Warning! Spoilers for Future State: Wonder Woman below.
Disney may have acquired Marvel, but this doesn't necessarily mean that it's the only publishing company that can benefit from the inexhaustible creativity and expansive collection that Disney provides. However, DC Comics writer and artist Joëlle Jones of Future State's Wonder Woman recently drew inspiration from an iconic fighting scene that takes place during Disney's Hercules - and it was awesome.
The original scene in question from Disney's Hercules served as a defining moment for both the ex-trainer Philoctetes, who recently left retirement for one last shot at molding the perfect hero and the then-burgeoning young hero Hercules, who wanted nothing more than to prove himself to the world. It's the first real mission that Hercules underwent, one that involved stopping what he assumed to be a one-headed monster from destroying Thebes. Though, upon slicing off its head, it soon became abundantly clear that he was facing the hydra, a monster with regenerating capabilities that, for every one of its heads that got chopped off, regrew two new heads. Based on how the battle was unfolding, Hercules' success would have been much less likely if he hadn't received help from his trusted pegasus named, yes, Pegasus.
In Future State: Wonder Woman #1, Jones borrowed many of the same elements that Disney's version utilized. Aside from the obvious similarity that Yara Flor beats a hydra with help from her own pegasus, the most prominent likeness is that, like Hercules, Flora just recently assumed her respective role, which, in her case, is the leader of the Amazon army. And it shows. Like Hercules, she doesn't realize she's fighting a hydra until multiple heads (not just two) burst from its body after slicing off its original head. While unfortunate, Wonder Woman is in an even worse predicament than Hercules found himself originally.
Yara might have her own pegasus (hilariously named Jerry), but she hasn't formed as strong a bond with him as Hercules had with Pegasus by the time he fought the hydra. It definitely helped that Hercules had already bonded with Pegasus as an infant before Hades kidnapped him, even though their time together was relatively short and Hercules didn't remember any of it. (Luckily, Pegasus did.) In Yara's case, she didn't grow up with Jerry, and since she likely just received the pegasus after becoming the leader of the Amazon army, she has to start bonding with her pegasus from scratch and obviously didn't bond enough by the time she faced the hydra.
This failing adds an appropriate amount of much-welcomed humor to an already well-executed fight scene. Yara tries to call the pegasus, not once, not twice, but four times, all while struggling to stave off the creature's relentless attacks. Some of her attempts at calling her steed incorporate different variations of the same overall theme, including the very dog-trainer-esque technique where trainers say their dog's name, which is either preceded or proceeded by the command, "come." When Jerry does, in fact, finally come, Yara Flor quickly sends the hydra to meet its maker much like Hercules did to his.
Of course, the main divergence between DC's issue and Disney's film is that Yara kills the beast to use one of its horns to convince or kill Hades, depending on whether the God of the Underworld listens to her demand of releasing her Themysciran sister from captivity. Regardless, it's quite apparent from these and other scenes in Future State: Wonder Woman #1 that Joëlle Jones is building a strong foundation to depict Yara's connection to Greek Mythology quite vividly. It will be interesting to see what other aspects of Grecian lore will be used in future issues and if they will include any more scenes similar to Disney's Hercules.