Pegasus in popular culture

Bellerophon on Pegasus spears the Chimera, on an Attic red-figure epinetron 425–420 BC

The winged, divine horse Pegasus has been a prominent figure in modern popular culture.

Art[edit]

Bellerophon riding Pegasus (1914)

Corporate and commercial uses[edit]

Films[edit]

A Pegasus is used in the 1932 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon The Winged Horse.

Pegasus has appeared in several films, including the animated films Fantasia, Hercules, and Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus along with the stop motion film Clash of the Titans, its remake Clash of the Titans and, as a name only, in Johnny English and its sequels Johnny English Reborn and Johnny English Strikes Again.

In Disney's Fantasia, Pegasi are featured during the visualized "Pastoral Symphony" segment, along with other mythical creatures including unicorns and centaurs and in Hercules he is the winged horse sidekick and friend to Hercules, the main character. In Clash of the Titans, Pegasus is captured by Perseus before Perseus visits and kills Medusa the Gorgon. This version, changes the method of Pegasus' birth - although no further details are given, save a comment from Zeus that Pegasus is the sole surviving winged horse from a herd of the creatures, the rest killed by Thetis' son, Calibos. In Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Pegasus is the winged horse who helps Princess Annika.. In the film Johnny English, starring Rowan Atkinson, Pegasus, played by Tim Pigott-Smith, is the codename of the head of MI7; in the sequel, Johnny English Reborn, the head of the organisation is now a woman, played by Gillian Anderson, who also uses the codename Pegasus (possibly in a nod to the James Bond film series, in which M was traditionally played by a man but was then played by Judi Dench). A pegasus can be seen on the TriStar logo. A pegasus can also be seen on the Metropolitan Filmexport logo.

Pegasus (or possibly more than one) has appeared in three Marvel Cinematic Universe films. During a flashback sequence in Thor: Ragnarok, Valkyrie is briefly seen riding one. In Avengers: Endgame, she rides one again in the final battle against Thanos. In Thor: Love and Thunder, Pegasus also appears once again. It is not clear whether this is the same individual horse seen in the earlier film.

Pegasus is also the name of a secret military project in the MCU. The project was a cover story for a faster-than-light drive built using Kree technology. The ship crashes, and Carol Danvers destroys the engine to prevent the Skrulls from salvaging it. Unknown to Carol, the Pegasus engine was powered by the Tessaract. She absorbed the energy of the explosion and gained superpowers from it, eventually becoming Captain Marvel.

A Pegasus is seen in Jumanji The Next Level as a flying horse avatar named Cyclone.

Television[edit]

  • In the anime and manga series One Piece, a minor character Pierre, a bird of Gan Fall could transform into a horse and a horse bird hybrid due to eating a devil fruit, which give the users of devil fruits enormous power but also a prime weakness to water. Another minor character named Stronger, a horse gained the ability to transform into a Pegasus after consuming the Horse-Horse Fruit, Model: Pegasus.
  • Pegasus has been featured in Stargate Atlantis as a galaxy.
  • Both versions of Battlestar Galactica included the Battlestar Pegasus, which survived the fall of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.
  • In Long Ago and Far Away, season 3 (1991), episode titled "Pegasus, the Flying Horse," with voices by Mia Farrow.
  • In the Japanese anime Digimon Adventure 02, Patamon can digivolve into Pegasusmon using the Digi-Egg of Hope.
  • In the anime Beyblade: Metal Fusion, the main protagonist Gingka Hagane uses the powerful bit-beast Pegasus.
  • In the anime series Gundam, one of the main spaceships, White Base, is a Pegasus-class battle ship.
  • In the anime Fairy Tail one of the main guilds is called Blue Pegasus, the guild's mark represents the name of the guild.
  • In Sailor Moon SuperS, the spirit of Helios, the keeper of the Golden Crystal, disguises himself as a Pegasus. Drawing on the metaphor of inspiration, he flees to live in a particular character's 'dream mirror', a literal reflection of a character's dreams and goals.
  • In the anime Yu-Gi-Oh!, the main antagonist of the first season (and creator of the card game Duel Monsters) is a man named Maximillion Pegasus.
  • In Dengeki Sentai Changeman, Yuma Ozora's motif is a pegasus.
  • In Gosei Sentai Dairanger, Shoji of the Heavenly Gravity Star's motif is a pegasus.
  • Pegasus frequently appears in the 1960s cartoon The Mighty Hercules, as the winged steed of the titular character.
  • In Fate/Stay Night, Pegasus is the Mythical Beast that is used by the Servant Rider when she uses one of her Noble Phantasms, Bellerophon. As a further reference to the original myth where it was born from the blood of the decapitated Medusa, Rider (whose true identity was Medusa) first summoned the Pegasus by stabbing herself through the neck.
  • The Hasbro owned toy line My Little Pony includes ponies that are based on Pegasus. In the first animated special Rescue at Midnight Castle the pony Firefly is a pegasus pony. In the animated TV series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, pegasus ponies are one of three distinct species of ponies featured (unicorns and earth ponies being the other two). Two of the main characters Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are pegasus ponies.
  • The Pegasus is a recurring motif in the manga and anime Saint Seiya. In this series, the main character, Seiya, becomes the Pegasus Saint. Also, the show's theme song is titled "Pegasus Fantasy" by the Japanese group Make-Up.
  • The titular character and protagonist of the 2000 Kamen Rider Series, Kamen Rider Kuuga can use a green-colored form known as "Pegasus Form".
  • Kamen Rider Blades of the 2020 Kamen Rider Series, Kamen Rider Saber has a Pegasus-based Wonder Ridebook compatible with his water-based weapon.

