Shapeshifters
Shapeshifters
Shapeshifting , also known as transformation or transmogrification, is a change in the form or shape of a person, especially a change from human form to animal form or a change in appearance form one person to another.
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Shapeshifters in "Supernatural"
The shapeshifters in both 1.06 Skin and 2.12 Nightshifter can take on a living person’s physical appearance and access the thoughts of the person they are mimicking. The one in Monster Movie can copy deceased people from pictures and film as well.
When they change from one form to another they literally shed their skin, teeth, and nails.
They can be identified by a retinal flare that shows up when they are filmed.
They can be killed by silver to the heart – either a bullet, as in 1.06 Skin and 4.05 Monster Movie, or a blade, as in 2.12 Nightshifter.
It's not clear if all of the shapeshifters have had the exact same abilities; Dean says that the one in the bank shifts faster than the one in St. Louis. It's also not clear if the shapeshifters are human in some sense. In each case to date, a shifter uses its abilities to better commit a normal, human crime like serial murder, theft, or stalking.
In 6.02 Two And A Half Men, the progenitor, or Alpha, of all shapeshifters appears, and we see him shift from one form to another without shedding his skin or needing to change his clothes. We also learn that shapeshifters can have children by impregnating human women.
1.06 Skin
A shapeshifter takes on people’s forms to get close to and kill their loved ones. The shapeshifter hints at his own origins: “Maybe this thing was born human but was different. Hideous and hated. Until he learned to become someone else.”
The shapeshifter takes on Dean’s form, and reveals to Sam some of Dean’s feelings:
- Shapeshifter!Dean: See, deep down, I’m just jealous. You got friends. You could have a life. Me? I know I’m a freak. And sooner or later, everybody’s gonna leave me.
- See also Transcript of Skin
Dean is blamed by the police for the killings committed by the shapeshifter, and even though he is “killed”, this eventually brings him to the attention of Special Agent Victor Henriksen and the FBI.
2.12 Nightshifter
A shapeshifter is killing people and taking on their appearances in order to commit robberies. Bank employee Ronald Resnick works out that something not human is behind the crimes. He incorrectly identifies it as a Mandroid, a part-man, part-machine creature that can take on people’s forms.
At a bank it intends to rob, the shapeshifter is identified by Sam and Dean based on retinal flare in security footage. They are unable to kill it because Ronald takes the people in the bank hostage, searching for the Mandroid. Sam and Dean take control of the hostage situation, and the creature shifts more than once in an attempt to escape them. It is in the form of Sherri when Dean finally stabs it with a silver letter opener. The real Sherri survives.
4.05 Monster Movie
The shapeshifter in 4.05 Monster Movie finds comfort and inspiration in the great Hollywood classic monsters. He attacks several victims during the 2008 Oktoberfest celebrations in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, first as a Dracula-style vampire (his preferred form), then as a Wolf Man and again as a mummy. He is in love with Jamie, who ends up shooting him with silver bullets after he lures her, Dean, and Sam into his basement lair, completely furnished with props and set dressings.
6.02 Two And A Half Men
A shapeshifter is imitating men, impregnating their partners, and then returning when the child is six months old to kidnap it. Sam and Dean manage to rescue one baby, which they call Bobby John. While in a market getting supplies, the baby is crying and a woman approaches and offers help. Dean spots retinal flare in her eyes on the security cameras and, while the shifter tries to steal the baby, they manage to get away, only to find out that the baby itself is a shapeshifter when it changes from a Caucasian baby to an African American one based on an image it sees on a pack of diapers. The shifter from the store, now in the guise of a police officer, catches up to them in a motel room, and Sam shoots it through the heart, killing it.
They take the baby to the Campbells' compound, where Samuel decides they should raise it themselves. According to Samuel, Christian Campbell and his wife, Arlene, have been trying for a baby. Christian agrees to take in and raise the baby Shapeshifter, but they are then attacked by the Alpha Shapeshifter, who is immune to gunshots, a silver knife in the heart, and elephant tranquilizers. The Alpha kills Mark Campbell, overpowers the others, and takes the child. This Shapeshifter seemingly is able to transform just by looking at somebody and can transform in just a few seconds without shedding its skin.
6.10 Caged Heat
Crowley has chained the Alpha Shapeshifter to a chair in his monster prison. It has assumed the form of Crowley's meatsuit, and is not cooperating. The demon keeps demanding that the shapeshifter reveal the location of Purgatory, but the Alpha claims that it doesn't know where to find it. Crowley comments that through experiments conducted on 'lesser' shapeshifters, he has found something that will harm the Alpha: iridium. He holds up an iridium knife and threatens to start removing "the parts that stick out" if the shifter does not start talking. The Alpha still denies knowledge of Purgatory, so Crowley stabs it. He then leans in close, and the Alpha spits blood at him. Infuriated, Crowley activates a baby monitor, over which crying can be heard, and reminds the Alpha that he holds several of its children hostage. He threatens to kill them in front of the shapeshifter, but the Alpha replies "Kill 'em all. We'll make more." Crowley turns away, grabs a machete, and beheads the Alpha.
In Fandom
- A list of SPN and SPN RPF stories featuring shapeshifters
