John Winchester

John Eric Winchester (November 15th, 1954-July 19, 2006) was the son of Henry and Millie Winchester, the husband of Mary Winchester, and the father of Dean and Sam Winchester and Adam Milligan. The grandfather of Emma, Robbie, Cassie, Jamie, and Charlie, and Matty.

Biography
John was born in 1954, presumably in Normal, Illinois, as this is where we see John Winchester when he was younger. At this time, it was unknown to him that his father Henry Winchester belonged to a secret society called the Men of Letters, as had his grandfather and his great-grandfather before him. Henry also states that he bought John a little music box which played "As Time Goes By" from the film "Casablanca" to help him sleep after he took him to see "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" at the drive-in one night, which apparently scared the "beeswax" out of him. In 1958, he went to the club, leaving John home. However, due to the attack by Abaddon, Henry was forced to flee to 2013, where he died at the hands of Abaddon. This led John to believe that his father had abandoned him.

He left to fight in Vietnam as a marine, and held the rank of corporal. He later returned to Lawrence, where he worked as a mechanic. On April 30, 1973, John bought a 1967 Chevrolet Impala secondhand at Rainbow Motors, after being convinced by a stranger named Dean Van Halen to choose the vehicle

John had a history with Mary Campbell, although before falling in love (under the influence of a cupid), they couldn't stand each other. John intended to propose to Mary, but later when Mary ran away from her family, he was killed by Azazel as he was possessing Mary's father Samuel, prompting Mary to strike a deal with Azazel to bring John back at the cost of allowing Azazel into her home ten years later.

Five years later, in 1978, John and Mary were visited by yet another future Dean and his brother Sam. They claimed to be Mary's cousins, as she already knew about time travel to an extent but John did not. John was called back to work by his boss unexpectedly, but once he got there he encountered the angel Anna Milton, also from the future. Dean, Sam, and Mary stopped her from harming John, though John learned of the existence of monsters. Later John helped prepare their house for an angel attack where Sam told him of how his father raised them into the hunters life, at which John was disgusted (though unaware that it was in fact John himself that would do this). Much later, when Anna attacked, John was tossed outside the house, and was approached by the archangel Michael, to whom John gave permission to use in order to save Mary from Anna. Afterwards, Michael erased John and Mary's memories of the attack.

In 1979, John and Mary had their first child, Dean, and in 1983, they had their second child, Sam. On November 2, 1983, Azazel stayed true to his word and visited the house, though Mary tried to intervene. Azazel killed her as a result and destroyed the house, but John, Dean, and Sam escaped with their lives. After Mary's death John went to a psychic named Missouri Moseley. He learned the truth about Mary's past. He left Lawrence with his sons, Sam and Dean. He dedicated the rest of his life to hunting down monsters, particularly Azazel. John began his hunting "career" approximately on November 2, 1983, following the death of his wife. His primary goal, as a hunter, was to kill the Prince of Hell, Azazel, for murdering the mother of his children.

His hunter career led him to investigate the Oklahoma City bombing and the September 11 attacks, suspecting demons being involved.

John accumulated a vast knowledge of the supernatural, keeping a journal of the creatures he hunted. He was a well-respected hunter by his peers. John worked with several other hunters, most notably Bobby Singer, William Anthony Harvelle, Caleb, Martin Creaser, Lee Webb, Tara, and a pastor named Jim Murphy as well as a psychokinetic Fred Jones. He was described as one of the best hunters, one who hardly ever ended a hunt with the monster still alive. Despite this, Sam tells Dean that his elder brother is a better hunter than John. While working with Tara, John hunted and exorcised a demon protégé of Abaddon who informed them about the existence of the Knights of Hell and the First Blade, though John never believed in the Blade's existence. Nevertheless, he and Tara kept notes of the information they gathered. They also had a brief relationship. Later, John kept a photo of Tara in his locker.

During his hunting career, when Dean was around ten, John left him alone with Sam to hunt a shtriga and returned only just in time to drive the shtriga away. John was furious as Dean leaving his brother for a while out of boredom led to the situation and it took a long time for him to trust Dean again. He also never completed the hunt as he had to take Sam and Dean to Pastor Jim's and when he returned, the Shtriga was gone and didn't resurface until 2006

Bobby and John became acquaintances at an unknown point in time. Bobby and John had a falling out when John discovered that Remi wasn't completely human, Bobby threatening to shoot John dead if he ever tried to forgive him, though Bobby does seem willing to forgive John for his offense. Other than their shared reason to become hunters (murdered wives).

