery, where Azazel pins her to the ceiling, slices open her stomach. and sets her on fire. John witnesses her death, but Azazel himself is gone by that time. John, Sam and Dean escape the house as it goes up in flames and John begins a quest for vengeance on Azazel that draws him into the supernatural world.

Twenty-two years exactly after Mary's death, Sam's girlfriend, Jessica Moore, dies in the same way, killed by the demon Brady on Azazel's orders, driving Sam back into hunting in order to get revenge for her death.

1.09 Home

After Sam gets a vision of a woman being attacked in their old home, he and Dean return to Lawrence, believing that Azazel may be behind what is going on. Talking to psychic Missouri Moseley, Sam and Dean learn that she's not sure what killed their mother, just that it was powerful and evil. She also learns that what's attacking the house now is not Azazel but a poltergeist.

1.11 Scarecrow

Contacting his sons, John Winchester lets them know that what killed their mother was a demon and that he is hunting it. John however refuses to let them join in the hunt for Azazel, telling them that it is too dangerous.

After encountering Sam, the demon Meg contacts Azazel through the goblet of blood. The conversation is as follows:

"It makes no sense. I could've stopped Sam. Hell, I could've taken them both. Why let them go? (…) Yes. (…) Yes. (…) Yes, Father."

1.14 Nightmare

While talking with Max Miller, Sam learns that Azazel killed Max's mother the same way he killed Mary, and realizes that they and their powers are somehow connected because of it.

1.16 Shadow

After following Meg to a warehouse, Sam finds her having a conversation with someone through the goblet of blood:

"I don’t think you should come. (…) Because the brothers, they’re in town, I didn't know that—(…) Yes, sir. (…) Yes, I’ll be here—waiting for you."

Sam and Dean realize that all the people who have been killed by the daevas have been people from Lawrence, Kansas and come to believe that it means that Azazel is behind it and is in town. They call their father to let him know, but when they go after Meg, they learn that it was never Azazel and it was just a trick to lure them and their father in so she could kill him. Sam and Dean manage to escape and after reuniting with their father, learn that he is hunting Azazel and trying to find a way to kill him, not just send him back to Hell. The trap Azazel and Meg set up nearly works, but three ultimately escape.

1.20 Dead Man's Blood

John enlists Sam and Dean's help in tracking down a gun known as the Colt and eventually reveals why: the gun is said to be able to kill anything and he believes it to be the key to finally killing Azazel.

1.21 Salvation

Knowing the Winchesters have the Colt now, Azazel sends Meg to kill their friends in order to draw them out and force them to give up the gun. Meanwhile, Sam, Dean, and John begin hunting for Azazel together. John reveals that until about a year before, there had been no sign of Azazel since he killed the families 22 years before, but he has now resurfaced and started going after families with infants on the night of the kid's six month birthday like he did with Sam. John has discovered demonic omens that appear in a town for the week leading up to Azazel's appearance and that these omens also appeared leading up to the deaths of Mary and Jessica. The signs point to him next appearing in Salvation, Iowa, so the Winchesters head there to find and kill Azazel.

In Salvation, Sam locates Azazel's next victims, the Holts, through a vision he gets. In the vision, Azazel kills Rose Holt's mother Monica Holt. While John goes off to trade a fake gun to Meg and Tom, Sam and Dean lie in wait outside the Holt house waiting for Azazel to arrive. Finally, he does; just like in Sam's vision, he starts to pin Monica to the ceiling and kill her, when Sam bursts in and fires the Colt at him. Azazel seemingly vanishes and the bullet misses. The demon still sets the house on fire, but Sam, Dean, and the family get out safely. Afterward, they see Azazel watching them from the burning nursery window. Sam wants to go after him again, but Dean stops him, as the house is burning down and it's too dangerous, and Azazel soon disappears.

1.22 Devil's Trap

Azazel sends Meg to get the Colt from Sam and Dean, but she is exorcised with the help of Bobby Singer. With two of his demons holding John captive, Azazel possesses the hunter in case Sam and Dean manage to rescue him, so he can get access to the Colt. Sam and Dean do rescue "John"; Azazel is able to successfully pretend to be him, as he is immune to the holy water Sam tests him with. During the escape, Tom attacks Sam forcing Dean to kill him with the Colt in front of Azazel.

