Asmodeus

Name	Asmodeus
Actor	Jeffrey Vincent Parise
Dates	Before the sinking of Atlantis – 2018 (killed by Gabriel)
Location	Lebanon, Kansas
Occupation	Demon (Prince of Hell) King of Hell (formerly)
Episode(s)	13.02 The Rising Son 13.07 War of the Worlds 13.13 Devil's Bargain 13.17 The Thing 13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive

You want redemption, but you ain't never gonna get it. Your kind -- our kind -- we can't be redeemed. All we can do is spread our pain around. So no, you don't know who you are. But I do. Which is why no matter where you go. No matter what you do... You're mine... – Asmodeus, 13.17 The Thing

History

Asmodeus was the last remaining of the four Princes of Hell. At some point during his eons of servitude to Lucifer, Asmodeus attempted to free the shedim and use them in service of Lucifer. However, due to the dark and base nature of the shedim, Lucifer feared them and locked them back away. He tortured Asmodeus as punishment, leaving him permanently scarred. At some point in time, Asmodeus, along with the other Princes of Hell Ramiel and Dagon, left the machinations of Hell behind to live quiet lives on Earth, later revealing to Dean Winchester that he left because he was unable to get Lucifer's approval.

Seven years prior, Loki had his sons, Fenrir Odensbane, Narfi, and Sleipnir, capture the archangel Gabriel and sell him to Asmodeus, who showed him unending torture over the years. He also became addicted to injecting Gabriel's grace, which allowed him to go from being the weakest of the Princes of Hell to the strongest, gaining new abilities such as smiting and shapeshifting in the process.

Following Crowley's death, Asmodeus came out of hiding to take over Hell as its interim king until Lucifer could return with Jack, taking up residence in Needham Asylum. Soon, he becomes satisfied being the king and at his first opportunity he turns on a weakened Lucifer and imprisons him.

After the rescue of Gabriel by Mr. Ketch, Asmodeus attempted to reclaim the archangel by leading a demonic incursion into the Bunker. The attack stirred Gabriel into action against his former captor. Asmodeus proved to be no match for the enraged archangel and was incinerated by Gabriel.

Characteristics

Asmodeus has yellow irises with white sclerae and no visible pupils. Dressed in white, he sports a well-groomed beard and a southern accent, and he has two scars around his left eye which were given to him by Lucifer, which indicates that he has occupied his current vessel for millennia. According to Ramiel, Asmodeus occupied himself with his "hobbies," which have not been specified. His behavior appears to be reminiscent of that of a prison warden, enforcing his superiority to his minions and keeping them in line. While his ability to smite a room full of demons, desire in ruling the shedim, and ability to overpower a weakened Lucifer and the recently-resurrected Castiel at the same time implies that he might be the most powerful of the four Princes of Hell, Lucifer reveals to Castiel that Asmodeus was his weakest creation, and was unaware where Asmodeus got the ability to shapeshift among other abilities, claiming not to have given them to him. It is later revealed that Asmodeus received his newfound abilities by extracting grace from the archangel Gabriel, whom he had imprisoned, and had been injecting it into himself for years.

Powers and abilities

By injecting himself regularly with low doses of the archangel Gabriel's grace, Asmodeus was able to go from the weakest of Lucifer's "children" to the most powerful, gaining new abilities thanks to the celestial power coursing through him, these included:

• Ergokinesis – Due to Gabriel's grace, Asmodeus showed the ability to wield energy blasts.
• Invulnerability – Asmodeus was shown to be invulnerable to most standard attacks, as well having the ability to completely bypass the Men of Letters Bunker's warding. As Azazel was impervious to holy water, it can be assumed this extended to Asmodeus as well.
• Shapeshifting – Asmodeus was the only demon to show the ability to shapeshift due to his usage of archangel grace. A layer of white smoke would envelop his body, allowing him to take on the form of any person, demon, or angel. As he briefly took Castiel's form, his shapeshifting ability is also shown to conceal his dark aura, even from Donatello Redfield, although the prophet could still feel his presence.
• Mind control – Asmodeus was able to give humans directives against their will, as evidenced when he turned Donatello into a sleeper agent.
• Smiting – Due to the archangel grace, Asmodeus was able to turn people into dust with a gesture, as well as burn demons from the inside of their meatsuits.
• Telekinesis – With archangel grace he was able to easily overpower Castiel and Lucifer with a hand gesture.
• Teleportation – As a Prince of Hell, he had the ability to teleport anywhere he wished.
• Voice mimicry – Asmodeus was able to mimic the voice of Castiel to keep the Winchesters off of his trail.

