Angel

Biodata

Background / History

Origins

Billions of years before the main story, the Adams descended into the Old South Pole Region. They and the Angels they spawned were Earth’s first life-forms. Lilith, another Progenitor-class being designated the Second Angel, subsequently arrived and triggered First Impact, forcing Angel life into dormancy. LCL produced by the dissolution of her flesh gave rise to Earth’s basic life-forms 39.

Gendo Ikari describes an Angel as a creature that has completed its own independent evolution. Kozo Fuyutsuki contrasts their possession of the Fruit of Life with humanity’s incomplete individual existence, calling them “complete life-forms” 3.

The Target Beneath Tokyo-3

Misato initially explains that an Angel reaching the hidden being beneath Tokyo-3 would cause Third Impact. Ritsuko later reveals that the Angels seek Adam, while NERV actually protects Lilith’s remaining body disguised as Adam 14 39.

Destroying Headquarters would not remove that danger: human weapons cannot destroy the protected being, and demolishing the base would instead expose it to subsequent Angels 33.

Capture and Research

Long before the Fourth Angel’s attack, the dormant Third Angel was excavated from northern permafrost. It was held at Bethany Base for research and modification; Ritsuko later identifies IPEA as the organization responsible for its capture and study. Its escape ended with its destruction by Provisional Unit-05 and the loss of the base 39 45.

The discovery of an Angel embryo at Mount Asama prompted another capture proposal. NERV retained the Ninth Angel despite the Human Instrumentality Committee’s demand that it be surrendered. Ritsuko regarded a living Angel as an exceptionally valuable specimen, particularly for research into S2 Engines 67 69.

Power Progression

The documented changes are individual biological adaptations, not a shared sequence of ranked realms.

Appearance

• No fixed body plan: documented forms include a crystalline octahedron, a giant ray, a skeletal serpent, and a collective of microscopic machines 29 40 50 94.
• Red cores: many Angels have a conspicuous red organ housing the soul; its location varies, including the abdomen, chest, and throat 6 50 59 120.
• Halos: the Fourth Angel bears an angelic halo, while Arael and the transformed Zeruel also manifest halos 3 82 129.
• Humanoid exceptions: Kaworu Nagisa has a human appearance and emotions despite being the First Angel and Adam’s soul vessel 129.
• Blue identification pattern: NERV repeatedly confirms Angel identities through blue wavelength or pattern-analysis readings 57 90 143.

Behavior

Angels are generally portrayed as radically solitary beings. They reject other existences, form no ordinary emotional bonds, and have neither a desire nor an established means to communicate with one another. Ramiel’s isolation leaves it poorly informed about Unit-01’s capabilities 30 37.

Their destructive behavior does not necessarily arise from hatred of humanity. Ramiel treats humans as incidental obstacles on the way to its objective, ignoring distant observers and preparations until they become relevant to its advance 35 36.

They can nevertheless recognize danger, defend themselves tactically, and retreat. The Fifth Angel attempts to escape upward, and Israfel’s White form flees into the sea after its Orange counterpart is defeated. Kaworu is a distinct exception to the usual emotional isolation: he acts out of concern for Shinji 19 59 129.

Abilities & Skills

Absolute Terror Field

An A.T. Field, or Absolute Terror Field, is phase-shifted space composed of soul matter. It also functions as the “wall of the heart,” separating an individual’s consciousness from others 19 70.

• Defense: shields Angels against shells, missiles, and, in especially powerful cases, repeated N2 bombardment 19 78 120.
• Neutralization: an EVA’s AT Field can neutralize an Angel’s phase space, allowing weapons to reach its body 6 19 50.
• Flight: the Fifth Angel and Ramiel lift their bodies with their fields; Bardiel’s aerial movement also depends on its AT Field 19 37 109.
• Reshaped weapons: the Fifth Angel’s light whips are highly concentrated AT Fields 20.
• Concentration: Ramiel strengthens its defenses by concentrating field energy; Arael uses a related technique during descent 142.
• Composite fields: Zeruel stacks and compresses multiple fields, replacing broken layers fast enough to prevent Beast Mode Unit-02 from reaching it 124.
• Limits: superior fields and specialized spears can breach these defenses. Replica Spears of Longinus tear through Zeruel’s composite field 127.

Human beings also possess AT Fields, but ordinary human fields are too weak to do much beyond maintain individual existence. Shinji’s ability to deploy one directly is therefore highly unusual 14.

