Lucifer Morningstar's Powers Fully Explained

Netflix's Lucifer has had a number of ups and downs. In a way, it's symbolic of how the powers and abilities of the titular character have been handled on the show. Lucifer Morningstar (Tom Ellis) is sometimes all too human; he can be self-centered, clueless about the feelings of others, and even more clueless about his own. He uses therapy less as a method of getting at the heart of his inner demons (ha!) and more as an excuse to justify his often selfish actions to himself. Yet he's also fiercely loyal, protective, often compassionate, and eager to help his friends. Still, as the King of Hell and son of God, Lucifer comes with some pretty awe-inspiring powers to go with his all-too-human traits. 

Lucifer Morningstar's powers in the live-action adaptation differ somewhat from his comic book origins. Though his charming hedonist personality is taken from Lucifer's earlier solo comics, his powers are closer to Lucifer's currently downgraded state in the post-New 52 reboot of the DC Comics universe. For example, he doesn't have acidic blood or a sonic cry; nor does he have complete dominion over creation. Still, that doesn't mean the powers he does have aren't vast and formidable. He's also granted powers in the TV series that he never had in the comics, and though those new powers are somewhat more intimate, they're no less terrifying. So which powers and abilities does Lucifer have, exactly? 

Lucifer is ancient — really ancient. It's honestly impossible to say how old he is. He is at least trillions of years old, existing even before the creation of the universe, and his lifespan is infinite — one of the many reasons he tried to fill the endless stretch and his loneliness by indulging in every pleasure he could think of before he met Chloe and forged real friends. This is thanks to the fact he's immune to everything that kills humans: aging, disease, illness, viruses and infections, disorders and disabilities, poisons and toxins, and any negative physical conditions. They simply don't affect him. 

Just as he has immunity, he also has invulnerability, being virtually indestructible in a fight and able to withstand virtually any amount of physical damage a human or other creature could inflict. Multiple times throughout the series, bad guys have tried to shoot or stab him in what would be a killing blow to anyone else. It only serves to enrage Lucifer, who is always more worried about his bespoke suit or his human friends than himself. "Don't waste your munitions," he casually tells a group of gunmen in the pilot episode. "I'm immortal." It should be noted that for a few seasons, Chloe was his weakness, and physical proximity to her could render him vulnerable. However, that was resolved; now, the only known things that can kill him are the divine Flaming Sword and Hell-forged Demon Daggers.

While on Earth, Lucifer prefers to use his "human" (or, really, his angelic) face, for obvious reasons. One, he's vain, and who wouldn't want his beautiful face? Two, to pass as a human, he has to look human. It's easy to forget he's a fallen angel and the King of Hell, but Lucifer has the ability to shapeshift into multiple versions of his terrifying "demon form." This can range from simply turning his eyes into red, fiery orbs, to revealing his scarred demon face, all the way to his final form as the King of Hell, complete with leathery, clawed wings. He also has the ability to pop his wings out (usually angelic, but sometimes the bat wings) or hide them. He can also push a mental image of his demon form into a human's mind to terrify them without actually changing shape.

Interestingly, Lucifer's physical appearance is linked directly to his psychological state. His scarred and twisted visage is an outer reflection of his inner turmoil and reveals how he feels about himself. Despite his devil-may-care attitude (ha!), Lucifer actually suffers from an enormous amount of guilt over the things he's done and the torture he's forced to inflict as Hell's ruler. This self-loathing is what manifests whenever Lucifer shifts into his demon form, and his form changes depending on what he's grappling with internally.

It's a sign of how powerful Lucifer is that one of his seemingly minor powers is one that would be considered an absolutely superhuman ability to mere mortals. Throughout the series, Lucifer has used his powers of telekinesis more as a parlor trick than anything significant, often as a nervous tic or when he's thinking. This is shown earlier in the series when Lucifer regularly levitates his "Pentecostal coin" (basically a one-way ticket to Hell for mortals, like an infernal bus token) off his palm or walks it over his fingers when he's agitated or deep in thought. Lucifer can also levitate himself. 

