How different is Supernatural's Apocalypse World compared to the show's prime universe? Supernatural is certainly no stranger when it comes to parallel universes, alternate timelines and potential realities. Over the course of 15 seasons, fans have seen Sam Winchester trapped in a Groundhog Day style loop where Dean dies a string of creative and gory deaths, a purgatorial realm ominously known as "the Bad Place," and a mundane world where "Sam and Dean" are replaced by actors called "Jensen and Jared" who star in a television show called "Supernatural." However, one parallel reality can boast a far greater influence on the Winchesters' story than any of those lesser examples - the Apocalypse World.
With a title even more foreboding than "the Bad Place," Apocalypse World was introduced in Supernatural season 12's "All Along the Watchtower," after the birth of Lucifer’s nephilim son cracked open a rift in space. This grim plane exists alongside uncountable other spin-off worlds created by Chuck in his ongoing mission to force one Winchester to kill the other, thus completing his epic story. In the case of Apocalypse World, the war between Heaven and Hell goes ahead because Sam and Dean were never alive to prevent it happening in season 5, leading to a post-apocalyptic landscape.
By integrating a long-term parallel world, Supernatural was able to reintroduce some familiar faces, including the brothers’ father figure, Bobby Singer, the tech-savvy geek, Charlie Bradbury, and young prophet, Kevin Tran. Characters regularly switched between these worlds but, as of Supernatural season 15, it can be assumed that the Apocalypse World was destroyed during God's spring cleaning of the multiverse. But how was this alternate reality changed from the world Supernatural fans know and love?
How Supernatural's Characters Change
The key difference setting Apocalypse World apart is that Sam and Dean Winchester never existed. However, John Winchester and Mary Campbell did meet and began dating in this alternate timeline. As in the real world, John is murdered by the yellow-eyed demon known as Azazel in 1973, who then presents Mary with a deal: her boyfriend's resurrection in exchange for access to Mary's home a decade later. In recognized Supernatural lore Mary accepts this deal, but unlike her main counterpart, alternate Mary refused, giving the Apocalypse World its point of divergence. Mary was said to have regretted this decision, living the rest of her life alone, and was killed by Azazel years later anyway. John and Mary never married, never had Sam and Dean, and the biblical battle between Michael and Lucifer was never stopped.
In accordance with the Butterfly Effect, Mary's decision made ripples that changed the lives of other Supernatural characters. Alternate Charlie shares comparable traits with her parallel, including her sexuality and working for Richard Roman Enterprises, but this version of the flame-haired LARP enthusiast managed to find her soulmate, a bakery-owner named Kara. Charlie's lover was tragically killed shortly after the start of the apocalypse, leading to her joining the human resistance. Alternate Bobby also shares similar characteristics with his prime self in terms of his personality, career as a hunter and unashamed love of the word “idjit.” But while the Bobby Singer that Sam and Dean grew up with never wanted kids of his own, his apocalypse counterpart had a son called Daniel, who ended up being another casualty of Earth's angelic host.
Kevin Tran's life was greatly altered by the absence of the Winchester brothers. The biggest bonus to never meeting Sam and Dean was that alternate Kevin didn’t fall victim to Gadreel, who smote the prophet in the main timeline. Alas, Kevin was still a prophet, meaning he was predestined to work for heaven, and since God wasn’t around, this meant serving under Michael. After being captured by the human resistance, Kevin self-detonates, having been promised a reunion with his mother in Heaven. It's bittersweet that while Charlie, Bobby and Kevin all avoid their traditional Supernatural deaths by virtue of never meeting Sam and Dean, all of them experience extreme hurt and pain in other forms.
How Supernatural's Angels Change
From a human perspective, the victory between Michael and Lucifer is somewhat of a moot point - humanity was screwed either way. Nevertheless, it was Michael who emerged victorious after an aerial battle, and Lucifer dies by his brother's hand long before the audience are introduced to Apocalypse World. With the fateful fight over, God failed to appear as Heaven had predicted, so Michael led his army of angels against mankind instead. Alternate Michael appears far stronger than the one possessing Adam Winchester, and this is likely due to a mixture of combat experience and never being trapped inside the cage. Alternate Michael's more sociopathic personality no doubt comes from years of bloodshed and the disappointment of God's absence. Having ravaged his own plane of existence, Alternate Michael eventually made his way to Sam and Dean's world and became a major villain in Supernatural season 14, achieving the goal of the prime Michael assimilating Dean as a vessel.
Michael's holy battalion includes many names Supernatural fans will recognize; the likes of Zachariah, Balthazar and Castiel become enemies of man. Strangely, Castiel is able to retain the same Misha Collins-shaped meat suit as his main world counterpart, albeit with an ill-judged German accent. As with Supernatural's human contingent, Zachariah and Balthazar both live longer because the Winchesters aren't around, but while Zachariah is more or less the same as his prime world variant, Alternate Balthazar is far less sympathetic than the easygoing friend of Castiel played by Sebastian Roché. Even so, Castiel is clearly the biggest angelic deviation in the Apocalypse World. This parallel incarnation of the Winchesters' best pal is Michael's personal torture specialist, highlighting just how much the Sam and Dean changed Castiel's persona.
How The World Of Supernatural Changes
For the most part, history correlates perfectly between the main world and Apocalypse World right up until the moment Mary Winchester rejects Azazel's deal in 1973. The angelic invasion fundamentally altered the landscape of the world, with the entire planet covered in a dark gloom and whole communities, most notably Kansas City, decimated. The U.S. is now split into several large zones, most of which are barren and lifeless, or occupied by angels. In the North West is an area labelled "The Void," while the South features a huge wall separating the U.S. and Mexico, perhaps in a dig to a certain real life President. The angels even built giant spikes into the central states, on which naughty humans can be impaled.
It wasn't just mankind the host of Michael hunted down. The vast majority of the Apocalypse World's demons were incarcerated in Heaven, with the rest still sworn to battle against the angels down on Earth. Even Death, who might've put a stop to this nonsense, was captured and imprisoned, while his reapers were subjugated. Some of Earth's monsters did manage to survive the biblical battle between Heaven and Hell, but with the human population dwindling, many were driven wild by starvation, leading to a distinct lack of vampires, werewolves, etc. Out of the ashes of what remained, a nightmarish new addition to monster lore emerged, exclusive to the Apocalypse World. Known as Tempter Demons, this hellish mutation possessed black eyes, horns and fangs, and were cursed with far greater physical strength than standard hellspawn.
Naturally, humanity stubbornly refused to die, and a resistance was formed. Led by the likes of Bobby Singer and Charlie, the few humans who remained formed disparately connected colonies and fought back against the angels as best they could. Wartime often breeds invention, and the humans of the Apocalypse World found a way of manufacturing angel-killing bullets, much to Dean Winchester's delight.
Supernatural season 15 is currently on hiatus.