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uberbonedThe following guide to Gabriel’s powers, takes two things into consideration:
1.) What we’ve seen him do in canon.
2.) What we’ve seen weaker angels do in canon.
While this guide is comprehensive, it should be noted that Gabriel doesn’t use a great deal of these powers onscreen- however, that’s not to say he isn’t capable of it. Rather, he’s simply chosen not to use those abilities, because they’re more specific to an angel, rather than a god, and would draw too many questions or because he simply doesn’t want to.
There’s no excuse for the biology lesson. And it should not be considered canon or even all that canon-compliant. It was one of those things that randomly kept coming up in RP and I decided to stick it somewhere.
Telekinesis, or, at least, some form of it, is likely the most noticeable of his abilities, although certainly not the one he’s famous for. He’s capable of throwing even angels, including Lucifer, across a room, throwing open doors, calling objects straight to his hand- all with the power of his brain. In the same vein, he can banish people with the exact same amount of effort- specifically no effort at all- sending them anywhere from the next room to an alternate dimension. He can also bring them back at will, if it suits him to. All it takes is a flick of his wrist or a snap of his fingers. In fact, pretty much anything Gabriel does is accompanied by one of the two gestures in true showman fashion.
Taking it to a more terrifying angle, Gabriel can likely break necks, choke people from across rooms, and blow even other angels into chunky bits with just the power of his mind, given what we’ve seen from his fellow archangels. He likely wouldn’t, unless extremely provoked, but he could.
Like all angels, he can fly, although his flight speed is so quick that to the average person, it resembles teleporting, and he can be in one place one minute and then in another in mere seconds. Unlike his brother angels, who tend to appear with the sound of wings flapping or claps of thunder, Gabriel’s wings make no sound at all. The only sound at all is usually a fingersnap as he leaves. Similar to simply banishing them, he can also carry people with him when he goes. The process is said to be slightly uncomfortable for humans when other angels do it, although Gabriel seems to live no ill effects, suggesting he’s more accustomed to doing it.
His most prominent talent is his ability to bend reality, however. He can create pocket dimensions that are tailored to his own whim and are indistinguishable from the real world, aside from the fact that he’s God of them and can do whatever the hell he wants with them. He’s powerful enough to hold people, including angels, in these dimensions and the only thing that seems capable of destroying them is killing him. He can manifest anything he chooses even outside of his pocket dimensions, from women to monsters to food to wormholes and everything he manifests is just as real as anything, except that he can make them vanish at will- all of his creations usually vanish in a wash of bluish light. On top of manifesting anything he can think up at the time, he can also create perfect copies of himself that can act as proxies and enter dangerous situations for him, so he doesn’t have to- however, they come with a downside. For example, Kali was able to bloodspell Gabriel by taking blood from a copy and while killing the copy didn’t kill Gabriel, the spell was still in effect, as Kali still had Gabriel’s blood, suggesting the copies are completely perfect down to the last detail.
As well as warping reality, Gabriel can affect the physiology of living things- he’s only shown taking Sam and Dean’s voices away onscreen, but as Zachariah as taken away a human’s lungs, given them stomach cancer, and caused internal bleeding, it’s likely that Gabriel can do much the same, but chooses not to, as he has a great deal more style than that.
He can shapeshift his vessel into any shape he chooses (human, although he could possibly choose other forms if he wanted), taking the form of a businessman, TV’s Dr. Sexy, and a cop at various points. He can also “hack” into various electronic devices and send “psychic” messages(as most angels can) and can even change his voice to make the messages seem legit- such as the scene where he pretends to be a cop on a scanner to lure Sam and Dean into a trap.
He can also manipulate time, such as creating time loops and slowing time down- for example, when Sam and Dean were locked in TV Land, he promised them 24 hours before he would speak to them, but when Castiel finds them, he claims they’ve been missing “for days,” suggesting that what was only an hour or so for Sam and Dean was actually a few days in the real world. In addition, Gabriel has an angel’s quasi-omniscience, including a keen awareness of potential future events- mentioning to Sam in Mystery Spot with utmost certainty that if he doesn’t let Dean go, bad things will happen and saying several times that he “knows how this story ends” and that he “skipped ahead.” Going even further, he claims that he and his brothers always knew that Sam and Dean would be the ones that would end everything, prompting Gabriel’s interest in them.
