Highlights
- Leilel, the 12th Angel, poses a significant threat with its ability to absorb anything sent to its body through an abstract mathematical dimension. It can infiltrate the minds of those inside it and was only defeated by disabling its AT-Field and a berserk Unit-01.
- Sahaquiel, the 10th Angel, possesses an elongated body made of explosive material and can disrupt satellite communications. It took three EVAs working together to defeat Sahaquiel, showcasing its destructive power.
- Zeruel, the 14th Angel, is the most physically durable Angel with the strongest AT-Field. It incapacitated two EVAs and fought Unit-01 until it went berserk. It was ultimately destroyed, but its strength is evident in its S2 Engine that elevated Unit-01's potential.
When the Second Impact in Neon Genesis Evangelion all but destroyed the known world, the settlement of Tokyo-3 had only the Evangelion to rely on against the threats of Angels. However, while EVA Units are powerful on their own, the Angels they fight boast various combat abilities that make them worthy adversaries of the titular mecha.
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Although fans of Neon Genesis Evangelion are likely familiar with the franchise’s roster of potent EVA Units, hardcore fans may want to know which Angels pose the largest threat against humanity. After all, some Angels have pushed Shinji Ikari and his comrades to their limits, while Tokyo-3 got a few extreme close calls with these alien beings. In terms of sheer threat and firepower, just which Angels pose the biggest threat to what’s left of mankind?
10 Leilel
12th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 16 |
| Abilities | Inverted AT-Field absorbs anything sent to its body that exists in an abstract mathematical dimension, and can only be perceived in the real world as a “shadow” |
| Status | Torn from the inside by a berserking Unit-01 |
Despite its familiar shape, Leilel is perhaps the most bizarre Angel the protagonists have fought in the Evangelion series. Appearing as a large black-and-white sphere, Leilel is implied to be impervious to most forms of damage. It was only when it suddenly attempted to drag all EVA units into its shadow that its true nature was revealed.
Unlike other Angels, Leilel’s “true” form is its “shadow,” implied to exist in a dimension governed by abstract mathematics. It’s shown capable of infiltrating the minds of entities inside it, as shown when it subjected Shinji to an introspection. Had it not been for Unit-00 and Unit-02 disabling its AT-Field and a berserk Unit-01 carving its way out of Leilel it wouldn’t have been destroyed.
9 Sahaquiel
10th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 12 |
| Abilities | Elongated body consists of explosive material it can eject with relative accuracy |
| Status | Intercepted and destroyed by Unit-00, Unit-01, and Unit-02 |
The eye-themed appearance of Sahaquiel makes it reminiscent of the original depiction of angels in the Bible. In the Evangelion franchise, the Tenth Angel Sahaquiel possesses an extremely durable exterior capable of fending off N2 Bombs as well as the ability to disrupt satellite communications.
Sahaquiel attacks by shedding pieces of itself and “dropping” them onto a target, causing massive explosions in both the anime and the manga. Such is the firepower of Sahaquiel’s body bombs that its final hit would’ve disintegrated Tokyo-3. The destructive power of Sahaquiel took three EVAs to defeat: Unit-01 to stop Sahaquiel’s descent, Unit-00 to disrupt its AT-Field, and Unit-02 to destroy its core.
8 Israfel
7th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 9 |
| Abilities | Humanoid body splits into two, each having regenerative abilities unless both cores are destroyed at the same time |
| Status | Destroyed by Unit-01 and Unit-02 via simultaneous core destruction |
Capable of splitting itself and its cores into two halves, Israfel can easily overwhelm both offense and defense as it can safely regenerate when damaged. Even if its weakness is a simultaneous attack on its cores, each Israfel body moving in synchronized tactics makes this strategy hard to pull off.
It took aggressive Asuka and meek Shinji setting aside their differences and training in synchronized dance movements to outwit the two Angel parts. While “weak” in terms of destructive output, being technically regenerating “two” Angels can easily secure victory had the EVA pilots not trained in synchronized counter-attacks.
7 Ramiel
5th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 05 |
| Abilities | Extremely strong AT-Field; Hyper-focused, long-distance laser; Powerful lower body drill |
| Status | Destroyed by Unit-01 via a sniped positron rifle shot, with Unit-00 as melee support |
Despite its unimposing octahedral appearance, the crystalline and seemingly unliving Ramiel is the most powerful Angel the Evangelions have faced in terms of sheer energy output. In its appearance in the Evangelion series, Ramiel is classified as the Fifth Angel. Compared to its brethren, Ramiel possesses the strongest AT-Field.
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When Ramiel senses a threat from any direction, it can fire a laser with extreme accuracy that can destroy EVA armor in seconds. It also deployed a drill so strong that it could penetrate the GeoFront underground city. Ramiel could only be defeated by exploiting its single-target tendency, with Unit-00 distracting the Angel while Unit-01 used the entirety of Japan’s energy supply to destroy its core via an experimental positron rifle.
