History Main / SymbolicWings

!!Examples

[[folder:Myths & Religion]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:MythsAndReligion]]

[[folder:Toys and Collectibles]]
* The Airfix company issued a figure set representing "Ancient Britons" -- generic Celtic warriors to be wargaming opposition to their Roman Legion. It can be seen from the [[http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=39 figure types included]] that two figures, the Battle Chieftain and the chariot crewman, have been given stylised winged helmets. The Chieftain excessively so - see Real Life. Airfix based these figures and their equipment on extensive research of Celtic British artefacts held in the British Museum - except for the winged helmet which appears to be artistic licence!

* Film/Batman1989: Two pretty crooks are on a rooftop discussing their latest haul and the recent rumors of "The Bat" going around Gotham City. They hear footsteps behind them, look up, and see a [[NightmareFuel humanoid bat figure who spreads his cape wide open...]]

* In ''Anime/TheBigO'' Angel has scarring on her back resembling wings, believed to be inflicted during her [[LaserGuidedAmnesia forgotten]] childhood.
* In ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', Ayu is associated with angels as [[spoiler:the lost item she is looking for is a small angel doll]], and her design includes a backpack with [[http://kanon.wikia.com/wiki/Ayu_Tsukimiya?file=Ayu.gif attached cartoony angel wings.]] The opening movie also includes a symbolic picture of her with full angel wings.

* In one episode of ''Anime/{{FLCL}}'' Canti is seen wearing little black wings and an obviously fake halo. They don't do anything except convince [[CloudCuckooLander Mamimi]] that he's a god...

* ''Film/{{Twilight}}'': When Edward is seated in the science class at school, there's a stuffed and mounted owl behind him. At one point the camera view makes it look like the owl's wings belong to Edward.

* In the buildup to the finale of ''Film/HotFuzz'', Sergeant [[MeaningfulName Angel]] gears up with numerous guns, including two rifles which he straps to his back to create a winglike image.

* ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'' (second book of ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive''): For the finale, Kaladin regains his powers and flies at high speed to the location of the battle. When he lands, a burst of energy creates an image of wings behing him, although this is not a symbol that has cultural meaning in the setting (because there are no birds). Instead, the symbol is writing in the symmetrical glyph language that happens to look like wings.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'': PlayedForHorror in "Village of the Angels" when Claire Brown looks in the mirror and sees a vision of herself with stone angel wings growing from her back. It shows she's been possessed by a Weeping Angel, an EldritchAbomination that takes the form of an angel statue.
* The final episode of ''Series/GameOfThrones'' has [[DragonRider Daenerys]] walking before her dragon as he unfurls his wings, reinforcing the image of Dragon Queen - or FallenAngel.

* Helena from ''Series/OrphanBlack'' has [[CoveredInScars extensive scarring]] on her back -- [[spoiler:that she likely [[SelfHarm did to herself]]]] -- that make out the shape of wings. At first it symbolizes her being a religious fanatic, but later [[spoiler:she becomes a "guardian angel" for her twin sister Sarah]].

* The Airfix company issued a figure set representing "Ancient Britons" - generic Celtic warriors to be wargaming opposition to their Roman Legion. It can be seen from the [[http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=39 figure types included]] that two figures, the Battle Chieftain and the chariot crewman, have been given stylised winged helmets. The Chieftain excessively so - see Real Life. Airfix based these figures and their equipment on extensive research of Celtic British artefacts held in the British Museum - except for the winged helmet which appears to be artistic licence!

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'': the "Murakumo Units" Lambda 11, and Nu 13 are {{Robot Girl}}s with flying swords as their main weapon; said swords generally float behind them in a winglike formation.

* Maghda, a persistent secondary villain in ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'', has a pair of withermoths (essentially giant electric dragonflies) on her shoulders, which sometimes flap and fly up a short distance. She also [[PowerFloats hovers]], but this is probably due to her own magic rather than allowed by the insects.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, the national and royal crests of Hyrule include the [[CosmicKeystone Triforce]] surrounded by stylized wings. These wing motifs appear in numerous Hylian designs, including the king's crown.

* {{Invoked|Trope}} in VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} with all of Mercy's costumes. Her entire motif is angelic mercy, and she plays it for all it's worth; she's a borderline-superhuman healer, her default costume is mostly shining white with lots of golden trim, she has glowing wings, she flies to her patients, she's a pacifist, she's a pale and statuesque blond woman, and she sometimes literally announces to her own arrival as a guardian angel.

* The Queen of Blades in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' has a pair of skeletal claws on her back that resemble wings. Unlike many examples, she actually uses these to attack. She continues to sport these in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', even after [[spoiler:being returned to human form, regaining her original personality, and then willingly becoming Zerg again.]] In the epilogue of ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid Legacy of the Void]]'', after [[spoiler:AscendingToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, she becomes an energy being with actual wings]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' the Monarch and his henchmen have butterfly wings as part of their costumes. Although, it's eventually revealed that these actually allow flight, somehow.

