Castiel first appeared in the season 4 premiere of Supernatural. It was he who resurrected Dean Winchester after he was killed in the previous season's finale and sent to hell. At first, Castiel's stoic and mysterious presence was appropriate for the apocalyptic chapter that Sam and Dean were facing. He proved to be a formidable asset when the two hunters were pitted against monsters like the Seven Deadly Sins or the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse. Still, the angel had to keep with the boys' more human qualities. Castiel didn't need to sleep or eat the way the boys did, which led to some humorous moments like the angel waiting in the middle of the road until they boys had their rest or his fascination at watching them eat.

While Castiel is an extremely powerful being, he has had his fair share of damage dealt to him. He's felt the wrath of Lucifer and stood toe to toe against archangel after archangel. This angel has stood by the Winchester boys through thick and thin, so it's no question that as the seasons went by, he would have his own scars and oddities. Here we get a chance to look at some of his body's weirdest attributes!

15 HIS ANGEL FORM CAN KILL A HUMAN BY SIGHT OR HEARING

When Castiel is first introduced in Supernatural's season 4 opener, we got a chance to see him flex his wings as two shadows cast against the wall behind him. However, this wasn't the first time that Castiel had attempted to show himself to Dean during the "Lazarus Rising" episode that had recently dead hunter dig his way out of his own grave. While Dean is trying to get his bearings at a local gas station, he starts to hear a loud ringing sound and a blinding light. The ground beneath him starts to quake just as the windows shatter all around him.

This occurs a few times throughout the episode and at the end, we realize that Castiel had been trying to speak with Dean in his true form. Castiel thought since Dean was considered to be special in the coming apocalypse that he might be able to see and hear his true form. He was mistaken. Castiel explains that some humans can withstand the sight of an angel while others have their eyes burned upon witnessing them. This blinds psychic Pamela Barnes in the same episode after Castiel repeatedly warned her not to seek him out. It's a good thing he found a vessel.

14 CONTROLLED BY LEVIATHANS

During season 6, Castiel had a plan to try to defeat Raphael, an archangel, and end the civil war that occurred in Heaven. He teamed up with the demon Crowley to enact a scheme that would eventually get Raphael killed, but at the expense of himself. The plan was simple. Castiel needed enough power to fight against Raphael and bring peace to heaven once and for all by ingesting the millions of souls that dwelled in Purgatory. His plan worked and Castiel became god-like in power and ego. He announced he was the new God before smiting Raphael and killing those who sided with him.

Cas didn't realize it then, but it would be his undoing. His vessel started to deteriorate fast and he realized he needed to purge the Leviathan that resided within him. The Leviathan were powerful beasts that predated angels and humans, but God had deemed them too destructive to exist anywhere other than Purgatory. These creatures were so powerful that it didn't matter that Castiel was now god-like. They weakened and eventually took over his vessel even after Castiel tried to purge them from his body. It didn't matter, they were going to hold for dear life, so they could ravage the world.

13 HIS WINGS ARE BROKEN

The moment Castiel showed his angel wings to Dean in "Lazarus Rising" fans couldn't believe that Supernatural finally brought angels into the mix. It was one of Castiel's trademarks and how he could fly around the world if the boys ever needed him. The sound design incorporated the flapping of wings every time he disappeared to do continue his quest to stop the apocalypse from occurring. When his grace was taken away by Metatron to use in a spell to cast out all the angels from Heaven, he became entirely human and lost his wings.

During "the Fall" of the angels, we saw their wings no longer look like the wide feathered apparatus they once were. No, the wings looked burnt up and broken. In Metatron's scheme to have the angels fall, he took from them their wings and a part of their identity. Eventually, Castiel was able to regain the grace that was stolen from him, but that didn't change the fact that his wings had been broken along with all the other angels who were banished to Earth. It was a difficult and turbulent time for the servants of Heaven, but eventually the angels seemed to accept the loss of their wings and carried on with their divine business.