Weaknesses

• Archangels – Higher beings such as archangels were able to inflict harm and kill Asmodeus. Lucifer was able to permanently scar Asmodeus' meatsuit at some point in the past, and the weakened Gabriel was able to kill him through spontaneous combustion, despite being weakened by Asmodeus's consumption of his archangel grace.
• The Colt – The Colt can kill a Prince of Hell as seen with the death of Azazel.
• Lance of Michael – Being pierced with the lance would have killed Asmodeus. However, it is unknown if the archangel grace coursing through him would have caused him to die a slower death rather than an instant one like his brother Ramiel.
• Nephilim – Even with the power of an archangel coursing through him, Asmodeus still chose to flee rather than confront an angry Jack.

Episodes

13.02 The Rising Son

Asmodeus resurfaces to reclaim control of Hell in Lucifer's absence. Enforcing some new changes, Asmodeus tells the demons in his presence that the old bureaucracy of Crowley's Hell is over, and he is returning things to the old ways of fire and brimstone. He calls forward three demons -- Drexel, Harrington, and Sierra -- then kills the remaining demons in the throne room with a gesture, proclaiming that there's a "new sheriff in town."

Drexel reports to Asmodeus that he has had demons scouring all of Hell, even the Cage, but they are unable to locate Lucifer. Asmodeus decides to direct their attention towards finding Jack Kline, whom he plans to train to rule, with Asmodeus as his "humble adviser." As Drexel tells him about his experience with Lucifer's short fuse, Asmodeus, angry that Drexel would compare his meager acquaintance with Lucifer to his, shows off the scars which Lucifer gave him for freeing the shedim. He took the experience and used the humiliation and pain to grow and form an eternal bond with Lucifer, becoming his humble servant.

When a demon spots the Winchesters and Jack in Wyoming, Asmodeus kills and takes the form of a bartender at a bar near their motel where he questions Dean, and tells him of his own issues with his father. Later, he disguises himself as Donatello Redfield and speaks with Sam to try and learn more about Jack. When he discovers that Jack will become even more powerful than Lucifer, Asmodeus decides to use him to release the shedim. Taking Jack to Jasper, Wyoming, he tells him a story about a troop of God's greatest soldiers that have been trapped in a distant cavern in Hell. Telling Jack God wants him to set them free, he asks Jack to focus his powers on a patch of earth and to call forth the soldiers to rescue them. As Jack begins opening the Hell Gate and the shedim begin crawling their way out, an ecstatic Asmodeus is suddenly confronted by the Winchesters and the real Donatello. Dean quickly takes a shot, hitting Asmodeus which breaks his illusion and reverts him back to his normal self. Uninjured by the bullet, he begins choking the three with a gesture while telling Jack he can give him the world. Jack, angry that Asmodeus is hurting his friends, causes the shedim to be sucked back to Hell and the gate to re-close before turning his attention to Asmodeus, who teleports away.

13.07 War of the Worlds

Sitting in meditation on his throne, calling out to Jack, Asmodeus is interrupted by a demon minion with news of "The Jack". The news is that there is no news and they have exhausted their resources. Asmodeus incredulously wonders how it is possible for a being of immense power such as Jack to be undetectable by such a powerful being as himself. He states that the Winchesters must have cloaked him masterfully, but the demon corrects Asmodeus, telling him that a hunter they have on the payroll has revealed that Winchesters have lost him as well. Asmodeus wonders who, then, is protecting Jack.

While torturing a motel clerk from Dodge City, Asmodeus asks him what miracles he was witness to when the Winchesters and Jack stayed at his motel, and where they were going next. The clerks tells him only that the people staying in room 26 were FBI and paid in cash. Dismayed by the lack of information, Asmodeus has a demon kill the clerk before ordering the rest to clean up the mess. As he turns to walk away, he suddenly begins sensing a powerful force, not that of the Nephilim, but of Lucifer's aura.

Asmodeus tracks down Lucifer to a dive bar. As the doors swing open, Asmodeus casually walks through the bar, disintegrating the bartender as he walks towards him and Castiel. Lucifer begins mocking Asmodeus, calling him a "one-time stooge," "runt of the litter," and "dimmest bulb on the string" and telling him he can stand down from running Hell now that he is back. Asmodeus tells Lucifer he is satisfied with his position and how Hell is being run. He says he was hoping to have a meeting with Lucifer, and won't take no for an answer. Lucifer, in his weakened state, attempts to intimidate Asmodeus, who is able to see past his bravado and send both Lucifer and Castiel flying back into the bar with a simple gesture.

Answering Castiel's cell phone, Asmodeus disguises his voice to sound like Cas and tells Dean that he is looking into a very interesting lead and will contact him when he knows more. After hanging up, Asmodeus informs Arthur Ketch of his current plans for Lucifer and Castiel and that he will be needing Jack even more now that a new version of Michael plans on coming to their world.

Asmodeus sitting on Crowley's throne.

