The Colt (Supernatural)

Infobox character
colour = Black
colour text = Green
name = The Colt
series =


caption = The Colt in "In My Time of Dying"
first = "Dead Man's Blood"
last = "In the Beginning"
cause = Stolen by Bela
Given to Lilith
creator = Eric Kripke
age = age|1835|1|1 years
specialty = Capable of killing anything.
residence =

The Colt is a real gun in The CW Television Network's "Supernatural". The Colt, and thirteen bullets for it, were made by Samuel Colt for a paranormal hunter in 1835. John Winchester claims that "anything" that is hit by one of the thirteen bullets fired from The Colt will die, including creatures that are normally immune to bullets; it is unknown how the pistol kills incorporeal entities however, such as spirits and demons not in possession of a host, or if it would be effective against them at all, due to the fact that a shot would simply pass through a creature with no material form or substance, though it is possible that, in passing through such a creature's "presence", the supernatural power of the bullet would cause some type of harm. Entities with mortality (i.e. humans) are shown to be more resilient, which may be attributed to their state of neutrality (being able to choose between good and evil), unless the shot itself is fatal (like a shot to the head). The bullets appear to be made of silver, and are each individually engraved with a number 1 through 13. The gun itself is a Colt Paterson revolver, albeit one that fires modern style cartridges as opposed to the "cap and ball" loading of the 1830s originals. Aside from Ruby's knife, the Colt is the only known weapon capable of killing demons by physical force.

On the gun is inscribed the phrase, "non timebo mala" which means "I will fear no evil" referencing Psalm 23:4.

Background

The hunter who originally owned the Colt used the gun a half dozen times while it was in his possession until he vanished mysteriously. The Colt is later found itself in the keep of a vampire hunter named Daniel Elkins.

In the episode "In the Beginning" it is revealed that the story of the colt was told as a bedtime story to the children of hunters. Dean, sent back to 1973, gets the Colt from Daniel Elkins to kill Azazel and prevent him from killing Mary Winchester 10 years later, but fails, and it is assumed that the Colt is returned to Daniel Elkins.

In "Dead Man's Blood," Elkins was attacked and killed by a nest of vampires who wanted vengeance on him. The Colt, along with its 5 remaining bullets, were stolen. When Sam Winchester finds a notice of Elkins's death online, his brother Dean recognizes the name, so the two head to Manning, Colorado to investigate, where they run into their father, John, also on the trail of Elkins's killer. They do not find the gun, only the empty case. John intends to find the Colt and use it to kill The Demon that killed his wife, Mary.

They find the gun in the possession of the vampire leader, Luther, who knows that the Colt is no ordinary gun. John kidnaps Kate, Luther's lover and Elkins's killer, to draw Luther out. He attempts to trade Kate for the Colt, but Kate escapes while making the exchange. The vampires almost kill John before his sons intervene. A short skirmish ensues until Luther takes Sam hostage. In a flash of events, we then see John in possession of the gun as he fires a bullet directly at Luther's head. Luther then loses his grip on Sam and a flashing of lights ensues, before Luther falls to the ground dead confirming the Colt's supernatural power.

When the Demon learns that the Winchesters possess the gun, he sends his daughter, Meg Masters, to recover it. In Salvation, she threatens to start killing people close to the Winchesters unless they hand over the gun. John meets Meg to make an exchange, but gives her a fake gun. Trying to escape, he is captured by Meg and the Demon's son possessing an unknown male host. When Meg attempts to use John to barter for the Colt, the Winchester brothers manage to rescue John from her in "Devil's Trap." During their escape, the Demon's son almost kills Sam. Dean uses one of the remaining bullets to save Sam's life.

Sam and Dean take their father to a secluded cabin, where the boys discover that John has been possessed by the Demon. Sam shoots his father in the leg with the Colt to force the Demon out of his father. The three escape, but end up in the hospital after a demon rams a truck into the side of Dean's Chevrolet Impala. In the episode "In My Time of Dying", Dean has become comatose and is very close to death. John Winchester then makes a deal with the Demon, saying that he will give it the Colt and the last bullet as well as his own life in exchange for his son's life.

