Recurring elements
While the locations and storyline change on a near weekly basis, there are a few things that show up regularly.
The 1835 Colt Paterson revolver, usually referred to as "the Colt", was made by Samuel Colt, a paranormal hunter. According to legend, anything shot by this gun, using one of its thirteen original bullets, will die, including creatures normally immune to any and all weapons. John Winchester gives it to the demon Azazel in return for Dean's life being spared after a near-fatal car crash. At the end of the second season, Azazel uses the Colt as the key to open one of the Gates to Hell that Samuel Colt had sealed. The last bullet is then used to kill Azazel, though the gun is later altered to allow the use of more bullets. Towards the end of the third season, Lilith's right-hand demon, Crowley, acquires the gun and hides it. It is then featured in two time-travel episodes – Dean using a past version of it when he is sent back to 1973, and his future self discovering it when Dean is sent five years into the future – before Crowley returns it to the Winchesters so they can kill Lucifer. However, after Dean shoots Lucifer in the head at point-blank range, an unharmed Lucifer boasts there are five things in creation which the gun cannot kill, and he is one of them. It is unknown what happened to the weapon after that point, as its only subsequent appearance on the show was a chronologically earlier version, seen when the Winchesters travel to 1861. Sam gets it from Samuel Colt, and Dean uses it to kill a Phoenix, as they need its ashes. Dean drops the Colt just before being transported back to the present day, where it is presumably retrieved by the saloon owner Elkins, the ancestor of Daniel Elkins, who possessed the weapon at the beginning of the series.
The gun used in the series is actually a replica Paterson modified to fire metallic cartridges. The gun was described as being built in 1835, before Colt made firearms, and fires metallic cartridges which were never made to fire in a Colt revolver until 10 years after Samuel Colt's death. On the barrel of the gun is inscribed the Latin phrase non timebo mala, meaning "I will fear no evil". On the handle is a carving of a pentagram, with much of the finish removed to give it an aged appearance. The props department also has a rubber version of the Colt to be used in fight scenes for pistol-whipping.
The gun used in the series is actually a replica Paterson modified to fire metallic cartridges. The gun was described as being built in 1835, before Colt made firearms, and fires metallic cartridges which were never made to fire in a Colt revolver until 10 years after Samuel Colt's death. On the barrel of the gun is inscribed the Latin phrase non timebo mala, meaning "I will fear no evil". On the handle is a carving of a pentagram, with much of the finish removed to give it an aged appearance. The props department also has a rubber version of the Colt to be used in fight scenes for pistol-whipping.
Throughout the series, Dean drives a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala which he refers to as "Baby." Having been passed down to him by his father (John), it is Dean's most prized possession, with actor Jensen Ackles feeling it is Dean's "life" and "sanctuary". The brothers travel in it throughout the country as they hunt the supernatural, and the trunk holds various weaponry and their fake ID's. In the first two seasons, it has a Kansas license plate with the number KAZ 2Y5, a reference to the Winchesters' home state of Kansas, and the series premiere date of 2005. Towards the end of the second season, the car sports a new Ohio license plate (CNK 80Q3) to aid the brothers in hiding from the FBI.
The origins of the Impala were first depicted in the comic mini-series Supernatural: Origins, in which John Winchester takes ownership of the car from Mary's uncle after accidentally getting him killed during a hunt. However, fans responded negatively to this, as John is shown with the Impala in the teaser for the pilot episode, which is chronologically set before the comic series. Because of this, the comic was altered for the trade paperback version, with the Impala's true origins later being depicted in the series' fourth season. Having been sent back to 1973 by the angel Castiel, Dean convinces his father to purchase the Impala over a 1964 VW Van. The car's origins were further explored during the season five finale, in which a frame story surrounded the plot of the episode tracking the Impala's history from its manufacture, through several previous owners, up until the present day. According to Chuck Shirley, the brothers have "made it their own", and they are shown as kids sticking an army man into an ash tray that remains there (Sam), putting blocks into the heating vents (Dean) and carving their initials into the car. The Impala later proves important when seeing the old army man allows Sam to overpower Lucifer during the final confrontation. According to Chuck, as they have the Impala, the Winchesters never consider themselves truly homeless. In the seventh season, after two Leviathans go on a killing spree in an identical Impala, Sam and Dean are forced to put the car into storage and use various other cars as they are too identifiable with the Impala. Dean later pulls it out of storage to confront Dick and has the demon Meg crash it into Sucrocorp to create a distraction. Starting in season 8, Sam and Dean are once again using the Impala as their car. The Impala was stolen by the angel Gadreel while possessing Sam, once again forcing Dean to use a stolen car, but it was quickly recovered and proved instrumental in tracking down the rogue angel.
All of the cars used in the show are stock 1967 Chevrolet Impala four door hardtops. They feature Chevrolet small-block engines, recolored interiors, custom seats, and nonfunctioning radios. Other than the one used in the original, all of the Impalas had to be painted black for the series. One of the Impalas used features a detachable roof and doors for up-close shots, and is capable of being separated in half.
