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In media

Quetzalcoatl was fictionalized in the 1982 film Q as a monster that terrorizes New York City. The deity has been featured as a character in the manga and anime series Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's, Beyblade: Metal Fusion, Fate/Grand Order - Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid (the latter two depicting Quetzalcoatl as a female dragon deity); the Megami Tensei video game franchise; the video games Fate/Grand Order, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV, Sanitarium, Smite (as an alternate costume for his Mayan counterpart, Kukulkan), and Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine; as the main antagonist in the Star Trek: The Animated Series episode " How Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth "; and in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel books. Quetzelcoatl also appeared on (Season 3) of the Animal Planet mockumentary Lost Tapes in an episode entitled "Q the Serpent God".

In 1971 Tony Shearer published a book called Lord of the Dawn: Quetzalcoatl and the Tree of Life, inspiring New Age followers to visit Chichen Itza at the summer solstice when dragon-shaped shadows are cast by the Kulkulcan pyramid.

The legend of Quetzalcoatl is spoofed in the Adult Swim CGI series Xavier: Renegade Angel. In the episode "Damnesia Vu," (Season 2 EP 6) Xavier winds up in the Aztec world and is immediately (and unsuccessfully) sacrificed for insulting the Sun God, and during the sacrifice the Aztecs humorously fail to pronounce his name. Later, Xavier and the Aztecs summon Quetzalcoatl in his mortal form and wind up angering him after cutting him open. After a slapstick-style chase scene, Xavier winds up as the Sun God and commits "sacricide" (sacrificial suicide), ending the skit.

Quetzalcoatl appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thor: Love and Thunder. He appears seated in Omnipotence City of the gods, where all major deities are located, during an announcement from leader of the gods, Zeus.

Quetzalcoatl also features in several songs by The Mountain Goats, an indie folk-rock band, such as Quetzalcoatl eats Plums and Quetzalcoatl is Born, both released as part of the album Zopilote Machine, released in 1994.