At the secluded cabin Sam and Dean take "John" to, Azazel keeps up the act, pretending that John is proud of what Dean did and then staging an attack on the cabin and asking for the Colt to defend them. However, Dean realizes that John would be pissed, not proud and that he is possessed. Azazel tries to get Sam to help him, but Sam sides with Dean and Azazel overpowers them both when Dean hesitates to shoot, pinning them both to the wall. Azazel taunts Sam to use his psychic powers to break free and grab the Colt, but he can't. Azazel reveals to Sam that "I have plans, Sammy, for you and all the children like you" and that he plans to kill Dean for his own version of "justice," angry about Dean's having killed Tom and under the impression that Dean had also exorcised Meg, who were his "boy" and "daughter," respectively. As Azazel starts to tear Dean apart with his mind, John manages to regain control for a moment, freeing Sam, who confronts Azazel with The Colt. Azazel quickly reminds Sam that if he shoots him, he will kill John, too; Sam shoots him in the leg instead, wounding but not killing both Azazel and John. Weakened, Azazel again loses control to John, who urges Sam to kill him and Azazel while he can still keep the demon inside. However, Sam hesitates too long and Azazel soon manages to escape both John's body and the Winchesters, last being seen sinking through the cabin floor as demon smoke.

2.01 In My Time of Dying

With Dean dying from the wounds Azazel gave him and injuries sustained in a car crash caused by a demon-possessed trucker, John Winchester summons Azazel, apparently to get revenge on him for what he did. Azazel, possessing a hospital janitor, tries to trick John into leaving, but he knows it's Azazel and points the Colt at him. Prepared for John to try to take revenge, Azazel has brought along two other demons possessing hospital staff, but John reveals that he wants to make a deal instead. John offers Azazel the Colt and its last bullet in exchange for Azazel saving Dean's life. Azazel is surprised that John is willing to make a deal with him. Although Azazel wants Dean dead for what he has done to his children, he doesn't believe that Dean or Sam are actually any threat to him, and so considers the deal, as he wants the Colt badly. He asks if John knows what he has planned for Sam and John confirms it; the demon guesses that Sam himself doesn't know, and John's reaction confirms it. Azazel decides to accept the deal, but tells John that first he has to "sweeten the pot" with something Azazel wants just as much, if not more than, the Colt. John agrees on the condition that he gets to see that Dean is all right with his own eyes, as he doesn't trust that Azazel would fulfill his part of the deal. As he is unable to save Dean's life on his own power, Azazel has to possess the hospital reaper, Tessa, and use her powers to heal Dean's injuries and erase Dean's memories of his out-of-body experience. After seeing that Dean is all right, and passing on a warning to Dean in one last attempt to stop Azazel's plans, John hands the Colt over to Azazel. John's dead body is later found by Sam.

2.02 Everybody Loves a Clown

Sam and Dean have John's research on Azazel, including the omens that appear when he is active, which is what John had used to track the demon. They lend these notes to Ash to use in tracking Azazel; by the end of the episode, Ash has finished setting up a tracking system that will alert them if it detects signs of activity from Azazel anywhere in the country.

2.05 Simon Said

When confronting his recently discovered twin brother Weber, Andy Gallagher learns that Weber found out about his existence from "the man with the yellow eyes" in his dreams and that Azazel had told him that he had big plans for them. After everything is over, Sam and Dean learn from Ash that Weber's mother didn't die in a house fire like Sam, Max and Andy's mothers, meaning that not all of Azazel's Special Children can be tracked due to this unexpected discrepancy.

2.08 Crossroad Blues

Dean learns from a crossroads demon of his father's deal with Azazel. It is revealed that John had had to sell Azazel his life and soul in addition to the Colt and its last original bullet. As a result of the deal and his death, John's soul is now in Hell and suffering enormously at the hands of demons.