Soul Core and S2 Engine

The core is the red organ containing an Angel’s soul. The S2 Engine, or Super Solenoid Engine, supplies its nearly infinite energy and marks possession of the Fruit of Life 59.

• The engine combines DNA-sized biological superconducting coils with genetic structures to simulate particle-annihilation reactions 59.
• It has no fixed physical form or anatomical location and may exist anywhere within an Angel’s body 59.
• Core destruction kills several documented Angels, including the Fourth Angel, Seventh Angel, and Zeruel 6 52 129.
• Israfel has two cores and two independently operating S2 Engines; NERV concludes that both cores must be destroyed simultaneously 59.
• A human-shaped Angel does not necessarily manifest every sign of the Fruit of Life: Kaworu requires an S2-equipped unit to display the divine manifestation discussed by Ritsuko 137.

Regeneration and Assimilation

• Regeneration: the Fourth Angel heals superficial N2 damage and reconstructs severed limbs and damaged heads during combat 3 6.
• Host takeover: the Twelfth Angel attempts to claim Unit-01’s body, while Bardiel remodels Unit-03 into a substantially different organism 90 109.
• Consumption: Zeruel absorbs entire EVAs, including their S2 Engines and identification characteristics 129.
• Invasive fusion: the later Womb Angel merges into Unit-01’s AT Field and attacks its nervous system through luminous tendrils 158.

Specialized Attacks

• Particle beams: Ramiel fires through changing crystalline forms; Israfel’s Orange form and Bardiel also use beam attacks 30 36 63 109.
• Orbital bombardment: Arael drops detached body fragments, combining free fall with AT Field energy to devastate islands while refining its aim toward Tokyo-3 78.
• Microscopic infiltration: the Twelfth Angel infects biological systems as a collective of nanoscale machines 90 94.
• Reverse AT Field: Leliel draws matter inward and maintains an Imaginary Space called the sea of Dirac, swallowing weapons, buildings, and air 146 158.
• Psychic attack: the Bird Angel directly invades Shinji’s consciousness while cooperating with the Womb Angel’s nervous-system assault 158.

Documented Angels

Relationships

• Shinji Ikari — Their principal combat opponent. He also admires Angels as complete life-forms whose power appears inexhaustible, describing them as beautiful in both life and death 6 52 129 158.
• NERV — Opposes Angel attacks while also capturing and studying living specimens 39 67 69.
• Ritsuko Akagi — Analyzes Angel physiology, develops countermeasures, and pursues their S2 Engines as an alternative to conventional EVA power systems 59 67 94.
• Human Instrumentality Committee — Demands custody of the Ninth Angel and threatens NERV Headquarters over Gendo’s refusal 69.
• SEELE’s Angel Vessels — Modified Mass-Production Evangelions carry Angel cocoons; later examples release genuine Angels capable of operating without a QR Sigum 143 146 157.

Later Use of the Name

Angel-Type Evangelions

“Angel” also becomes the name of an EVA series, distinct from the original invading beings. Ritsuko names these machines after angels to suit the religious government established around Shinji 133.

• Five orbital EVA angels form NERV ANIMA’s worldwide Sword of Damocles detection and extermination network 133.
• Four additional surface units are Metatron/Unit-09, Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones, piloted by Ayanamis carrying fragments of Lilith’s soul 133.
• The orbital machines carry the Angel’s Spine, a gamma-ray laser weapon capable of striking within sixty seconds and penetrating five hundred meters underground 133.

Residents of Heaven

By the finale, everyone living in Heaven can switch between human and EVA forms. People on the ground call these residents angels; they retain independent intelligence and possess limitless energy 195.

Notable Quotes

“Compared to us, flawed and incomplete as individuals, they are truly complete life-forms.”
— Kozo Fuyutsuki 3

“Angels truly are complete life-forms. Their path of life has no end in sight, and their divine power seems inexhaustible. Whether in life or death, they're so beautiful.”
— Shinji Ikari 52

Trivia

• Some names are inconsistent in the text. The Fourth Angel is called Shamshel, but that name also appears in passages about the Fifth/Day Angel. The Music Angel is additionally compared to Sachiel 3 19 20 57.
• Arael’s descent passage also uses the name Sahaquiel for its halo-bearing body 82.
• The later Womb Angel’s name varies within its battle: Misato identifies it as Amishar, while the narration also calls it Almil. It is distinct from the earlier Womb Angel Sandalphon 98 158.