He has preternatural senses. He can see things such as Enochian sigils, Reapers, and potentially Hellhounds, all of which are invisible to the human eye, and can see demons as their true selves. Along with this, he seems to have an uncanny ability to know things he shouldn’t- in Changing Channels, the questions asked by the game show host are specific to Sam and Dean’s pasts (he also manages to take victims and tailor their punishments to their crimes- suggesting he can tell what their crimes are just by looking), and in both Tall Tales and Hammer of the Gods, he makes references to conversations he wasn’t present to overhear. In fact, he seems to make reference to a lot of events that he wasn’t present for, which suggests that Gabriel knows everything somehow. This includes, due to his knowledge of the Horseman’s rings (and the fact that he claimed no one else had that info) and being able to recognize Kali’s bloodspells on sight, as well as being able to recreate the typical style of a haunting-based murder, that he’s keenly aware of almost anything supernatural-related, from curses to sigils to spells. He’s likely never had much use for the info and, thus, doesn’t put it to use unless he has to.
Like all angels, he has angel radio and can sense his brothers and, in turn, they can sense him- Castiel recognized immediately what Gabriel was once he was in the same room with him, causing the latter to duct tape his mouth shut and send him away. He can also, like other angels, communicate with or summon them over long distances using it. Conversely, he can also communicate with humans through their dreams.
His physical strength is nothing to be trifled with, as proven when he casually lifts Dean up by his collar, despite being a great deal smaller, and pins him to a wall with one hand with such force that he was actively crushing Dean’s chest and shows not even the slightest bit of strain in doing so. He’s fast- capable of moving at lightning speeds when need be, although he’s not nearly as fast as Lucifer (although he was likely not trying to be). However, he doesn’t seem to be much of a physical fighter- his major weakness- so it’s likely he could easily be taken by another angel or a god in a fair fight, but that would imply that Gabriel chooses to fight fair.
He’s invulnerable to anything but an archangel’s blade or the powers of another archangel (or a Cambion) and, thus, can recover quickly from any wound sustained. However, he is capable of being bound by bloodspells, can be trapped by a ring of holy fire, sent away by angel banishing sigils, or kept at bay by Enochian runes. He seems to feel pain, where most angels seem to shake even the most major of injuries off- but that might be because he’s a baby in the same style as Lucifer and not because it actually hurt.
Unlike other angels, Gabriel is not occupying a human vessel- as the gods have been on earth long before angels, according to Kali, it’s unlikely that Gabriel was always Loki- more than likely, he took Loki’s body as his own and took over the gods identity. As such, the powers he should’ve lost by being apart from Heaven- as Castiel did- he managed to augment and support with a more powerful vessel. This also prevented him from burning through the vessel as he would a human one and allowed him to live safely amongst the pagan gods and giving him a much more resilient vessel. Like demons, an angel changes the properties of the blood of its vessel, although it’s not clear whether or not drinking angel blood has similar effects as drinking demon blood.
Gabriel has the ability to resurrect people, as evidenced by his repeated murdering and resurrecting of Dean during Mystery Spot, but this is a power he likely doesn’t use often. One can argue that since the ordeal took place in an alternate universe that Gabriel was merely acting in the parameters of his own world, but the way he says “that don’t mean I should” suggests that he has the power and chooses not to use it, because some things should be left alone- given the stir that raising people from Hell seems to have, it’s also likely that he would’ve drawn too much attention to himself. He may or may not be capable of healing anymore, given that seems to be one of the first things to go when cut off from Heaven, but the fact that he doesn’t use it may be indicative of the fact that he just doesn’t feel like doing it or never had a reason to.
Gabriel doesn’t require sleep or food to survive, but he does eat and back when he was believed to be a Trickster, lore says that Tricksters have to eat a great deal of sugar tosate their insect-like metabolisms. What could be seen as decadence and an enjoyment of sweets might actually be a necessity- Gabriel’s body isn’t human and while an angel can tamp out a human’s desires and needs for survival, it might be harder to ignore a god’s.
Angels have an extremely low body temperature, as their Graces seem to burn ice cold rather than hot, according to Lucifer- this, however, might only be true of Lucifer, but I’m accepting it as general angel physiology. Their vessels hearts do beat, as there is a living being somewhere underneath the angel, but due to the nature of Gabriel’s vessel, his beats at roughly the same speed as the average hummingbird, as one would expect from something with a metabolism as high as a trickster’s.
Gabriel has wings, however, they don’t exist outside his true visage and thus can’t be seen in tangible form while he’s in his vessel, however, they can be seen in shadows in particularly volatile situations (AGAIN: THEY ARE NOT TANGIBLE). In his true form, he is massive and the sight of it can melt the eyes out of a person’s head, and while angels seem to appear as balls of ethereal white light when they’re seen outside of vessels, they apparently have actual shapes in Heaven- Zachariah describes himself as having four faces, one of which is a lion, for example.
