Как пишется слово зорро

Roronoa Zoro
One Piece character
First appearance	One Piece chapter 3: «Introducing Pirate Hunter Zoro» (Weekly Shōnen Jump No. 36, 1997)
Created by	Eiichiro Oda
Portrayed by	Mackenyu
Voiced by	See Voice actors
In-universe information
Alias	Pirate Hunter
Occupation	Pirate Bounty Hunter (formerly)
Affiliations	Straw Hat Pirates (combatant / swordsman) Worst Generation (member)
Age	19 (debut) 21 (after the timeskip)
Bounties	1,111,000,000 (current) 320,000,000 (third) 120,000,000 (second) 60,000,000 (first)[1][2][3]

Roronoa Zoro (ロロノア・ゾロ, Roronoa Zoro, spelled as «Roronoa Zolo» in some English adaptations), also known as «Pirate Hunter» Zoro (海賊狩りのゾロ, Kaizoku-Gari no Zoro), is a fictional character in the One Piece franchise created by Eiichiro Oda.

In the story, Zoro is the first crewmate to join Monkey D. Luffy’s crew after he is saved (by Luffy and Koby) from being executed at the Marine Base by Captain Morgan. He is the crew’s combatant,^[4] and one of the two swordsmen of the Straw Hat Pirates, the other being Brook. He also has an extremely poor sense of direction, which is a running gag throughout the whole series.

Creation and conception[edit]

Zoro originally used two swords instead of three.^[5] Zoro was originally planned to be part of Buggy the Clown’s pirate crew and would have been recruited by Luffy away from Buggy. Zoro’s surname was based on the Japanese pronunciation of French pirate François l’Olonnais. In several Western localizations, his name was changed to Zolo.

Design[edit]

Zoro commonly wears a plain white shirt (though he can be seen wearing other types of shirts), black pants, and a light-green, haramaki sash that holds his three swords. Zoro also has a black bandanna tied around his left biceps that he only wears on his head while in a serious battle. Under his shirt, his torso is heavily scarred from many of the battles he has fought, especially since he joined the Straw Hats (like the one acquired during the battle against Dracule Mihawk, one of the Seven Warlords of the Sea). He has three golden earrings in his left ear, which denotes his three swords style. After the two year time-skip, Zoro has a scar across his left eye (obtained during his training under Dracule Mihawk) and replaces his shirt with a long dark green samurai’s coat which he can even open the torso while fighting (against the New Fishman Pirates) or when he experiences heat (burning side of Punk Hazard). Concerning his ethnic appearance, Oda revealed that he imagines Zoro to be of Japanese descent, albeit in a real-world context.^[6]

Zoro has many scars on his body. The most noticeable is the long scar running down his left eye, which is the one he got after returning from the two-year time skip. It is currently unknown how he acquired it, but he either can’t or won’t open his left eye because of it.
He also has a heavily scarred torso, having a diagonal cut mark from the top left to the bottom right of his torso due to fighting Dracule Mihawk. He also has scars on both of his ankles, which he obtained from trying to cut his own legs off to escape the candle prison of Mr. 3 in Little Garden.

Voice actors[edit]

In the original Japanese version of the One Piece anime series, Zoro is voiced by Kazuya Nakai as an adult and Megumi Urawa as a child. In the first OVA Defeat Him! The Pirate Ganzack from 1998 is voiced by Wataru Takagi.

In Odex’s dubs of the first 104 episodes of One Piece in Singapore, Zoro was voiced by Brian Zimmerman. In the 4kids Entertainment’s dub of the first 104 episodes of One Piece, Zoro was renamed «Zolo,» which was later influenced and implemented in the Viz Media adaption of the manga series; he was voiced by Marc Diraison. In Funimation Entertainment’s dubs of the entire One Piece franchise, adult Zoro is voiced by Christopher Sabat with Cynthia Cranz playing the role of child Zoro for episode 2 and by Brina Palencia for the rest of the franchise. Sabat compared Zoro’s characterization with Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle‘s Kurogane and YuYu Hakusho‘s Kazuma Kuwabara, describing them as «the tough guy with a heart of gold». As a result, Sabat feared that he sometimes performs similar voices despite the fact the characters are different. He also tried seeing the original actors’ works to avoid getting a more specific delivery.^[7] In the game One Piece: Unlimited Adventure, Sabat reprises his role as adult Zoro, with child Zoro voiced by Aaron Dismuke.

Characteristics[edit]

Zoro is confident but often acts in a very comical manner. A running gag is that he has a terrible sense of direction (being capable of getting lost even while walking in a straight line) which he is very insecure about since he never admits when he gets lost, instead always blaming someone else. While the crew is out at sea, Zoro can (usually) be found sleeping or training towards his goal of becoming the world’s best swordsman. He and Sanji have a great rivalry, often resorting to fighting (both verbally and physically) over issues from minor to extreme. Zoro had never called Sanji by his name in the original Japanese manga, he uses phrases like «dumb-cook», etc. On the other side, Sanji uses phrases like marimo (moss-head). etc.

Though not a samurai, he appears to maintain a certain degree of bushido and is frequently mistaken for one. Unlike Luffy and most of the other Straw Hat Pirates, Zoro has been known to kill his opponents if he has to, though never in cold blood. It is shown that Zoro enjoys fighting a strong opponent (usually left to face down the second strongest villain in each arc, as Luffy faces down the strongest). Zoro tends to retain a maniacal grin and serious glare when battling a worthy opponent.

Personality[edit]

Zoro has a stern, serious, and distanced personality, but unlike Robin, he often reacts in a goofy and exaggerated comic style due to his short-tempered and impatient attitude. On the ship, he normally either trains with weights or sleeps. The only work he is seen doing regularly is hoisting the anchor using his great strength and maintaining a lookout in the ship’s crow’s nest (which on the Thousand Sunny ship also doubles as his personal gym). He also likes sake, almost to the degree that Luffy likes meat, but like Nami, he never gets drunk due to his inhumanly-high endurance and tolerance for alcohol. Another notable trait is his lack of orientation, as Zoro often gets lost, even in small, familiar spaces or when being led by someone. Despite this, he is often the first to sense an enemy or danger and the first to react. He is often displayed as being well aware of dangerous situations and the people around him.

Zoro often reminds others of the harsh facts, which shocks some of the other crew members, although they usually decide he is right. Zoro is an atheist because he stated that he does not pray to any god, could not care one way or the other, and has never believed in anything except himself. Even so, Zoro knows that he still has much-untapped potential and is constantly seen training and improving his fighting skills. He also adheres to a strict sword master’s code of honor and never falsely brags or lies about his abilities, sometimes outright admitting a weakness, even to an enemy. He also never tries to escape from a fight or use trickery to win, believing that doing so is cowardly and scorning anyone who uses such tactics. Zoro is vigorous, strong-willed, and determined.

Abilities[edit]

Zoro is uniquely known as an expert of Santōryū (Three Sword Style), where he wields a third sword with his mouth in combat. Throughout the series, his primary sword is Wado Ichimonji, one of the World’s 21 great swords inherited from a childhood friend Kuina, and is frequently the sword he wields in his mouth, while the other two swords frequently change and improve over time.

Haki[edit]

He is proficient in Armament and Observation Haki, as well as one of the few known characters who possess Conquerors Haki. During his battle against King, Zoro unlocks an advanced form of Conquerors Haki (Called Infusion), which gave him the ability to coat his swords with it, similar to Armament Haki, which could further enhance his attacks. He also uses an advanced form of Armament Haki (Called Emission) to shoot a short blast of Haki from a distance.^[8]

Appearances[edit]

One Piece manga[edit]

Roronoa Zoro first appears in the manga chapter «Enter Pirate Hunter Zoro» («海賊狩りのゾロ»登場, Kaizoku-gari no Zoro Tōjō), first published in Japan’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine on August 18, 1997, and first appeared in 1st Episode of anime.^[9] He first appears as a captured criminal awaiting his execution at the hands of the Marines.^[9] Before the beginning of the series’ narrative, Zoro loses his childhood friend Kuina and vows to become the strongest swordsman in the world.^[10] For years, Zoro hunts pirates as a bounty hunter only to get money for food in the company of his friends Johnny and Yosaku. Zoro initially did this because he got lost seeking to face the best swordsman in the world, Dracule Mihawk. When Luffy offers Zoro the opportunity to join his crew, Zoro initially refuses. But after Luffy saves him from execution, Zoro pledges loyalty to him. Zoro is later easily defeated at Mihawk’s hands at the Baratie restaurant and pledges to Luffy that he would never lose again.^[11]

Zoro’s loyalty to Luffy is incomparable among the crew and develops through the series. Even though he joined Luffy’s crew, his main goal was to become the strongest swordsman. Originally Zoro threatened to kill Luffy if he ever got in the way of this goal. He listens to his captain’s order and follows the order until the very end. On Jaya, Zoro followed Luffy’s orders not to fight an enemy in a bar no matter what and followed it without hesitation. In «Water 7,» Zoro upholds the authority of Luffy as captain during Luffy’s fight with Usopp and Usopp’s leaving of the crew. Zoro pointedly refuses to allow Usopp to rejoin the crew without an apology and threatens to be the next to leave because to let Usopp «back as if nothing happened was an insult to Luffy’s authority as captain. He even slapped Luffy with the reality that being a pirate isn’t a game.»^[12]

On the next island, Thriller Bark, Bartholomew Kuma confronted a knocked-out Luffy and the Straw Hats and asked the protagonists to surrender Luffy. Everyone refused, and Kuma knocked everyone out except for Zoro, Sanji, and Brook. Zoro offers to sacrifice his life for Luffy, proclaiming that Luffy will be the man to become Pirate King. Sanji also offers his life, but Zoro knocks out Sanji to save his life. Zoro begs Kuma not to take Luffy and to take him instead. Zoro told Kuma that he is even willing to give up his dream of becoming the world’s greatest swordsman for Luffy’s dream. After seeing this, Kuma agreed to Zoro instead of taking Zoro with him. Kuma asked to take all Luffy’s pain after fighting Gecko Moria. Zoro’s dream in the entire series was to become the world’s greatest swordsman, but he is willing to give that up for Luffy, showing how loyal Zoro grew to his captain after initially threatening to end Luffy’s life for threatening his dream.^[12]

After fighting Daz Bonez in Alabasta, Zoro’s bounty is initially set at 60,000,000 but is later raised to 120,000,000 after fighting the World Government at Enies Lobby. Later, the crew is separated by Bartholomew Kuma, which resulted in pre and post-time skips. Zoro encounters Mihawk again and trains under him for two years before reuniting with the crew. He receives a bounty of 320,000,000 after cutting up an antagonist as large as a mountain and assisting Luffy at the end of Don Quixote Doflamingo’s tyrannical rule. After the events in Wano Country and his contributions in the Onigashima Raid such as defeating King, he receives a bounty of 1,111,000,000.

In other media[edit]

Zoro has made several appearances in other media, including, but not limited to, every One Piece licensed electronic video game to date, including Jump Super Stars and Jump Ultimate Stars. In 2006, he is featured in the Dragon Ball/One Piece/Naruto crossover game Battle Stadium D.O.N..

Zoro appears in a special episode of One Piece X Toriko, fighting Zebra and Vegeta, Zoro appears lost, searching for his crew, until Zebra appears to Zoro, and Vegeta appears searching for Goku to «settle the score», the three were furious and fought without end.

Zoro will be portrayed by Mackenyu in Netflix’s live action adaptation of One Piece.^[13]

Reception[edit]

Zoro is always among the top three most popular characters, usually only below Luffy in popularity. He ranked second in every Shōnen Jump character popularity poll except the fifth, where he ranked third after Trafalgar Law.^[14][15][16] Furthermore, in a 2007 poll by Oricon, Zoro was voted as the 4th most desired character to receive a spinoff.^[17] DVD Talk praises Zoro’s «hilarious» three-sword fighting style as a great example of the show’s sense of humor.^[18] Holly Ellingwood from Activeanime praised Zoro’s fight against Luffy as one of the best moments from the 10th DVD from the series released by Viz Media, praising the action scenes.^[19] Sabat’s work with Zoro has resulted in him being nominated in the category «Best Voice Actor (English)» in the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation (SPJA) Awards from 2008.^[20] Carl Kimlinger of Anime News Network commented on Sabat’s work with Zoro as a «standout», noting that Zoro and Sabat are «well-matched.^[21] Kimlinger also found that his and Sanji’s flashbacks from the anime «really do jerk tears, even if they are less than gracefully executed».^[22]

An analysis of Zoro and Sanji’s dichotomy noted Oda wrote them as «the Ying and Yang that complete Luffy. They are the representation, the embodiment of everything that Luffy stands for…Zoro is the bull-headed, battle-seeking, ambitious side of Luffy. He is the only Straw Hat whose dream is directly combat-related. For Luffy to become the Pirate King, he would have to surpass all other pirates.» To become the world’s strongest swordsman, Zoro must «surpass all other swordsmen. Both men have the will to stand atop the world and, as a result of this, are both conquerors. Zoro, like Luffy, is always looking for strong people to fight.^[23] When Nico Robin refers to the two as the «Wings of the Pirate King,» it «suggests that they’re the two most important people to Luffy becoming the Pirate King, for their ability to carry their responsibility effectively and fight at the highest level, if not more.»^[24]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• «One Piece: Collection One». DVDTalk.

Zorro (Spanish for ‘fox’) is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California.^[1] He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

Zorro
Cover to Dynamite Entertainment’s Zorro #2 (March 2008) by Mike Mayhew
First appearance	All-Story Weekly (August 1919)
Created by	Johnston McCulley
Portrayed by	Douglas Fairbanks Robert Livingston Reed Hadley Tyrone Power José Suárez Guy Williams Frank Langella George Hamilton Rodolfo de Anda Duncan Regehr Anthony Hopkins Antonio Banderas Alain Delon Christian Meier Miguel Bernardeau
In-universe information
Full name	Don Diego de la Vega
Alias	Zorro
Gender	Male
Occupation	Nobleman, vigilante
Weapon	Espada ropera Bullwhip
Nationality	New Spanish / Mexican

In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, the townspeople started calling him «El Zorro» due to his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons, but the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he uses often to carve the initial «Z» on his defeated foes, and other objects to «sign his work». He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.

Zorro is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a young man who is the only son of Don Alejandro de la Vega, the richest landowner in California, while Diego’s mother is dead. In most versions, Diego learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain, and created his masked alter ego after he was unexpectedly summoned home by his father because California had fallen into the hands of an oppressive dictator. Diego is usually shown living with his father in a huge hacienda, which contains a number of secret passages and tunnels, leading to a secret cave that serves as headquarters for Zorro’s operations and as Tornado’s hiding place. In order to divert suspicion about his identity, Diego hides his fighting abilities while also pretending to be a coward and a fop.

Zorro made his debut in the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery, which introduced the popular Zorro costume, convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades: the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death. The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. While the rest of McCulley’s Zorro stories did not enjoy the same popularity, as most of them were never reprinted until the 21st century, the character also appears in over 40 films and in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–1959, starring Guy Williams. Other media featuring Zorro include stories by other authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions and video games.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman drawing particularly close parallels to the character.

Publishing historyEdit

Zorro debuted in Johnston McCulley’s novel The Curse of Capistrano, serialized in five parts between August 9 and September 6, 1919, in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.^[2] The story was originally meant as a standalone tale, and at the denouement, Zorro’s true identity is revealed to all.

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, on their honeymoon, selected the story as the inaugural picture for their new studio, United Artists, beginning the character’s cinematic tradition.^{[citation needed]} The novel was adapted as the film The Mark of Zorro (1920), which Fairbanks produced, co-wrote and starred in as Diego/Zorro. The movie was a commercial success,^[2] and the 1924 reprint of McCulley’s story by publisher Grosset & Dunlap used the same title, capitalizing on the movie’s popularity. The novel has since been reprinted using both titles.