* In ''[[VideoGame/{{Onmyoji}} Onmyōji]]'', Seimei's default outfit has crane wing motifs on its long sleeves.

[[quoteright:330:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/8304fde55fd85f3bd83d1afb5de9ae7c.png]]

* The brief description of the Balrog in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' mentions wings; however, the vagueness of

[[caption-width-right:330: [[Music/{{Sabaton}} ''Then the Winged Hussars arrived! Coming down the mountainside!'']][[note]]"Husaria's Attack" by Aleksander Orłowski.[[/note]]]]

the description has led to fandom contention as to whether it is actually winged or if the smoke and flame issuing from it merely takes a shape that resembles wings. For the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings film adaptation]], a sort of middle-ground was chosen in which the Balrog seems to have wings of flame.

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

* In ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', Ayu is associated with angels as [[spoiler:the lost item she is looking for is a small angel doll]], and her design includes a backpack with [[http://kanon.wikia.com/wiki/Ayu_Tsukimiya?file=Ayu.gif attached cartoony angel wings.]] The opening movie also includes a symbolic picture of her with full angel wings.

[[folder: Film ]]

* The cyberpunk version is used in ''Film/TheMatrixRevolutions'' when Neo is connected to the Machine mainframe. It's later combined with CrucifiedHeroShot.
* In both the film and the book of ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'', the Gondorian Guard are depicted as having helmets with integral symbolic wings. The soldiers' version has the wings crafted as an integral part of the helmet shell rather than protruding; but the Crown of Gondor worn by the King has fully-fledged wings like a bird in flight.
* ''Film/{{Twilight}}'': When Edward is seated in the science class at school, there's a stuffed and mounted owl behind him. At one point the camera view makes it look like the owl's wings belong to Edward.

[[folder: Literature ]]

* The brief description of the Balrog in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' mentions wings; however, the vagueness of the description has led to fandom contention as to whether it is actually winged or if the smoke and flame issuing from it merely takes a shape that resembles wings. For the [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings film adaptation]], a sort of middle-ground was chosen in which the Balrog seems to have wings of flame.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho''. Played for horror in "Village of the Angels" when Claire Brown looks in the mirror and sees a vision of herself with stone angel wings growing from her back. It shows she's been possessed by a Weeping Angel, an EldritchAbomination that takes the form of an angel statue.
* Helena from ''Series/OrphanBlack'' has [[CoveredInScars extensive scarring]] on her back -- [[spoiler: that she likely [[SelfHarm did to herself]]]] -- that make out the shape of wings. At first it symbolizes her being a religious fanatic, but later [[spoiler: she becomes a "guardian angel" for her twin sister Sarah]].
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': The angels have something like this. You can occasionally see [[TheShadowKnows wings in their shadows]], and when they die, they leave burned scars in the shape of wings on the ground. When they teleport, you can also hear the sound of wings.

[[folder: Collectibles and Toys]]
* The Airfix company issued a figure set representing "Ancient Britons" - generic Celtic warriors to be wargaming opposition to their Roman Legion. It can be seen from the [[http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=39 figure types included]] that two figures, the Battle Chieftain and the chariot crewman, have been given stylised winged helmets. The Chieftain excessively so - see Real Life. Airfix based these figures and their equipment on extensive research of Celtic British artefacts held in the British Museum - except for the winged helmet which appears to be artistic licence!
* The Polish Winged Hussars who feature in the page header illustration are [[http://www.plasticsoldierreview.com/Review.aspx?id=1315 also available in miniature]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* The Queen of Blades in ''VideoGame/StarCraft'' has a pair of skeletal claws on her back that resemble wings. Unlike many examples, she actually uses these to attack. She continues to sport these in ''VideoGame/StarcraftII'', even after [[spoiler: being returned to human form, regaining her original personality, and then willingly becoming Zerg again.]] In the epilogue of ''[[VideoGame/StarcraftIILegacyOfTheVoid Legacy of the Void]]'', after [[spoiler: AscendingToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, she becomes an energy being with actual wings]].
* ''VideoGame/DeusExMankindDivided'': continuing the Icarus motif from the previous game, promotional shots feature Adam Jensen standing in front of a rack of yellow lights posed to look like wings.

* Invoked in VideoGame/{{Overwatch}} with all of Mercy's costumes. Her entire motif is angelic mercy, and she plays it for all it's worth; she's a borderline-superhuman healer, her default costume is mostly shining white with lots of golden trim, she has glowing wings, she flies to her patients, she's a pacifist, she's a pale and statuesque blond woman, and she sometimes literally announces to her own arrival as a guardian angel.

* In ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' series, the national and royal crests of Hyrule include the [[CosmicKeystone Triforce]] surrounded by stylized wings. These wing motifs appear in numerous Hylian designs, including the king's crown.

