Many beloved characters have come and gone over the course of Supernatural’s fourteen season run. It’s possible though that none of them have cast a shadow quite as long as John Winchester. Sam and Dean’s dad didn’t survive very long during the series in actuality, but his memory has never faded. Part of this is in the writing, but Jeffery Dean Morgan deserves much of the credit as well. Side note: why do so many shows and movies insist on offing whatever character Jeffrey Dean Morgan is portraying?

John Eric Winchester was born in 1954, assumedly in Normal, Illinois. He lived a rather extraordinary life, rife as it was with tragedy. Trapped in an unending cycle of grief after his wife lost her life to a demon, John became obsessed with taking revenge on the creature who took her from him. For better or worse, his sons were raised to do the same.

Papa Winchester had complex relationships with both of his boys. Dean was the loyal brother, who took orders without question or complaint, although he lost a bit of himself in the process. Sam, meanwhile, made the more rebellious choice of forging his own path, but he could never truly abandon the love that he had for his family. Flawed as John may have been as a father, there is no denying that the good he did outweighed the bad and Supernatural would not have been the same without him.

Here are 20 Wild Revelations Only True Fans Know About John Winchester.

He’s A Vet

If it seems like hunting came naturally to John, despite not being raised in the life, perhaps it was his military training that gave him an immediate leg up. He was a corporal in the Marine Corps during Vietnam and was awarded several medals during that time, including The Bronze Star and The Purple Heart. Not too much is known about John’s experiences during the war, but whatever he went through obviously went a long way toward preparing him for “saving people” and “hunting things”.

John was a skilled soldier before he ever met his first demon. He was not only brave and strong, but clever as well. These traits helped him to quickly become a capable hunter.

He’s Good With Cars

Over the years, Dean has clocked a lot of hours fixing up his beloved “Baby.” It turns out that Dean's impressive ability to resurrect the Impala time and again was a skill ed down from his father. Although much of John’s life prior to Vietnam and after remains a mystery, we do know that upon returning from the war, he spent some time as a mechanic.

Working with cars was more than just a hobby, though. John co-owned a garage with his friend Mike Guenther when the Winchester’s were living in Lawrence, Kansas. It’s a good thing that Dean shares John’s affinity for fixing cars. Baby would’ve never lasted so long if he had not.

The Impala Was His Before It Was Dean’s

By this point in the series, Dean’s ’67 Chevy Impala has become a character in and of itself, with an entire episode devoted to its point of view. Interestingly, the fan-dubbed “Metallicar” was almost a completely different vehicle. Creator Eric Kripke initially wanted the Winchester brothers driving cross country in a ’65 Mustang, before a friend convinced him that a ’67 Impala was the better choice.

The car was ed down to Dean from his dad, but here is where Supernatural lore gets a bit confusing. When Dean traveled back to 1973 in season 4, John had his eye on a WV van. In a strange twist of fate, it was Dean that talked him into getting the car that Papa Winchester would one day down to his oldest son. It really was “the car of a lifetime”.

He’s Served As The Vessel For An Angel And A Demon

Many a human on Supernatural has found themselves host to a demon, but serving as the vessel for an angel is far more rare. John isn’t the only character who has housed both the damned and the divine, but he is one of very few. In season 1, the Winchester patriarch wound up possessed by Azazel, the very demon responsible for taking Mary’s life.

That wasn’t John’s only experience hosting a foreign entity though. It also wasn’t his first. During another trip through time, Sam and Dean were interacting with their parents in 1978. When the fight against Anna wasn’t going their way, Michael quite literally stepped in to help defeat her. With John’s permission, the archangel took control of his body and ended the fight.

He Shot Jo’s Father

Although Ellen Harvelle was always kind to Sam and Dean, she never wanted that life for her own daughter. Of course, Jo was determined to become a hunter just like her father, regardless of how poorly that ended for him. When her desire follow in his footsteps came between mother and daughter, Ellen revealed that Bill’s final hunt was with John Winchester.

More details came to light, however, when Sam was possessed by Meg and took Jo hostage later on. He explained that Bill didn’t lose his life at the hands of the creature that they were hunting. Apparently, it left him so badly wounded though, that John was forced to shoot him in order to put him out of his misery— a decision that John never truly forgave himself for.

He Was Shocked That Sam And Dean Were Raised As Hunters

Here’s some dramatic irony for you. When past John Winchester discovered that Sam and Dean, aka Mary’s cousins that he had just met, were raised as hunters, he was both shocked and appalled by that truth. He couldn’t understand how any father would craft such a brutal life for his children.

Of course, both the Winchester brothers and the audience is well aware of the fact that John would go on to do just that. Grief does strange and terrible things to people. John was probably so certain that he would never raise his kids like that, but losing Mary to a demon left him with little resemblance to the man that he used to be.

It Was The Search For Him That Reunited Sam And Dean

Although John didn’t get a ton of screen time, even when he was alive, he was always an incredibly important character. In fact, fourteen seasons in, it might be difficult to that it was John’s disappearance that kind of started it all. Sam was away at school, attempting to leave his former life behind. At least, he was until Dean showed up with the news that their dad had yet to return from his “hunting trip”.

Despite Sam’s misgivings, he accompanied Dean on the search. However, after helping his brother solve a case, he chose not to continue the journey. Sam was happy with his new life. Sadly, all of that changed when he lost his girlfriend Jessica the same way that he’d lost his mother so many years before.

He Traded His Life For Dean's

John might not have always been the best father, but there is no denying that he loved his boys dearly. When Dean’s life was on the line in the season 2 premiere, John didn’t hesitate to make a deal with the yellow-eyed demon. It couldn’t have been an easy decision, especially since Azazel was responsible for ending Mary’s life.

Following a terrible car crash, things were not looking good for Dean, but John had a plan. He summoned Azazel and offered the demon his life instead of his son’s. The bargain was agreed upon and John Winchester’s time on Earth came to end. Unfortunately, there was no light for him to go toward, as the deal sent him straight to Hell.

That Wasn't The First Time He Lost His Life

The first time viewers witnessed the end of John Winchester’s life was actually not the first time that his life ended. He was also snuffed him out in 1973, interestingly, by Azazel. The yellow-eyed demon had possessed Mary’s father, Sam. After making sure that her dad would not survive the experience and snapping her mom’s neck, he then turned his attention to John.

Azazel took John’s life, but offered to return Mary’s true love in exchange for gaining entry to her home ten years later. Tragically, although this deal brought John back, it sealed Mary’s fate as well. When Azazel showed up in 1983, Mary interrupted his one-on-one time with Sam and lost her life as a result.

He Spent Over 100 Years Below

It has been well established in Supernatural mythology that time moves quite differently in Hell than it does on Earth. After John’s deal with Azazel, he spent over a hundred years being tortured there. Papa Winchester endured countless hours of torment at the hands of the incredibly sadistic Alastair.

John’s demon torturer offered him a reprieve from his constant abuse, provided John take up the mantle himself. He refused to torture other souls, despite enduring his own for decades on end. It was this knowledge that completely destroyed Dean, as he eventually took that same deal during his time in the pit later on. Luckily, John managed to escape from Hell before his son ever wound up there, forcing his way through the open Devil’s Gate.