13.13 Devil's Bargain

Asmodeus returns to Needham Asylum, after running "an important errand." Angry that his subordinates allowed Lucifer and Castiel to escape confinement, Asmodeus agrees with Ketch that attempting to hold Lucifer was "monumentally stupid" and thus changes tactics and orders Ketch to kill Lucifer. Seeing Ketch visibly apprehensive about the task, Asmodeus assures him that Lucifer is running on empty and that an angel blade to the heart should kill him... probably, but Ketch needs to act quick before Lucifer regains his power or they will all die.

Days later, Asmodeus is given the news that his demons have located the prophet Donatello Redfield. Using his shapeshifting abilities to assume the form of Castiel, Asmodeus confronts Donatello exiting a fried chicken restaurant. He is able to get new information regarding Jack and the opening of a new rift. Having heard enough, Asmodeus changes back and alters Donatello's mind, telling him any new information will be reported to him. Donatello agrees and walks away.

When Ketch reports back regarding his inability to kill Lucifer, Asmodeus reveals to him the important errand that took him away from his duties -- locating and retrieving the archangel blade. When Ketch questions the practicality of a weapon that can only be wielded by an archangel, Asmodeus decides to introduce Ketch to one of his prisoners, Gabriel.

13.17 The Thing

Ketch, who was called but kept waiting by Asmodeus, barges into the throne room in the Needham Asylum and watches Asmodeus extract Gabriel's grace and inject it into his own arm. Asmodeus ushers Ketch outside the throne room and tells him to wait until he is called. Later, Asmodeus tells Ketch that Sam and Dean have been assembling ingredients for a spell. When Ketch reveals that he knew this already and had not told Asmodeus, the Prince of Hell reprimands him and tells him he's Asmodeus' property. Ketch attempts to leave, but Asmodeus beats him down, enforcing his demands to Ketch and getting upset when Ketch's blood splatters his suit.

Later, Asmodeus taunts Ketch about his humanity, stating that he is more devious that any demon he knows, and he knows them all. He gives a speech about how his kind, their kind, wants redemption and they never get it, so they choose to spread their pain. He claims to know Ketch more than he knows himself and instills the idea that no matter where he goes or what he does, Ketch belongs to him. Asmodeus leaves him alone with Gabriel, but Ketch decides to rebel by rescuing Gabriel, retrieving his grace and the archangel blade, and taking them all to the Men of Letters Bunker.

Ketch relinquishes Gabriel to Sam and Dean along with the grace and the archangel blade in exchange for protection from Asmodeus, stating that he will be hunted down to the ends of the earth once his betrayal is discovered.

13.18 Bring 'em Back Alive

Asmodeus is killed by Gabriel.

Asmodeus is seen rotating Baoding balls in his hand while a demon informs him that they were unable to locate Ketch or Gabriel. Asmodeus is frustrated, stating that he should be able to detect Gabriel's presence since he is connected to him due to the archangel grace he pumped into himself.

After Gabriel awakens from his mind, Asmodeus is able to sense his location in the Men of Letters Bunker. He calls Sam, giving him ten minutes to return Gabriel to him before he heads to the Bunker and reduces it to ashes along with them. When the time runs out, he arrived with a group of demons hoping to reclaim Gabriel. Since the Bunker's warding isn't designed to protect it against Princes of Hell, Asmodeus is able to bypass it with ease. He sends Sam and Castiel flying towards the computer with a flick of his hand and starts to telekinetically choke them while the demons seize Gabriel. He tells Gabriel that he is going to punish him severely for escaping as the demons escort him out, but Gabriel overpowers them and heals his wounds. Asmodeus sends an ergokinetic pulse towards Gabriel, who casually deflects it. He tells the archangel that he isn't powerful enough to take him on, but Gabriel powers himself up, preparing to attack. Gabriel says "I always hated that dumbass suit" before he sets Asmodeus on fire, killing him and rendering the Princes of Hell extinct.

13.20 Unfinished Business

Gabriel reveals to Sam and Dean that when he fled to Monte Carlo, he was partying with Fenrir Odensbane, Narfi, and Sleipnir. Loki, angry at Gabriel for the death of Odin, had his three sons turn against him and sell him to Asmodeus. Gabriel also states that while killing Asmodeus gave him satisfaction "for a hot minute," he will not be completely satisfied until he has had revenge on all of Loki's family.

14.01 Stranger in a Strange Land

Kipling reveals that with the deaths of Crowley and Lucifer, and Asmodeus being "Kentucky fried," Hell has been left without a leader for the first time in forever.

Asmodeus in Lore

Asmodeus is known as a king of demons / shedim and as one of the seven princes of Hell in Binsfeld's Classification of Demons, where he is considered the demon of lust in accordance with the seven deadly sins. In Jewish and Islamic lore, the shedim are said to be the followers of Asmodeus, who is their king.

See also

• Evil Colonel Sanders