Theatre[edit]

  • In the Broadway production of Xanadu, protagonist Kira rides on Pegasus to Mount Olympus during the number "Suspended in Time."

Written works[edit]

Video games[edit]

  • In the video game God of War II, the protagonist Kratos is bidden by Gaia (mother of earth), the mother of the Titans, to find the Sisters of Fate in order to change his past. She gives Kratos the aid of a Fire Pegasus to traverse the distance to the Island of Creation, where the Fates' temple is located.
  • Pegasus is the Poseidon captured victim in Heracles: Battle With The Gods on the Nintendo DS. Pegasus is freed and reunited with Heracles after Poseidon's defeat.
  • In multiple games in the Fire Emblem series, pegasi are mounted by knights and called Pegasus knights, or Falcon Knights in their upgraded form. In Awakening, the class Dark Flier, which certain characters ride on a black Pegasus, is introduced.
  • In the computer game Age of Mythology, Pegasus appears in game as a flying scout unit.
  • Pegasus appears in the final scene of the 2600 game No Escape.
  • Heroes of Might and Magic 3 features Pegasi being riddened by female elves as recruitable troops from the Rampart town.
  • In the video game Kingdom Hearts II, the protagonist, Sora, duels the Hydra from the back of Pegasus.
  • In Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire the Hero has to obtain some Pegasus feathers for the main quest.
  • In the video game Mega Man Star Force, one of the three versions, as well as the featured "Satellite Admin" that the player fights and obtains the power of, is named Pegasus, and resembles one.
  • In Heroes of the Storm, playable heroes can use pegasi as mounts to move quickly through the battleground.
  • The time machine in the Journeyman Project series is called the Pegasus Temporal Catapult, or simply the Pegasus Device.
  • In Inazuma Eleven, one of the hissatsu techniques is called "Pegasus Shot" and involves summoning a blue Pegasus. A combination version involving three users is called "Tri-Pegasus", where a large white Pegasus is summoned.
  • Inazuma Eleven's follow up, Inazuma Eleven GO, and its two sequels, feature protagonist Matsukaze Tenma whose personality is based on Pegasus. His keshin, a magical deity which can be summoned by its user, is a "Majin Pegasus". The evolved version of his soul, an ability that lets the user transform into an animal, is Pegasus. The name "Tenma" when written in kanji translates to "heavenly horse".
  • In Assassin's Creed Odyssey, the player can purchase a cosmetic skin for their horse that turns it into Pegasus.
  • In Fate/stay night, the Servant Rider can summon a pegasus that she rides with her Noble Phantasm Bellerophon.
  • In Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, in the Zombies map Ancient Evil, the player can ride Pegasus to the "dark side" of the ancient Greek city of Delphi.

Popular music[edit]

Sport[edit]

  • "Wild Pegasus" was the ring named used by professional wrestler Chris Benoit during his time wrestling in Japan. Benoit won the Super J-Cup while competing under this name.
  • Fusaichi Pegasus, a racehorse, won the 2000 Kentucky Derby.

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pegasus.
  1. ^ "Flight of the Chum"; Pawn Stars; History Channel; Premiered March 8, 2010
  2. ^ Pegasus - The Flying Horse
  3. ^ Pegasus
  4. ^ Pegasus
  5. ^ Pegasus - The Myth, The Name
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pegasus_in_popular_culture&oldid=1211903001"