In response to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote more than sixty more Zorro stories, beginning in 1922 with The Further Adventures of Zorro, which was also serialized in Argosy All-Story Weekly. Fairbanks picked up the movie rights for the sequel that year. However, Fairbanks’s sequel, Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), was more based on the 1919 novel Don Q’s Love Story by the mother–son duo Kate Prichard and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard, than The Further Adventures. Thus McCulley received no credit on the film.^[3]

At first, production of new Zorro stories proceeded at irregular intervals: the third novel, Zorro Rides Again (not to be confused with the 1937 theatrical serial) was published in 1931, nine years after the second one. Then, between 1932 and 1941, McCulley wrote four short stories and two serialized novels. Zorro stories were published much more frequently between 1944 and 1951, a period in which McCulley published 52 short stories with the character for the West Magazine. «Zorro Rides the Trail!», which appeared in Max Brand’s Western Magazine in 1954, is the last story to be published during the author’s lifetime, and the second-to-last story overall. The last, «The Mask of Zorro» (not to be confused with the 1998 film), was published posthumously in Short Stories for Men in 1959. These stories ignore Zorro’s public revelation of his identity.

The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. For the most part, McCulley’s other Zorro stories remained overlooked and out-of-print until the 21st century. Bold Venture Press collected all McCulley’s Zorro stories Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, in six volumes.

Over 40 Zorro titled films were made over the years, including The Mark of Zorro, the 1940 classic starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The character was also featured in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–59, starring Guy Williams.^[2] Zorro appears in several stories written by other authors, comics books and strips, stage productions, video games and other media. McCulley died in 1958, just as Zorro was at the height of his popularity thanks to the Disney series.

Fictional character biographyEdit

In The Curse of Capistrano, Señor Zorro became an outlaw in the pueblo of Los Angeles in California «to avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians, to aid the oppressed» and is dubbed the «Curse of Capistrano». The novel features extensively both Don Diego Vega and Zorro, but the fact that they are the same person is not revealed to the reader until the end of the book. In the story, both Diego and Zorro romance Lolita Pulido, an impoverished noblewoman. While Lolita is unimpressed with Diego, who pretends to be a passionless fop, she is attracted to the dashing Zorro. The main villain is Captain Ramon, who also has his eyes on Lolita. Other characters include Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, Zorro’s enemy but Diego’s friend; Diego’s deaf and mute servant Bernardo; his ally, Fray (Friar) Felipe; his father Don Alejandro Vega, the richest landowner in California and a widower; Don Carlos Pulido and his wife, Doña Catalina, Lolita’s parents; and a group of noblemen (caballeros) who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.

In later stories, McCulley introduces characters such as pirates and Native Americans, some of whom know Zorro’s identity.

In McCulley’s later stories, Diego’s surname became de la Vega. In fact, the writer was wildly inconsistent. The first magazine serial ended with the villain dead and Diego publicly exposed as Zorro. But in the sequel, the villain was alive and the next entry had the double identity still secret.

Several Zorro productions have expanded on the character’s exploits. Many of the continuations feature a younger character taking up the mantle of Zorro.

McCulley’s stories are set during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821)^[4] and, although exact years are often vague, the presence of the Pueblo of Los Angeles means the stories cannot happen before 1781, the year it was founded. Some media adaptations of Zorro’s story have placed him during the later era of Mexican California (1821–1848).

Character motifsEdit

The character’s visual motif is typically a black costume with a black flowing Spanish cloak or cloak, a black flat-brimmed hat known as sombrero cordobés, and a black sackcloth mask that covers the top half of his head. Sometimes the mask is a two piece, the main item being a blindfold-type fabric with slits for the eyes, and the other item being a bandana over the head, so that it is covered even if the hat is removed: this is the mask worn in the movie The Mark of Zorro (1920) and in the television series Zorro (1957–1959). Other times, the mask is a one piece that unites both items described above: this mask was introduced in The Mark of Zorro (1940) and appears in many modern versions. Zorro’s mask has also occasionally been shown as being a rounded domino mask, which he wore without also wearing a bandana. In his first appearance, Zorro’s cloak is purple, his hat is generically referred to as a «wide sombrero,» and his black cloth veil mask with slits for eyes covers his whole face. Other features of the costume may vary.^{[citation needed]}

His favored weapon is a rapier, which he also uses to often leave his distinctive mark, a Z cut with three quick strokes, on his defeated foes and other objects to «sign his work». He also uses other weapons, including a bullwhip and a pistol.

The fox is never depicted as Zorro’s emblem. It is used as a metaphor for the character’s wiliness, such as in the lyrics «Zorro, ‘the Fox’, so cunning and free …» from Disney’s television series theme.

His heroic pose consists of rearing on his horse, Tornado, often saluting with his hand or raising his sword high. The logo of the company Zorro Productions, Inc. uses an image of Zorro rearing on his horse, sword raised high.

Skills and resourcesEdit

Zorro is very intelligent and can not only use a complex strategy, prepared before entering the battlefield, but also improvise plans in the moment of danger and combat. He never uses brute force and, indeed, more often than not he uses humor and psychological teasing to irritate his opponents, causing them to lose their emotional detachment and become too eager for revenge to be able to coordinate in action and in combat. He fools them by provoking them into his traps.

In addition to having exceptional tactical skills, he specializes in infiltrating heavily guarded enemy structures or territories, espionage and improvised explosive devices. His calculating and precise ability as a tactician allowed him to also use weapons as an extension of his skillful hand. He is also a weapons expert and a master of escape and camouflage. He is also good at deciphering numerous languages, both spoken and written. Zorro also masters body language, gestures and symbols, facilitating communication with locals regardless of ethnicity or language.

Zorro is an agile athlete and acrobat, using his bullwhip as a gymnastic accoutrement to swing through gaps between city roofs, and is very capable of landing from great heights and taking a fall. Although he is a master swordsman and marksman, he has more than once demonstrated his prowess in unarmed combat against multiple opponents. Keen intelligence and an acute power of observation are two main skills allowing Zorro to surprise, in order to defeat, establishment enemies.

His calculating and precise dexterity as a tactician has enabled Zorro to use two key weapons, his sword and bullwhip, as an extension of his deft hand. He never uses brute strength. Instead and more likely, he uses his fox-like and sly mind, and well-practiced technique to outmatch an opponent. He uses seduction as Zorro and coyness as Don Diego de la Vega, tricking his opponents to obstruct easy access to his true identity by using deception as masterful skill.

In some versions, Zorro keeps a medium-sized dagger tucked in his left boot for emergencies. He has used his cape as a blind, a trip-mat and a disarming tool. Zorro’s boots are also sometimes weighted, as is his hat, which he has thrown, Frisbee-style, as an efficiently substantial warning to enemies. But more often than not, he uses psychological mockery to make his opponents too angry to be coordinated in combat.

Zorro is a skilled horseman. The name of his jet-black horse has varied through the years. In The Curse of Capistrano, it was unnamed. In Disney’s Zorro television series the horse gets the name Tornado, which has been kept in many later adaptations. In most versions, Zorro keeps Tornado in a secret cave, connected to his hacienda with a system of secret passages and tunnels.

McCulley’s concept of a band of men helping Zorro is often absent from other versions of the character. An exception is Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), starring Reed Hadley as Diego. In Douglas Fairbanks’ version, he also has a band of masked men helping him. In McCulley’s stories, Zorro was aided by a deaf-mute named Bernardo. In Disney’s Zorro television series, Bernardo is not deaf but pretends to be, and serves as Zorro’s secret agent. He is a capable and invaluable helper for Zorro, sometimes wearing the mask to reinforce his master’s charade. The Family Channel’s Zorro television series replaces Bernardo with a teenager named Felipe, played by Juan Diego Botto, with a similar disability and pretense. In Isabel Allende’s Zorro: A Novel, Bernardo is the child of the de la Vega’s Native housemaid, Ana, who forms a bond with Regina de la Vega, a former Native warrior who is converted, Christainized and married to Don Alejandro. Their dual pregnancies result in them giving birth the same night. Due to complications from birth, Regina cannot breastfeed her child, Diego, so Ana breastfeeds both boys, making them milk brothers. The two are shown to be inseparable, which helps Bernardo receive more formal education, and accompanies Diego to Barcelona. After a group of pirates invade the de la Vega home, Bernardo witnesses the rape and murder of his mother and a result stops speaking. Diego’s grandmother White Owl concludes Bernardo refuses to speak as a form of mourning. He is shown to speak to Tornado in a spirit quest and later to a fellow native girl, Light-in-the-Night, whom he marries.

CharacteristicsEdit

In The Curse of Capistrano, Diego is described as «a fair youth of excellent blood and twenty-four years, noted the length of El Camino Real for his small interest in the really important things of life.» It is also said that «Don Diego was unlike the other full-blooded youths of the times. It appeared that he disliked action. He seldom wore his blade, except as a matter of style and apparel. He was damnably polite to all women and paid court to none. … Those who knew Don Diego best declared he yawned ten score times a day.» Though proud as befitting his class (and seemingly uncaring about the lower classes), he shuns action, rarely wearing his sword except for fashion, and is indifferent to romance with women. This is, of course, a sham. At the end of the novel, Diego explains that he has planned his double identity since he was fifteen:

«It began ten years ago, when I was but a lad of fifteen,» he said. «I heard tales of persecution. I saw my friends, the frailes, annoyed and robbed. I saw soldiers beat an old native who was my friend. And then I determined to play this game.»

«It would be a difficult game to play, I knew. So I pretended to have small interest in life, so that men never would connect my name with that of the highwayman I expected to become. In secret, I practiced horsemanship and learned how to handle a blade—»

«By the saints, he did,» Sergeant Gonzales growled.

«One half of me was the languid Don Diego you all knew, and the other half was the Curse of Capistrano I hoped one day to be. And then the time came, and my work began.»

«It is a peculiar thing to explain, señores. The moment I donned cloak and mask, the Don Diego part of me fell away. My body straightened, new blood seemed to course through my veins, my voice grew strong and firm, fire came to me! And the moment I removed cloak and mask I was the languid Don Diego again. Is it not a peculiar thing?»

This part of the backstory was changed in the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro: Diego is recently returned from Spain at the start of the movie, and Zorro later tells Lolita that he learnt his swordsmanship in Spain. The 1925 sequel Don Q, Son of Zorro expands on this concept by saying that: «Though the home of the De Vegas has long been on California soil, the eldest son of each new generation returns to Spain for a period of travel and study.» The 1940 film The Mark of Zorro keeps the idea of Diego learning his swordsmanship in Spain, and adds the idea of him being unexpectedly summoned home by his father Don Alejandro when California fell into the hand of an oppressing dictator. Both ideas would then be included in most retelling of the character’s backstory.

McCulley’s portrayal of Diego’s personality, with minor variations, is followed in most Zorro media.

A notable exception to this portrayal is Disney’s Zorro (1957–59), where Diego, despite using the original façade early in the series, instead becomes a passionate and compassionate crusader for justice and simply masquerades as «the most inept swordsman in all of California». In this show, everyone knows Diego would love to do what Zorro does, but thinks he does not have the skill.

The Family Channel’s Zorro (1990–1993) takes this concept further. While Diego pretends to be inept with a sword, the rest of his facade is actually exaggerating his real interests. Diego is actually well-versed and interested in art, poetry, literature, and science. His facade is pretending to be interested in only these things and to have no interest in swordplay or action. Zorro also has a well-equipped laboratory in his hidden cave in this version of the story.

In Isabel Allende’s novel, Diego is a mestizo, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a Shoshone warrior woman. Thus, as a child, Diego is caught between the divine right of nobility and the ways of his Native mother, grandmother and ancestors.

InspirationsEdit

The historical figure most often associated with the Zorro character is Joaquin Murrieta, whose life was fictionalized in an 1854 dime novel by John Rollin Ridge. In the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro Murrieta’s (fictitious) brother Alejandro succeeds Diego as Zorro. As a hero with a secret identity who taunts his foes by signing his deeds, Zorro finds a direct literary predecessor in Sir Percival Blakeney, hero of the Scarlet Pimpernel pulp series by Emma Orczy.

The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico,^[5] Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, and Tiburcio Vasquez. Another possible historical inspiration is William Lamport, an Irish soldier who lived in Mexico in the seventeenth century. His life was the subject of a fictive book by Vicente Riva Palacio; The Irish Zorro (2004) is a recent biography. Another is Estanislao, a Yokuts man who led a revolt against the Mission San Jose in 1827.

The 1860s, 1880s and 1900s penny dreadful treatment of the Spring-heeled Jack character as a masked avenger may have inspired some aspects of Zorro’s heroic persona.^[6][7] Spring Heeled Jack was portrayed as a nobleman who created a flamboyant, masked alter ego to fight injustice, frequently demonstrated exceptional athletic and combative skills, maintained a hidden lair and was known to carve the letter «S» into walls with his rapier as a calling card.

Like Sir Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Don Diego avoids suspicion by playing the role of an effete dandy who wears lace, writes poetry, and shuns violence. The all-black Fairbanks film costume, which with variations has remained the standard costume for the character, was likely adapted from the Arrow serial film character The Masked Rider (1919). This character was the first Mexican black-clad masked rider on a black horse to appear on the silver screen. Fairbanks’s costume in The Mark of Zorro, released the following year, resembled that of the Rider with only slight differences in the mask and hat.^[8]

In 1860 Mór Jókai published his novel «Szegény Gazdagok» (Poor richmen), where the main character is the Hungarian Baron Lénárd Hátszegi, who is supposed to have the alterego of the «Fatia Negra» (The one with the Black face), an outlaw who robs local people during the night, and during the day lives an aristocratic life. The novel’s character was inspired by the real life Hungarian Baron László Nopcsa (1794–1884), who according to the local legends had a similar type of alterego.^[9]

Copyright and trademark disputesEdit

The copyright and trademark status of the Zorro character and stories have been disputed. Most of the entries of the Zorro franchise are still protected by copyright, and many hundreds of copyrights are owned or controlled by Zorro Productions, Inc. but there are at least five exceptions: the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro, the 1922 novel The Further Adventures of Zorro, the 1925 film Don Q, Son of Zorro and the 1926 film In the Way of Zorro are in the public domain in the United States since at least 95 years have passed after their first release. Zorro Productions, Inc. asserts that it «controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro.»^[10] It further states «[t]he unauthorized, unlicensed use of the name, character and/or likeness of ‘Zorro’ is an infringement and a violation of state and federal laws.»^[11]

In 1999, TriStar Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures, sued Del Taco, Inc., due to a fast-food restaurant advertising campaign that allegedly infringed Zorro Productions’ claims to a trademark on the character of Zorro. Sony and TriStar had paid licensing fees to Zorro Productions, Inc., related to the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro. In an August 1999 order, the court ruled that it would not invalidate Zorro Productions’ trademarks as a result of the defendant’s arguments that certain copyrights in Zorro being in the public domain or owned by third parties.^[12]

A dispute took place in the 2001 case of Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group.^[13] On January 24, 2001, Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc. sued Fireworks Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Mercury Entertainment, claiming that the Queen of Swords television series infringed upon the copyrights and trademarks of Zorro and associated characters. Queen of Swords is a 2000–2001 television series set in Spanish California during the early 19th century and featuring a hero who wore a black costume with a red sash and demonstrated similarities to the character of Zorro, including the sword-fighting skills, use of a whip and bolas, and horse-riding skills.

Zorro Productions, Inc., argued that it owned the copyright to the original character because Johnston McCulley assigned his Zorro rights to Mitchell Gertz in 1949. Gertz died in 1961, and his estate transferred to his children, who created Zorro Productions, Inc. Fireworks Entertainment argued that the original rights had already been transferred to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in 1920 and provided documents showing this was legally affirmed in 1929, and also questioned whether the copyright was still valid.