2.09 Croatoan

To test Sam's immunity to the Croatoan virus, Azazel has the town of River Grove, Oregon infected with the disease and Duane Tanner possessed by a demon in order to keep an eye on the progress of the outbreak. Sam and Dean come to town after Sam gets a vision of Dean killing Duane. Sam is eventually infected by Nurse Pamela, but proves immune. The infected townspeople mysteriously disappear along with all traces of the virus, having been apparently cleaned up by demons after Sam proved immune. In order to report on the progress, Duane slits Sarge's throat and uses the goblet of blood to communicate with Azazel:

"It's over, you'll be pleased. I don't think any more tests are necessary. (…) The Winchester boy, definitely immune, as expected. (…) Yes, of course. Nothing left behind."

2.10 Hunted

Scott Carey, a young man with psychic powers, has pictures of yellow eyes papering his closet. He reveals to a psychiatrist that Azazel has been haunting his dreams and saying that there is a war coming and that people like Scott will be soldiers in the coming war. Sam -- who has begun looking for answers after finding out that John told Dean he will have to save Sam from becoming evil or kill him in order to foil Azazel's plan -- and another psychic named Ava Wilson learn of Azazel's claims from a recording of the session, while hunter Gordon Walker learns from a demon he tortured and exorcised. Gordon thus begins hunting psychic kids to prevent this, killing Scott and trying to kill Sam and Ava. After Gordon is defeated, Sam and Dean check on Ava, only to find her missing, her fiancé dead, and sulfur at the window, indicating that either Azazel or one of his minions has taken her.

2.14 Born Under a Bad Sign

After learning that a demon (Meg) is possessing Sam, Dean believes she is doing so under Azazel's orders, but she reveals that she doesn't care about his plans anymore and only wants revenge for her exorcism.

2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One

A look at Azazel's true face, after being ripped from his meatsuit by John Winchester.

Azazel has been kidnapping all of the Special Children over a series of months and dumping them in Cold Oak, South Dakota to fight to the death. Eventually he kidnaps Sam, Jake Talley, Andy Gallagher and Lily at the same time and leaves them to have their fight while Ava Wilson, the only survivor of the previous groups of children, is there waiting.

While Sam is asleep, Azazel, back in the body of the janitor from the hospital, comes to him in his dreams to speak to him. Azazel reveals that there are other generations of Special Children and that he has set up the death match as he only needs one of the children to survive. He explains that he already has his army and just needs one of the children to be the leader; he is talking to Sam because he wants Sam, his "favorite," to be that leader, as he thinks that Sam has the traits that would make him a good leader (namely, intelligence, skills, and training). Sam swears to kill Azazel, who indulgently encourages him to keep trying once he wakes up and wins the contest. Azazel tells Sam that he killed Jessica to push Sam back into hunting to keep honing his "gifts" and that he killed Mary only because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Feeling "charitable," Azazel shows Sam what really happened the night that Mary died: Azazel dripped demon blood into baby Sam's mouth, and Mary had interrupted them, so he killed her. To Sam's surprise, Mary recognized Azazel in the nursery before he killed her, but the present version of Azazel doesn't explain why. He uses his powers to make Sam wake up from the dream they're in so that Sam doesn't have to see Mary die.

After everyone else is killed, Jake reveals that Azazel came to him in his sleep, too, and that the demon will only let one of them go or else kill them both. Jake kills Sam in order to escape himself so that he can find and kill Azazel to avenge all of the Special Children.

2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two

As Jake Talley is the last surviving special child, Azazel comes to him in his dreams to get him to do what he wants, though he admits that Jake isn't the child he had expected or even wanted to win. Jake threatens to kill Azazel, but he tells Jake that that is not easy to do and that others have tried. Azazel tells Jake that he has a "laundry list" of things he wants Jake to do for him, and threatens Jake's family to make Jake comply. Needing Jake to open the Devil's Gate in Wyoming to release his demon army, Azazel meets him in person at the edge of the giant devil's trap as he can't cross it. He gives Jake directions to Fossil Butte Cemetery where the Gate is and the key to it: the Colt. When Azazel reveals that the Colt can kill him, Jake is about to shoot him with it, but Azazel only mockingly pretends to be afraid before convincing Jake to do what he wants with promises of luxury and power. Jake becomes corrupted by his powers and his eyes gleam yellow at one point, further demonstrating his connection to Azazel.