In 1995, John arrived at the Roadhouse and met the Harvelle Family. He became friends with another hunter named Bill Harvelle. Though both usually hunted alone, John and Bill went on a hunt together. Bill was savagely wounded by the monster that John had been forced to shoot him to put him out of his misery. John cut all ties from the Roadhouse and never forgave himself for the incident.

His life as a hunter led to strain between him and his son Sam, who wanted to quit hunting, leading to an argument where John told Sam if he left he would have to stay away. However, John regretted saying it, as he didn't want Sam to be on his own. John would surreptitiously stop by Stanford every so often just to make sure Sam was all right. John admitted it was never his intention to raise his sons the way he did.

Around August or September 2002, after Sam had left for Stanford University, John received a call from Kate Milligan, a nurse who had treated John several years previously in Windom, Minnesota. She informed him that they had a son named Adam who was twelve at the time. According to Adam, John "dropped everything" and drove all night to Windom. After the initial meeting, John had sporadic contact with Adam. He taught him to play poker, taught him to drive in the Impala, and bought him his first beer when he was fifteen. He also took him to ball games on his birthday. John never mentioned Adam to either Sam or Dean nor did he tell Adam about his other sons. They learned about him around two years after John's death. Dean suspects that John saw Adam as a second chance, a child he could raise outside of hunting and do normal father-son activities with. This may have also been inspired somewhat by Sam's recent leaving.

Physical Appearance
John has dark hair and dark eyes, he wears multiple layers of clothes.

Personality
John was an ordinary child up until his father Henry Winchester's disappearance. What became of John after that moment is never specified, though he likely hardened from the lack of his real father.

As part of the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War, John was undoubtedly a capable fighter by that point, strong and fearless though he retained, at least until Mary's death, a gentle, loving heart.

Human

 * Master Hunting Skills: One of the greatest hunter, John's skills were famous and well-known to the point that a lot of other hunters, including veteran ones like Bobby Singer, all refer to John as an extremely capable hunter, and even after his death, a lot of hunters talk about him; Gordon considers his sons to have "big shoes to fill" in their father's absence. Sam and Dean stated that it was very rare (only happening once for sure) that a monster survived an encounter with John. He was also noted for being able to find ways to kill things that had no apparent weaknesses: when facing a Shtriga, Sam noted that the lore stated that it couldn't be killed by the weapons of "God or man", but John had somehow figured out that it was vulnerable to consecrated iron while feeding. How he determined this is unknown as he never actually killed the creature. Even Azazel noted that he considered John more dangerous than the Colt, stating while he wanted both the Colt and him to die, John was even more important to be killed off than him retrieving the Colt. However, by Trial and Error, while Sam considers John to be still superior to him and Bobby, he also states that Dean has surpassed their father.
 * Knowledge of Lore: John had a very impressive command of lore to the point that many times Sam and Dean consult his journal as their first source of information. Although John still had gaps in his knowledge, displayed by his unawareness that his theory about a possible werewolf cure was false, that vetala usually hunt in pairs, and didn't knew about the vampire cure or the cure for djinn poison, his knowledge, contained in his journal, proved to be constantly detailed for his sons to identify a creature and how to kill it. In The Rising Son, John's journal displayed knowledge of the Shedim, extremely obscure monsters that very few were aware even existed. The journal showed that John was aware of the Princes of Hell too despite all of the Princes being believed to be long-dead. As well, John knew enough to list in his journal that there were only four Princes of Hell. John also knew about the First Blade and The Colt but his knowledge of them was limited enough that he believed them to be legends, only learning the Colt was real after Daniel Elkins' death.
 * Master Combatant: Already an exceptionally skilled fighter from his intensive training as a Marine Corporal, with him having served for at least 30 consecutive or 60 non-consecutive days deployed, which earned him the Vietnam Service Medal, John retained his skill even after having retired to be able to mold Sam and Dean into formidable fighters even as children, rendering them capable of easily defeating bullies. John only sharpened his skills after becoming a Hunter, having been good enough to overpower and kill almost any monster he encountered, his fighting prowess earning him great fame even among other Hunters, along with also continuing to train Sam and Dean to make them among the best fighters in the entire series. Although Sam has stated that Dean had surpassed their father but acknowledged he was still inferior, when pulled into the future in Lebanon, John proved to be able to overpower both his sons with ease, easily outmaneuvering Sam and kicking down Dean after getting punched once. Although they were caught off-guard, it was still notable that John was able to defeat them both so quickly considering their increased skills, but at the same time John was noticeably younger and was probably at his prime.
 * Weaponry Master: From his intensive training as a Marine Corporal and experience over having served many deployments that earned him the Vietnam Service Medal, John was highly well-versed in the use of weapons, especially firearms, which earned him the USMC Expert Rifle Badge (Highest score of qualification for the USMC with his service rifle, which at the time was most likely an M16A1). He kept his knowledge and skill after retiring and was able to successfully teach Sam and Dean how to use and even build firearms. As a hunter, John's skills with weaponry only further increased as he trained his sons into mastering how to use the weapons needed to fight against the supernatural. He was capable of easily decapitating the vampire Hank with a single blade and shooting Luther, also a vampire, dead, without him being able to react despite his superhuman speed and reflexes. When he was pulled into the future, John proved able to effectively wield a shotgun as an improvised melee weapon, swiftly knocking down Sam and Dean with it.