The court ruled that «since the copyrights in The Curse of Capistrano and The Mark of Zorro lapsed in 1995 or before, the character Zorro has been in the public domain».^[14] Judge Collins also stated that: «Plaintiffs’ argument that they have a trademark in Zorro because they licensed others to use Zorro, however, is specious. It assumes that ZPI had the right to demand licenses to use Zorro at all.» Judge Collins subsequently vacated her ruling following an unopposed motion filed by Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc.^[15]

In another legal action in 2010, Zorro Productions, Inc., sued Mars, Incorporated, makers of M&M’s chocolate candies, and ad agency BBDO Worldwide over a commercial featuring a Zorro-like costume.^[16] The case was settled («each party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with this action, including its attorney’s fees and costs») on August 13, 2010.^[17]

In March 2013, Robert W. Cabell, author of Z – the Musical of Zorro (1998), filed another lawsuit against Zorro Productions, Inc. The lawsuit asserted that the Zorro character is in the public domain and that the trademark registrations by Zorro Productions, Inc., are therefore fraudulent.^[18] In October 2014, Cabell’s lawsuit was dismissed, with the judge ruling that the state of Washington (where the case was filed) did not have jurisdiction over the matter.^[19][20] However the judge later reversed his decision and had the case transferred to California.^[21] In May 2017, U.S. District Judge Davila granted Zorro Productions, Inc.’s motion to dismiss Cabell’s claim to cancel its federal trademark registrations.^[22] Cabell did not appeal.

In June 2015, Robert W. Cabell’s legal dispute with Zorro Productions, Inc. resulted in the Community Trade Mark for «Zorro» being declared invalid by the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market for goods of classes 16 and 41.^[23] This follows the ‘Winnetou’ ruling of the Office’s First Board of Appeal^[24] in which the Board of Appeal ruled that the name of famous characters cannot be protected as a trademark in these classes. Zorro Productions appealed the decision and, on December 19, 2017, the EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal nullified the lower court’s ruling, declaring the contested trademarks as valid, and required Cabell to pay the costs of the legal action, the appeal and Zorro Productions’ legal fees and costs^{[citation needed]}. Zorro Productions, Inc. owns approximately 1300 other ZORRO related trademarks worldwide^{[citation needed]}. In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.^[25]

LegacyEdit

The 1936 film The Vigilantes Are Coming features a masked vigilante with a costume similar to Zorro, which led several countries to name the movie after Zorro: the film was named Zorro l’indomptable in France, Zorro – Der blutrote Adler in Germany, Zorro – den blodrøde ørn in Denmark and Zorro – veripunainen kotka in Finland. The main character, The Eagle, is played by Robert Livingston, who would then play the actual Zorro in the movie The Bold Caballero, also released in 1936.The Vigilantes Are Coming «was a reworking of The Eagle, Rudolph Valentino’s silent film.»^[26] In the film, Valentino plays the masked hero Black Eagle. The Eagle was based on the posthumously published 1841 novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, the Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in The Mark of Zorro.^[27]

The Masked Rider, the primary mascot of Texas Tech University, is similar to Zorro. Originally called «Ghost Rider», it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, Jerry Siegel has credited Zorro along with The Scarlet Pimpernel as one of the inspirations for the creation of Superman particularly the concept of his dual identity as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent, as Clark Kent’s harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.^[28][29] Superman’s stance as the Champion of the Oppressed and devil-may-care attitude during his early Golden Age appearances were influenced by the characters of The Mark of Zorro star Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in similar adventure films such as Robin Hood.^[30]

Also being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a dual identity, Bob Kane has credited Zorro as part of the inspiration for the character Batman, which was created in 1939.^[31] Like Don Diego de la Vega, Bruce Wayne is affluent, the heir of wealth built by his parents. His everyday persona encourages others to think of him as shallow, foolish and uncaring to throw off suspicion. Frank Miller’s comic book miniseries The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2001–2002) both include multiple Zorro references like the Batman inscribing a Z on a defeated foe. In later tellings of Batman’s origins, Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered by a robber as the family leaves a showing of the 1940 film The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power.

Zorro inspired a similar pulp character known as El Coyote, which was created in 1943 by José Mallorquí. A sample superhero character called The Fox appearing in the Supers supplement of the GURPS role-playing system is also based on Zorro.

Poster from Man with the Steel Whip (1954)

The Republic Pictures serials Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) and Man with the Steel Whip (1954) features masked heroes similar to Zorro: Don Daredevil and El Latigo. Republic had previously released five Zorro serials between 1937 and 1949, but had since lost the licence for the character and could not use him anymore. The serial makes frequent use of stock footage from all five Zorro serials, with scenes originally showing Zorro now being interpreted as showing Don Daredevil and El Latigo: the result of this is that the costume and body shape of Don Daredevil and El Latigo keeps changing between scenes, even becoming female in scenes taken from Zorro’s Black Whip (1944).^[32][33]

The 1956 musical comedy The Court Jester features a masked freedom fighter called The Black Fox (played by Edward Ashley) who combines aspects of both Zorro and Robin Hood.

Hanna-Barbera Productions’ animated series Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks (1958–1961) featured a Zorro-like character with a mask, cape and sword known in the episode «Mark of the Mouse» (1959). Hanna-Barbera Production’s animated series The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959–1962) features El Kabong, an alternate persona of the main character Quick Draw McGraw, which is loosely based upon Zorro.

In the animated series Justice League (2001–2004), a DC Comics character, El Diablo, bears a striking similarity to Zorro, in that he wears the same style hat, mask, sash and cape. The main difference is that his primary weapon is a whip. The Lazarus Lane version of El Diablo appears in Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006), voiced by Nestor Carbonell. While designed after his comic appearance, elements from Zorro’s appearance were added in. Seen in the episode «The Once and Future Thing» (2005), he appears alongside Pow Wow Smith, Bat Lash and Jonah Hex.

In 2015, The M7 Con Western Convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured a segment on the history of Zorro in film and television. The presentation focused on the great Zorro actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, and Duncan Regehr. Maestro Ramon Martinez and actor Alex Kruz gave a live demonstration of the Spanish style of fencing known as La Verdadera Destreza. The two dueled live as Zorro and the Comandante much to the delight of the crowd.^[34]

A cave that was used as a filming location in various Zorro productions is now known as «Zorro’s Cave» and remains in place, now hidden behind a condominium complex, on land that was once the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., recognized as the most widely filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood.

The DreamWorks character Puss in Boots, an anthropomorphic cat sporting high boots, a broad-brimmed and feathered sombrero, and a rapier, was also heavily inspired by Zorro (though ultimately based on the earlier Italian fairytale character of the same name). Portrayed by Antonio Banderas who also earlier played Zorro, he premiered as a character in Shrek 2 (2004) and in later sequels, as well as inspiring his own spinoff films Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Appearances in mediaEdit

Stories by Johnston McCulleyEdit

The Further Adventures of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 142 No. 4, May 6, 1922.

The original stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1910s to the 1950s. Most remained unpublished in book form until the series of collected editions Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, issued in 2016 and 2017.

• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 1 (2016)
  • The Curse of Capistrano, All-Story Weekly Vol. 100 No. 2 – Vol. 101 No. 2, serialized in five parts, August 9, 1919 – September 6, 1919 – novella The Curse of Capistrano published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1919, and reissued as The Mark of Zorro in 1924 by the same editor
  • «Zorro Saves A Friend», Argosy Vol. 234 No. 1, November 12, 1932
  • «Zorro Hunts A Jackal», Argosy Vol. 237 No. 6, April 22, 1933 (a.k.a. Zorro Hunts by Night)
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 2 (2016)
  • The Further Adventures of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 142 No. 4 – Vol. 143 No. 3, serialized in six parts, May 6, 1922 – June 10, 1922
  • «Zorro Deals With Treason», Argosy Vol. 249 No. 2, August 18, 1934
  • «Mysterious Don Miguel», Argosy Weekly, Vol. 258 No. 5 – No. 6, serialized in two parts, September 21, 1935 – September 28, 1935
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 3 (2016)
  • Zorro Rides Again, Argosy Vol. 224 No. 3 – Vol. 224 No. 6, serialized in four parts, October 3, 1931 – October 24, 1931
  • «Zorro Draws a Blade», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 2, July 1944
  • «Zorro Upsets a Plot», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 3, September 1944
  • «Zorro Strikes Again», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 1, November 1944
  • «Zorro Saves a Herd», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 2, January 1945
  • «Zorro Runs the Gauntlet», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 3, March 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Duel», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 1, May 1945
  • «Zorro Opens a Cage», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 2, July 1945
  • «Zorro Prevents a War», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 3, September 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Friend», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 1, October 1945
  • «Zorro’s Hour of Peril», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 2, November 1945
  • «Zorro Lays a Ghost», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 3, December 1945
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 4 (2016)
  • The Sign of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 305 No. 2 – Vol. 305 No. 6, serialized in five parts, January 25, 1941 – February 22, 1941
  • «Zorro Frees Some Slaves», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 1, January 1946
  • «Zorro’s Double Danger», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 2, February 1946
  • «Zorro’s Masquerade», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 3, March 1946
  • «Zorro Stops a Panic», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 1, April 1946
  • «Zorro’s Twin Perils», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 2, May 1946
  • «Zorro Plucks a Pigeon», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 3, June 1946
  • «Zorro Rides at Dawn» West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 1, July 1946
  • «Zorro Takes the Bait», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 2, August 1946
  • «Zorro Raids a Caravan», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 3, October 1946
  • «Zorro’s Moment of Fear», West Magazine Vol. 63 No. 3, January 1947
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 5 (2017)
  • «A Task for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 2, June 1947
  • «Zorro Saves His Honor», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 1, February 1947
  • «Zorro and the Pirate», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 2, March 1947
  • «Zorro Beats the Drum», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 3, April 1947
  • «Zorro’s Strange Duel», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 1, May 1947
  • «Zorro’s Masked Menace», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 3, July 1947
  • «Zorro Aids an Invalid», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 1, August 1947
  • «Zorro Saves an American», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 2, September 1947
  • «Zorro Meets a Rogue», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 3, October 1947
  • «Zorro Races with Death», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 1, November 1947
  • «Zorro Fights for Peace», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 2, December 1947
  • «Zorro Serenades a Siren», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 1, February 1948
  • «Zorro Meets a Wizard», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 2, March 1948
  • «Zorro Fights with Fire», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 3, April 1948
  • «Gold for a Tyrant», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 1, May 1948
  • «The Hide Hunter», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 2, July 1948
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 6 (2017)
  • «Zorro’s Fight for Life», West Magazine, Vol. 74 No. 2, July 1951
  • «Zorro Shears Some Wolves», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 3, September 1948
  • «The Face Behind the Mask», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 1, November 1948
  • «Zorro Starts the New Year», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 3, January 1948
  • «Hangnoose Reward», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 3, March 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hostile Friends», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 1, May 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hot Tortillas», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 2, July 1949
  • «An Ambush for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 3, September 1949
  • «Zorro Gives Evidence», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 1, November 1949
  • «Rancho Marauders», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 2, January 1950
  • «Zorro’s Stolen Steed» West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, March 1950
  • «Zorro Curbs a Riot», West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, September 1950
  • «The Three Stage Peons», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 1, November 1950
  • «Zorro Nabs a Cutthroat», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 2, January 1951
  • «Zorro Gathers Taxes», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 3, March 1951
  • «Zorro Rides the Trail!», Max Brand’s Western Magazine, May 1954
  • «The Mask of Zorro», Short Stories for Men Vol. 221 No. 2, April 1959

Edit

• Walt Disney’s Zorro by Steve Frazee 1958 Whitman Publishing Company, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro Outwits Death», Walt Disney’s Magazine Vol. III No. 3, April 1958. Loosely based on the episode «Zorro’s Secret Passage» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro’s Merry Chase», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 5, August 1958
• «The Fire of the Night», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 6, October 1958 and Vol. IV No. 1, 1958
• «Zorro and the Missing Father», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. IV No. 3, April 1959 and No. 4, June 1959. Adapted from the episodes «The Missing Father», «Please Believe Me», and «The Brooch» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro by Olivier Séchan 1959 Hachette
• Il Ritorno di Zorro by B.F. Deakin 1968 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, anthology of nine short stories
• Zorro arrive ! by Jacques Van Hauten 1971 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Le Retour de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1972 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le sergent Garcia by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le trésor du Pérou by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette
• Zorro contre le gouverneur by Jean-Claude Deret 1974 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• L’Épée de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1975 Hachette
• Zorro et l’épee du cid 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182556
• Zorro et la forteresse du diable by Valentin Dechemin 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182549, novelization of some episodes of the 1990 Zorro TV series
• Zorro and the Jaguar Warriors by Jerome Preisler September 1998 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6767-0
• The Mask of Zorro: A Novelization by James Luceno 1998 Pocket Books ISBN 978-0671519896, novelization of the 1998 movie The Mask of Zorro
• The Treasure of Don Diego by William McCay 1998 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51968-1, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Zorro and The Dragon Riders by David Bergantino March 1999 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6768-7
• Skull and Crossbones by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51970-4, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Secret Swordsman by William McCay 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51969-8, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Lost Temple by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Lo Spirito e la Spada by Louis A. Tartaglia 1999
• Zorro! by Sally M. Stockton 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• El Zorro by Margarita Barberá Quiles 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• Zorro and the Witch’s Curse by John Whitman April 2000 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6769-4
• La vera storia di Zorro by Isabella Parrini 2000 Alberti & C. ISBN 978-8887936056
• Zorro: l’ultima avventura ovvero la storia di Zorro, Volume 2 by Isabella Parrini 2001 Alberti & C.
• The Legend of Zorro: A Novelization by Scott Ciencin 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060833046, novelization of the 2005 movie The Legend of Zorro
• The Lone Ranger/Zorro: The Death Of Zorro By Ande Parks 2012 Simon Bowlands Crossover between The Lone Ranger and Zorro
• Zorro by Isabel Allende 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-077897-0
• Young Zorro: The Iron Brand by Jan Adkins 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060839468
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California by Irene Sartini 2007 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664407
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California – L’avventura continua by Irene Sartini 2008 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664575
• Tales of Zorro anthology of 17 short stories written by 22 authors, edited by Richard Dean Starr 2008 Moonstone Books ISBN 978-1-933076-31-7
• Zorro and the Little Devil by Peter David 2018 Bold Venture Press ISBN 978-1-7193-7410-1
• Zorro: The Daring Escapades anthology of 16 short stories, edited by Audrey Parente and Daryl McCullough 2020 Bold Venture Press ISBN 979-8637608508.

FilmsEdit

The character has been adapted for over forty films.^[35] They include:

American theatrical feature filmsEdit

• The Mark of Zorro (1920), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Fred Niblo
• Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Donald Crisp
• The Bold Caballero (1936), with Robert Livingston, directed by Wells Root
• The Mark of Zorro (1940), with Tyrone Power, directed by Rouben Mamoulian
• The Sign of Zorro (1958), with Guy Williams, portions of the first 13 Zorro TV episodes edited into a feature film, released overseas in 1958 and domestically in 1960
• Zorro, the Avenger (1959), with Guy Williams, another theatrical compilation of several Zorro TV episodes, released overseas.
• The Erotic Adventures of Zorro (1972), an erotic parody of the masked avenger, co-produced in Italy and Germany, Douglas Frey
• The Mark of Zorro (1974), a made for television movie which is a remake of the 1940 film, with Frank Langella as Zorro, directed by Don McDougall
• Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981), a parody directed by Peter Medak with George Hamilton as Diego Jr. and his twin brother Ramon. Diego Jr. succeeds his late father as Zorro, but he soon breaks his leg and Ramon fills in while Diego Jr. recuperates.
• The Mask of Zorro (1998), directed by Martin Campbell with Anthony Hopkins as an aged Don Diego de la Vega and Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta, a misfit outlaw/cowboy who is groomed to become the next Zorro, with Alejandro eventually marrying Diego’s daughter Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005), the sequel to 1998’s The Mask of Zorro, again starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and directed by Martin Campbell

American film serialsEdit

• Zorro Rides Again (1937), with John Carroll as a modern-day descendant, James Vega
• Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), with Reed Hadley as the original Zorro/Don Diego de la Vega
• Son of Zorro (1947), with George Turner as a Civil War descendant, Jeff Stewart
• Ghost of Zorro (1949), with Clayton Moore as Ken Mason, Zorro’s grandson/»The Ghost of Zorro»

Despite the title and a credit to McCulley, Zorro’s Black Whip (1944), with Linda Stirling as an 1880s masked avenger known as The Black Whip, has nothing to do with Zorro.