Azazel is shot in the heart with the Colt.

After the gate is opened, demons break the devil's trap surrounding the cemetery and Azazel is at last able to enter the cemetery himself. There, he confronts Dean, who is armed with the Colt. Azazel easily disarms Dean and pins him to a headstone and the resurrected Sam to a tree. He taunts Dean about his deal, thanking him for bringing Sam back into play so that he can use him instead of Jake and mocking Dean's willingness to sacrifice himself for his family. Relishing the kind-hearted Sam's cold-blooded murder of Jake, Azazel cryptically hints that what came back wasn't "100% pure Sam." As the demon prepares to kill Dean with the Colt, the spirit of John Winchester escapes Hell through the Devil's Gate and pulls Azazel from the body he is possessing. Azazel fends off the attack from John's ghost, but when he reenters his body and goes to attack John, he realizes that Dean has retrieved the Colt and is about to shoot him. Dean shoots Azazel in the heart with the Colt, killing him.

With Azazel's death, John's ghost finds his peace and crosses over after sharing a moment with his sons. Dean and Sam stand over the body Azazel had died in, both a little taken aback at having finally fulfilled the mission their father had raised them for. While Sam doesn't know what to say, Dean does, proclaiming, "That was for our mom, you son of a bitch."

3.02 The Kids Are Alright

Ruby reveals that all of Mary Winchester's friends have been killed, presumably by Azazel or demons working for him for an unknown reason. Sam checks this out and finds it to be true.

3.04 Sin City

While trapped in a basement with Dean, the demon Casey tells him Azazel's name and that he had been a "tyrant" in charge of the demon army he had Jake Talley release. She explains that, with Azazel dead and Sam not taking up leadership of the army like Azazel had wanted, anarchy is breaking loose among the demons.

4.03 In the Beginning

After being sent back to 1973 by Castiel, Dean learns that a demon is making deals with people for various things in exchange for permission to enter their houses in ten years. He realizes that it is Azazel, as the demon is described as having yellow eyes. In response, Dean goes after the Colt to kill Azazel in that time period in order to save his family and everyone Azazel will kill.

Possessing Dr. Brown, Azazel tells Liddy Walsh that her mother's cancer has metastasized, and starts to offer her a deal when a trio of hunters arrive and attack him; first, Samuel Campbell bursts in and shoots him. Azazel telekinetically disarms and then pins Samuel down, but when he goes to kill Samuel, he is next distracted by Mary Campbell, whose determination and ferocity get his appreciation. Finally, when Dean shows up with the Colt, Azazel, stunned by the Colt's sudden appearance, initially tries to use Mary as a human shield; when she escapes and Dean is about to shoot him, Azazel is forced to flee Dr. Brown's body to escape with his life. After Dean and Mary leave, Azazel returns to the room to possess Samuel, then interrogates Dean to see what he knows under the illusion of curiosity, learning that Dean is from the future and is Samuel's grandson through Mary.

When Dean reveals his plan to kill Azazel with the Colt, the demon reveals himself and incapacitates Dean before the latter can react. He explains that he is picking "ideal breeders" for his own "master race" and that "red tape" forces him to get the future parents' permission to enter their homes and feed their children demon blood in ten years. Having been impressed by her in their fight, he reveals that he has chosen Mary as one of these parents, calling her his "favorite". He can tell that Dean is not one of his psychic kids, but figures out that he has a sibling who is, and concludes that "it all worked out." To Dean's surprise, Azazel's endgame is much bigger than wanting one of the children to lead his demon army, but Azazel refuses to tell Dean what it is because he has figured out that Dean must have been sent by angels, and he doesn't want them to learn of his plan. Dean tells Azazel that he is the one who will kill him one day in the future. Enraged by the news, Azazel makes Samuel stab himself, fatally wounding him, just to spite Dean. He hears Deanna Campbell cry out at her husband's injury, and kills her by breaking her neck with his bare hands while she is trying to reach the Colt. He then leaves to go after Mary.

Dean's hallucination of Sam has yellow eyes like Azazel.