 * Master Strategist and Leader: Having served as a Marine Corporal, John was an exceptional tactician and leader, known for having led soldiers under him effectively and saved the lives of his men many times, which earned him the Bronze Star Medal. His tactical and leadership skills did not decline over the years he spent retired as a husband and father and once he became a hunter, he was able to effectively lead his sons into numerous successful hunts and once he left Dean, he was able to stay out of his sons attempts to find him until he eventually decided to work together with them again.


 * Indomitable Willpower: An exceptionally mentally strong man, John's indomitable willpower was another one of his many noteworthy traits. Despite the many atrocities he likely witnessed in his military career, John was able to remain an optimistic and strong-willed man and maintain this even after losing his wife, as even though John became hardened over the years, he never succumbed to despair, drawing on his desire to take revenge on Azazel and love for his sons, which drove him to sacrifice himself for Dean without hesitation. Even after being sent to Hell and was egregiously tortured by Alastair, the most skilled torturer in Hell, John was able to withstand the torture for a hundred years (of Hell-time), which greatly impressed Alastair, who would later note that John was tremendously stronger than Dean who only resisted for 30 years. Even despite the torture, John was able to escape Hell itself while the Devil's Gate was open and subsequently overpower Azazel long enough for Dean to finally kill his long-time archnemesis, which Dean noted only John would have the willpower to do so. Another testament to his willpower was how John was able to temporarily take control of his body when he was taken over by Azazel, an impressive feat as few others have been able to retake control from even weak demons, while Azazel was one of the most powerful. The only other people to display similar levels of willpower are Bobby Singer, Sam with Sam managing to temporarily mentally subdue the archangel Lucifer and Dean ith Dean managing to mentally lock the archangel Michael of Apocalypse World away in his subconscious for months.


 * Archangel Hosting: As a descendant of Cain and Abel, John is able to host the archangel Michael. Unlike Donnie Finnerman and Raphael, Michael was able to use John as his vessel with no permanent damage, instead stating that John would be "better than new" when he was done with him.

Ghost
Not much was shown about his abilities after his death and becoming a ghost, but John was certainly an extremely powerful ghost, considering after only having recently been freed from the tortures of Hell, he was strong enough to wrestle Azazel out of his human host and hold him at bay long enough for Dean to retrieve the Colt and use it to kill him.

Human

 * Mortality - As a human, he was mortal and vulnerable to all forms of harm

Ghost
Same as any other ghost

Mary Winchester
Mary and John Winchester's relationship was complicated due to Mary's hunting background. They gradually fell in love and married, later becoming the parents of Sam and Dean Winchester. When Mary was brutally murdered by Azazel, it forced her husband to go on a quest to find out what killed his wife, and when he learned that it was supernatural, he dove head first into the hunting world - exactly the kind of life that Mary tried so hard to protect him from.

As seen when they reunited in 2019 through time travel and Mary's resurrection, their love for each other remained as strong as ever despite years apart.