1.) What we’ve seen him do in canon.
2.) What we’ve seen weaker angels do in canon.
While this guide is comprehensive, it should be noted that Gabriel doesn’t use a great deal of these powers onscreen- however, that’s not to say he isn’t capable of it. Rather, he’s simply chosen not to use those abilities, because they’re more specific to an angel, rather than a god, and would draw too many questions or because he simply doesn’t want to.
There’s no excuse for the biology lesson. And it should not be considered canon or even all that canon-compliant. It was one of those things that randomly kept coming up in RP and I decided to stick it somewhere.
Telekinesis, or, at least, some form of it, is likely the most noticeable of his abilities, although certainly not the one he’s famous for. He’s capable of throwing even angels, including Lucifer, across a room, throwing open doors, calling objects straight to his hand- all with the power of his brain. In the same vein, he can banish people with the exact same amount of effort- specifically no effort at all- sending them anywhere from the next room to an alternate dimension. He can also bring them back at will, if it suits him to. All it takes is a flick of his wrist or a snap of his fingers. In fact, pretty much anything Gabriel does is accompanied by one of the two gestures in true showman fashion.
Taking it to a more terrifying angle, Gabriel can likely break necks, choke people from across rooms, and blow even other angels into chunky bits with just the power of his mind, given what we’ve seen from his fellow archangels. He likely wouldn’t, unless extremely provoked, but he could.
Like all angels, he can fly, although his flight speed is so quick that to the average person, it resembles teleporting, and he can be in one place one minute and then in another in mere seconds. Unlike his brother angels, who tend to appear with the sound of wings flapping or claps of thunder, Gabriel’s wings make no sound at all. The only sound at all is usually a fingersnap as he leaves. Similar to simply banishing them, he can also carry people with him when he goes. The process is said to be slightly uncomfortable for humans when other angels do it, although Gabriel seems to live no ill effects, suggesting he’s more accustomed to doing it.
His most prominent talent is his ability to bend reality, however. He can create pocket dimensions that are tailored to his own whim and are indistinguishable from the real world, aside from the fact that he’s God of them and can do whatever the hell he wants with them. He’s powerful enough to hold people, including angels, in these dimensions and the only thing that seems capable of destroying them is killing him. He can manifest anything he chooses even outside of his pocket dimensions, from women to monsters to food to wormholes and everything he manifests is just as real as anything, except that he can make them vanish at will- all of his creations usually vanish in a wash of bluish light. On top of manifesting anything he can think up at the time, he can also create perfect copies of himself that can act as proxies and enter dangerous situations for him, so he doesn’t have to- however, they come with a downside. For example, Kali was able to bloodspell Gabriel by taking blood from a copy and while killing the copy didn’t kill Gabriel, the spell was still in effect, as Kali still had Gabriel’s blood, suggesting the copies are completely perfect down to the last detail.
As well as warping reality, Gabriel can affect the physiology of living things- he’s only shown taking Sam and Dean’s voices away onscreen, but as Zachariah as taken away a human’s lungs, given them stomach cancer, and caused internal bleeding, it’s likely that Gabriel can do much the same, but chooses not to, as he has a great deal more style than that.
He can shapeshift his vessel into any shape he chooses (human, although he could possibly choose other forms if he wanted), taking the form of a businessman, TV’s Dr. Sexy, and a cop at various points. He can also “hack” into various electronic devices and send “psychic” messages(as most angels can) and can even change his voice to make the messages seem legit- such as the scene where he pretends to be a cop on a scanner to lure Sam and Dean into a trap.
He can also manipulate time, such as creating time loops and slowing time down- for example, when Sam and Dean were locked in TV Land, he promised them 24 hours before he would speak to them, but when Castiel finds them, he claims they’ve been missing “for days,” suggesting that what was only an hour or so for Sam and Dean was actually a few days in the real world. In addition, Gabriel has an angel’s quasi-omniscience, including a keen awareness of potential future events- mentioning to Sam in Mystery Spot with utmost certainty that if he doesn’t let Dean go, bad things will happen and saying several times that he “knows how this story ends” and that he “skipped ahead.” Going even further, he claims that he and his brothers always knew that Sam and Dean would be the ones that would end everything, prompting Gabriel’s interest in them.