As John Winchester is about to propose to Mary, Azazel interrupts by bodily dragging Mary out of the car. When John tries to intervene to help Mary, Azazel breaks his neck to kill him as well, and then reveals to a shocked Mary that he, the demon from earlier, has killed her parents, too, and is now possessing her father's corpse. He offers Mary a deal: he'll resurrect John (but not her parents) if she gives him permission to enter her house in ten years, promising that if she doesn't interrupt him, no one will be harmed. Devastated and desperate to not be alone, Mary agrees. As Azazel seals the deal with a kiss, Dean arrives and tries to kill him with the Colt, but Azazel flees Samuel's body, leaving Samuel dead.

In the present, Castiel explains that Azazel covered his tracks well and that what Dean learned is all they know of his plans. The whole time travel experience was for Dean to learn what the angels knew about Azazel's plans, not to stop them.

4.06 Yellow Fever

While Dean is succumbing to the ghost sickness, he briefly hallucinates Sam telling him that he wants him back in Hell and starting to strangle him. Sam's eyes turn yellow like Azazel's. Dean assumes that Sam is possessed, but Sam says that this is entirely him - or rather, what he is turning into. After Dean is cured of ghost sickness, he is about to tell Sam about his hallucinations when he suddenly sees Sam's eyes flicker yellow, and ends up lying to him instead.

Azazel making contact with Lucifer.

4.22 Lucifer Rising

In 1972 at St. Mary's Convent in Ilchester, Maryland, Azazel possesses a priest. Pretending to be the priest, Azazel starts to give mass and then reveals that he has been searching for his father for years and after nearly giving up hope, finally located the door to his prison in the convent. He then slaughters all of the nuns in the convent and is able to speak to Lucifer through the body of one. Azazel tells him that he never lost faith as opposed to his other siblings, calling them "dickless heathens." Lucifer tells him that to free him, Azazel must free Lilith from Hell as she can break the 66 Seals and that he must find a very special child.

Researching the convent after hearing that Lilith is going there to break the last seal, Sam finds out that the priest was arrested for the murders of the nuns. The priest had told everyone that he had been possessed by a demon, who was the one actually responsible for the murders, and that he remembered that the demon's name was Azazel. As it is too much to believe that it is coincidence, Sam and Ruby take Azazel's appearance at the convent in the past as a sign that Lilith will appear there to break the final seal.

5.20 The Devil You Know

While searching for Pestilence, with Crowley's help the Winchesters capture Brady, an old college friend of Sam's whom Azazel had possessed by a demon during Sam's sophomore year to keep an eye on him. Brady reveals that it was him and not Azazel who killed Jessica Moore in order to push Sam back into hunting, though he had done it on Azazel's orders.

5.22 Swan Song

While possessing Sam, Lucifer brings in the demons Azazel has had watch over him for his entire life, including Sam's prom date and a teacher and a friend. Lucifer refers to them as "Azazel's gang," the demons he had been using to manipulate Sam his whole life. Lucifer proceeds to kill them to give Sam some revenge and to try to convince him over to his way of thinking.

Azazel as he appears to Dean, after being poisoned by a djinn.

6.01 Exile on Main St.

While under the influence of djinn poison, Dean hallucinates that Azazel is alive again, the one responsible for the odd things Dean has been picking up on. Azazel claims that he was "shaken loose" by the Apocalypse and resurrected, comparing it to how God brought Castiel back, and starts to strangle Dean. But before Dean dies, he is saved by Sam, who injects him with an antidote to the poison and explains that it was all just a hallucination and that Azazel wasn't really there. Later, while once again under the influence of djinn poison, Dean hallucinates that Azazel kills Lisa Braeden in the same way that he did his mother and Jessica, then infects her son Ben Braeden with demon blood like he did Sam.

6.20 The Man Who Would Be King

Crowley mentions Azazel when listing off those who underestimated the threat the Winchesters pose and paid the price for it.

7.21 Reading Is Fundamental

After being caught in a devil's trap after leaving to kill two demons, Meg explains that what she does is commit herself to causes and stick with them. She says that Azazel's (and then Lucifer's) cause to bring about the Apocalypse was that cause. Now that Azazel is dead and Lucifer trapped, her cause has changed to killing Crowley for revenge for Lucifer.