12 SUSCEPTIBLE TO PESTILENCE'S POWER

When Sam and Dean's long-lost dead brother Adam is resurrected for a plan by the archangel Zachariah to ensure the apocalyptic fight between Michael and Lucifer occurs, it comes at the cost of Castiel's power. The three had a plan to take Adam back after he tipped off to Zachariah his location in a dream. The problem was that they would have to face five angels who were guarding the room that Adam was in. So, Castiel decided to go on a suicide mission to buy the Winchesters enough time to get their brother out of dodge. This included Castiel carving an angel sigil that banished any angels within a room into his own chest.

This plan weakened the angel so much that when he showed up again in "Two Minutes To Midnight," Pestilence's powers proved to cause Castiel some serious damage. The Horseman gave Castiel such bad stomach cancer that as soon as he entered the same room as him, the angel started spitting up blood from his mouth. It shocked the Horseman as he believed his power wouldn't cause an angel harm, but Castiel's weakened state proved to be susceptible to his disease-giving powers. Fortunately, Cas was able to stop the Horseman before he gave he and the Winchesters their fatal blow.

11 METATRON FILLED HIS BRAIN WITH POP CULTURE REFERENCES

One of Supernatural's best gags was Castiel's limited awareness of humanity's penchant for ingesting a ton of pop culture. Specifically, Dean Winchester would always make some reference to either Star Wars or some other large franchise. Castiel would repeatedly get frustrated with Dean because he would use it to alleviate any tension he felt in the dangerous situations they had to deal with. Still, it made for some of the best humor in a show that was never afraid to make jokes about itself in episodes like "The French Mistake." It gave the series as a whole a chance to breathe in the face of angels and demons fighting to either save or destroy the world.

In season 9's "Meta Fiction," Castiel finally gets his brain filled with a vast wealth of pop culture knowledge by Metatron, the scribe of God. The scribe kept getting upset that Castiel didn't understand the references he was making, so he decided to shove all that pop culture into his brain out of frustration. It is one of the silliest moments in the show, but it allows for Castiel to understand the Star Wars reference that the Winchesters use to refer to Metatron's god-like powers later in the episode. It's a small moment, but it was another example of the character development and relationships the show continues to build on even now.

10 TOOK ON SAM WINCHESTER'S MADNESS

In the season 5 finale "Swan Song," Sam Winchester's decisions led him to be possessed by Lucifer as a part of a plan to stop the archangel from duking it out with Michael and causing the apocalypse. Sam throws himself in the pit that Lucifer rose from, but as a result, he suffered a fate so heinous that it damaged the very fibers of his soul. At the end of the finale, we see that Sam's body is intact, but his soul was still trapped in the pit with Lucifer and Michael. It was tortured by Lucifer until it eventually led to Sam Winchester's madness when it was returned back to his body.

Death created a wall for Sam to function properly. Unfortunately, that wall was brought down by Castiel after declaring himself the new God with the power of all the souls of Purgatory. After Castiel was purged of that power, he wanted to pay for the damage he caused Sam by bringing down the wall that would cause his insanity. Instead, Castiel decided to take it all on himself and he instantly started having hallucinations of Lucifer. The boys left him in the institution where Sam was admitted for his delusions and insomnia. Castiel eventually fell under the care of the demon Meg.

9 HAS BEEN TO HELL, HEAVEN, PURGATORY, AND MORE

Castiel is one of the few beings who has had the chance of visiting multiple spiritual planes during his tenure as the Winchesters' friend and world-saving partner. He originally resided in Heaven, where he was considered a good soldier who never wavered in his faith in God's grand design. It wasn't until he reached Earth and started learning about a greyer sense of morality from the Winchester brothers that Castiel started to rebel against the apocalyptic plan angels like Raphael had wanted to come to fruition.

Castiel has also been to Hell which is mentioned in the episode "Lazarus Rising." He explained to Dean that he was the one who went down there to bring the Winchester back from the dead after he was killed gruesomely at the paws of some Hell Hounds. It's why Dean has a hand-mark seared into the side of his bicep. While these are the two big planes that Castiel has been to, he also trapped himself in Purgatory for a time as penance for his betrayal against the Winchesters and the world. When he died in "All Along The Watchtower," he was sent to a plane of existence known as The Empty, a place where angels and demons go when they die.