Mexican filmsEdit

• El Nieto del Zorro (1948) Mexican Western with Resortes
• El Zorro Escarlata (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El zorro escarlata en diligencia fantasma (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El Zorro Vengador (1962), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar,
• El Zorro (1962), Mexican Western with Julio Aldama,
• La Gran Aventura Del Zorro (1976), Mexican Western with Rodolfo de Anda, set in a very primitive San Francisco Bay Area.

European filmsEdit

• À la manière de Zorro / In the Way of Zorro (1926) Belgium William Elie – Unofficial
• Il sogno di Zorro / The Dream of Zorro / Zorro’s Dream (1952) Italy Walter Chiari
• La montaña sin ley / Lawless Mountain (1953) Spain José Suárez
• Zorro alla corte di Spagna / Zorro at the Spanish Court (1962) Italy George Ardisson
• La venganza del Zorro (1962) Spain Frank Latimore
• Le tre spade di Zorro / The Three Swords of Zorro (1963) Spain & Italy Guy Stockwell
• Zorro e i tre moschettieri / Zorro and the Three Musketeers (1963) Italy Gordon Scott
• Zorro contro Maciste / Samson and the Slave Queen (1963) Italy & Spain Pierre Brice
• Il segno di Zorro [it] / Duel at the Rio Grande / Sign of Zorro (1963) Spain, Italy & France Sean Flynn
• El Zorro cabalga otra vez / Il Giuramento di Zorro / Behind the Mask of Zorro (1965) Italy & Spain Tony Russel
• Zorro il ribelle / Zorro the Rebel (1966) Italy Howard Ross
• El Zorro / Zorro the Fox (1968) Italy & Spain George Ardisson
• I nipoti di Zorro / The Nephews of Zorro (1968) Italy, comedy with Franco and Ciccio as Franco La Vacca and Ciccio La Vacca, nephews of Don Diego de la Vega’s late wife. Dean Reed plays Raphael de la Vega, son of Don Diego and the new Zorro, while Franco Fantasia plays an aged Don Diego, who has retired from being Zorro.
• Zorro marchese di Navarra / Zorro, the Navarra Marquis (1969) Italy Nadir Moretti
• Zorro alla corte d’Inghilterra / Zorro in the Court of England (1969) Italy Spiros Focás
• E continuavano a chiamarlo figlio di … / El Zorro justiciero / The Avenger, Zorro (1969) Italy & Spain Fabio Testi
• La última aventura del Zorro / Zorro il dominatore / Zorro’s Latest Adventure (1969) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Zorro il cavaliere della vendetta / El Zorro, caballero de la justicia / Zorro, Rider of Vengeance (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• El Zorro de Monterrey / Zorro la maschera della vendetta / Zorro the Invincible (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Les aventures galantes de Zorro / Red Hot Zorro (1972) France & Belgium Jean-Michel Dhermay
• Il figlio di Zorro / Son of Zorro / Man with the Golden Winchester (1973) Italy & Spain Alberto Dell’Acqua
• Il sogno di Zorro / Grandsons of Zorro / Dream of Zorro (1975) Italy Franco Franchi
• Zorro (1975) Italy & France Alain Delon
• La marque de Zorro / The Mark of Zorro (1975) France; additional sequences added to La venganza del Zorro (1962) with Frank Latimore renamed Clint Douglas
• Ah sì? E io lo dico a Zzzzorro! / Mark of Zorro / Who’s Afraid of Zorro / They Call Him Zorro … Is He? (1975) Italy & Spain George Hilton – Unofficial

Turkey:

• Zorro kamcili süvari (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit
• Zorro’nun intikami (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit

India:

• Zorro (1975) India Navin Nischol

Note: Unofficial means not included in official film list at zorro.com^[36]

Argentina

Zorro, el sentimiento de hierro (2019), fan film

Television seriesEdit

American series – live-action

• Zorro, a Disney half-hour television series, running from 1957 to 1959, starring Guy Williams as Zorro for 78 episodes. The two features listed above starring Guy Williams were episode compilations, and there were four one-hour follow-ups on the Walt Disney anthology television series in the 1960–1961 TV season.
• Zorro and Son, broadcast in 1983 for 5 episodes, was a situation comedy in which an aged Don Diego (Henry Darrow) trains his son Carlos (Paul Regina) to succeed him as Zorro.
• Zorro, also called The New Zorro, New World Zorro, or Zorro 1990, was a television series which starred Duncan Regehr as Zorro for 88 episodes on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993. Two feature-length videos were episode compilations. An unaired alternate pilot episode was included in the 2011 DVD release of the series: the pilot features a different cast and story, with Don Diego dying and Don Antonio de la Cruz (Patrick James) taking up the mantle of Zorro.
• In the series finale of Once Upon a Time, «Leaving Storybrooke» (aired May 18, 2018), Zorro is said to be able to shapeshift into a dragon, and in that form, fathered Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten)’s daughter, Lily (Nicole Muñoz (teen)/Agnes Bruckner (adult)). Zorro himself does not appear in the series, possibly as a result of cancellation. Lily appears in the fourth season (2014-2015) episodes, «Breaking Glass,» «Lily,» «Mother,» and «Operation Mongoose: Part 2.»
• In November 2019 it was announced that a new series was in development by NBC with Alfredo Barrios Jr. as both writer and executive producer, with by Propagate and CBS Television Studios as producers. The series will have more of a «modern day» setting and will follow Z, a female descendant from the Zorro bloodline, as she fulfills her duty to «protect the defenseless in her community».^[37] In December 2020, Robert Rodriguez and Sofía Vergara were announced as executive producers.^[38] In January 2022, the series was moved from NBC to The CW and later ordered six scripts.^[39][40]
• In December 2021, it was announced that a new series was in development by Disney-ABC. Wilmer Valderrama will executive produce and star as Diego de la Vega in what is described as a «reimagining» of the series. Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television stated that the series is «set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style».^[41] Valderrama confirmed that the series will be on Disney+.^[42]
• In May 2022, Amazon Prime announced that Secuoya Studios is developing a modern-day Zorro series. The ten-episode series will be directed by Javier Quintas and Miguel Ángel Vivas with Miguel Bernardeau cast in the lead, along with Renata Notni.^[43]

American series – animation

• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1981 animated series from Filmation, which consists of 13 episodes.
• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1997–1998 animated series from Fred Wolf Films, which consists of 26 episodes.
• The Amazing Zorro, 2002 made for TV animated film created by DIC Entertainment as part of their DIC Movie Toons lineup. It premiered on Nickelodeon and was later released on DVD and VHS shortly afterward by MGM Home Entertainment.
• Zorro: Generation Z,^[44] 2006 animated series from BKN International which consists of 26 episodes. It follows a descendant of the original Zorro, also named Diego De La Vega, fighting crime and the corrupt government of Pueblo Grande in a future setting.

International series

• Kaiketsu Zorro, (1996–1997) Japanese anime version from NHK and Ashi Productions, which consists of 52 episodes.
• Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa (The Sword and the Rose), a 2007 Spanish language telenovela from Sony Pictures and Telemundo, starring Christian Meier as Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro. It consists of 112 episodes.
• Zorro, a 2009 TV series from the GMA Network of the Philippines, starring Richard Gutierrez.^[45] It consists of 98 episodes.
• Zorro: The Chronicles, a French animated series (2015), voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch^[46]
• On October 14, 2022, it was announced that a French television series based on the character was in development for France Télévisions, starring Jean Dujardin as Don Diego / Zorro.^[47]

Audio/radio dramasEdit

• Walt Disney’s Zorro: [1. Presenting Señor Zorro; 2. Zorro Frees The Indians; 3. Zorro And The Ghost; 4. Zorro’s Daring Rescue] (1957) released by Disneyland Records. This album retold stories from the Disney Zorro television series and featured Guy Williams as Zorro and Don Diego, Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia, Phil Ross as Monastario, Jan Arvan as Torres, Jimmie Dodd from The Mickey Mouse Club as Padre Felipe, with other voices by Dallas McKennon and sound effects by Jimmy MacDonald and Eddie Forrest. Record story adaptations by Bob Thomas and George Sherman. Music composed and conducted by William Lava.
• The Adventures of Zorro. (1957) Based on the original Johnston McCulley story The Curse of Capistrano (aka The Mark of Zorro). It was written by Maria Little, directed by Robert M. Light and produced by Mitchell Gertz. This short-lived radio show was a series of short episodes. Only a handful of episodes are known to have survived.
• The Mark of Zorro. (1997) [No longer available] Produced by the BBC it starred Mark Arden as Zorro, Louise Lombard as Lolita and Glyn Houston as Friar Felipe. It aired in 5 parts. 1. July 3, 97 Night of the Fox: 2. July 10, 97 Deadly Reckonings: 3. July 17, 97 The Avenging Blade 4. July 24, 97 The Place of Skulls 5. July 31, 97 The Gathering Storm
• Zorro and the Pirate Raiders. (2009) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s The Further Adventures of Zorro. Produced by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. Published by Brilliance Audio. It features Kevin Cirone, Shonna McEachern, Hugh Metzler, J.T. Turner, Sam Donato, Joseph Zamperelli Jr., and Dan Powell.
• Zorro Rides Again. (2011) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s «Zorro Rides Again». Produced by Colonial Theatre on the Air. It features the voice talents of Kevin Cirone, Jeremy Benson, Shonna McEachern, Shana Dirk, Sam Donato, and Hugh Metzler.
• The Mark of Zorro. (2011) Based on The Curse of Capistrano. Produced by Hollywood Theater of the Ear for Blackstone Audio. It features the voice talents of Val Kilmer as Diego de la Vega/Zorro, Ruth Livier as Lolita Pulido, Elizabeth Peña as Doña Catalina Pulido, Armin Shimerman as the Landlord, Mishach Taylor as Sgt Pedro Gonzalez, Keith Szarabajka as Cpt Ramone, Ned Schmidtke as Don Carlos Pulido, Scott Brick as the Governor, Stefan Rudnicki as Fray Felipe, Kristoffer Tabori as Don Alejando de la Vega, Philip Proctor as Don Audre, John Sloan as the Magistrado, and Gordo Panza in numerous roles.

ToysEdit

Due to the popularity of the Disney TV series, in 1958, The Topps Company produced an 88-card set featuring stills from that year’s movie. The cards were rare and became collectors’ items. In the same year the Louis Marx company released a variety of Zorro toys such as hats, swords, toy pistols and a playset with the Lido company also making plastic figures.

A major toy line based on the classic Zorro characters, motifs and styling, was released by Italian toy giant, Giochi Preziosi, master toy licensees of the property. The toy range was developed by Pangea Corporation and released worldwide in 2005 and featured action figures in various scales, interactive playsets and roleplaying items. New original characters were also introduced, including Senor Muerte, who served as a foil to Zorro.

In 2007, Brazilian toymaker Gulliver Toys licensed the rights to Zorro: Generation Z, which was co-developed by BKN and Pangea Corporation. The toy range was designed concurrent and in association with the animated program.

In 2011, US-based collectibles company Triad Toys released a 12-inch Zorro action figure.

ComicsEdit

Zorro #01, 2008, by Dynamite Entertainment

Zorro has appeared in many different comic book series over the decades. In Hit Comics #55, published by Quality Comics in November 1948, Zorro is summoned by Kid Eternity, but in this version has only a whip and does not wear a mask.^[48]

Dell Comics published Zorro in Four Color Comics #228 (1949), 425 (1952), 497 (1953), 538 (1954), 574 (1954), 617 (1955) and 732 (1957). These stories featured artwork by Everett Raymond Kinstler (#497, 538, and 574), Bob Fujitani, Bob Correa and Alberto Giolitti.^[49]

Dell also had a licence to publish Disney comics in the United States and, following the launch of Disney’s Zorro TV series in 1957, published seven more issues of Four Color dedicated to Zorro between February 1958 and September 1959, under said licence, with the first stories featuring artwork by Alex Toth.^[50] In December 1959, Dell started the publication of a standalone Disney-licensed Zorro title, which started the numeration at #8 and continued to be published until issue #15 (September 1961). The character then appeared in four stories published in the monthly Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories (also published by Dell), one story per issue from #275 (August 1963) to #278 (November 1963): these were the last Zorro stories produced in the United States under the Disney licence. However, Disney produced more stories from 1964 to 1978 through the Disney Studio Program, a unit producing comic book stories exclusively for foreign consumption.^[51] In addition to publishing translations of American stories and Disney Studio stories, many foreign publishers also produced their own original stories under the Disney licence: these countries are the Netherlands (1964–1967),^[52] Chile (1965–1974),^[53] Italy (1969–1971),^[54] Brazil (1973–1983),^[55] France (1974–1986)^[56] and Germany (1980–1982).^[57]

Gold Key Comics started another Disney-licensed Zorro series in January 1966, but, like their contemporaneous Lone Ranger series, it featured only material reprinted from the earlier Dell comics, and folded after 9 issues, in March 1968. The character remained dormant in the United States for the next twenty years until it was revived by Marvel Comics in 1990, for a 12-issue tie-in with the Duncan Regehr television series Zorro. Many of these comics had Alex Toth covers.

In 1993 Topps Comics published a 2-issue limited series Dracula Versus Zorro followed by a Zorro series that ran 11 issues. Topps also published two limited series of Lady Rawhide, a spin-off from the Zorro stories created by writer Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew.^[58][59][60] McGregor subsequently scripted a limited series adaptation of The Mask of Zorro film for Image Comics.

A newspaper daily and Sunday strip were also published in the late 1990s. This was written by McGregor and rendered by Tom Yeates. Papercutz once published a Zorro series and graphic novels as well. This version is drawn in a manga style.

Dynamite Entertainment relaunched the character with a 20-issue Zorro series which ran from 2008 to 2010, written by Matt Wagner and drawn by multiple artists. The publisher also released an earlier unpublished tale called «Matanzas» by Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew. Zorro (here a 1930s descendant) also appears in the 2013 Dynamite eight-issue limited series Masks alongside the Green Hornet and Kato, The Shadow, and The Spider. It was written by Chris Roberson with art by Alex Ross and Dennis Calero.^[61]

Dynamite Entertainment also published a seven-issue series titled Django/Zorro between November 2014 and May 2015, teaming Zorro with the character Django Freeman from Quentin Tarantino’s movie Django Unchained (2012). The series was co-written by Tarantino and Matt Wagner, with art by Esteve Polls.^[62]

In 2018, American Mythology took the license, launched the series Zorro Legendary Adventures, written by Jean-Marie Nadaud and drawn by Robert Rigot^[63] and limited series Zorro: Swords of Hell, written by David Avallone and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez.^[64] The company has since released crossovers featuring Zorro with their other licensed properties, namely Zorro in the Land that Time Forgot featuring Diego De La Vega accompanying an expedition to the lost world of Caspak from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.

