History Main / MercurysWings

* In the MarvelUniverse, ComicBook/SubMariner has small wings on his ankles that allow him to fly.

* Nezha from ''Literature/FengshenYanyi'', who travels while standing on a pair of flaming Fire Wheels which lifts him into the air, giving him great advantage against his enemies. Most adaptations of the Nezha mythos will depict him in this attire, from the animated film ''Nezha Conquers the Dragon King'' to the Creator/ShawBrothers ''Film/NaCha'' duology up to modern-day adaptations like ''Animation/NeZha''.

** The Nothing (or alternatively, The Hope Card) from the second movie has wings on its head.

* ''WesternAnimation/Looneytunes'': In one of the Rudy Larriva ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner'' cartoons, Wile E. ties pigeons on his feet to catch the Roadrunner, inspired by the Mercury myth. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Like all of his plans]], it doesn't go well.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "The Magical Meanie", Genie Meanie tormented Brainy and Clumsy by causing feetwings to appear on their feet, which made them fly uncontrollably until the genie removed them.

* Older than dirt, it seems--a fair bit of small, birdlike dinosaurs had wing feathers on their legs, most famously ''Microraptor'', whose legs looked so much like wings that many paleontologists suggested it flew like a biplane. While ''Microraptor'' probably ''couldn't'' use its "leg wings" as extra wings per se (attempting to splay its legs out would result in them [[BodyHorror popping out of their sockets]]), they still likely had an aerodynamic purpose, a commonly suggested one being to help steer the animal while it was in flight. If not that, they may have been display structures. Other dinosaurs of this nature had more downplayed examples, such as ''Archaeopteryx'' (a small set of feathers reaching up to its "knees") and ''Anchiornis'' (whose leg feathers were positioned and colored in such a way that many have even joked that they looked like they were wearing Adidas pants).

* Ambisextra from ''Animation/{{Gandahar}}'' (also titled ''Light Years'') has a bald head with birdlike wings at the sides. These wings are always seen deployed as if for flight, though she's never seen using them.

* In ''Manga/ShugoChara'', wings appear next to Amu's feet during character changes with Ran.

* ''Manga/JuvenileOrion'' has Tsukasa Amou who got a huge pair of wings on his head when he uses his angel power
* The antagonist of ''[[{{Manga/Domu}} Domu: A Child's Dream]]'' wears a hat with wings. He has godlike PsychicPowers, though the hat is just a regular novelty hat that he killed somebody for with said powers.
* Mavis Vermilion in ''Manga/FairyTail'', only on the head. She doesn't seem to be able to use them for flying, though.

* An OVA of ''Literature/AccelWorld'' featured the main characters of Nega Nebulous got dragged into the dying game of Accel Assault, a predecessor of their own Brain Burst. Their characters become a scrambled mixture of their on-line avatars and their Brain Burst avatars, with MC Haruyuki's pink pig getting mixed with his armored WingedHumanoid to become an armored pig with wings in his ears.

* ComicBook/CaptainAmerica has small wings on both sides of his mask, much like the Flash.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', the titular Asterix the Gaul and other prominent Gaulish characters affect helmets with wings attached. This has some referents in archaeology and history. But this style of headgear was largely imagined by Victorian historians and folklorists who were attempting to give a sense of heroic romance to their Celtic heroes - especially in France.
* ComicBook/TheMightyThor also wears a winged helmet. His sister, ComicBook/{{Angela|AsgardsAssassin}}, also wears a winged circlet. As do some versions of Loki, like [[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMysteryGillen kid]] [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers versions]], or even [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard teen Loki]], when they got [[Comicbook/{{Axis}} morality inverted for a time]] and did a GoodCostumeSwitch (Yes, there seems to be a very loose correlation between Loki's ''goodness'' and the wings, but that might has to do more with how they see themself (or want to be perceived) at that moment, not their actual alignment).

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* Twister from ''WesternAnimation/RocketPower'' has the ornamental version of these wings on his helmet.

* In one of the Rudy Larriva ''WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadrunner'' cartoons, Wile E. ties pigeons on his feet to catch the Roadrunner, inspired by the Mercury myth. [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption Like all of his plans]], it doesn't go well.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "The Magical Meanie", Genie Meanie tormented Brainy and Clumsy by causing feetwings to appear on their feet, which made them fly uncontrollably until the genie removed them.

* In the ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf'' film ''Mission Incredible: Adventures on the Dragon's Trail'', the goats and wolves all receive unique suits of armor for their adventure. Weslie's armor includes a helmet with little decorative wings on the sides.

* In ''Manga/ThusSpokeRohanKishibe'' Yoma Hashimoto is able to form these in his back, calves and head. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as he is stated to be a GodInHumanForm, more specifically the human avatar of Hermes himself.

* An OVA of ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'' featured the main characters of Nega Nebulous got dragged into the dying game of Accel Assault, a predecessor of their own Brain Burst. Their characters become a scrambled mixture of their on-line avatars and their Brain Burst avatars, with MC Haruyuki's pink pig getting mixed with his armored WingedHumanoid to become an armored pig with wings in his ears.

* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' has the Aensland Sisters, Morrigan and Lilith, a pair of HornyDevils who each have a second pair of bat wings extending from the sides of their head in addition to the [[WingedHumanoid more traditional pair on their backs]].

The TropeMaker for these wings is Hermes/Mercury, the messenger of the gods. Because of this, many characters that have worn the [[SymbolicWings winged helmet or winged sandals]] that are reminiscent to the ones he wore. They also tend to be quite swift in their movements.

