Pegasus in popular culture

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

Art

Corporate and commercial uses

Films

A Pegasus appears 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, the stop motion film Clash of the Titans and its remake Clash of the Titans, and as a codename in Johnny English and its sequels Johnny English Reborn and Johnny English Strikes Again.

In Disney's Fantasia, Pegasi are featured during the "Pastoral Symphony" segment, along with other mythical creatures, including unicorns and centaurs, and in Hercules he is the winged horse sidekick and friend to protagonist Hercules. In Clash of the Titans, Pegasus is captured by Perseus before Perseus kills Medusa. This version changes the method of Pegasus' birth, being the sole survivor of a Pegasus herd after they were killed by Thetis' son, Calibos. In Barbie and the Magic of Pegasus, Pegasus is a winged horse who helps Princess Annika and is later revealed to be her sister Brietta, who antagonist Wenlock transformed into a pegasus after she refused to marry him. In Johnny English, starring Rowan Atkinson, Pegasus, portrayed by Tim Pigott-Smith, is the codename of the head of MI7; in the sequel, Johnny English Reborn, the head of the organization is a woman, portrayed by Gillian Anderson, who uses the codename Pegasus. Pegasus has appeared in three Marvel Cinematic Universe films: in Thor: Ragnarok, during a flashback sequence where Valkyrie is briefly seen riding one, Avengers: Endgame, where she rides one in the final battle against Thanos, and in Thor: Love and Thunder.

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

A Pegasus appears in Jumanji: The Next Level as a flying horse avatar named Cyclone.

The logos for TriStar and Metropolitan Filmexport feature the Pegasus.

Television

  • In the anime and manga series One Piece, minor character Pierre, a bird of Gan Fall, can transform into a horse and a horse-bird hybrid due to eating a devil fruit. Another minor character, the horse Stronger, gained the ability to transform into a Pegasus after consuming the Horse-Horse Fruit, Model: Pegasus.
  • Pegasus appears in Stargate Atlantis as a galaxy.
  • Both versions of Battlestar Galactica feature the Battlestar Pegasus, which survived the fall of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol.
  • Pegasus appears in the Long Ago and Far Away episode "Pegasus, the Flying Horse," voiced 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, 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 battleship.
  • In the anime Fairy Tail, one of the main guilds is called Blue Pegasus, with the guild's mark representing the name of the guild.
  • In Sailor Moon SuperS, the spirit of Helios, the guardian of the Golden Crystal, disguises himself as a Pegasus while hiding in Chibi-Usa's dreams. In the manga, he was cursed into the form of a Pegasus by Nehelenia.
  • In the anime Yu-Gi-Oh!, Maximillion Pegasus is the main antagonist of the first season and creator of the card game Duel Monsters.
  • 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 series The Mighty Hercules as the titular character's steed.
  • In Fate/Stay Night, Pegasus is the Mythical Beast 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 is Medusa, first summoned the Pegasus by stabbing herself through the neck.
  • The Hasbro toy line My Little Pony includes ponies based on Pegasus. In the first animated special, Rescue at Midnight Castle, the pony Firefly is a pegasus pony. In the animated series My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, pegasus ponies are one of three distinct subspecies of ponies, with main protagonists Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy being pegasus ponies.
  • The Pegasus is a recurring motif in the manga and anime Saint Seiya, with Seiya becoming the Pegasus Saint and the theme song being "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 from Kamen Rider Saber has a Pegasus-based Wonder Ridebook compatible with his water-based weapon.

Theatre

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

Written works

Video games

  • In the video game God of War II, Gaia gives a Fire Pegasus to protagonist Kratos, who seeks to find the Sisters of Fate in order to change his past, to travel to the Island of Creation, where the Fates' temple is located.
  • In the Nintendo DS game Heracles: Battle With The Gods, Pegasus is captured by Poseidon before being 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. Awakening introduces the class Dark Flier, which rides on a black Pegasus.
  • In the computer game Age of Mythology, Pegasus appears 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 ridden by female elves as recruitable troops from the Rampart town.
  • In the Olympus Coliseum world in the video game Kingdom Hearts II, Pegasus aids protagonist Sora in fighting the Hydra.
  • In Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire the Hero has to obtain Pegasus feathers as part of the main quest.
  • In the video game Mega Man Star Force, one of the three versions, as well as the featured "Satellite Admin", is named Pegasus and resembles one.
  • In Heroes of the Storm, playable heroes can use pegasi as mounts to traverse the battleground.
  • The time machine in the Journeyman Project series is called the Pegasus Temporal Catapult, also known as Pegasus Device.
  • In Inazuma Eleven, the hissatsu technique "Pegasus Shot" involves summoning a blue Pegasus. A combination version involving three users is called "Tri-Pegasus", which summons a large white Pegasus.
  • In Inazuma Eleven GO, the follow up to Inazuma Eleven, and its two sequels, protagonist Matsukaze Tenma's personality is based on Pegasus. His keshin, a magical deity which can be summoned by its user, is a "Majin Pegasus", with the evolved version of his soul, an ability that lets the user transform into an animal, being Pegasus. As well, "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.

Sport

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

References