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This Is Why The Equalizer Is More Powerful Than The Colt In Supernatural

Over the course of its 15 seasons on air, "Supernatural" sees the Winchester brothers (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) facing down every kind of dubious supernatural enemy you can imagine as part of the family business. This requires them to utilize a number of different skills and weapons. Two of those weapons, the Colt and the Equalizer, are very similar in nature: Both are magical firearms designed to be used to slay supernatural creatures that can't be killed by more traditional means.

Created by gunmaker and hunter Samuel Colt (hence its name), the Colt is introduced early on in the show's run, but it's considered a legend by most. John Winchester (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) spent a long time looking for it before the Colt found its way into the hands of his sons. It's a bit unclear how Colt actually created the gun, but its magic bullets, of which there are a very limited number, are said to be able to kill anything. In the show, it's used to kill Azazel (Fredric Lehne), the yellow-eyed demon who killed Sam and Dean's mother (Samantha Smith), as well as an alpha vampire. But it can't kill everything.

The Equalizer, however, doesn't have such limitations. Created by Chuck, aka God (Rob Benedict), to kill the Nephilim Jack (Alexander Calvert), the powerful gun is introduced at the end of the show's 14th season. And there are a few key differences that make it more powerful than the Colt.

The Equalizer doesn't use bullets

In many ways, it feels like the Equalizer is just a new-and-improved Colt that fixes some of the earlier weapon's bugs. It's the Colt 2.0, if you will. This makes sense when you consider that the Colt was also technically created by Chuck for the Winchesters to use, since everything that happened to them for much of the show's run was Chuck's doing. So, when it came time for him to create the Equalizer, he just made a few changes to the original model. 

For instance, the Equalizer doesn't use traditional bullets like the Colt since they can run out. Instead, the Equalizer sends a wave of multi-dimensional energy across a quantum link between the shooter and their target. Though this fixes one problem, it creates another: The energy wave means that the person who fires the weapon is in danger too, as anything that happens to the person being shot happens to the person firing it as well. This is why when Sam shoots Chuck in the shoulder, he's wounded in the exact same spot, and a link between the two is formed.

The Equalizer could potentially kill God

Having been made by a human, the Colt has its limits even before it's melted down. For instance, it can't kill an archangel. When the Winchesters try to use it on Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino), he reveals that there are only five beings in existence the Colt couldn't kill. It's likely that Chuck, as God, is one of them, and if you do the math, that leaves just enough room for the four archangels to make up the rest. So in addition to Lucifer, the Colt probably can't kill Gabriel (Richard Speight Jr.), Michael, or Raphael either.

The Equalizer, though, seemingly has the ability to kill anything. It could've killed Jack because Chuck created it for that exact purpose. It's possible that it could have also killed Chuck too, since Jack eventually becomes the new God after he strips Chuck of his power. 

All of this is speculation, though. What we know for sure is that, at the very least, Chuck is severely wounded by the Equalizer. According to Amara (Emily Swallow), he's too weak to even leave Earth after Sam shoots him. This seems to surprise Chuck, but probably only because he never expected Sam to shoot him — and perhaps he should have. After all, anything can happen on "Supernatural."