6 Zeruel
14th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 19 |
| Abilities | Extendable cutting limbs; AT-Field-based levitation, Extremely protected outer body |
| Status | Destroyed and had its core eaten by a berserking Unit-01 |
While one of the only three Angels to bypass NERV HQ defenses, it’s Zeruel who proved powerful enough to do so with a direct attack. True to its bulky appearance, Zeruel possesses the most durable physical form among the Angels in the series.
Such was Zeruel’s strength in the anime series that it was able to incapacitate Unit-02 and Unit-00, as well as fight Unit-01 long enough to depower it. It’s only thanks to Unit-01 entering a berserk state that Zeruel was finally destroyed. Despite its destruction, another testament to its strength is its S2 Engine powerful enough to elevate Unit-01 into its god-like potential state.
5 Arael
15th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 22 |
| Abilities | AT-Field can affect victims psychologically; Luminescence hides location of core |
| Status | Destroyed by Unit-00 via Spear of Longinus |
Unlike other Angels in the Evangelion series, Arael uses its AT-Field to “probe” the minds of others, proven psychologically dangerous to its victims. Unfortunately for Earth’s defenses, the EVA pilots are teenagers also going through different forms of psychological problems.
Arael’s influence greatly affected Asuka, making her relive her childhood trauma and rendering her unable to sync with Unit-02. Such was Arael’s threat that it took the Spear of Longinus, designed to disable the likes of Adam and Lilith, to incapacitate and destroy the Angel.
4 Tabris
17th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 24 |
| Abilities | Strongest AT-Field among Angels; Physical vessel of Adam’s Soul, theoretically giving access to all his abilities; Lilin-like physique |
| Status | Destroyed by Unit-01 |
When the Contact Experiment had human DNA mixed with Adam’s flesh, the process resulted in the Second Impact and the separation of Adam’s flesh via an embryo and soul via Tabris. Eventually growing up to be Kaworu Nagisa, Tabris’s designation as the Angel of Free Will extends to his nature: as Adam he is the First Angel, but in this form he is also the Seventeenth.
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Being the physical host of Adam’s soul, Tabris possesses Adam’s Seed of Life on top of a Lilin-esque physique. While lacking the supernatural-seeming powers of other Angels, Tabris demonstrates basic abilities such as levitation and electronic disruption as well as the capacity to synchronize and control any Evangelion unit.
3 Adam
1st Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 08 |
| Abilities | Being a Seed of Life, Adam can spread and propagate his Soul in worlds |
| Status | Deceased after Contact Experiment that created Tabris and the Second Impact; Attempted recreation resulted in the Evangelions |
When Lilith crash-landed on Earth in the Evangelion universe, the destruction of her Spear triggered the Spear of Adam, technically the first Seed on Earth, to incapacitate him instead. This allowed Lilith to populate the world with her offspring.
It was only during the Katsuragi Expedition in 2000 that showed Adam’s true power. When his body was uncovered, the reaction created the Second Impact and caused the deaths of half the life on Earth. This also created the Angels, Adam’s offspring, whose Fruits of Life manifest in the form of S2 Engines that create limitless energy.
2 Lilith
2nd Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 15 |
| Abilities | As a Seed of Life, Lilith can propagate her Soul in other worlds |
| Status | Unknown; Catatonic until Third Impact; Body parts used to create Unit-01 |
Despite its crucified and seemingly legless form in Terminal Dogma, the masked Lilith is the Second Angel. This assignment is simply based on Evangelion chronology, as Lilith crash-landed on Earth after Adam. With no Spear of Longinus there to stop Lilith’s unintended propagation, her LCL spread across the planet and eventually created the Lilin, or human civilization.
Lilith’s vital role in achieving Human Instrumentality makes her rank higher than Adam in terms of strength, especially when even a mere part of her true form (Unit-01) could be enough to trigger the Third Impact. A composite form of Lilith and Rei Ayanami is also capable of transforming humanity into its constituent soul parts, simply because a distraught Shinji willed humanity to disappear.
1 Lilin
18th Angel
| First Appearance | Episode 01 |
| Abilities | Humanity; Cognition and Free Will |
| Status | Unknown, different per media |
Designated as the Eighteenth Angel, the Lilin is a variant of humanity devoid of Adam’s Fruit of Life. Being Lilith’s progeny, Lilin instead possesses the Fruit of Knowledge, or cognizance. Despite their soul’s weak AT-Field, Lilin differs in their capability to think. According to Kaworu, Lilins also possess an innate “death instinct” that will make them strive for any variant of Human Instrumentality, or shedding one’s individuality to unite with a greater consciousness.
Lilins are perhaps the most powerful Angels in the Evangelion series, specifically when empowered by an Adam-like being. This is demonstrated when Shinji Ikari has both accepted and then rejected ideas of Instrumentality inside Unit-01 (Lilith-based being) with a stolen S2 Engine (Adam-based core). In the original series, Shinji rejects Human Instrumentality and returns to his original form. Meanwhile, the Rebuild film ends with the implication that Shinji created an entirely new world without Evangelions.