8.17 Goodbye Stranger

Having learned of the angel tablet, Crowley begins searching for it and discovers that it is in one of Lucifer's Crypts. Only demons that were close confidants of Lucifer, such as Azazel, know where they are. In the past, Azazel visited the crypts with Meg, who thus also knew and was used by Crowley to search for the right crypt and the angel tablet.

12.12 Stuck in the Middle (With You)

After an attack on Ramiel, Crowley explains to the Winchesters that Ramiel is one of the four Princes of Hell of which Azazel was also one. Crowley tells them that Azazel and the other Princes were the first generation of demons created by Lucifer after he created Lilith and they are generals of demonic armies.

In a flashback to after Lucifer's first defeat, Crowley approaches Ramiel to become the King of Hell since Lucifer is locked away again and Azazel and Lilith are dead. However, Ramiel tells Crowley that Azazel was a fanatic but the other Princes lost interest in Lucifer's plan a long time ago and just wish to be left alone.

Physical Form

• 1.22 Devil's Trap: possesses John Winchester played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan
• 2.01 In My Time of Dying: possesses Tessa played by Lindsey McKeon
• 2.01 In My Time of Dying, 2.21 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part One, 2.22 All Hell Breaks Loose: Part Two and 6.01 Exile on Main St.: possesses a janitor played by Frederic Lehne
• 4.03 In the Beginning: possesses Dr. Brown played by Christopher MacCabe & Samuel Campbell played by Mitch Pileggi
• 4.22 Lucifer Rising: possesses Father Lehne played by Rob LaBelle

Azazel possessing John Winchester.

Azazel possessing a hospital janitor.

Azazel possessing Tessa.

Azazel possessing Dr. Brown.

Azazel possessing Samuel Campbell.

Azazel possessing Father Lehne.

Special Children

On the instructions of Lucifer, Azazel chose a group of Special Children to take part in war against humanity and release Lucifer from his bonds:

I have plans, Sammy, plans for you and all the children like you... – Azazel, 1.22 Devil's Trap

Special Children:

• Andy Gallagher
• Ansem Weems / Weber
• Ava Wilson
• Jake Talley
• Lily
• Max Miller
• Rose
• Sam Winchester
• Scott Carey

Relationship with Sam Winchester

While the Winchesters pursue Azazel to avenge Mary and Jess, they discover how connected Sam, his powers, and the other children are to the demon and his plans.

• A link between Sam’s powers and Azazel is first suspected by the boys in 1.14 Nightmare, when Sam discovers that Max Miller’s mother dies the same way Mary Winchester did.

Sam: I mean, either telekinesis or premonitions, we both had abilities, you know? Maybe it was after us for some reason.

• In 1.22 Devil's Trap, Azazel reveals that he killed Mary and Jess because they got in the way of his "plans…"

Azazel: My plans for you, Sammy. You... and all the children like you.

• John knows “the truth” about Sam and the other children like him.
• Sam meets two other people with powers, Andy and his evil twin Ansem. Ansem reveals that a man “with yellow eyes” has visited in his dreams and revealed he has big plans for the Special Children. In this episode, Sam and Dean also discover that not all Special Children had their mother die in a fire when they were six months old.
• In 2.09 Croatoan, Sam is infected with a demon virus. This is revealed to have been an experiment engineered by Azazel when Duane Tanner contacts him on a blood goblet to report:

Duane: I don't think any more tests will be necessary... The Winchester boy, definitely immune as expected.

• Azazel appears to Sam in a dream, and states that his plan is for the children with special powers to fight amongst themselves until the strongest is left to lead the demon army. He tells Sam that he, with his leadership qualities and hunter training, is his favorite. In the same dream, Azazel admits to having Jessica killed so Sam would go back to hunting. He then shows Sam a vision of what happened the night Mary died. Sam sees that Azazel fed drops of his blood to baby Sam, and that Mary knew the demon. Sam does not tell Dean about this.
• Azazel asks Dean, "How certain are you that what you brought back, is 100% pure Sam?" implying that might have been something done to alter Sam during his resurrection. At the end of this episode, Azazel is killed by Dean.