He has preternatural senses. He can see things such as Enochian sigils, Reapers, and potentially Hellhounds, all of which are invisible to the human eye, and can see demons as their true selves. Along with this, he seems to have an uncanny ability to know things he shouldn’t- in Changing Channels, the questions asked by the game show host are specific to Sam and Dean’s pasts (he also manages to take victims and tailor their punishments to their crimes- suggesting he can tell what their crimes are just by looking), and in both Tall Tales and Hammer of the Gods, he makes references to conversations he wasn’t present to overhear. In fact, he seems to make reference to a lot of events that he wasn’t present for, which suggests that Gabriel knows everything somehow. This includes, due to his knowledge of the Horseman’s rings (and the fact that he claimed no one else had that info) and being able to recognize Kali’s bloodspells on sight, as well as being able to recreate the typical style of a haunting-based murder, that he’s keenly aware of almost anything supernatural-related, from curses to sigils to spells. He’s likely never had much use for the info and, thus, doesn’t put it to use unless he has to.
Like all angels, he has angel radio and can sense his brothers and, in turn, they can sense him- Castiel recognized immediately what Gabriel was once he was in the same room with him, causing the latter to duct tape his mouth shut and send him away. He can also, like other angels, communicate with or summon them over long distances using it. Conversely, he can also communicate with humans through their dreams.
His physical strength is nothing to be trifled with, as proven when he casually lifts Dean up by his collar, despite being a great deal smaller, and pins him to a wall with one hand with such force that he was actively crushing Dean’s chest and shows not even the slightest bit of strain in doing so. He’s fast- capable of moving at lightning speeds when need be, although he’s not nearly as fast as Lucifer (although he was likely not trying to be). However, he doesn’t seem to be much of a physical fighter- his major weakness- so it’s likely he could easily be taken by another angel or a god in a fair fight, but that would imply that Gabriel chooses to fight fair.
He’s invulnerable to anything but an archangel’s blade or the powers of another archangel (or a Cambion) and, thus, can recover quickly from any wound sustained. However, he is capable of being bound by bloodspells, can be trapped by a ring of holy fire, sent away by angel banishing sigils, or kept at bay by Enochian runes. He seems to feel pain, where most angels seem to shake even the most major of injuries off- but that might be because he’s a baby in the same style as Lucifer and not because it actually hurt.
Unlike other angels, Gabriel is not occupying a human vessel- as the gods have been on earth long before angels, according to Kali, it’s unlikely that Gabriel was always Loki- more than likely, he took Loki’s body as his own and took over the gods identity. As such, the powers he should’ve lost by being apart from Heaven- as Castiel did- he managed to augment and support with a more powerful vessel. This also prevented him from burning through the vessel as he would a human one and allowed him to live safely amongst the pagan gods and giving him a much more resilient vessel. Like demons, an angel changes the properties of the blood of its vessel, although it’s not clear whether or not drinking angel blood has similar effects as drinking demon blood.
Gabriel has the ability to resurrect people, as evidenced by his repeated murdering and resurrecting of Dean during Mystery Spot, but this is a power he likely doesn’t use often. One can argue that since the ordeal took place in an alternate universe that Gabriel was merely acting in the parameters of his own world, but the way he says “that don’t mean I should” suggests that he has the power and chooses not to use it, because some things should be left alone- given the stir that raising people from Hell seems to have, it’s also likely that he would’ve drawn too much attention to himself. He may or may not be capable of healing anymore, given that seems to be one of the first things to go when cut off from Heaven, but the fact that he doesn’t use it may be indicative of the fact that he just doesn’t feel like doing it or never had a reason to.
Gabriel doesn’t require sleep or food to survive, but he does eat and back when he was believed to be a Trickster, lore says that Tricksters have to eat a great deal of sugar tosate their insect-like metabolisms. What could be seen as decadence and an enjoyment of sweets might actually be a necessity- Gabriel’s body isn’t human and while an angel can tamp out a human’s desires and needs for survival, it might be harder to ignore a god’s.
Angels have an extremely low body temperature, as their Graces seem to burn ice cold rather than hot, according to Lucifer- this, however, might only be true of Lucifer, but I’m accepting it as general angel physiology. Their vessels hearts do beat, as there is a living being somewhere underneath the angel, but due to the nature of Gabriel’s vessel, his beats at roughly the same speed as the average hummingbird, as one would expect from something with a metabolism as high as a trickster’s.
Gabriel has wings, however, they don’t exist outside his true visage and thus can’t be seen in tangible form while he’s in his vessel, however, they can be seen in shadows in particularly volatile situations (AGAIN: THEY ARE NOT TANGIBLE). In his true form, he is massive and the sight of it can melt the eyes out of a person’s head, and while angels seem to appear as balls of ethereal white light when they’re seen outside of vessels, they apparently have actual shapes in Heaven- Zachariah describes himself as having four faces, one of which is a lion, for example.