8 BLOWN UP BY LUCIFER (AND OTHERS)

Fan-favorite Castiel has had the horrible fortune of being blown up at the molecular-level several times throughout his time on Supernatural. Fortunately, his deaths never quite stuck as the writers just couldn't let go of the character or Misha Collins who has become a serious addition to the SPN family. It still didn't save Castiel from having Lucifer snap his fingers Thanos-like and blow his body out of existence in "Swan Song," after Castiel hit his brother, Archangel Michael, with a bottle of holy fire. His angel form and vessel were both destroyed violently.

That wasn't the first time Castiel experienced a death where his being literally exploded. When the angel tried stopping Lucifer from rising, the archangel Raphael decided that Castiel was too much of an imposition on the apocalypse and decided to destroy Castiel once and for all. It seemed that Castiel's time on Earth was coming to an end, but eventually he returned to the show. He's also been killed by the Leviathan in season 7 after he imploded from their power. Nearly every time that Castiel has found himself at the end of his rope, there was always a failsafe in place for the Angel to continue his work of protecting the world with the Winchester boys.

7 RESURRECTED BY GOD

Castiel has died... a lot. There's no denying that Supernatural has its fair share of loss. The event that started off Sam and Dean's hunting venture began with the death of their mother Mary at the hands of the yellow-eyed demon Azazel. They've also suffered the loss of their father to the same demon after he made a pact to save Dean from being taken by Tess, a grim reaper. Still, God hasn't lost sight of the true tragedy he put the Winchester boys through because he's always returned their angel friend, Castiel, right back to them. He also believes in Castiel in ways that aren't truly ever understood.

Castiel was killed by Raphael who obliterated him at the molecular level after he tried to stop Lucifer from rising. Fortunately, God aka Chuck brought him to help the Winchesters prevent the apocalypse from reaching Earth. He also exploded after being overwhelmed by the power of the Leviathans that he took and God decided to bring him back without any memory of what he did. God has a soft spot for the angel, but he has confessed his disappointment in Castiel to Metatron in the episode, "Don't Call Me Shurley." Still, fans are glad their fan-favorite angel returned every time it seemed they lost him for good.

6 WITHOUT HIS GRACE, HE'S ONLY HUMAN

An angel is only as powerful as the grace they wield, but if they lose their grace they no longer harbor the power that ties them to Heaven. This was the case for Castiel when he had his grace cut out of his body by Metatron near the end of season 9. Metatron needed Castiel's grace to perform a spell that would make all the angels fall from Heaven. After that, it was a rough time for the Winchesters' favorite angel as he now needed to behave more like a human for the sake of survival. He needed to eat and sleep or else he would succumb to his newfound mortality.

Eventually, Castiel gained some of his powers back by taking the grace of other angels. This was a temporary solution as the grace who took for himself would slowly drain. His body was functioning much like a vampire as he stole others' grace as the show went on. Thankfully, Castiel found a small portion of his grace still out there in the world. With that, he was able to restore his angelic powers, but his wings would continue to stay broken along with the other angels who fell from Heaven.

5 ANGEL FORM IS THE SIZE OF THE CHRYSLER BUILDING (AND MORE)

An angel doesn't just exhibit the physical characteristics of the body we mere humans get to see. Castiel's natural form is as tall as the Chrysler building according to the angel. He's also described himself as more of a wavelength than an actual physical construct. This wavelength is said to have "cosmic intent" which most likely simplifies the complicated creature that Castiel actually is. However, his true form may have changed when he was resurrected by God and promoted to a Seraph rather than the lower level angel he started off as on the show.

It's hard to think about Castiel's vessel holding the energy and life force of a divine being, but it's been known to withstand the overwhelming energy of many spiritual beings. His angel form has also been described as extremely attractive according to a female demon who got a glimpse of his honest visage. While some demons found his angel form more attractive than the human he inhabited, it left the King of Hell, Crowley, super scared when Castiel flexed his wings in front of him despite being weakened. It's all fun and games until the angels start visiting and warning the Winchester brothers about the incoming doom that is destined to happen.

