Mark of Cain (Earth 1)

The **Mark of Cain**, or simply **The Mark** was made by the Fallen Archangel Lucifer to replace the Mark of the Wanderer for Cain. The Mark powers The First Blade. It is one half of the weapon that Cain used against the rest of the Knights of Hell. Cain later copied the Mark onto Dean, so that the hunter could kill Abaddon.

## Effects of the Mark

The Mark imbues its bearer with several powers as well as psycho-supernatural burdens which eat away at the bearer's character, turning them into one of the most dangerous beings in the world.

* **Super Strength:** The Mark grants the bearer enough augmented strength to overpower a lower vampire and easily cut its head off and also shrug out of a lesser angel's hold. Dean was able to easily massacre a whole room full of grown, strong men, and emerge seemingly unharmed. Dean was able to effortlessly hoist Abaddon into the air while stabbing her with the Blade. Dean later effortlessly breaks free of ropes tying him to a chair and leather restraints. He also proves strong enough to beat Castiel, a Seraphim and to the point of near unconsciousness and draw a lot of blood with ease. (Although Castiel wasn't trying to harm Dean at the time, merely subdue him) However, he was unable to defeat Metatron when he was in possession of the angel tablet.
* **Murderous Rage:** The Mark affects the bearer to where they constantly *must* kill something. If they don't, they'll eventually die as pointed out by Crowley. However, as demonstrated by Cain, this could be fought, and Sam suggests that the bearer must want to at a conscious level for it to work. Metatron states that each time the bearer gives into the Mark's rage, they fall more and more under its power. After giving in to its power once more, Cain felt that it was better to let the Mark control his actions and not fight it. After Charlie Bradbury was murdered by Eldon Frankenstein, the rage caused Dean to slaughter his entire family and even kill an innocent boy. He also nearly killed Castiel under its control but stopped himself in the end.
* **Telekinesis:** The Mark grants the bearer the ability to summon the Blade to the hand that calls it.
* **Self-Resurrection:** In order to ensure that The Mark is always connected to a living being, if the wearer dies, it will resurrect the bearer back to life as a demon. This can be reversed through the Demon Curing Ritual though the wielder will still retain the Mark even after being rendered human again. However, Cain indicated that if one wielder of the Mark killed the other with the First Blade they wouldn't come back as he seemed to think his killing Dean would be permanent. He also seemed to believe Dean killing him would be permanent too which is very likely because the first blade killed Cain permanently.
* **Regeneration:** The Mark grants the bearer the ability regenerates superficial lesions instantaneously. They can even immediately regrow limbs post amputation.
* **Immunity:** The Mark allows the wearer immunity to demonic powers, as shown by Dean resisting Abaddon's telekinesis. It also granted Dean great resistance to the Demon Curing Ritual, causing him to retain demonic mannerisms long into the ritual even when he was made human enough to be immune to a devil's trap. However, the Mark did not make him completely immune, and he was eventually cured. It doesn't typically grant immunity to magic, as the transfiguration spell still affected Dean. However, if the spell used is able to kill and obliterate the body of the bearer of the mark, it will shield him/her from it as to keep the host alive. As seen, the mark made Dean immune to a spell Rowena cast that should have ripped his body apart.
* **Super Stamina:** The Mark greatly enhances the bearer's stamina. Dean was able to go without sleep and food for several days with no ill effects.
* **Precognition:** Dean had a nightmare that showed him in a room having slaughtered a group of men. It later came true.
* **Immortality:** According to Death, the Mark makes the wielder virtually immortal as its power is such that even Death himself can't reap the person with the Mark. This is because the Mark is needed to lock the Darkness away and needs a living host.
* **Corruption:** The Mark, due to its connection to the Darkness, has the power to slowly corrupt the wielder no matter how powerful a being they are. The Mark was able to corrupt both Lucifer and Cain, despite the former being a powerful archangel, and turned Dean into a demon before it was removed. However, at least in Lucifer's case, the Mark simply made him more of what he already was, as, according to God, he never liked humans.
* **Transference:** The wielder of the Mark has the power to transfer it to another "worthy" person.
* **Powering The First Blade:** The Mark is the source of The First Blade's power, allowing it to kill anything in existence, as Cain himself said, "*The mark and the blade work together. Without the mark, the blade is useless. It's just an old bone*".

