The Ultimate Match: God vs. Death (Supernatural)

A raging debate in the Supernatural fan community is whether Death is more powerful than God. Top 10 most powerful characters list are always topped by God and Death alternating for the first and second spot. The assumptions that people make when deciding who is more powerful comes down to a conversation that Death had with Dean on season 5 episode 21, where Death says that God is a living being and that at the end of time Death will reap God. Those who believe Death place him as the most powerful character, while those who think that Death is bluffing place him on the second spot. Most of these lists, however, do not offer any rationale. In this piece, I will explore the God / Death problem and offer a definitive solution. 

The first thing to tackle is how absolute the powers of each entity are. Let us start with Death. It is certain that Death is above most other Supernatural characters in terms of power. We know this because of how quickly and nonchalantly he single-handedly went to the deepest part of Hell, went into Lucifer's prison, and brought back Sam's soul without releasing any of the other souls trapped in Season 6 Episode 11. Rescuing Dean, who was in a far less guarded section of Hell, took  Castiel and a host of angels some effort. This speak volumes to the power that Death holds. However, Death's power may be guided by that of a lesser being - Fate. On Season 5 Episode 21, Dean dons the Ring of Death, thus giving him power over life and death. When Dean tries to not reap a girl, unintended consequences happen and the natural balance is broken. It can easily be argued that  these events were set forth by Death, and given that Fate has been known to be proven wrong by Castiel and the Winchester brothers,

I am inclined to agree with the possibility that Death is the one controlling the events that happen around Reaper-Dean. However, at the end of the episode, the lesson that Death wants Dean to learn is that some sort of natural balance must be maintained. That's why there is a list. Where does that list come from? Although it is not stated, it may be God. Does this mean that God is truly the supreme being, even above Death? That He is the puppeteer? Maybe, but maybe not. Before we answer this, we must figure out if Chuck is, in fact, God.

Why is it important for us to know if Chuck is God? Let's begin with the assumption that Chuck is not God. If Chuck is not God, then we need to accept that God's will is, in fact, as the Archangels suggest: that Lucifer and Michael duke it out during the Apocalypse. This plan has repeatedly been thwarted by the Winchester brothers and a rouge lesser angel, Castiel. This would prove that God's plan isn't complete. If God is Chuck, on the other hand, his predictions are shown to be more accurate. Everything that God-Chuck writes comes true. However, Chuck's prophecies seem a bit narrow, as they focus only on the Winchester brothers. Either way, the bottom line is that God's power as presented in the series isn't as omni as it should be. 

Then we have the problem of the Colt. If we are to take Lucifer at his word (which is probably  stupid thing to do), there are 5 things that the Colt cannot kill, and Lucifer is one of them. What are the other four? It depends on one's interpretation of Lucy's words. If we take it as "in the entire Supernatural lore", my guess would be that the five things are the most powerful thing in each category. That would be God, Lucifer, Death, the Mother (Eve) , and either Michael or the leader of the Leviathan. If one is to interpret it as INSIDE creation, which would by default grant immunity to things outside creation (Death, God, etc), then it's likely that these five things are the four archangels and Metatron, the only five things in creation to have seen God's face. Either way, both God and Death are immune to the Colt. Now, let's move on to the key question.

Can Death kill God? Many in the SNP fandom will argue that yes, he can. The reason presented is that Dean is good at catching bluffs, and when Death said that he could reap God, Dean accepted it as fact; therefore, it must be true. However, a better way of thinking about it is that Death believes that he can kill God. The true answer can only be discovered by rationalizing about the nature of these two titans.

God is the creator, and Death represents the end. Death said that in the end he will reap God. It may certainly be the case, but it would not be in his best interests. Let us skip forward to the end of everything in the SNP universe. Everything is dead, there are no humans, angels, reapers, leviathans, demons, or monsters. There are only God and Death in a void. If we make the assumption that Death can kill God, then there will be no more life in creation. Because there is no life, Death will have no purpose and will, therefore, cease to be. If God kills Death, on the other hand, then the only thing to remain will be God as eternal, and He will simply be there in nothingness. As soon as God creates something, unless that something is a God clone, then Death will reappear.

So where do I stand on this? I think God is more powerful than Death. Why? Death is summoned by the Winchester brothers. Death is bound by both the Winchester brothers and Lucifer. His bounds are then destroyed by God Castiel, who we can assume is weaker than both Lucifer and Michael, as he is still afraid of them. Death needs to follow the list, least he throw off the natural balance. God, on the other hand, can change his mind and simply allow the Apocalypse to not happen. Besides, it's possible for entities like Crowley to know of Death's location, while no one knows where God is, or even if He is really Chuck. 

So yeah. God wins.