Collected editionsEdit

Over the years, various English reprint volumes have been published. These include, but are not limited to:

• Zorro in Old California, Eclipse Books ISBN 978-0-913035-12-2
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume One, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 9781582400143
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume Two, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 978-1582400273
• Zorro The Dailies – The First Year By Don McGregor, Thomas Yeates. Image Comics 2001. ISBN 1-58240-239-6
• Alex Toth’s Zorro: The Complete Dell Comics Adventures. Hermes Press 2013. ISBN 978-1613450314
• Zorro: The Complete Dell Pre-Code Comics. Hermes Press 2014. ISBN 9781613450666

Stage productionsEdit

Approximately 65 separate Zorro live productions have been produced. These have included traditional stage plays, comedies, melodramas, musicals, children’s plays, stunt shows, and ballets. Some examples include:

• Ken Hill wrote and directed the musical production of Zorro, which opened on February 14, 1995, at the East Stratford Theater in London. Ken Hill died just days before the opening.^[65]
• Alvaro Cervino produced a musical comedy, «Zorro El Musical» in Mexico City, Mexico in July 1996. Critics called it «a show that captivates audiences both by its performances and above all, by its magnificent musical numbers».
• Michael Nelson wrote a stage adaptation of Zorro for the Birmingham Children’s Theater in 1996. Beaufort County Now called it «a fun and fast paced production perfect for children 6 and up.» Abe Reybold directed with scenic design by Yoshi Tanokura and costume designs by Donna Meester. Jay Tumminello provided an original score.^[66]
• Theater Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, put on Zorro, the Musical as an opera in 1998. It was written and directed by Frank Young and starred Richard White as Zorro.^[67]
• Z – The Masked Musical by Robert W. Cabell was released in 1998 as a CD. The CD premiere with Ruben Gomez (Zorro) and Debbie Gibson (Carlotta) is published as a CD. In 2000, the stage play premiered at the South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon, where it had four performances by the amateur group, ACE. It was then produced on June 13, 2013, at the Clingenburg Festspiele in Klingenberg am Main, Bavaria, Germany, with Karl Grunewald and Philip Georgopoulos as alternating Zorros, Judith Perez as Carlotta, Daniel Coninx as Governor Juan Carlos, Daniel Pabst as Capitàn Raphaél Ramerez and Christian Theodoridis as Sergeant Santiago Garcia. This production was directed by Marcel Krohn and premiered in the presence of the composer.
• In 1999, Anthony Rhine and Joseph Henson wrote Zorro Live!, which was performed at the Riverside Light Opera theater.^[68]
• In 2000, Fernando Lúpiz produced his first original «Zorro» show. It was such a crowd pleaser that he mounted a new production thereafter almost annually until 2014. His productions were performed most frequently in arenas, featuring live horses, rousing swordplay and songs.
• In 2001, the Gaslight Theatre of Tucson, Arizona, reprised its 1994 spoof called «Zerro Rides Again» or «No Arrest for the Wicked». It was described as «full of silly wigs, ridiculous situations, songs that barely fit in, and dialogue so fat with wordplay that it’s tough not to love it. ‘Zerro’ is a chance to laugh yourself silly. Seize it».
• In 2002, playwright Michael Harris wrote The Legend of Zorro, which has been performed in many high schools.
• In 2002, Luis Alvarez produced his El Zorro El Spectaculo in the Teatro Calderon in Madrid, Spain. Critics lauded it saying «Manuel Bandera makes the ideal Zorro. We hope he has the stamina necessary to endure the long run this play deserves.»
• Michael Smuin’s critically lauded modern ballet version of Zorro premiered in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco in 2003. Composer Charles Fox provided the score, and Matthew Robbins wrote the libretto. Ann Beck was costume designer and Douglas W. Schmidt was set designer. Smuin himself choreographed.^[69]
• Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell opened in 2005 in the Berkeley Repertory theater, then in 2006 in the La Jolla Playhouse and the Montelban Theater in Los Angeles. Zorro In Hell was written and performed by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza. Culture Clash used the legend of Zorro as a lens to examine California’s cultural, economic and historical issues. The LA Times called it «a zany bicultural send-up of California history.»^[70]
• Award-winning playwright Bernardo Solano wrote a modern adaptation of Zorro for TheatreWorks at the University of Colorado in 2007. Robert Castro directed and Justin Huen starred as Zorro. The Denver post called the production «a fresh take,» and «a formula other companies should emulate.»^[71]
• In Uppsala, Sweden, Erik Norberg wrote a Zorro stage adaptation for the Stadsteatern Theatre directed by Alexander Oberg and starring Danilo Bejarano as Zorro. The production opened in 2008.^[72]
• A musical titled Zorro opened in the West End of London in 2008. It was written by Helen Edmundson and Stephen Clark, with music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron, and directed by Christopher Renshaw. It was nominated for 5 Oliviers, including Best Musical.^[73] It has since enjoyed professional productions in Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Shanghai, São Paulo and elsewhere. The US premiere production took place in 2012 at Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a further production at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta Georgia, where it won five awards including Best Musical.
• The Scottish children’s theater troupe Visible Fictions put on a touring production of The Mask of Zorro in 2009. Davey Anderson wrote the script and Douglas Irvine directed. Robin Peoples designed the sets, which The New York Times called «a triumph.»^[74]
• Lifehouse Theater, a Redlands, CA-based company, put on ‘Zorro, written and scored by Wayne Scott. Zorro opened in 2009.^[75]
• In 2012, Janet Allard and Eleanor Holdridge produced and directed Zorro at the Constellation Theatre in Washington, DC. Holdridge directed and Danny Gavigan played Zorro. The Washington Post said of the production, «Constellation augments its classical thrust in a thoughtful way with ‘Zorro,’ which continues the company’s laudable efforts at delivering intimate theater with high standards for design.»^[76]
• In 2012, Medina Produzioni, based in Rome, Italy, produced its musical, «W Zorro il Musical – liberamente ispirato alla storia di William Lamport» in numerous theatres throughout Italy.
• The Oregon-based ballet troupe Ballet Fantastique produced Zorro: The Ballet as an opener to their 2013 season. Eugene Weekly called the ballet «zesty, fresh, fantastic treat.»^[77]
• Elenco Produções produced its musical, «Zorro», in Porto, Portugal in 2013.

MusicEdit

On the commercial release of the Zorro 1957 Disney TV series’ Zorro theme, the lead vocal was by Henry Calvin, the actor who played Sergeant Garcia on the program. The song was written by Jimmie Dodd.

The Chordettes sang the single version of the song, complete with the «Sounds of the Z» and the clip clopping of Zorro’s horse, which is heard at the song’s end. The song hit Number 17 in 1958 according to the Billboard Charts.

In 1964, Henri Salvador sang «Zorro est arrivé.» It tells from a child’s point of view how exciting it is whenever a villain threatens to kill a lady in the television series. But every time again, to his relief, the «great and beautiful» Zorro comes to the rescue. An early music video was made at the time.

Alice Cooper’s 1982 album Zipper Catches Skin includes the song «Zorro’s Ascent» which is about Zorro facing his death.

The 1999 song «El Corona» by Suburban Legends tells the story of «Don Diego», the «hombre en negro» («man in black»), a «tall Spaniard with a sharp sword» who was «down and out in LA» and defending the people from an unnamed corrupt ruler.

Video gamesEdit

• Zorro (1985), Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC
• Zorro (1986), ZX Spectrum^[78]
• Zorro (1995), PC^[79]
• The Mask of Zorro (1999), Game Boy Color^[80][81]
• The Shadow of Zorro (2001), PC, PlayStation 2
• The Destiny of Zorro (2008), Wii
• Zorro: Quest for Justice (2009), Nintendo DS
• There is a Zorro themed poker machine at gaming establishments in Australia and New Zealand.
• Zorro is Morgana’s Persona in Persona 5 (2017), PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
• Zorro appears as a paid DLC Guest Fighter in Go All Out!, PC,
• Zorro: The Chronicles (2022), PC, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation^[82]

Role-playing gamesEdit

• In July 2001, the Gold Rush Games published The Legacy of Zorro Introductory Adventure Game (ISBN 1-890305-26-X) by Mark Arsenault for Fuzion.
• In January 2019, Gallant Knight Games used crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to finance the game Zorro: The Roleplaying Game for the D6 System.^[83]

See alsoEdit

• Gentleman thief

ReferencesEdit

BibliographyEdit

External linksEdit

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Zorro.

• Zorro Productions, Inc.
• A guide to the Walt Disney television series version of Zorro
• A comprehensive guide to the New World Zorro television series
• The Legacy of the Fox: A Chronology of Zorro
• Zorro at Inducks
• Don Diego de la Vega at the INDUCKS

Zorro
Cover to Dynamite Entertainment’s Zorro #2 (March 2008) by Mike Mayhew
First appearance	All-Story Weekly (August 1919)
Created by	Johnston McCulley
Portrayed by	Douglas Fairbanks Robert Livingston Reed Hadley Tyrone Power José Suárez Guy Williams Frank Langella George Hamilton Rodolfo de Anda Duncan Regehr Anthony Hopkins Antonio Banderas Alain Delon Christian Meier Miguel Bernardeau
In-universe information
Full name	Don Diego de la Vega
Alias	Zorro
Gender	Male
Occupation	Nobleman, vigilante
Weapon	Espada ropera Bullwhip
Nationality	New Spanish / Mexican

Zorro (Spanish for ‘fox’) is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California.^[1] He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, the townspeople started calling him «El Zorro» due to his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons, but the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he uses often to carve the initial «Z» on his defeated foes, and other objects to «sign his work». He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.

Zorro is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a young man who is the only son of Don Alejandro de la Vega, the richest landowner in California, while Diego’s mother is dead. In most versions, Diego learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain, and created his masked alter ego after he was unexpectedly summoned home by his father because California had fallen into the hands of an oppressive dictator. Diego is usually shown living with his father in a huge hacienda, which contains a number of secret passages and tunnels, leading to a secret cave that serves as headquarters for Zorro’s operations and as Tornado’s hiding place. In order to divert suspicion about his identity, Diego hides his fighting abilities while also pretending to be a coward and a fop.

Zorro made his debut in the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery, which introduced the popular Zorro costume, convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades: the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death. The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. While the rest of McCulley’s Zorro stories did not enjoy the same popularity, as most of them were never reprinted until the 21st century, the character also appears in over 40 films and in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–1959, starring Guy Williams. Other media featuring Zorro include stories by other authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions and video games.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman drawing particularly close parallels to the character.

Publishing history[edit]

Zorro debuted in Johnston McCulley’s novel The Curse of Capistrano, serialized in five parts between August 9 and September 6, 1919, in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.^[2] The story was originally meant as a standalone tale, and at the denouement, Zorro’s true identity is revealed to all.

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, on their honeymoon, selected the story as the inaugural picture for their new studio, United Artists, beginning the character’s cinematic tradition.^{[citation needed]} The novel was adapted as the film The Mark of Zorro (1920), which Fairbanks produced, co-wrote and starred in as Diego/Zorro. The movie was a commercial success,^[2] and the 1924 reprint of McCulley’s story by publisher Grosset & Dunlap used the same title, capitalizing on the movie’s popularity. The novel has since been reprinted using both titles.

In response to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote more than sixty more Zorro stories, beginning in 1922 with The Further Adventures of Zorro, which was also serialized in Argosy All-Story Weekly. Fairbanks picked up the movie rights for the sequel that year. However, Fairbanks’s sequel, Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), was more based on the 1919 novel Don Q’s Love Story by the mother–son duo Kate Prichard and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard, than The Further Adventures. Thus McCulley received no credit on the film.^[3]

At first, production of new Zorro stories proceeded at irregular intervals: the third novel, Zorro Rides Again (not to be confused with the 1937 theatrical serial) was published in 1931, nine years after the second one. Then, between 1932 and 1941, McCulley wrote four short stories and two serialized novels. Zorro stories were published much more frequently between 1944 and 1951, a period in which McCulley published 52 short stories with the character for the West Magazine. «Zorro Rides the Trail!», which appeared in Max Brand’s Western Magazine in 1954, is the last story to be published during the author’s lifetime, and the second-to-last story overall. The last, «The Mask of Zorro» (not to be confused with the 1998 film), was published posthumously in Short Stories for Men in 1959. These stories ignore Zorro’s public revelation of his identity.

The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. For the most part, McCulley’s other Zorro stories remained overlooked and out-of-print until the 21st century. Bold Venture Press collected all McCulley’s Zorro stories Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, in six volumes.

Over 40 Zorro titled films were made over the years, including The Mark of Zorro, the 1940 classic starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The character was also featured in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–59, starring Guy Williams.^[2] Zorro appears in several stories written by other authors, comics books and strips, stage productions, video games and other media. McCulley died in 1958, just as Zorro was at the height of his popularity thanks to the Disney series.

Fictional character biography[edit]

In The Curse of Capistrano, Señor Zorro became an outlaw in the pueblo of Los Angeles in California «to avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians, to aid the oppressed» and is dubbed the «Curse of Capistrano». The novel features extensively both Don Diego Vega and Zorro, but the fact that they are the same person is not revealed to the reader until the end of the book. In the story, both Diego and Zorro romance Lolita Pulido, an impoverished noblewoman. While Lolita is unimpressed with Diego, who pretends to be a passionless fop, she is attracted to the dashing Zorro. The main villain is Captain Ramon, who also has his eyes on Lolita. Other characters include Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, Zorro’s enemy but Diego’s friend; Diego’s deaf and mute servant Bernardo; his ally, Fray (Friar) Felipe; his father Don Alejandro Vega, the richest landowner in California and a widower; Don Carlos Pulido and his wife, Doña Catalina, Lolita’s parents; and a group of noblemen (caballeros) who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.

In later stories, McCulley introduces characters such as pirates and Native Americans, some of whom know Zorro’s identity.

In McCulley’s later stories, Diego’s surname became de la Vega. In fact, the writer was wildly inconsistent. The first magazine serial ended with the villain dead and Diego publicly exposed as Zorro. But in the sequel, the villain was alive and the next entry had the double identity still secret.

Several Zorro productions have expanded on the character’s exploits. Many of the continuations feature a younger character taking up the mantle of Zorro.

McCulley’s stories are set during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821)^[4] and, although exact years are often vague, the presence of the Pueblo of Los Angeles means the stories cannot happen before 1781, the year it was founded. Some media adaptations of Zorro’s story have placed him during the later era of Mexican California (1821–1848).

Character motifs[edit]

The character’s visual motif is typically a black costume with a black flowing Spanish cloak or cloak, a black flat-brimmed hat known as sombrero cordobés, and a black sackcloth mask that covers the top half of his head. Sometimes the mask is a two piece, the main item being a blindfold-type fabric with slits for the eyes, and the other item being a bandana over the head, so that it is covered even if the hat is removed: this is the mask worn in the movie The Mark of Zorro (1920) and in the television series Zorro (1957–1959). Other times, the mask is a one piece that unites both items described above: this mask was introduced in The Mark of Zorro (1940) and appears in many modern versions. Zorro’s mask has also occasionally been shown as being a rounded domino mask, which he wore without also wearing a bandana. In his first appearance, Zorro’s cloak is purple, his hat is generically referred to as a «wide sombrero,» and his black cloth veil mask with slits for eyes covers his whole face. Other features of the costume may vary.^{[citation needed]}

His favored weapon is a rapier, which he also uses to often leave his distinctive mark, a Z cut with three quick strokes, on his defeated foes and other objects to «sign his work». He also uses other weapons, including a bullwhip and a pistol.

The fox is never depicted as Zorro’s emblem. It is used as a metaphor for the character’s wiliness, such as in the lyrics «Zorro, ‘the Fox’, so cunning and free …» from Disney’s television series theme.

His heroic pose consists of rearing on his horse, Tornado, often saluting with his hand or raising his sword high. The logo of the company Zorro Productions, Inc. uses an image of Zorro rearing on his horse, sword raised high.

Skills and resources[edit]

Zorro is very intelligent and can not only use a complex strategy, prepared before entering the battlefield, but also improvise plans in the moment of danger and combat. He never uses brute force and, indeed, more often than not he uses humor and psychological teasing to irritate his opponents, causing them to lose their emotional detachment and become too eager for revenge to be able to coordinate in action and in combat. He fools them by provoking them into his traps.

In addition to having exceptional tactical skills, he specializes in infiltrating heavily guarded enemy structures or territories, espionage and improvised explosive devices. His calculating and precise ability as a tactician allowed him to also use weapons as an extension of his skillful hand. He is also a weapons expert and a master of escape and camouflage. He is also good at deciphering numerous languages, both spoken and written. Zorro also masters body language, gestures and symbols, facilitating communication with locals regardless of ethnicity or language.