* In the 1925 version of ''Literature/BenHur'', Messala (Francis X. Bushman) famously wears a leather helmet with small wings.

* ComicBook/TheMightyThor also wears a winged helmet. His sister, ComicBook/{{Angela|AsgardsAssassin}}, also wears a winged circlet. As do some versions of Loki, like [[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery kid]] [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers versions]], or even [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard teen Loki]], when they got [[Comicbook/{{Axis}} morality inverted for a time]] and did a GoodCostumeSwitch (Yes, there seems to be a very loose correlation between Loki's ''goodness'' and the wings, but that might has to do more with how they see themself (or want to be perceived) at that moment, not their actual alignment).

* ComicBook/TheMightyThor also wears a winged helmet. His sister, ComicBook/{{Angela|AsgardsAsassin}}, also wears a winged circlet. As do some versions of Loki, like [[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery kid]] [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers versions]], or even [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard teen Loki]], when they got [[Comicbook/{{Axis}} morality inverted for a time]] and did a GoodCostumeSwitch (Yes, there seems to be a very loose correlation between Loki's ''goodness'' and the wings, but that might has to do more with how they see themself (or want to be perceived) at that moment, not their actual alignment).

* ComicBook/TheMightyThor also wears a winged helmet. His sister, [[ComicBook/AngelaMarvelComics Angela]], also wears a winged circlet. As do some versions of Loki, like [[Comicbook/JourneyIntoMystery kid]] [[Comicbook/YoungAvengers versions]], or even [[Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard teen Loki]], when they got [[Comicbook/{{Axis}} morality inverted for a time]] and did a GoodCostumeSwitch (Yes, there seems to be a very loose correlation between Loki's ''goodness'' and the wings, but that might has to do more with how they see themself (or want to be perceived) at that moment, not their actual alignment).

* In ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'', one of the many ways you can make Maxwell fly is to write winged sandals. You could also write winged helmet but it doesn't fly.

* The heroine of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfValkyrie'' and, by extension due to TheCameo, Cassandra's third outfit in ''[[VideoGame/SoulSeries Soulcalibur II]]'' have ornamental wings (which are later obtainable as parts for creating a character in the third and fourth games).
* Harpuia from ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'' wears a winged helmet (purely for decor) along with having thruster containing mechanical wings on his back. Very fast moving when airborne to the point where he is one of the only things in the series that can actually outrun Zero (and Zero's quite fast himself). This is an AntiVillain or HeroAntagonist example, if not both.

* The Blue Birds in ''[[VideoGame/AngryBirds Angry Birds in Space]]''.
* While Koakuma in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' is often portrayed with proper wings on her back, she only has a pair of wings on her head in the game she appears in.
* ''VideoGame/ShiningWisdom'' has the Pegasus helmet that allows Mars to fly at certain points in the game.
* Some ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' games have the Pegasus Boots, which are depicted with having wings near the ankles. They are used for making a DashAttack, rather than flight, although in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening'' they can be used in tandem with the Roc Feather, allowing that item's jumps to cover longer distances.
* ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' gives Mario the Wing Cap power up, which allows him to fly.
* ''VideoGame/{{Darkstalkers}}'' has the Aensland Sisters, Morrigan and Lilith, a pair of HornyDevils who each have a second pair of bat wings extending from the sides of their head in addition to the [[WingedHumanoid more traditional pair on their backs]].
* Fanny from ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear [[SuperDeformed Petit]]'' and its sequel is a NurseWithGoodIntentions who searches for Dr. Baldhead, the man who saved her life when she was younger, unaware that he now operates under the alias of Faust. Her cap is adorned with wings that are mostly cosmetic (they only [[HatOfFlight flap]] while Fanny is [[VideoGameDashing air dashing]]) and may serve as a reference to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caduceus caduceus.]]
* In her earlier appearances in the ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'' series, Amitie's signature puyo cap has little decorative white wings on the sides. That wing shape is the emblem of the magic school Amitie goes to.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''Jack Flash'', a campy 1950s strip in the British comic ''ComicStrip/TheBeano'', was about a boy from Mercury who could fly. He had little wings on his ankles.
* One ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'' story has Calvin and Susie required to give a school presentation on the planet Mercury. Calvin's section on the mythology of Mercury starts out okay but quickly [[ArtisticLicenseMythology goes off the rails]].

* All of the members of the High Entia race in ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' have large white wings on their heads, though the ones that are [[HalfHumanHybrid part Homs]] usually have smaller wings. A random, easily missable NPC mentions that while they can be used for flight, few of them bother to learn how to do so both due to the amount of training it requires and because they're a HigherTechSpecies who've mastered antigravity technology and use it for things such as keeping their massive city afloat over an ocean, [[spoiler:making one such display during a sidequest all the more sudden]].

* In ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', wings are a popular adornment for a CoolHelmet if a knight has any winged animals in his heraldry. Ser Jason Mallister, Ser Vardis Egen and even Mance Rayder are all noted as having bird-winged helms, Barristan Selmy wears dragon wings in honour of Queen Danaerys, and Oswell Whent wears [[GoodWingsEvilWings bat wings]]. Sansa Stark has the idea of founding a whole order of falcon-wing-adorned knights as a PraetorianGuard for her cousin Robert Arryn, who is obsessed with his mythical ancestor the Winged Knight.

* Hermes/Mercury of course. The winged sandals (named Talaria) were made of imperishable gold by Hephaestus/Vulcan and were the source of Hermes power of swift flight. Thus it's natural for speedster type characters to homage Hermes, or his gear, in their design.