4 HAD A FEMALE VESSEL IN 1901

Castiel didn't just have one vessel. He actually visited Earth a long time before Dean ended up on his radar. In "Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets," fans got a chance to see Castiel link up some other angels to try to find a Nephilim, a human soul that also has angelic grace attached to it. The group was led by Ishim, who went to Earth because an angel named Akobel that fell to Earth had fallen in love with a human, Lily, and they both had a child. This is how a Nephilim is born which has the power to destroy worlds. This is also why it's completely forbidden by Heaven for Angels to procreate with humans.

Castiel goes down with Ishim's squadron in the form of an unnamed female vessel. When Akobel was confronted by Ishim and his squadron he began to defend humanity and his love for them. It was after this that Castiel read Akobel his death sentence for breaking that sacred rule and the angel was stabbed by another with an angel blade. Not long after, Castiel abandoned his female vessel and eventually found the one we know and love. Ishim and the others kept their original vessels from 1901.

3 NOT JUST AN ANGEL, BUT A SERAPH

Castiel started off as a regular angel when he began his journey with the Winchester brothers. Since his death at that snap of Lucifer's fingers, Castiel was resurrected by God and given an upgrade. He became a Seraph as opposed to your average angel, which granted him a ranking above the likes of Uriel and Joshua. It is presumed that Castiel's image may have changed to something terrifying as the mere sight of it frightened Crowley, causing him to run away. It is also said to be tall with some unseemly characteristics we'll discuss in the next entry.

A Seraph also has some abilities like most easily smiting demons without having to focus more on their energy. It emits a white light that burns the soul of a demon from inside of their vessel or any monsters he came in contact with. It's also why Castiel was able to absorb the millions of souls that were trapped in Purgatory, including the Leviathan that would be the main antagonists of he and the Winchesters in season 7 of the show. He is also able to cure people from becoming monsters like he did with Dean when he almost became a Jefferson Starship, monster hybrids created by the Mother of All.

2 LUCIFER'S VESSEL

When the Darkness, God's sister and destructive force that existed before the beginning of time, was released after being locked away by the Mark of Cain. God decided not to kill his sister because she couldn't be destroyed or else the universe would be destroyed. She must exist as well as God for reality to stay intact. The Darkness was the most dangerous antagonist the Winchesters and Castiel ever faced. They had to make some sacrifices in order to combat her as God refused to help them initially. This led to the release of Lucifer from his cage.

The plan was to have Lucifer take Castiel's vessel so that the evil Archangel would use his power to fight against the Darkness. Things didn't work out so well as Lucifer took over Castiel's body and decided to do whatever he wanted. Castiel took over his vessel briefly to save Sam, but Lucifer regained his control once again. When Lucifer stepped up to fight the Darkness, he was exorcised from the vessel and Castiel was given control back of his body. He then went off and finally found God who decided to show his face again to fight the Darkness and save the world.

1 HIS BODY BELONGS TO A MAN NAMED JIMMY NOVAK

The Castiel we've all seen is only the human vessel that he chose when he decided to show himself to Dean. He couldn't show Dean his true form because every time he tried it ended up overwhelming the older Winchester brother. Jimmy Novak was a normal man who prayed every night to assist God in any way that he could. It eventually led Castiel to communicate with Jimmy via the static on his television. At first, Castiel asked to prove his loyalty and faith to God by having Jimmy stick his hand in a pot of boiling hot water. When he pulled his hand out, he found that it was perfectly fine.

Eventually, we found that Jimmy was Castiel's true vessel and the human soul remained in Castiel's body for a while. It wasn't until Castiel was obliterated by the Archangel Raphael that Jimmy's soul finally found peace in his resting place up in Heaven. It's unfortunate that Jimmy had to sacrifice himself for the greater good, but he was a man that was willing to make the big sacrifice to ensure that the Heaven whatever aid it needed. Castiel still continues to use Jimmy's body and has even stopped referring to it as his vessel and calling it his own.