Zorro is an agile athlete and acrobat, using his bullwhip as a gymnastic accoutrement to swing through gaps between city roofs, and is very capable of landing from great heights and taking a fall. Although he is a master swordsman and marksman, he has more than once demonstrated his prowess in unarmed combat against multiple opponents. Keen intelligence and an acute power of observation are two main skills allowing Zorro to surprise, in order to defeat, establishment enemies.

His calculating and precise dexterity as a tactician has enabled Zorro to use two key weapons, his sword and bullwhip, as an extension of his deft hand. He never uses brute strength. Instead and more likely, he uses his fox-like and sly mind, and well-practiced technique to outmatch an opponent. He uses seduction as Zorro and coyness as Don Diego de la Vega, tricking his opponents to obstruct easy access to his true identity by using deception as masterful skill.

In some versions, Zorro keeps a medium-sized dagger tucked in his left boot for emergencies. He has used his cape as a blind, a trip-mat and a disarming tool. Zorro’s boots are also sometimes weighted, as is his hat, which he has thrown, Frisbee-style, as an efficiently substantial warning to enemies. But more often than not, he uses psychological mockery to make his opponents too angry to be coordinated in combat.

Zorro is a skilled horseman. The name of his jet-black horse has varied through the years. In The Curse of Capistrano, it was unnamed. In Disney’s Zorro television series the horse gets the name Tornado, which has been kept in many later adaptations. In most versions, Zorro keeps Tornado in a secret cave, connected to his hacienda with a system of secret passages and tunnels.

McCulley’s concept of a band of men helping Zorro is often absent from other versions of the character. An exception is Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), starring Reed Hadley as Diego. In Douglas Fairbanks’ version, he also has a band of masked men helping him. In McCulley’s stories, Zorro was aided by a deaf-mute named Bernardo. In Disney’s Zorro television series, Bernardo is not deaf but pretends to be, and serves as Zorro’s secret agent. He is a capable and invaluable helper for Zorro, sometimes wearing the mask to reinforce his master’s charade. The Family Channel’s Zorro television series replaces Bernardo with a teenager named Felipe, played by Juan Diego Botto, with a similar disability and pretense. In Isabel Allende’s Zorro: A Novel, Bernardo is the child of the de la Vega’s Native housemaid, Ana, who forms a bond with Regina de la Vega, a former Native warrior who is converted, Christainized and married to Don Alejandro. Their dual pregnancies result in them giving birth the same night. Due to complications from birth, Regina cannot breastfeed her child, Diego, so Ana breastfeeds both boys, making them milk brothers. The two are shown to be inseparable, which helps Bernardo receive more formal education, and accompanies Diego to Barcelona. After a group of pirates invade the de la Vega home, Bernardo witnesses the rape and murder of his mother and a result stops speaking. Diego’s grandmother White Owl concludes Bernardo refuses to speak as a form of mourning. He is shown to speak to Tornado in a spirit quest and later to a fellow native girl, Light-in-the-Night, whom he marries.

Characteristics[edit]

In The Curse of Capistrano, Diego is described as «a fair youth of excellent blood and twenty-four years, noted the length of El Camino Real for his small interest in the really important things of life.» It is also said that «Don Diego was unlike the other full-blooded youths of the times. It appeared that he disliked action. He seldom wore his blade, except as a matter of style and apparel. He was damnably polite to all women and paid court to none. … Those who knew Don Diego best declared he yawned ten score times a day.» Though proud as befitting his class (and seemingly uncaring about the lower classes), he shuns action, rarely wearing his sword except for fashion, and is indifferent to romance with women. This is, of course, a sham. At the end of the novel, Diego explains that he has planned his double identity since he was fifteen:

«It began ten years ago, when I was but a lad of fifteen,» he said. «I heard tales of persecution. I saw my friends, the frailes, annoyed and robbed. I saw soldiers beat an old native who was my friend. And then I determined to play this game.»

«It would be a difficult game to play, I knew. So I pretended to have small interest in life, so that men never would connect my name with that of the highwayman I expected to become. In secret, I practiced horsemanship and learned how to handle a blade—»

«By the saints, he did,» Sergeant Gonzales growled.

«One half of me was the languid Don Diego you all knew, and the other half was the Curse of Capistrano I hoped one day to be. And then the time came, and my work began.»

«It is a peculiar thing to explain, señores. The moment I donned cloak and mask, the Don Diego part of me fell away. My body straightened, new blood seemed to course through my veins, my voice grew strong and firm, fire came to me! And the moment I removed cloak and mask I was the languid Don Diego again. Is it not a peculiar thing?»

This part of the backstory was changed in the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro: Diego is recently returned from Spain at the start of the movie, and Zorro later tells Lolita that he learnt his swordsmanship in Spain. The 1925 sequel Don Q, Son of Zorro expands on this concept by saying that: «Though the home of the De Vegas has long been on California soil, the eldest son of each new generation returns to Spain for a period of travel and study.» The 1940 film The Mark of Zorro keeps the idea of Diego learning his swordsmanship in Spain, and adds the idea of him being unexpectedly summoned home by his father Don Alejandro when California fell into the hand of an oppressing dictator. Both ideas would then be included in most retelling of the character’s backstory.

McCulley’s portrayal of Diego’s personality, with minor variations, is followed in most Zorro media.

A notable exception to this portrayal is Disney’s Zorro (1957–59), where Diego, despite using the original façade early in the series, instead becomes a passionate and compassionate crusader for justice and simply masquerades as «the most inept swordsman in all of California». In this show, everyone knows Diego would love to do what Zorro does, but thinks he does not have the skill.

The Family Channel’s Zorro (1990–1993) takes this concept further. While Diego pretends to be inept with a sword, the rest of his facade is actually exaggerating his real interests. Diego is actually well-versed and interested in art, poetry, literature, and science. His facade is pretending to be interested in only these things and to have no interest in swordplay or action. Zorro also has a well-equipped laboratory in his hidden cave in this version of the story.

In Isabel Allende’s novel, Diego is a mestizo, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a Shoshone warrior woman. Thus, as a child, Diego is caught between the divine right of nobility and the ways of his Native mother, grandmother and ancestors.

Inspirations[edit]

The historical figure most often associated with the Zorro character is Joaquin Murrieta, whose life was fictionalized in an 1854 dime novel by John Rollin Ridge. In the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro Murrieta’s (fictitious) brother Alejandro succeeds Diego as Zorro. As a hero with a secret identity who taunts his foes by signing his deeds, Zorro finds a direct literary predecessor in Sir Percival Blakeney, hero of the Scarlet Pimpernel pulp series by Emma Orczy.

The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico,^[5] Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, and Tiburcio Vasquez. Another possible historical inspiration is William Lamport, an Irish soldier who lived in Mexico in the seventeenth century. His life was the subject of a fictive book by Vicente Riva Palacio; The Irish Zorro (2004) is a recent biography. Another is Estanislao, a Yokuts man who led a revolt against the Mission San Jose in 1827.

The 1860s, 1880s and 1900s penny dreadful treatment of the Spring-heeled Jack character as a masked avenger may have inspired some aspects of Zorro’s heroic persona.^[6][7] Spring Heeled Jack was portrayed as a nobleman who created a flamboyant, masked alter ego to fight injustice, frequently demonstrated exceptional athletic and combative skills, maintained a hidden lair and was known to carve the letter «S» into walls with his rapier as a calling card.

Like Sir Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Don Diego avoids suspicion by playing the role of an effete dandy who wears lace, writes poetry, and shuns violence. The all-black Fairbanks film costume, which with variations has remained the standard costume for the character, was likely adapted from the Arrow serial film character The Masked Rider (1919). This character was the first Mexican black-clad masked rider on a black horse to appear on the silver screen. Fairbanks’s costume in The Mark of Zorro, released the following year, resembled that of the Rider with only slight differences in the mask and hat.^[8]

In 1860 Mór Jókai published his novel «Szegény Gazdagok» (Poor richmen), where the main character is the Hungarian Baron Lénárd Hátszegi, who is supposed to have the alterego of the «Fatia Negra» (The one with the Black face), an outlaw who robs local people during the night, and during the day lives an aristocratic life. The novel’s character was inspired by the real life Hungarian Baron László Nopcsa (1794–1884), who according to the local legends had a similar type of alterego.^[9]

Copyright and trademark disputes[edit]

The copyright and trademark status of the Zorro character and stories have been disputed. Most of the entries of the Zorro franchise are still protected by copyright, and many hundreds of copyrights are owned or controlled by Zorro Productions, Inc. but there are at least five exceptions: the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro, the 1922 novel The Further Adventures of Zorro, the 1925 film Don Q, Son of Zorro and the 1926 film In the Way of Zorro are in the public domain in the United States since at least 95 years have passed after their first release. Zorro Productions, Inc. asserts that it «controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro.»^[10] It further states «[t]he unauthorized, unlicensed use of the name, character and/or likeness of ‘Zorro’ is an infringement and a violation of state and federal laws.»^[11]

In 1999, TriStar Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures, sued Del Taco, Inc., due to a fast-food restaurant advertising campaign that allegedly infringed Zorro Productions’ claims to a trademark on the character of Zorro. Sony and TriStar had paid licensing fees to Zorro Productions, Inc., related to the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro. In an August 1999 order, the court ruled that it would not invalidate Zorro Productions’ trademarks as a result of the defendant’s arguments that certain copyrights in Zorro being in the public domain or owned by third parties.^[12]

A dispute took place in the 2001 case of Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group.^[13] On January 24, 2001, Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc. sued Fireworks Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Mercury Entertainment, claiming that the Queen of Swords television series infringed upon the copyrights and trademarks of Zorro and associated characters. Queen of Swords is a 2000–2001 television series set in Spanish California during the early 19th century and featuring a hero who wore a black costume with a red sash and demonstrated similarities to the character of Zorro, including the sword-fighting skills, use of a whip and bolas, and horse-riding skills.

Zorro Productions, Inc., argued that it owned the copyright to the original character because Johnston McCulley assigned his Zorro rights to Mitchell Gertz in 1949. Gertz died in 1961, and his estate transferred to his children, who created Zorro Productions, Inc. Fireworks Entertainment argued that the original rights had already been transferred to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in 1920 and provided documents showing this was legally affirmed in 1929, and also questioned whether the copyright was still valid.

The court ruled that «since the copyrights in The Curse of Capistrano and The Mark of Zorro lapsed in 1995 or before, the character Zorro has been in the public domain».^[14] Judge Collins also stated that: «Plaintiffs’ argument that they have a trademark in Zorro because they licensed others to use Zorro, however, is specious. It assumes that ZPI had the right to demand licenses to use Zorro at all.» Judge Collins subsequently vacated her ruling following an unopposed motion filed by Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc.^[15]

In another legal action in 2010, Zorro Productions, Inc., sued Mars, Incorporated, makers of M&M’s chocolate candies, and ad agency BBDO Worldwide over a commercial featuring a Zorro-like costume.^[16] The case was settled («each party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with this action, including its attorney’s fees and costs») on August 13, 2010.^[17]

In March 2013, Robert W. Cabell, author of Z – the Musical of Zorro (1998), filed another lawsuit against Zorro Productions, Inc. The lawsuit asserted that the Zorro character is in the public domain and that the trademark registrations by Zorro Productions, Inc., are therefore fraudulent.^[18] In October 2014, Cabell’s lawsuit was dismissed, with the judge ruling that the state of Washington (where the case was filed) did not have jurisdiction over the matter.^[19][20] However the judge later reversed his decision and had the case transferred to California.^[21] In May 2017, U.S. District Judge Davila granted Zorro Productions, Inc.’s motion to dismiss Cabell’s claim to cancel its federal trademark registrations.^[22] Cabell did not appeal.

In June 2015, Robert W. Cabell’s legal dispute with Zorro Productions, Inc. resulted in the Community Trade Mark for «Zorro» being declared invalid by the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market for goods of classes 16 and 41.^[23] This follows the ‘Winnetou’ ruling of the Office’s First Board of Appeal^[24] in which the Board of Appeal ruled that the name of famous characters cannot be protected as a trademark in these classes. Zorro Productions appealed the decision and, on December 19, 2017, the EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal nullified the lower court’s ruling, declaring the contested trademarks as valid, and required Cabell to pay the costs of the legal action, the appeal and Zorro Productions’ legal fees and costs^{[citation needed]}. Zorro Productions, Inc. owns approximately 1300 other ZORRO related trademarks worldwide^{[citation needed]}. In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.^[25]

Legacy[edit]

The 1936 film The Vigilantes Are Coming features a masked vigilante with a costume similar to Zorro, which led several countries to name the movie after Zorro: the film was named Zorro l’indomptable in France, Zorro – Der blutrote Adler in Germany, Zorro – den blodrøde ørn in Denmark and Zorro – veripunainen kotka in Finland. The main character, The Eagle, is played by Robert Livingston, who would then play the actual Zorro in the movie The Bold Caballero, also released in 1936.The Vigilantes Are Coming «was a reworking of The Eagle, Rudolph Valentino’s silent film.»^[26] In the film, Valentino plays the masked hero Black Eagle. The Eagle was based on the posthumously published 1841 novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, the Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in The Mark of Zorro.^[27]

The Masked Rider, the primary mascot of Texas Tech University, is similar to Zorro. Originally called «Ghost Rider», it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, Jerry Siegel has credited Zorro along with The Scarlet Pimpernel as one of the inspirations for the creation of Superman particularly the concept of his dual identity as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent, as Clark Kent’s harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.^[28][29] Superman’s stance as the Champion of the Oppressed and devil-may-care attitude during his early Golden Age appearances were influenced by the characters of The Mark of Zorro star Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in similar adventure films such as Robin Hood.^[30]

Also being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a dual identity, Bob Kane has credited Zorro as part of the inspiration for the character Batman, which was created in 1939.^[31] Like Don Diego de la Vega, Bruce Wayne is affluent, the heir of wealth built by his parents. His everyday persona encourages others to think of him as shallow, foolish and uncaring to throw off suspicion. Frank Miller’s comic book miniseries The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2001–2002) both include multiple Zorro references like the Batman inscribing a Z on a defeated foe. In later tellings of Batman’s origins, Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered by a robber as the family leaves a showing of the 1940 film The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power.

Zorro inspired a similar pulp character known as El Coyote, which was created in 1943 by José Mallorquí. A sample superhero character called The Fox appearing in the Supers supplement of the GURPS role-playing system is also based on Zorro.

The Republic Pictures serials Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) and Man with the Steel Whip (1954) features masked heroes similar to Zorro: Don Daredevil and El Latigo. Republic had previously released five Zorro serials between 1937 and 1949, but had since lost the licence for the character and could not use him anymore. The serial makes frequent use of stock footage from all five Zorro serials, with scenes originally showing Zorro now being interpreted as showing Don Daredevil and El Latigo: the result of this is that the costume and body shape of Don Daredevil and El Latigo keeps changing between scenes, even becoming female in scenes taken from Zorro’s Black Whip (1944).^[32][33]

The 1956 musical comedy The Court Jester features a masked freedom fighter called The Black Fox (played by Edward Ashley) who combines aspects of both Zorro and Robin Hood.

Hanna-Barbera Productions’ animated series Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks (1958–1961) featured a Zorro-like character with a mask, cape and sword known in the episode «Mark of the Mouse» (1959). Hanna-Barbera Production’s animated series The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959–1962) features El Kabong, an alternate persona of the main character Quick Draw McGraw, which is loosely based upon Zorro.

In the animated series Justice League (2001–2004), a DC Comics character, El Diablo, bears a striking similarity to Zorro, in that he wears the same style hat, mask, sash and cape. The main difference is that his primary weapon is a whip. The Lazarus Lane version of El Diablo appears in Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006), voiced by Nestor Carbonell. While designed after his comic appearance, elements from Zorro’s appearance were added in. Seen in the episode «The Once and Future Thing» (2005), he appears alongside Pow Wow Smith, Bat Lash and Jonah Hex.