The Colt is not seen again and it is revealed that the The Demon has it in its possession in "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part 2". The Demon gives the gun to Jake telling him it is a key (which later is discovered to be the key which opens the Gates of Hell). Jake points the Colt at the Demon, but after being taunted by the Demon that he might miss and wind up killing himself and his family, Jake lowers the gun. Jake then goes to the cemetery and uses the Colt to open up a gateway to Hell. After getting Jake out of the way Dean takes The Colt and senses that The Demon is near by and points the Colt behind him, but The Demon is able to telekinetically take it away from him; the Demon is also able to knock Dean against a tombstone. The Demon then prepares to use the Colt on Dean, but John's spirit escapes from hell, wrestling the Demon and pulling it from his human host long enough to give Dean the chance to grab the Colt. Dean then manages to grab the Colt in time, and in a matter of seconds a bullet is fired from it, hitting the Demon's host body right in the heart. In a look of utter bewilderment and defeat, the Demon experiences a seizure-like fit which causes his host body to emit light from his eyes and mouth before falling to the ground with a mundane thump, finally dead.

Since all the bullets had been used, the Colt lost its special power. However, in the episode Sin City, Bobby and Dean take apart the Colt to try and fix it. Bobby is later seen practicing with the Colt when Ruby suddenly shows up and offers to help with the Colt since Bobby seems to have no luck fixing it whatsoever. Miraculously, Ruby and Bobby are both able to fix the Colt together. Bobby later gives the Colt to Sam and he uses it to save Dean from the two demons, who he kills ruthlessly and without hesistation.

In "Bedtime Stories", Sam summons the Crossroads demon and threatens to kill her with the Colt unless she releases Dean from his death sentence. The Crossroads demon refuses, claiming she's just a "saleswoman" and that her boss is unwilling to release Dean from his contract. Sam lowers the Colt, looks away from the Demon, takes a deep breath, then suddenly aims the Colt at the Demon's head and shoots her at point blank range. Sam then watches with detached emotion as the Crossroad demon dies in front of him.

In "Fresh Blood", the Winchester brothers learn that hunter Gordon Walker has been turned into a vampire, and Dean prepares to use the Colt to kill Gordon. Sam and Dean arrive at a warehouse to confront Gordon, but are soon separated from each other. When Dean is attacked by a girl he is trying to save (she had been turned into a vampire by Gordon), he shoots her with the Colt, killing her instantly.

In "Dream a little Dream of Me" the Colt is stolen from Sam and Dean by Bela when she shows up to "help". She then brings it to Lilith to barter her way out of her own debt that will be up in a short time. However, the deal does not go as planned, and the Colt falls into the possession of Lilith without Bela getting out of the deal, all according to a conversation between Bela and Dean in "Time Is On My Side."

The Bullets

The 13 original bullets were made for the Colt, and it only has its supernatural killing power when used with them. Bobby, with the help of Ruby, has now made demon-killing ammunition for the Colt. It is unknown how many new bullets were created, but in one episode Dean is shown loading the Colt from a standard, 50-round box of ammo.

When a witchcraft-using demon stopped the bullet in mid-air and it fell to the ground, the bullet's runes are visible.

According to the Crossroads Demon, the Colt used after the new bullets were made, is not the original. This is not likely to mean the gun itself, as it was custom made, but the magic used to empower it and the ammunition.

Use of the Colt

The following denotes the known uses of the Colt with the original "Samuel Colt" bullets shown in Grey.

Critical Reception

The Colt has been identified by critics as a successful example of modern myth-making and a source of plot continuity. [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/339475_tv14.html "On TV: Mythologies aren't made quickly", Melanie McFarland, "Seattle Post-Intelligencer" - November 13, 2007] ] This intricate mythology is also cited as a mark of the show's high quality as genre fiction, despite marked ratings attrition in its first and second seasons. The story of the Colt, with its references to the weapon's origin in late 1835, during a flyover of Halley's Comet and the deaths of men at the Alamo, adds an aspect of historical fiction to the series. On the negative side, some critics have noted that the second season, particularly the cliffhanger finale, strongly emphasized this backstory, even to the exclusion of more important plot threads involving the central characters. [ [http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17312 Review of Supernatural: Episode 2.22. "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part Two", Tom Burns, "UnderGroundOnline.com" - May 17, 2007] ] As well, some fans have become displeased about the lack of explanation for the gun's mystical power, as well as it losing its significance after the brothers gained a seemingly endless supply of bullets in season 3.Fact|date=June 2008

References

ee also

* Samuel Colt
* Colt Paterson
* Saint of Killers