At this point, Sam's visions and other powers go dormant. During season three, they seem to have disappeared entirely; Sam states that he has had no other visions. However, in subsequent seasons, still more details about the powers and Sam's fate come to light.

• In 4.01 Lazarus Rising, Sam is shown exorcising demons with his powers, and comments to Ruby that he no longer has headaches when using them.
• In 4.03 In the Beginning, Castiel takes Dean back in time, where Dean encounters Azazel making deals with the future parents of Special Children. Azazel makes a deal with Mary for entry into her house in ten years time. He reveals to Dean that he will bleed into the mouths of the children, and that his plans are bigger than building a demon army.
• a flashback shows Lucifer ordering Azazel to find a "very special child" after Azazel asks how to open the cage.
• Azazel ordered Jess' death, the order was carried out by a friend of Sam's who had been possessed, Brady. Brady had been sent to keep tabs on Sam at Stanford, and in fact introduced Sam to Jess with the goal of using her to force Sam back into hunting.
• Lucifer shows Sam that many of the people he encountered as he grew up were possessed, and had been sent to observe him, like Brady.

Azazel's Children

Two demons have been referred to as Azazel's beloved "children": Meg, who appears in seasons one, two, five, six, seven and eight; and Tom, who appears only in season one. They assist him in keeping track of Sam, and in trying to acquire the Colt from John Winchester. Though Meg acts against Azazel's plans by trying to get Dean to kill Sam out of spite for their having exorcised her, she returns to the cause and serves Lucifer sometime after her "father's" death. It is not explained how Azazel fathered Meg and Tom, as demons do not typically reproduce, instead being created from human souls permanently corrupted from torture in Hell.

• Meg refers to Azazel as "father" when communicating using the goblet of blood.
• Azazel affirms the connection, calling Meg his "daughter" and Tom his "boy."
• They are black-eyed.
• They leave traces of sulfur behind.
• They are impervious to hallowed ground ("That may work in the minor league, but not with me" - Meg in 1.21 Salvation), but not to holy water, and can be restricted by salt barriers.
• They can be exorcised.

Azazel in Mythology

The name Azazel first appears in the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 16:8) - it can mean "God strengthens", but also "impudent to God."

In the Book of Enoch, Azazel was described as one of the leaders of the Grigori, fallen angels who married and had children with human women. He was also depicted to have been bound to a clear, deserted landscape by Raphael. This was referenced in 4.22 Lucifer Rising when Azazel mentioned that he had been "wandering the desert for years, looking for my [his] father."

He is said to be the principal standard-bearer of the infernal armies, and ranks quite high in the ranks of Hell's Hierarchy. He is mentioned as a fallen angel in John Milton's Paradise Lost.

In Modern Hebrew, '"lekh l'Azazel" (לך לעזאזל) is the equivalent of the English curse "go to Hell".'

In lore, Azazel is known for creating acts of chaos and mischief. This information was retrieved from the Extended-Scenes on Season 4 DVD of Supernatural.

Azazel in Other Media

As a fallen angel, the entity Azazel is the villain of the 1998 thriller Fallen.

Azazel is a ruler of Hell in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series.

In 2003, Marvel Comics employed Azazel as a demonic mutant formerly imprisoned in another dimension in the distant past, intentionally impregnating powerful mutants in the world to open up a permanent portal and release his supporters. This is not unlike Supernatural's depiction, and predates the show by a year or so.

Trivia

• Azazel is the first demon, and indeed the first supernatural being, seen in the series.
• In the last two episodes of Season 2, Azazel's eyes often had a greenish tint along with visible pupils.
• In the season 1 finale 1.22 Devil's Trap, when John is being possessed by Azazel, he tells Sam to kill Azazel by shooting him in the heart. In the season 2 finale Dean kills Azazel by shooting him in the heart.

See also

• Demonology
• Sigil of Azazel

External links

• Character Analysis LiveJournal
• Meta Entry by Missyjack
• Azazel on Wikipedia