Dean Winchester
John and Dean Winchester shared a complicated father-son relationship, as well as a soldier-commander relationship. He raised Dean in the hunter lifestyle, as well as teaching him essential survival skills. Their relationship almost directly mirrors Michael and God's relationship. This was built upon John raising Dean in the hunting lifestyle and teaching Dean the essential skills to survive. While John was about to go hunting, he always ran down with Dean the rules. His number one rule was to watch out for Sammy. There was one night though, that Dean stepped out to play video games, and came back with a Shtriga standing over Sam. John comes in only to injure the creature and yells at Dean for not protecting Sam. This sets Dean's mind set for his childhood. Unlike Sam, Dean never really disliked the way John raised him and Sam. Dean is just as good as John in hunting, and goes on hunting missions by himself. Though he does partner with John after Sam leaves for college. Then three weeks before Dean goes to get Sam, John goes missing.

Sam Winchester
Sam and John Winchester have a Father-Son relationship as well as a soldier-commander relationship. Unlike Dean, Sam and John have had a very rocky relationship. This is mostly due to Sam questioning John's orders. Sam and John are also very similar to another. Dean has even told Sam this. Over time, Sam understands why John raised them the way he did. Their relationship almost directly mirrors Lucifer and God's relationship. Sam is John's youngest child with Mary, who was killed in Sam's nursery. John pulled baby Sam from his crib when he saw Mary on the ceiling. After that, John protected Sam fiercely, and whenever he went on hunts, he told Dean to watch out for Sammy. John didn't tell him about hunting or about what really goes on in the dark. When Sam told John that he was afraid of the thing in his closet, John gave him a .45.

Sam started asking questions as he got older (about 8 years old) about what John does and why they always have to move. One Christmas, Sam asked if John was going to be home. Dean told Sam on Christmas Eve what John really does when he left them. Sam cried himself to sleep with tears of disappointment (because John was not going to be there when he woke up). Sam gave Dean the necklace he was going to give John, because Dean was there when John was not.

As the years go by, Sam and John's relationship became more and more rocky. They constantly argued and fought. Sam, like his brother, was brought up in the hunter lifestyle. But unlike his brother, Sam wanted to be normal and realized how messed up his childhood was. When Sam wanted to go to college, he and John had a huge argument that ended with John telling Sam if he leaves, he should never come back. Sam and John didn't talk for two years after that.

Adam Milligan
For twelve years, John would be unaware of Adam until Adam himself begged his mother to call John. At this time, Sam had left John for Stanford University and may have been the reason why John "dropped everything" and went to visit Adam.

It was suggested by his oldest son Dean that John spent time with Adam as he saw the chance to be a father again and raised one child in normal manner.

Despite John's attempts to act fatherly around Adam even trying to raise him normally, by teaching him pool and poker, taking him to ball games on his birthday, buying him his first beer at age 15, and teaching him how to drive The Impala, Adam never regarded John as his father and saw only his mother as family. Also, John never told Adam about his other children who likewise were unaware that John fathered another son.

Bobby Singer
Bobby and John became acquaintances at an unknown point in time, though likely after Mary was killed and John discovered the hunting world. When Dean was only a child, John began leaving him and Sam with Bobby to take care of.

Bobby and John had a falling out with Bobby threatening to shoot John dead over Remi Singer being a Nephilim. Though Bobby does seem willing to forgive John for his offense.

Other than their shared reason to become hunters (murdered wives), Bobby and John are also the namesake for a baby shapeshifter Bobby John, due to them being father figures to Sam and Dean.

Remi Singer
Remi and John never really got along after she learn that he was going to kill her for being supernatural though she would always answer his calls just in case it was to do with Sam and Dean. Remi also knew how John raised the boy and thought it was unfair on how they were raised.

Etymology

 * John - Derived from the Middle Latin Johannes, which is from the Ecclesiastic Late Latin Joannes, which is from the Greek Iōannes. Iōannes is from the Hebrew Yehanan, a short form of Yehohanan which is derived from yehōhānān (Yahweh is gracious).


 * Eric - Derived from the Old Norse Eirìkr, a compounding of the elements ei (ever, always) and ríkr (ruler): hence, “eternal ruler.”


 * Winchester - English: habitational name from the city in Hampshire, so named from the addition of Old English ceaster ‘Roman fort or walled city’ (Latin castra ‘legionary camp’) to the Romano-British name Venta, of disputed origin