Evangelion Fourth Angel Shamshel
Shamshel is the second Child of Adam to appear in the Evangelion anime and appears in Episode 3. It is designated as the Fourth Angel and is said to be named after the “Angel of the Morning”.
Physical Appearance
It is first shown as a large, flying insect-like creature that is colored a dark red color. There are no visible wings when Shamshel flies, however, implying that it is able to levitate. Shamshel’s body is very long and insect legs are shown toward the front of the creature. On top of Shamshel’s head, there are two “eyes” that resemble eyespots seen on butterflies and other insects. When in combat, this Angel can orient its body in a way that is more suited for battle. Its core is located under its body while flying but is clearly exposed when it sits upright to attack. Shamshel was designed by Yoshito Asari. Asari is a manga artist who also created LuCu LuCu, which would go on to be nominated for the 12th Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 2008.
Notable Abilities
Multiple Orientations: In its “default” state, Shamshel is seen flying horizontally mid-air. It has a rather slow flight speed, making it seem more like floating rather than flying. Shamshel is, however, able to control its trajectory. Although it is seemingly unable to attack while in this state, it can use its A.T. field to block projectile attacks, rendering them effectively useless. It is also possible that Shamshel uses its A.T. field to levitate in the air, as it has no wings to keep itself afloat. When attacking, it stands itself upright. Although doing this exposes its core, the Angel can unleash incredible amounts of destructive force in the form of tentacle-like appendages made out of energy. Its movement while in this orientation is sluggish, but its destructive capabilities more than make up its lost speed.
Beam Whips: As it orients itself to attack, Shamshel generates two long, incredibly flexible appendages that are about as long as its body, but can reach out farther when attacking. The appendages grow out of Shamshel’s first pair of physical arms. These weapons are Shamshel’s primary method of attack and can be incredibly devastating. Shamshel uses them much like whips to strike its target or any obstacles in its way. They can be moved at unbelievable speeds and can cut through nearly anything that is not an Evangelion Unit with incredible ease. Buildings that Shamshel attacks with these beam whips are reduced to rubble in mere seconds. Although these weapons appear to be made of energy they seem to have some mass to them, as Evangelion Unit 01 is able to catch one of them with its bare hands. Simply holding the beam is enough to cause serious burns to the Unit’s palm, but it is able to resist being cut through entirely.
Battle and Defeat
Shamshel is discovered three weeks after the battle with the Third Angel, Sachiel. It is seen hovering toward the GeoFront and is attacked by a barrage of remotely controlled missile launchers and guns, as Shinji is not present when Shamshel was discovered. Shortly after, Shinji is called in and is sent in Evangelion Unit 01 to intercept Shamshel. Meanwhile, Kensuke tells Toji his desire to see the battle between and an Evangelion Unit and an Angel with his own eyes and asks him to help get out of the shelter they are staying in, to which Toji begrudgingly agrees. Shinji is given a plan of action and is sent up above ground to begin his attack on Shamshel. He uses a rifle and opens fire on the Angel, which ends up kicking up enough dust and debris to obscure Shamshel. Since his visibility is decreased, Shinji does not expect a counterattack from Shamshel and is knocked down by its beam whip. Now that the plan has not gone as expected, Shinji begins to panic and runs away. Shamshel, in turn, begins to pursue Eva-01 and destroys entire buildings along the way.
The Angel eventually manages to cut the power cord to the Evangelion unit, giving Shinji a time limit to worry about on top of piloting in general. Shamshel then catches Unit’s leg with one of its whips and flings it nearly on top of where Kensuke and Toji were trying to hide and watch the battle. To protect his classmates, Shinji grabs one of Shamshel’s beam whips to prevent it from attacking. In an impromptu change of events, Misato orders the two classmates to get into Evangelion Unit 01 and tells Shinji to retreat the moment he has the chance. The pilot uses the beam whip as a means to throw the Angel away, giving him the opportunity to escape, although he instead follows up with an attack with his Progressive Knife. Shamshel’s core is pierced but is not immediately destroyed. There was just enough time remaining for Shinji to struggle enough to destroy the Angel’s core, which results in its death.
Shamshel in Other Media
In Evangelion 1.0, Shamshel makes an appearance similar to the plot of the original anime. However it did have some design changes. Shamshel was given fangs, an exposed spine and a hollowed-out abdominal section.