Phoenix
 
| |
| Phoenix | |
|---|---|
| Powers and Abilities | Incineration by touch, immortality. |
| Vulnerabilities | The Colt, Iron |
| Appearance | Human |
| Episode(s) | 6.18 Frontierland |
Rose from the ashes, burned up its victim? You know, maybe we're not looking for a flaming bird. Maybe the Phoenix is actually walking around in cowboy boots.
Characteristics
The phoenix was a powerful being that appeared human. It possessed the ability to incinerate things through touch and was immune to conventional methods of killing; though the phoenix could technically "die", it would resurrect soon after being killed.
Upon death the phoenix will combust and form a pile of ashes. These ashes are poisonous to it's mother, Eve, and can be used to kill her. Due to the toxic nature to Eve, the phoenix was the only one of its species created.
Powers and abilities
- Immortality – The phoenix was long lived and impervious to things that would kill a human (gunshot, hanging).
- Invulnerability – The phoenix has a high resilience to standard weapons.
- Pyrokinesis – With a single touch, the phoenix was capable of of incinerating humans to cinders.
- Resurrection – When a phoenix is killed, the death is only temporary as it will rise from the ashes.
Weaknesses
- The Colt – The only known weapon that was capable of permanently killing the phoenix.
- Iron – Like most monsters, the phoenix was vulnerable to iron, which caused its flesh to burn upon contact.
Episodes
6.18 Frontierland
Sam and Dean travel back to March 4, 1861 to retrieve the ashes from a phoenix that will be shot by the famous hunter Samuel Colt. They arrive just as Elias Finch is hanged for murdering his wife, and he "dies" swearing vengeance on the sheriff, judge, and deputy. Soon after, Elias rises from his grave and kills Judge Mortimer by incinerating his body. That night, The sheriff dies soon after in the same fashion, despite shooting Elias several times with his gun. The next day, Elias finds the deputy cowering in a jail cell, protected by Dean.
Elias explains to Dean that he was framed for the murder of his wife. While the couple were visiting the town, the deputy tried to rape Elias' wife, and when he intervened the deputy shot her and Elias. She died in Elias' arms however, being a phoenix, the gunshot didn't harm him. The deputy then conspired with the judge and sheriff and accused Elias of killing his wife. He was unable to escape as he was bound with iron shackles.
He is unable to get to the deputy due to the iron bars surrounding him, so he grabs a gun and shoots the deputy instead. Dean flees and runs into Sam, who has retrieved the Colt from Samuel Colt. Dean and Elias face off in classic cowboy style, resulting in Dean killing Elias. The shot from the Colt causes him to spontaneously combust, leaving a pile of ash. The brothers were brought back to the present before they could retrieve the phoenix's ashes, however Samuel Colt arranges for a package containing the ashes to be delivered to Sam in 2011.
6.19 Mommy Dearest
Dean packs the ashes of the phoenix into 5 shotgun cartridges. Earlier, Dean accidentally comes into contact with the ashes and realizes that they don't affect him at all. Sam theorizes that the ashes are only harmful to Eve instead of humans, like iron or silver.
Dean drinks an ounce of whiskey mixed with a shell's worth of phoenix ashes, so that when Eve bites him, the blood she ingests is poisoned and kills her.
Trivia
- According to writer Andrew Dabb, the phoenix was akin to a cancerous tumor to Eve, explaining:
- "It's born from her body, but it's toxic to her. She cast it out, and it's hated by all monsters because it's poisonous to their mother. The phoenix has been on the run for thousands of years."
The Phoenix in Lore
The phoenix is a beautiful, colorful fire-bird found in cultures including Greek, Persian and Chinese. It is very long-lived, and near the end of its life it builds a nest. The bird and the nest then combust, and from the ashes a new phoenix is born. In some few stories the bird can take human form.
