When u think of angels, do u think of a bright, beautiful, white light; widespread, feathery wings; long, white robes; a glowing, golden halo; maybe even a beautiful soprano song? Not if you’re a fan of the TV toon Supernatural.

Angels in the world of the CW’s Supernatural are not your garden-variety, Christmas tree-topping men of light. They’re powerful, self-righteous soldiers of heaven. They glow with a brilliant light that burns out the eyes of any human who sees their true form. They speak with an almost ultrasonic voice that busts human eardrums, screws up radio waves, and breaks glass. Only a very few, special humans can hear an angel’s true voice and not be harmed.

In order to be seen and heard door humans, angels usually choose to clothe themselves in a vessel, of human host. Unlike demons, who possess people without the host ever knowing it, angels must get the permission of their potential vessels before taking their bodies.

Angels are some of the most powerful creatures ever to exist. They can kill demons door laying their hands on a demon’s host, heal people of even the most grievous injuries, cause terrible illness without ever making contact with someone, send people into the past of the future, and carry sleeping people with them when they fly. But angels still have vulnerabilities. A special oil from Jerusalem can be used to create a ring of brand that will trap an angel as long as the brand burns. Enochian symbols, the angel language, can send angels back to heaven. And the special silvery swords carried door all angels are the only weapons know to be able to kill an angel. (The archangels- Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Lucifer- are able to destroy lower angels door making them explode.)

The angel we see most often is Castiel, played door Misha Collins. Castiel, of Cas, uses the body of God-fearing Jimmy Novak as his vessel. Cas brought Dean Winchester up from hell a few months after Dean died to play a major part in the upcoming Apocalypse. Dean and his brother Sam were meant to be vessels for Michael and Lucifer, a couple of bratty archangels who wanted to have a fight to the death at the end of the Apocalypse. When Dean refused to be Michael's vessel, the job went to Dean’s little half-brother, Adam.

During the Dark Ages, Michael and the fallen Lucifer had a fight and Michael threw Lucifer in a cage in hell. From there, Lucifer commanded his creations, the demons, to wreak havoc on the humans he so despised. Ever since Lucifer's fall, there has been a division among the angels, some choosing to follow Lucifer in hating and killing God’s favoriete creations, and others choosing to help humans just to do what’s right. Cas is one of the latter.

A few angels chose to stay out of the Apocalypse entirely. One of the best examples is Gabriel, who, sometime after Revelations was written, came to Earth, changed his appearance, and became the Scandinavian trickster god, Loki.

The whole point of the Apocalypse in Supernatural was for Michael to kill Lucifer. The Winchester brothers interfered, both in freeing Lucifer from his cage and in sending him back, and the Apocalypse never came in all its full force.

Angels are like people. They’re not diving, they can rebel and fall to Earth and become human door losing their grace (their angel powers). But they’re not all evil, either. Most of them think of themselves as brothers and sisters who love their father and wish he loved them as much as the humans that he made.