Summary
When the Second Impact inNeon Genesis Evangelionall 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.
Although fans ofNeon Genesis Evangelionare 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?
10Leilel
12th Angel
Despite its familiar shape,Leilelis perhaps the most bizarre Angel the protagonists have fought in theEvangelionseries. 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.
9Sahaquiel
10th Angel
The eye-themed appearance ofSahaquielmakes it reminiscent of the original depiction of angels in the Bible. In theEvangelionfranchise, 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 animeand 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.
8Israfel
7th Angel
Capable of splitting itself and its cores into two halves,Israfelcan 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 tookaggressive Asuka and meek Shinji setting aside their differencesand 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.
7Ramiel
5th Angel
Despite its unimposing octahedral appearance, the crystalline and seemingly unlivingRamielis the most powerful Angel the Evangelions have faced in terms of sheer energy output. In its appearance in theEvangelionseries, Ramiel is classified as the Fifth Angel. Compared to its brethren, Ramiel possesses the strongest AT-Field.
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.
6Zeruel
14th Angel
While one of the only three Angels to bypass NERV HQ defenses, it’sZeruelwho 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 itsstrength is its S2 Engine powerful enough to elevate Unit-01 into its god-like potential state.
5Arael
15th Angel
Unlike other Angels in theEvangelionseries,Araeluses 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 influencegreatly 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.
4Tabris
17th Angel
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 viaTabris. Eventuallygrowing 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.
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.
3Adam
1st Angel
When Lilith crash-landed on Earth in theEvangelionuniverse, the destruction of her Spear triggered the Spear ofAdam, 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 createdthe 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.
2Lilith
2nd Angel
Despite its crucified and seemingly legless form in Terminal Dogma, the maskedLilithis the Second Angel. This assignment is simply based onEvangelionchronology, 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 ofLilith and Rei Ayanamiis also capable of transforming humanity into its constituent soul parts, simply because a distraught Shinji willed humanity to disappear.
1Lilin
18th Angel
Designated as the Eighteenth Angel, theLilinis 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 theEvangelionseries, 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,theRebuildfilm endswith the implication that Shinji created an entirely new world without Evangelions.