## Weaknesses

* **Mark of Cain Removal Spell:** The bearer of the mark can lose it if the removal spell is performed, which by effect grants it back to the Darkness.

## Known Bearers

* Lucifer (formerly)
* Cain (deceased)
* Dean Winchester (cured)

## Trivia

* The Mark of Cain can only be worn by someone "worthy", as explained by Cain. Dean inquired as to whether he needed to be a killer like Cain, which the demon confirmed.
* The Mark is so mysterious that even the Men of Letters didn't have any record of it.
* According to Sam, Cain didn't really transfer the Mark to Dean as much as copy it, as Sam states that Cain still possessed it.
* In *The Things We Left Behind*, Dean fell under the Mark's influence and went into a murderous rage without the First Blade and slaughtered five people.
* In *The Hunter Games*, the Mark glowed without being in the presence of the First Blade which drove Dean into another murderous rage; nearly killing Metatron while torturing him.
* In *About a Boy*, Dean loses the Mark while turned to the age of 14 again as he didn't have it then. The Mark returns when he returns to his proper age.
* Cain's comments in *The Executioner's Song* indicate that if one bearer of the Mark kills another with the First Blade they wouldn't come back, as Cain didn't seem to think Dean would be resurrected by the Mark if he killed him. This is proven in fact when Dean killed Cain.
* In *The Executioner's Song*, Sam and Dean both felt that Dean giving into the Mark to kill Cain himself would likely cause him to lose control of himself completely. As a result, when Dean fought Cain, he didn't give into the Mark and displayed only normal human abilities. However, this proved enough for him to beat Cain, only calling on the Mark to power the First Blade so Cain could be killed, and Dean retained his humanity.
* According to Rowena in *Inside Man*, the Mark is simply a curse, though the first curse in existence. Metatron also states that it is God-level or Lucifer-level power and only someone like Lucifer might know how to remove it. It is also not on the Word of God tablets.
* When the Mark was placed on a host, it was slightly salient. However, the Mark on Amara's shoulder is flat.
* Every time the Mark appeared on a host, it was placed on their right arm, just below the elbow. Even when God attempted to transfer the Mark to Sam, it appeared on the same location as its previous hosts.
* Whenever Dean is using the Mark or is under its influence, a high-pitched noise can be heard in the background. This is noticeable in several scenes, including when Dean is battling Abaddon and then kills her.
* The Mark is the first known alternate way a human soul can be converted to a demon without sending a soul to Hell and be tortured as the result.
* The Mark of Cain renders its host deathless, making the host a true immortal.
* In an attempt to show his dislike for the Mark, Metatron, in *Do You Believe In Miracles?*, called it "douchy tribal tat."

## Lore

In the Abrahmic religions it is said that after killing Abel, God put a curse on Cain, saying that he would be forever separated from his family and live as a nomad. The mark of Cain was said to be placed on Cain by God so "Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him seven-fold, and the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would kill him." (Bible, Old testament Genesis 4-14)

## Appearances

* *Supernatural*
	+ Season 9
		- *First Born*
		- *Sharp Teeth*
		- *The Purge* (mentioned only)
		- *Blade Runners*
		- *Mother's Little Helper* (flashbacks/mentioned)
		- *Meta Fiction*
		- *King of the Damned*
		- *Stairway to Heaven*
		- *Do You Believe In Miracles?*
	+ Season 10
		- *Soul Survivor*
		- *Fan Fiction*
		- *Ask Jeeves*
		- *Girls, Girls, Girls*
		- *Hibbing 911*
		- *The Things We Left Behind*
		- *The Hunter Games*
		- *About a Boy*
		- *The Executioner's Song*
		- *Inside Man*
		- *Book of the Damned*
		- *The Werther Project*
		- *Dark Dynasty*
		- *The Prisoner*
		- *Brother's Keeper*
	+ Season 11
		- *Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire*
		- *Form and Void*
		- *The Bad Seed*
		- *Thin Lizzie*
		- *Our Little World*
		- *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*
		- *The Devil in the Details*
		- *Don't Call Me Shurley* (mentioned only)
		- *We Happy Few*
	+ Season 15
		- *Raising Hell*
		- *Proverbs 17:3* (alternate reality version)
* *Supernatural: Cold Fire*
* *Supernatural: Mythmaker*
* *Supernatural: The Usual Sacrifices*