In 2015, The M7 Con Western Convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured a segment on the history of Zorro in film and television. The presentation focused on the great Zorro actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, and Duncan Regehr. Maestro Ramon Martinez and actor Alex Kruz gave a live demonstration of the Spanish style of fencing known as La Verdadera Destreza. The two dueled live as Zorro and the Comandante much to the delight of the crowd.^[34]

A cave that was used as a filming location in various Zorro productions is now known as «Zorro’s Cave» and remains in place, now hidden behind a condominium complex, on land that was once the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., recognized as the most widely filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood.

The DreamWorks character Puss in Boots, an anthropomorphic cat sporting high boots, a broad-brimmed and feathered sombrero, and a rapier, was also heavily inspired by Zorro (though ultimately based on the earlier Italian fairytale character of the same name). Portrayed by Antonio Banderas who also earlier played Zorro, he premiered as a character in Shrek 2 (2004) and in later sequels, as well as inspiring his own spinoff films Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Appearances in media[edit]

Stories by Johnston McCulley[edit]

The original stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1910s to the 1950s. Most remained unpublished in book form until the series of collected editions Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, issued in 2016 and 2017.

• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 1 (2016)
  • The Curse of Capistrano, All-Story Weekly Vol. 100 No. 2 – Vol. 101 No. 2, serialized in five parts, August 9, 1919 – September 6, 1919 – novella The Curse of Capistrano published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1919, and reissued as The Mark of Zorro in 1924 by the same editor
  • «Zorro Saves A Friend», Argosy Vol. 234 No. 1, November 12, 1932
  • «Zorro Hunts A Jackal», Argosy Vol. 237 No. 6, April 22, 1933 (a.k.a. Zorro Hunts by Night)
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 2 (2016)
  • The Further Adventures of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 142 No. 4 – Vol. 143 No. 3, serialized in six parts, May 6, 1922 – June 10, 1922
  • «Zorro Deals With Treason», Argosy Vol. 249 No. 2, August 18, 1934
  • «Mysterious Don Miguel», Argosy Weekly, Vol. 258 No. 5 – No. 6, serialized in two parts, September 21, 1935 – September 28, 1935
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 3 (2016)
  • Zorro Rides Again, Argosy Vol. 224 No. 3 – Vol. 224 No. 6, serialized in four parts, October 3, 1931 – October 24, 1931
  • «Zorro Draws a Blade», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 2, July 1944
  • «Zorro Upsets a Plot», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 3, September 1944
  • «Zorro Strikes Again», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 1, November 1944
  • «Zorro Saves a Herd», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 2, January 1945
  • «Zorro Runs the Gauntlet», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 3, March 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Duel», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 1, May 1945
  • «Zorro Opens a Cage», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 2, July 1945
  • «Zorro Prevents a War», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 3, September 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Friend», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 1, October 1945
  • «Zorro’s Hour of Peril», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 2, November 1945
  • «Zorro Lays a Ghost», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 3, December 1945
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 4 (2016)
  • The Sign of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 305 No. 2 – Vol. 305 No. 6, serialized in five parts, January 25, 1941 – February 22, 1941
  • «Zorro Frees Some Slaves», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 1, January 1946
  • «Zorro’s Double Danger», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 2, February 1946
  • «Zorro’s Masquerade», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 3, March 1946
  • «Zorro Stops a Panic», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 1, April 1946
  • «Zorro’s Twin Perils», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 2, May 1946
  • «Zorro Plucks a Pigeon», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 3, June 1946
  • «Zorro Rides at Dawn» West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 1, July 1946
  • «Zorro Takes the Bait», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 2, August 1946
  • «Zorro Raids a Caravan», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 3, October 1946
  • «Zorro’s Moment of Fear», West Magazine Vol. 63 No. 3, January 1947
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 5 (2017)
  • «A Task for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 2, June 1947
  • «Zorro Saves His Honor», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 1, February 1947
  • «Zorro and the Pirate», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 2, March 1947
  • «Zorro Beats the Drum», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 3, April 1947
  • «Zorro’s Strange Duel», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 1, May 1947
  • «Zorro’s Masked Menace», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 3, July 1947
  • «Zorro Aids an Invalid», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 1, August 1947
  • «Zorro Saves an American», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 2, September 1947
  • «Zorro Meets a Rogue», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 3, October 1947
  • «Zorro Races with Death», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 1, November 1947
  • «Zorro Fights for Peace», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 2, December 1947
  • «Zorro Serenades a Siren», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 1, February 1948
  • «Zorro Meets a Wizard», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 2, March 1948
  • «Zorro Fights with Fire», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 3, April 1948
  • «Gold for a Tyrant», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 1, May 1948
  • «The Hide Hunter», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 2, July 1948
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 6 (2017)
  • «Zorro’s Fight for Life», West Magazine, Vol. 74 No. 2, July 1951
  • «Zorro Shears Some Wolves», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 3, September 1948
  • «The Face Behind the Mask», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 1, November 1948
  • «Zorro Starts the New Year», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 3, January 1948
  • «Hangnoose Reward», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 3, March 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hostile Friends», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 1, May 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hot Tortillas», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 2, July 1949
  • «An Ambush for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 3, September 1949
  • «Zorro Gives Evidence», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 1, November 1949
  • «Rancho Marauders», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 2, January 1950
  • «Zorro’s Stolen Steed» West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, March 1950
  • «Zorro Curbs a Riot», West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, September 1950
  • «The Three Stage Peons», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 1, November 1950
  • «Zorro Nabs a Cutthroat», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 2, January 1951
  • «Zorro Gathers Taxes», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 3, March 1951
  • «Zorro Rides the Trail!», Max Brand’s Western Magazine, May 1954
  • «The Mask of Zorro», Short Stories for Men Vol. 221 No. 2, April 1959

[edit]

• Walt Disney’s Zorro by Steve Frazee 1958 Whitman Publishing Company, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro Outwits Death», Walt Disney’s Magazine Vol. III No. 3, April 1958. Loosely based on the episode «Zorro’s Secret Passage» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro’s Merry Chase», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 5, August 1958
• «The Fire of the Night», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 6, October 1958 and Vol. IV No. 1, 1958
• «Zorro and the Missing Father», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. IV No. 3, April 1959 and No. 4, June 1959. Adapted from the episodes «The Missing Father», «Please Believe Me», and «The Brooch» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro by Olivier Séchan 1959 Hachette
• Il Ritorno di Zorro by B.F. Deakin 1968 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, anthology of nine short stories
• Zorro arrive ! by Jacques Van Hauten 1971 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Le Retour de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1972 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le sergent Garcia by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le trésor du Pérou by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette
• Zorro contre le gouverneur by Jean-Claude Deret 1974 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• L’Épée de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1975 Hachette
• Zorro et l’épee du cid 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182556
• Zorro et la forteresse du diable by Valentin Dechemin 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182549, novelization of some episodes of the 1990 Zorro TV series
• Zorro and the Jaguar Warriors by Jerome Preisler September 1998 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6767-0
• The Mask of Zorro: A Novelization by James Luceno 1998 Pocket Books ISBN 978-0671519896, novelization of the 1998 movie The Mask of Zorro
• The Treasure of Don Diego by William McCay 1998 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51968-1, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Zorro and The Dragon Riders by David Bergantino March 1999 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6768-7
• Skull and Crossbones by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51970-4, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Secret Swordsman by William McCay 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51969-8, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Lost Temple by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Lo Spirito e la Spada by Louis A. Tartaglia 1999
• Zorro! by Sally M. Stockton 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• El Zorro by Margarita Barberá Quiles 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• Zorro and the Witch’s Curse by John Whitman April 2000 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6769-4
• La vera storia di Zorro by Isabella Parrini 2000 Alberti & C. ISBN 978-8887936056
• Zorro: l’ultima avventura ovvero la storia di Zorro, Volume 2 by Isabella Parrini 2001 Alberti & C.
• The Legend of Zorro: A Novelization by Scott Ciencin 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060833046, novelization of the 2005 movie The Legend of Zorro
• The Lone Ranger/Zorro: The Death Of Zorro By Ande Parks 2012 Simon Bowlands Crossover between The Lone Ranger and Zorro
• Zorro by Isabel Allende 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-077897-0
• Young Zorro: The Iron Brand by Jan Adkins 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060839468
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California by Irene Sartini 2007 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664407
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California – L’avventura continua by Irene Sartini 2008 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664575
• Tales of Zorro anthology of 17 short stories written by 22 authors, edited by Richard Dean Starr 2008 Moonstone Books ISBN 978-1-933076-31-7
• Zorro and the Little Devil by Peter David 2018 Bold Venture Press ISBN 978-1-7193-7410-1
• Zorro: The Daring Escapades anthology of 16 short stories, edited by Audrey Parente and Daryl McCullough 2020 Bold Venture Press ISBN 979-8637608508.

Films[edit]

The character has been adapted for over forty films.^[35] They include:

American theatrical feature films[edit]

• The Mark of Zorro (1920), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Fred Niblo
• Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Donald Crisp
• The Bold Caballero (1936), with Robert Livingston, directed by Wells Root
• The Mark of Zorro (1940), with Tyrone Power, directed by Rouben Mamoulian
• The Sign of Zorro (1958), with Guy Williams, portions of the first 13 Zorro TV episodes edited into a feature film, released overseas in 1958 and domestically in 1960
• Zorro, the Avenger (1959), with Guy Williams, another theatrical compilation of several Zorro TV episodes, released overseas.
• The Erotic Adventures of Zorro (1972), an erotic parody of the masked avenger, co-produced in Italy and Germany, Douglas Frey
• The Mark of Zorro (1974), a made for television movie which is a remake of the 1940 film, with Frank Langella as Zorro, directed by Don McDougall
• Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981), a parody directed by Peter Medak with George Hamilton as Diego Jr. and his twin brother Ramon. Diego Jr. succeeds his late father as Zorro, but he soon breaks his leg and Ramon fills in while Diego Jr. recuperates.
• The Mask of Zorro (1998), directed by Martin Campbell with Anthony Hopkins as an aged Don Diego de la Vega and Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta, a misfit outlaw/cowboy who is groomed to become the next Zorro, with Alejandro eventually marrying Diego’s daughter Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005), the sequel to 1998’s The Mask of Zorro, again starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and directed by Martin Campbell

American film serials[edit]

• Zorro Rides Again (1937), with John Carroll as a modern-day descendant, James Vega
• Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), with Reed Hadley as the original Zorro/Don Diego de la Vega
• Son of Zorro (1947), with George Turner as a Civil War descendant, Jeff Stewart
• Ghost of Zorro (1949), with Clayton Moore as Ken Mason, Zorro’s grandson/»The Ghost of Zorro»

Despite the title and a credit to McCulley, Zorro’s Black Whip (1944), with Linda Stirling as an 1880s masked avenger known as The Black Whip, has nothing to do with Zorro.

Mexican films[edit]

• El Nieto del Zorro (1948) Mexican Western with Resortes
• El Zorro Escarlata (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El zorro escarlata en diligencia fantasma (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El Zorro Vengador (1962), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar,
• El Zorro (1962), Mexican Western with Julio Aldama,
• La Gran Aventura Del Zorro (1976), Mexican Western with Rodolfo de Anda, set in a very primitive San Francisco Bay Area.

European films[edit]

• À la manière de Zorro / In the Way of Zorro (1926) Belgium William Elie – Unofficial
• Il sogno di Zorro / The Dream of Zorro / Zorro’s Dream (1952) Italy Walter Chiari
• La montaña sin ley / Lawless Mountain (1953) Spain José Suárez
• Zorro alla corte di Spagna / Zorro at the Spanish Court (1962) Italy George Ardisson
• La venganza del Zorro (1962) Spain Frank Latimore
• Le tre spade di Zorro / The Three Swords of Zorro (1963) Spain & Italy Guy Stockwell
• Zorro e i tre moschettieri / Zorro and the Three Musketeers (1963) Italy Gordon Scott
• Zorro contro Maciste / Samson and the Slave Queen (1963) Italy & Spain Pierre Brice
• Il segno di Zorro [it] / Duel at the Rio Grande / Sign of Zorro (1963) Spain, Italy & France Sean Flynn
• El Zorro cabalga otra vez / Il Giuramento di Zorro / Behind the Mask of Zorro (1965) Italy & Spain Tony Russel
• Zorro il ribelle / Zorro the Rebel (1966) Italy Howard Ross
• El Zorro / Zorro the Fox (1968) Italy & Spain George Ardisson
• I nipoti di Zorro / The Nephews of Zorro (1968) Italy, comedy with Franco and Ciccio as Franco La Vacca and Ciccio La Vacca, nephews of Don Diego de la Vega’s late wife. Dean Reed plays Raphael de la Vega, son of Don Diego and the new Zorro, while Franco Fantasia plays an aged Don Diego, who has retired from being Zorro.
• Zorro marchese di Navarra / Zorro, the Navarra Marquis (1969) Italy Nadir Moretti
• Zorro alla corte d’Inghilterra / Zorro in the Court of England (1969) Italy Spiros Focás
• E continuavano a chiamarlo figlio di … / El Zorro justiciero / The Avenger, Zorro (1969) Italy & Spain Fabio Testi
• La última aventura del Zorro / Zorro il dominatore / Zorro’s Latest Adventure (1969) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Zorro il cavaliere della vendetta / El Zorro, caballero de la justicia / Zorro, Rider of Vengeance (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• El Zorro de Monterrey / Zorro la maschera della vendetta / Zorro the Invincible (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Les aventures galantes de Zorro / Red Hot Zorro (1972) France & Belgium Jean-Michel Dhermay
• Il figlio di Zorro / Son of Zorro / Man with the Golden Winchester (1973) Italy & Spain Alberto Dell’Acqua
• Il sogno di Zorro / Grandsons of Zorro / Dream of Zorro (1975) Italy Franco Franchi
• Zorro (1975) Italy & France Alain Delon
• La marque de Zorro / The Mark of Zorro (1975) France; additional sequences added to La venganza del Zorro (1962) with Frank Latimore renamed Clint Douglas
• Ah sì? E io lo dico a Zzzzorro! / Mark of Zorro / Who’s Afraid of Zorro / They Call Him Zorro … Is He? (1975) Italy & Spain George Hilton – Unofficial

Turkey:

• Zorro kamcili süvari (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit
• Zorro’nun intikami (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit

India:

• Zorro (1975) India Navin Nischol

Note: Unofficial means not included in official film list at zorro.com^[36]

Argentina

Zorro, el sentimiento de hierro (2019), fan film

Television series[edit]

American series – live-action

• Zorro, a Disney half-hour television series, running from 1957 to 1959, starring Guy Williams as Zorro for 78 episodes. The two features listed above starring Guy Williams were episode compilations, and there were four one-hour follow-ups on the Walt Disney anthology television series in the 1960–1961 TV season.
• Zorro and Son, broadcast in 1983 for 5 episodes, was a situation comedy in which an aged Don Diego (Henry Darrow) trains his son Carlos (Paul Regina) to succeed him as Zorro.
• Zorro, also called The New Zorro, New World Zorro, or Zorro 1990, was a television series which starred Duncan Regehr as Zorro for 88 episodes on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993. Two feature-length videos were episode compilations. An unaired alternate pilot episode was included in the 2011 DVD release of the series: the pilot features a different cast and story, with Don Diego dying and Don Antonio de la Cruz (Patrick James) taking up the mantle of Zorro.
• In the series finale of Once Upon a Time, «Leaving Storybrooke» (aired May 18, 2018), Zorro is said to be able to shapeshift into a dragon, and in that form, fathered Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten)’s daughter, Lily (Nicole Muñoz (teen)/Agnes Bruckner (adult)). Zorro himself does not appear in the series, possibly as a result of cancellation. Lily appears in the fourth season (2014-2015) episodes, «Breaking Glass,» «Lily,» «Mother,» and «Operation Mongoose: Part 2.»
• In November 2019 it was announced that a new series was in development by NBC with Alfredo Barrios Jr. as both writer and executive producer, with by Propagate and CBS Television Studios as producers. The series will have more of a «modern day» setting and will follow Z, a female descendant from the Zorro bloodline, as she fulfills her duty to «protect the defenseless in her community».^[37] In December 2020, Robert Rodriguez and Sofía Vergara were announced as executive producers.^[38] In January 2022, the series was moved from NBC to The CW and later ordered six scripts.^[39][40]
• In December 2021, it was announced that a new series was in development by Disney-ABC. Wilmer Valderrama will executive produce and star as Diego de la Vega in what is described as a «reimagining» of the series. Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television stated that the series is «set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style».^[41] Valderrama confirmed that the series will be on Disney+.^[42]
• In May 2022, Amazon Prime announced that Secuoya Studios is developing a modern-day Zorro series. The ten-episode series will be directed by Javier Quintas and Miguel Ángel Vivas with Miguel Bernardeau cast in the lead, along with Renata Notni.^[43]

American series – animation

• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1981 animated series from Filmation, which consists of 13 episodes.
• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1997–1998 animated series from Fred Wolf Films, which consists of 26 episodes.
• The Amazing Zorro, 2002 made for TV animated film created by DIC Entertainment as part of their DIC Movie Toons lineup. It premiered on Nickelodeon and was later released on DVD and VHS shortly afterward by MGM Home Entertainment.
• Zorro: Generation Z,^[44] 2006 animated series from BKN International which consists of 26 episodes. It follows a descendant of the original Zorro, also named Diego De La Vega, fighting crime and the corrupt government of Pueblo Grande in a future setting.