The origins of the Impala were first depicted in the comic mini-series Supernatural: Origins, in which John Winchester takes ownership of the car from Mary's uncle after accidentally getting him killed during a hunt. However, fans responded negatively to this, as John is shown with the Impala in the teaser for the pilot episode, which is chronologically set before the comic series. Because of this, the comic was altered for the trade paperback version, with the Impala's true origins later being depicted in the series' fourth season. Having been sent back to 1973 by the angel Castiel, Dean convinces his father to purchase the Impala over a 1964 VW Van. The car's origins were further explored during the season five finale, in which a frame story surrounded the plot of the episode tracking the Impala's history from its manufacture, through several previous owners, up until the present day. According to Chuck Shirley, the brothers have "made it their own", and they are shown as kids sticking an army man into an ash tray that remains there (Sam), putting blocks into the heating vents (Dean) and carving their initials into the car. The Impala later proves important when seeing the old army man allows Sam to overpower Lucifer during the final confrontation. According to Chuck, as they have the Impala, the Winchesters never consider themselves truly homeless. In the seventh season, after two Leviathans go on a killing spree in an identical Impala, Sam and Dean are forced to put the car into storage and use various other cars as they are too identifiable with the Impala. Dean later pulls it out of storage to confront Dick and has the demon Meg crash it into Sucrocorp to create a distraction. Starting in season 8, Sam and Dean are once again using the Impala as their car. The Impala was stolen by the angel Gadreel while possessing Sam, once again forcing Dean to use a stolen car, but it was quickly recovered and proved instrumental in tracking down the rogue angel.
All of the cars used in the show are stock 1967 Chevrolet Impala four door hardtops. They feature Chevrolet small-block engines, recolored interiors, custom seats, and nonfunctioning radios. Other than the one used in the original, all of the Impalas had to be painted black for the series. One of the Impalas used features a detachable roof and doors for up-close shots, and is capable of being separated in half.
Ruby possesses a mysterious and presumably magical demon-killing knife, which Kripke refers to as "a hand-to-hand version of the Colt". Its handle is made of elk antlers, and the knife has engravings on both sides of the blade, although the symbols are all nonsensical.It has been seen and used many times following its introduction in the third season. Upon being stabbed in a vital area, the demon is almost immediately killed, usually taking the human host with it. The only known survivor is Bobby Singer who stabbed himself with it while fighting off a possession and was left paralyzed as a result. It is unknown if it is effective against other supernatural beings, although it is useless against angels. Furthermore, the demons Alastair and Abaddon are resistant to the knife's power and Cain is completely immune. Creator Eric Kripke doubted that how the knife functions would ever be revealed, stating, "I like to leave some things mysterious. And that's likely to remain mysterious." However, the eighth season reveals it to be "an ancient demon-killing knife of the Kurds".
A compendium of tablets dictated by God at the beginning of creation and written by the angel Metatron. They cover a variety of subjects and Sam and Dean have so far located the Leviathan, Demon and Angel tablets. The tablets are first introduced when Sam and Dean steal an important object that Leviathan leader Dick Roman had dug up in Iran. The object turns out to contain the Leviathan Word of God tablet and when uncovered, turns Kevin Tran into a Prophet, the only person that can read the tablets. Using the Leviathan tablet, Sam and Dean learn how to defeat the seemingly-unbeatable Leviathans. Later, Crowley somehow gets his hands on the Demon tablet and kidnaps Kevin to read it. Kevin escapes with the tablet, but Crowley recaptures it, leaving the Winchesters without a way to close the Gates of Hell, what Sam refers to as "the Winchester Holy Grail." Eventually they get back half of the tablet and Kevin works on trying to translate it. He eventually succeeds in learning the instructions to close the Gates of Hell, but hides the tablet before he can translate it completely out of fear, leaving Sam and Dean with no clues as Crowley captures Kevin and his notes on the tablet. It is also learned that there is an Angel tablet and Crowley begins a search for it along with a brainwashed Castiel. The Winchesters and Castiel locate the Angel tablet first, and after it breaks the angel Naomi's control over him, Castiel goes on the run with the tablet to protect it from all threats including, for some reason, the Winchesters. After Crowley captures Kevin, he tricks him and gives him the second half of the demon tablet to translate. When Kevin is rescued by Metatron, he brings the second half of the tablet with him, but Crowley gets the angel tablet at the same time. According to Kevin, what's on the demon tablet could apparently grant Crowley great power. Eventually the Winchesters end up with both tablets: Kevin retrieves the first half of the demon tablet and reunites it with the second half. Sam and Dean pretend to trade it for the angel tablet as part of a deal with Crowley, but instead capture him and the angel tablet. Kevin later uses the angel tablet to try to find a way to reverse Metatron's spell, but both the angel and demon tablets are stolen by Gadreel and delivered to Metatron after he kills Kevin.
Trouble with the law
Because Dean and Sam do not get paid for their hunting, the brothers earn their living and pay for their hunting equipment through credit card fraud, poker winnings, and pool hustling. Furthermore, their investigations often put them on the wrong side of the law, as they have desecrated graves, impersonated various officials, and committed breaking and entering. Framed for murder and bank robbery by shapeshifters, Dean has become a highly wanted man, and the brothers are occasionally pursued by various law enforcement officers, most notably FBI Agent Victor Henricksen. Because of their wanted status, the brothers often use aliases, usually derived from hard rock musicians, film references, or a meta-reference. However, in the third season's mid-season finale episode "Jus in Bello", Sam and Dean are presumed dead in the explosion of the Monument, Colorado Sheriff's county jail, effectively ending the FBI's pursuit of them. By the seventh season, however, the FBI are in pursuit of the brothers again, believing them to be mass-murderers (while the murders were actually committed by Leviathans impersonating the Winchesters). However, with the help of a sheriff who learns the truth and the bodies of their doppelgangers, they are able to fake their deaths again, but have to lay low to prevent discovery, abandoning the Impala and taking on new aliases.
Other Supernatural logo's from special episodes
Videos from the show and behind the scene:
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