* ''Webcomic/{{Godslave}}'' has Mary, one of a pair of twins, occasionally framed with wings in the background, possibly to invoke symbolism of [[Myth/EgyptianMythology the Ba half of the soul.]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]
* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish_hussars Polish Hussars]], heavy cavalry used in the 16th-18th centuries. It's not known why they wore the impractical wings, with the most accepted theory being intimidation. (See WingsDoNothing for more information)

* For the finale of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', Kaladin regains his powers and flies at high speed to the location of the battle. When he lands, a burst of energy creates an image of wings behing him, although this is not a symbol that has cultural meaning in the setting (because there are no birds). Instead, the symbol is writing in the symmetrical glyph language that happens to look like wings.

Although usually part of a costume, [[SpreadWingsFrameShot the wingly image can also be formed by something behind the character]], achieving much the same end as a BackgroundHalo.

* In ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', when the Boss delivers a RousingSpeech to the newly-reformed Third Street Saints, they do so in front of the [[https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/Saint_of_all_Saints Saint of all Saints]] statue -- an icon of the gang, depicting a young winged woman with a gun in each hand. Towards the end of the speech, when the Boss directs the gang to take over Stilwater, the HitlerCam very deliberately frames them to make it look like the statue's wings are theirs, casting them as a Luciferan figure (this is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjpkqK_lvRc&t=2m56s much more obvious]] if the statue is fully restored at this point[[note]]too bad it isn't possible without cheats[[/note]]). Amusingly, the allusion comes full circle in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowGatOutOfHell'', when another member of the Saints, Johnny Gat, gets the actual, physical wings formerly belonging to the actual Lucifer grafted onto his back.

Although usually part of a costume, the wingly image can also be formed by something behind the character, achieving much the same end as a BackgroundHalo.

* Pictured above, the Polish Winged Hussars, heavy cavalry used in the 16th-18th centuries. It's not known why they wore the impractical wings, with the most accepted theory being intimidation. (See WingsDoNothing for more information)
** The picture depicts the hussars' wings incorrectly, and they did indeed have a function. The 'wings' were actually numerous large feathers tied with cord to a double wooden frame starting from the wearer's waist and arching along the back, ending in a forward curl above the hussar's head. In a full gallop, the resulting wind through the feathers would create a buzzing or rumbling noise. Multiply that noise times hundreds or even thousands of riders, and you can imagine what a frightening din that would sound like to the enemy.
* Roman commentators on the early wars with the Celts report that many Celtic warriors wore helmets adorned with representations of birds' wings. Some archaeological evidence exists to support this, but in most cases the helmets worn into battle would only have had vestigial or abstract representation of wings on them. [[note]]although one truly elaborate example dating from 300BC was found, pretty much intact, in Rumania. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KMM_-_Kriegergrab_Ciumesti_Helm_Kopie.jpg Ciumesti Helmet]] has a large metal bird perched atop the helmet, with working wings that would have flapped when the owner moved.[[/note]]. Romantic interpretations by the Victorians elevated the winged helmet to the same folk-popular status as the horned helmet to Vikings: wings, in battle, would have been every bit as impractical as horns. The winged helmet worn by [[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} Asterix The Gaul]] in the cartoons is an example of the sort of exaggerated headgear Victorian imagination made mandatory for Celtic warrior heroes.

---

PowerGivesYouWings is a subtrope. See also HairWings, WingsDoNothing.

[[folder: ComicBooks]]
* 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. See "Real Life" below.

[[/folder]]

[[/folder]]

* ''[[Film/{{Twilight}}]]'': When Edward is seated in the science class at school, there's a stuffed and mounted owl behind him. At one point the camera view makes it look like the owl's wings belong to Edward.

* ''[[Film/Twilight]]'': When Edward is seated in the science class at school, there's a stuffed and mounted owl behind him. At one point the camera view makes it look like the owl's wings belong to Edward.

* In both the film and the book of ''Main/LordOfTheRings'', the Gondorian Guard are depicted as having helmets with integral symbolic wings. The soldiers' version has the wings crafted as an integral part of the helmet shell rather than protruding; but the Crown of Gondor worn by the King has fully-fledged wings like a bird in flight.

** The picture depicts the hussars' wings incorrectly, and they did indeed have a function. The 'wings' were actually numerous large feathers tied with cord to a double metal frame starting from the wearer's waist and arching along the back, ending in a forward curl above the hussar's head. In a full gallop, the resulting wind through the feathers would create a buzzing or rumbling noise. Multiply that noise times hundreds or even thousands of riders, and you can imagine what a frightening din that would sound like to the enemy.

* In ''VisualNovel//{{Kanon}}'', Ayu is associated with angels as [[spoiler:the lost item she is looking for is a small angel doll]], and her design includes a backpack with [[http://kanon.wikia.com/wiki/Ayu_Tsukimiya?file=Ayu.gif attached cartoony angel wings.]] The opening movie also includes a symbolic picture of her with full angel wings.

* In ''Anime/{{Kanon}}'', Ayu is associated with angels as [[spoiler:the lost item she is looking for is a small angel doll]], and her design includes a backpack with [[http://kanon.wikia.com/wiki/Ayu_Tsukimiya?file=Ayu.gif attached cartoony angel wings]]. The opening movie also includes a symbolic picture of her with full angel wings.