He also uses his telekineses in another convenient way, which is turning things on. He's used his power to start a boat engine, start cars for a clean getaway, and turn on different types of machinery with the wave of a hand. One other thing he can turn on without even trying? People. Naturally, being Lucifer Morningstar, he's the most pleased with this last trick. 

For someone who still has so many divine powers tied to his angelic nature, one would think Lucifer would have figured out by now that he's not a monster or beyond redemption. This is underscored by his relationships with the other archangels. Sure, he's the wayward son and he often clashes with his siblings, but their exasperation with him stems from the fact that when he plays hooky from Hell, the natural order of things is upended. It's not a problem with Lucifer himself — well, usually. In fact, Lucifer can still contact his angelic siblings whenever he wishes, opening up a channel of celestial communication by praying to a particular sibling. He's contacted various angels this way, but his closest connection is with Amenadiel, and he regularly uses this ability to contact him. This psychic telephone link extends great distances; Lucifer has been able to contact Amenadiel even when his big brother is patrolling Hell to cover for Lucifer. 

Lucifer can also modify this ability to communicate with the spirits of the dead, and he often uses it to conveniently discover details at crime scenes, particularly murder scenes. However, unlike his ability to tap into the celestial communication highway, his powers to communicate with human spirits are somewhat more limited. He can't communicate with a spirit anywhere, instead, he can only communicate with them as long as the person is recently deceased and spirit still hanging around, not yet having moved on to the afterlife.

"Tell me... what is it you desire?" It's a line Lucifer fans have grown familiar with; it's one Lucifer says in virtually every episode. Of all his powers, it's desire exhibition he employs most frequently as the most useful tool in his arsenal when it comes to getting information out of a suspect or a witness. With this power, Lucifer is able to draw someone's deepest desires and wishes out of them and get them to verbalize them aloud. It's not quite mind control — Lucifer doesn't take over their mind and force it out of them — but it operates more like hypnosis, except a hypnosis no one is immune to (except Chloe, naturally). When Lucifer turns up the intensity, he can draw out shameful secrets, dark sins, or unpleasant truths, though it's rare he ever has to push this hard. 

"I am, and always will be, master of the mojo. King of desire. Sultan of humans' innermost wishes," as he says of himself in the episode "Our Mojo." And indeed, he is, though it was revealed at one point that in order for this power to work, Lucifer must maintain eye contact with a person; once it's broken, so is his spell. Interestingly, when Lucifer was slowly turning into his full demon form, this power grew stronger and he no longer needed eye contact to accomplish it, lending credence to the idea that when he's more human, he subconsciously holds himself back from prying into someone's innermost secrets.

As with a great number of things in life, Lucifer isn't prone to taking fighting seriously. He'd much rather talk, manipulate, or seduce his way out of a jam rather than get in a physical fight. Still, the times he actually has thrown down with someone, it's quickly become apparent that the reason he refrains from fighting isn't because he's an inept combatant, but rather that he's terrifying when his fury is finally roused. With humans, Lucifer fights like a cat playing with a mouse, barely putting in any effort outside of batting away punches and using their moves against them; it's always clear he could literally crush them with one hand any time he wants, he simply chooses not to. 

With celestials and other supernaturally powered beings, however, Lucifer is still dominant. At one point, he bested even his older brother, Amenadiel, who, at that time, was known as God's finest warrior and one of the most powerful angels to ever have existed. Still, Lucifer beat him. He's also beaten other angels, including his own twin brother, Michael, and the demon Maze, Hell's most skilled torturer and ruthlessly effective killer. Even with Maze, Lucifer overpowered her so easily that it was clear he defeated her the minute he actually decided to end the fight. 

In essence, no matter what Lucifer tries, he excels at with ease as both the King of Hell and God's former favorite son, the Light-Bringer.