Skip to main content

weapon - What are the limits to the magical knives in Supernatural?


There are two kinds of magical knives that we've seen in supernatural so far:



  • 'Ruby's knife' the magical demon killing knife

  • Angel Knives which kills angels.


It seems from what I can recall Ruby's Knife can't kill anything but Demons, and the angel sword can kill angels and hellhounds, at the very least.


Is that the limit of their power? Do we know if they've been tried on any other supernatural creature (Shapechangers, Leviathans etc)? Were they effective? Do we know if particularly powerful creatures are immune (like Castiel in god-mode)?



Answer



Most of the supernatural weapons in the series appear to follow the same basic rule: they can kill anything that is "equally or less powerful" than whatever creature gave the weapon its power in the first place. So, the angel blades can, in theory, kill anything that is less than or equal to an angel in strength, and similarly for Ruby's knife. (The same probably goes for The Colt, as well, as per your other question.)



Ruby's Knife


The knife was seemingly created specifically to kill demons quickly, though we are never told where. (According to the Supernatural wiki, a deleted scene would have placed it in Samuel Colt's possession along with his gun, so it may have come from the same source, and Ruby may have used it to create new ammo.) So far we have seen it almost exclusively used to kill demons. For normal demons, any severe injury inflicted by the knife seems to immediately kill the demon and the host (even injuries that, for a human, would not necessarily be fatal.) Minor injures -- hands, etc. -- cause extreme pain even if the demon survives. (Bobby, for example, stabs himself with it and lives.)




  • The knife has also been used to stab non-demon creatures, and cause them pain and discomfort, including several of the Horsemen, though it did not kill them. (This is how they cut off the rings from the Horsemen's fingers).




  • The knife was not able to kill Alastair, a very high-ranking demon, even after Castiel moved it through his heart. This implies that it would have also be ineffective against Lilith and Azazel as well; Lilith seems scared of it but it's possible she doesn't actually know what it is.





  • The knife has no effect on Castiel when Dean first meets him and stabs him, so it apparently cannot hurt angels.




Angel Blades


There are actually two different kinds of angel blades; Castiel and the other angel "thugs" carry their own, but Gabriel has an archangel blade that he implies is much more powerful. Again, this fits with the general mythology that an archangel's weapon can kill more things than a regular angel's. So far, we have seen this blade primarily used to kill other angels, but there are a few exceptions:




  • An angel blade was also used by Ruby to kill a pack of hellhounds, though I think that's the only non-angel we've seen even attacked by one.





  • An archangel blade was able to kill Gabriel, in theory one of the 4 most powerful angels in existence, and Gabriel seems confident that it would kill Lucifer as well.




  • A normal angel blade could not kill Castiel after he had absorbed all of the souls from Purgatory, making him something stronger than a normal angel.




Other Creatures


We've never seen either weapon used on other supernatural creatures, so it's unknown what effect it would have. In theory, it ought to be able to kill anything weaker than a demon (so, e.g. vampires, werewolves, etc.); on the other hand, the specific weaknesses of those creatures might make them immune to death from other sources. Unless someone gets the bright idea to stab a vampire with Ruby's knife, we'll probably never know.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

harry potter - Did Dolores Umbridge Have Any Association with Voldemort (or Death Eaters) before His Return?

I noticed that Dolores Umbridge was born during the first Wizarding War, so it's very likely she wasn't a Death Eater then (but she is pretty evil -- who knows?). After that Voldemort was not around in a way that could affect many people, and most wouldn't know he was planning to rise again. During that time, and up through Voldemort's return (in Goblet of Fire ), did Umbridge have any connection with the Death Eaters or with Voldemort? Was she doing what she did on her own, or was it because of an association with Voldemort or his allies? Answer Dolores Umbridge was definitely not a good person. However, as Sirius points out, "the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters". Remember that he also says that he doesn't believe Umbridge to be a Death Eater, but that she's evil enough (or something like that). I think there are two strong reasons to believe that: Umbridge was proud to do everything according to the law, except when she trie...
Post a Comment
Read more

What is the etymology of Doctor Who?

I recently decided to watch Doctor Who, and started viewing the 2005 version. I have the first two episodes from the first season, and I can't help but wonder what is the etymology of the name "Doctor Who"? And why does the protagonist call himself "the Doctor" (or is it "the doctor")? Answer In the very first episode of Doctor Who (way back in 1963), the Doctor has a granddaughter going by the name "Susan Foreman", and the junkyard where the TARDIS is has the sign "I.M. Foreman". Barbara, who becomes one of the Doctor's companions, calls him "Doctor Foreman" (probably assuming that is his name given his relationship to Susan), and Ian (another early companion) does the same in the second episode, to which the Doctor says: Eh? Doctor who? What's he talking about? "Foreman" is most likely selected as a convenient surname for Susan to use because it happened to be on display near where the TARDIS landed....
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more