International series

• Kaiketsu Zorro, (1996–1997) Japanese anime version from NHK and Ashi Productions, which consists of 52 episodes.
• Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa (The Sword and the Rose), a 2007 Spanish language telenovela from Sony Pictures and Telemundo, starring Christian Meier as Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro. It consists of 112 episodes.
• Zorro, a 2009 TV series from the GMA Network of the Philippines, starring Richard Gutierrez.^[45] It consists of 98 episodes.
• Zorro: The Chronicles, a French animated series (2015), voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch^[46]
• On October 14, 2022, it was announced that a French television series based on the character was in development for France Télévisions, starring Jean Dujardin as Don Diego / Zorro.^[47]

Audio/radio dramas[edit]

• Walt Disney’s Zorro: [1. Presenting Señor Zorro; 2. Zorro Frees The Indians; 3. Zorro And The Ghost; 4. Zorro’s Daring Rescue] (1957) released by Disneyland Records. This album retold stories from the Disney Zorro television series and featured Guy Williams as Zorro and Don Diego, Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia, Phil Ross as Monastario, Jan Arvan as Torres, Jimmie Dodd from The Mickey Mouse Club as Padre Felipe, with other voices by Dallas McKennon and sound effects by Jimmy MacDonald and Eddie Forrest. Record story adaptations by Bob Thomas and George Sherman. Music composed and conducted by William Lava.
• The Adventures of Zorro. (1957) Based on the original Johnston McCulley story The Curse of Capistrano (aka The Mark of Zorro). It was written by Maria Little, directed by Robert M. Light and produced by Mitchell Gertz. This short-lived radio show was a series of short episodes. Only a handful of episodes are known to have survived.
• The Mark of Zorro. (1997) [No longer available] Produced by the BBC it starred Mark Arden as Zorro, Louise Lombard as Lolita and Glyn Houston as Friar Felipe. It aired in 5 parts. 1. July 3, 97 Night of the Fox: 2. July 10, 97 Deadly Reckonings: 3. July 17, 97 The Avenging Blade 4. July 24, 97 The Place of Skulls 5. July 31, 97 The Gathering Storm
• Zorro and the Pirate Raiders. (2009) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s The Further Adventures of Zorro. Produced by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. Published by Brilliance Audio. It features Kevin Cirone, Shonna McEachern, Hugh Metzler, J.T. Turner, Sam Donato, Joseph Zamperelli Jr., and Dan Powell.
• Zorro Rides Again. (2011) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s «Zorro Rides Again». Produced by Colonial Theatre on the Air. It features the voice talents of Kevin Cirone, Jeremy Benson, Shonna McEachern, Shana Dirk, Sam Donato, and Hugh Metzler.
• The Mark of Zorro. (2011) Based on The Curse of Capistrano. Produced by Hollywood Theater of the Ear for Blackstone Audio. It features the voice talents of Val Kilmer as Diego de la Vega/Zorro, Ruth Livier as Lolita Pulido, Elizabeth Peña as Doña Catalina Pulido, Armin Shimerman as the Landlord, Mishach Taylor as Sgt Pedro Gonzalez, Keith Szarabajka as Cpt Ramone, Ned Schmidtke as Don Carlos Pulido, Scott Brick as the Governor, Stefan Rudnicki as Fray Felipe, Kristoffer Tabori as Don Alejando de la Vega, Philip Proctor as Don Audre, John Sloan as the Magistrado, and Gordo Panza in numerous roles.

Toys[edit]

Due to the popularity of the Disney TV series, in 1958, The Topps Company produced an 88-card set featuring stills from that year’s movie. The cards were rare and became collectors’ items. In the same year the Louis Marx company released a variety of Zorro toys such as hats, swords, toy pistols and a playset with the Lido company also making plastic figures.

A major toy line based on the classic Zorro characters, motifs and styling, was released by Italian toy giant, Giochi Preziosi, master toy licensees of the property. The toy range was developed by Pangea Corporation and released worldwide in 2005 and featured action figures in various scales, interactive playsets and roleplaying items. New original characters were also introduced, including Senor Muerte, who served as a foil to Zorro.

In 2007, Brazilian toymaker Gulliver Toys licensed the rights to Zorro: Generation Z, which was co-developed by BKN and Pangea Corporation. The toy range was designed concurrent and in association with the animated program.

In 2011, US-based collectibles company Triad Toys released a 12-inch Zorro action figure.

Comics[edit]

Zorro has appeared in many different comic book series over the decades. In Hit Comics #55, published by Quality Comics in November 1948, Zorro is summoned by Kid Eternity, but in this version has only a whip and does not wear a mask.^[48]

Dell Comics published Zorro in Four Color Comics #228 (1949), 425 (1952), 497 (1953), 538 (1954), 574 (1954), 617 (1955) and 732 (1957). These stories featured artwork by Everett Raymond Kinstler (#497, 538, and 574), Bob Fujitani, Bob Correa and Alberto Giolitti.^[49]

Dell also had a licence to publish Disney comics in the United States and, following the launch of Disney’s Zorro TV series in 1957, published seven more issues of Four Color dedicated to Zorro between February 1958 and September 1959, under said licence, with the first stories featuring artwork by Alex Toth.^[50] In December 1959, Dell started the publication of a standalone Disney-licensed Zorro title, which started the numeration at #8 and continued to be published until issue #15 (September 1961). The character then appeared in four stories published in the monthly Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories (also published by Dell), one story per issue from #275 (August 1963) to #278 (November 1963): these were the last Zorro stories produced in the United States under the Disney licence. However, Disney produced more stories from 1964 to 1978 through the Disney Studio Program, a unit producing comic book stories exclusively for foreign consumption.^[51] In addition to publishing translations of American stories and Disney Studio stories, many foreign publishers also produced their own original stories under the Disney licence: these countries are the Netherlands (1964–1967),^[52] Chile (1965–1974),^[53] Italy (1969–1971),^[54] Brazil (1973–1983),^[55] France (1974–1986)^[56] and Germany (1980–1982).^[57]

Gold Key Comics started another Disney-licensed Zorro series in January 1966, but, like their contemporaneous Lone Ranger series, it featured only material reprinted from the earlier Dell comics, and folded after 9 issues, in March 1968. The character remained dormant in the United States for the next twenty years until it was revived by Marvel Comics in 1990, for a 12-issue tie-in with the Duncan Regehr television series Zorro. Many of these comics had Alex Toth covers.

In 1993 Topps Comics published a 2-issue limited series Dracula Versus Zorro followed by a Zorro series that ran 11 issues. Topps also published two limited series of Lady Rawhide, a spin-off from the Zorro stories created by writer Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew.^[58][59][60] McGregor subsequently scripted a limited series adaptation of The Mask of Zorro film for Image Comics.

A newspaper daily and Sunday strip were also published in the late 1990s. This was written by McGregor and rendered by Tom Yeates. Papercutz once published a Zorro series and graphic novels as well. This version is drawn in a manga style.

Dynamite Entertainment relaunched the character with a 20-issue Zorro series which ran from 2008 to 2010, written by Matt Wagner and drawn by multiple artists. The publisher also released an earlier unpublished tale called «Matanzas» by Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew. Zorro (here a 1930s descendant) also appears in the 2013 Dynamite eight-issue limited series Masks alongside the Green Hornet and Kato, The Shadow, and The Spider. It was written by Chris Roberson with art by Alex Ross and Dennis Calero.^[61]

Dynamite Entertainment also published a seven-issue series titled Django/Zorro between November 2014 and May 2015, teaming Zorro with the character Django Freeman from Quentin Tarantino’s movie Django Unchained (2012). The series was co-written by Tarantino and Matt Wagner, with art by Esteve Polls.^[62]

In 2018, American Mythology took the license, launched the series Zorro Legendary Adventures, written by Jean-Marie Nadaud and drawn by Robert Rigot^[63] and limited series Zorro: Swords of Hell, written by David Avallone and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez.^[64] The company has since released crossovers featuring Zorro with their other licensed properties, namely Zorro in the Land that Time Forgot featuring Diego De La Vega accompanying an expedition to the lost world of Caspak from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.

Collected editions[edit]

Over the years, various English reprint volumes have been published. These include, but are not limited to:

• Zorro in Old California, Eclipse Books ISBN 978-0-913035-12-2
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume One, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 9781582400143
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume Two, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 978-1582400273
• Zorro The Dailies – The First Year By Don McGregor, Thomas Yeates. Image Comics 2001. ISBN 1-58240-239-6
• Alex Toth’s Zorro: The Complete Dell Comics Adventures. Hermes Press 2013. ISBN 978-1613450314
• Zorro: The Complete Dell Pre-Code Comics. Hermes Press 2014. ISBN 9781613450666

Stage productions[edit]

Approximately 65 separate Zorro live productions have been produced. These have included traditional stage plays, comedies, melodramas, musicals, children’s plays, stunt shows, and ballets. Some examples include:

• Ken Hill wrote and directed the musical production of Zorro, which opened on February 14, 1995, at the East Stratford Theater in London. Ken Hill died just days before the opening.^[65]
• Alvaro Cervino produced a musical comedy, «Zorro El Musical» in Mexico City, Mexico in July 1996. Critics called it «a show that captivates audiences both by its performances and above all, by its magnificent musical numbers».
• Michael Nelson wrote a stage adaptation of Zorro for the Birmingham Children’s Theater in 1996. Beaufort County Now called it «a fun and fast paced production perfect for children 6 and up.» Abe Reybold directed with scenic design by Yoshi Tanokura and costume designs by Donna Meester. Jay Tumminello provided an original score.^[66]
• Theater Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, put on Zorro, the Musical as an opera in 1998. It was written and directed by Frank Young and starred Richard White as Zorro.^[67]
• Z – The Masked Musical by Robert W. Cabell was released in 1998 as a CD. The CD premiere with Ruben Gomez (Zorro) and Debbie Gibson (Carlotta) is published as a CD. In 2000, the stage play premiered at the South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon, where it had four performances by the amateur group, ACE. It was then produced on June 13, 2013, at the Clingenburg Festspiele in Klingenberg am Main, Bavaria, Germany, with Karl Grunewald and Philip Georgopoulos as alternating Zorros, Judith Perez as Carlotta, Daniel Coninx as Governor Juan Carlos, Daniel Pabst as Capitàn Raphaél Ramerez and Christian Theodoridis as Sergeant Santiago Garcia. This production was directed by Marcel Krohn and premiered in the presence of the composer.
• In 1999, Anthony Rhine and Joseph Henson wrote Zorro Live!, which was performed at the Riverside Light Opera theater.^[68]
• In 2000, Fernando Lúpiz produced his first original «Zorro» show. It was such a crowd pleaser that he mounted a new production thereafter almost annually until 2014. His productions were performed most frequently in arenas, featuring live horses, rousing swordplay and songs.
• In 2001, the Gaslight Theatre of Tucson, Arizona, reprised its 1994 spoof called «Zerro Rides Again» or «No Arrest for the Wicked». It was described as «full of silly wigs, ridiculous situations, songs that barely fit in, and dialogue so fat with wordplay that it’s tough not to love it. ‘Zerro’ is a chance to laugh yourself silly. Seize it».
• In 2002, playwright Michael Harris wrote The Legend of Zorro, which has been performed in many high schools.
• In 2002, Luis Alvarez produced his El Zorro El Spectaculo in the Teatro Calderon in Madrid, Spain. Critics lauded it saying «Manuel Bandera makes the ideal Zorro. We hope he has the stamina necessary to endure the long run this play deserves.»
• Michael Smuin’s critically lauded modern ballet version of Zorro premiered in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco in 2003. Composer Charles Fox provided the score, and Matthew Robbins wrote the libretto. Ann Beck was costume designer and Douglas W. Schmidt was set designer. Smuin himself choreographed.^[69]
• Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell opened in 2005 in the Berkeley Repertory theater, then in 2006 in the La Jolla Playhouse and the Montelban Theater in Los Angeles. Zorro In Hell was written and performed by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza. Culture Clash used the legend of Zorro as a lens to examine California’s cultural, economic and historical issues. The LA Times called it «a zany bicultural send-up of California history.»^[70]
• Award-winning playwright Bernardo Solano wrote a modern adaptation of Zorro for TheatreWorks at the University of Colorado in 2007. Robert Castro directed and Justin Huen starred as Zorro. The Denver post called the production «a fresh take,» and «a formula other companies should emulate.»^[71]
• In Uppsala, Sweden, Erik Norberg wrote a Zorro stage adaptation for the Stadsteatern Theatre directed by Alexander Oberg and starring Danilo Bejarano as Zorro. The production opened in 2008.^[72]
• A musical titled Zorro opened in the West End of London in 2008. It was written by Helen Edmundson and Stephen Clark, with music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron, and directed by Christopher Renshaw. It was nominated for 5 Oliviers, including Best Musical.^[73] It has since enjoyed professional productions in Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Shanghai, São Paulo and elsewhere. The US premiere production took place in 2012 at Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a further production at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta Georgia, where it won five awards including Best Musical.
• The Scottish children’s theater troupe Visible Fictions put on a touring production of The Mask of Zorro in 2009. Davey Anderson wrote the script and Douglas Irvine directed. Robin Peoples designed the sets, which The New York Times called «a triumph.»^[74]
• Lifehouse Theater, a Redlands, CA-based company, put on ‘Zorro, written and scored by Wayne Scott. Zorro opened in 2009.^[75]
• In 2012, Janet Allard and Eleanor Holdridge produced and directed Zorro at the Constellation Theatre in Washington, DC. Holdridge directed and Danny Gavigan played Zorro. The Washington Post said of the production, «Constellation augments its classical thrust in a thoughtful way with ‘Zorro,’ which continues the company’s laudable efforts at delivering intimate theater with high standards for design.»^[76]
• In 2012, Medina Produzioni, based in Rome, Italy, produced its musical, «W Zorro il Musical – liberamente ispirato alla storia di William Lamport» in numerous theatres throughout Italy.
• The Oregon-based ballet troupe Ballet Fantastique produced Zorro: The Ballet as an opener to their 2013 season. Eugene Weekly called the ballet «zesty, fresh, fantastic treat.»^[77]
• Elenco Produções produced its musical, «Zorro», in Porto, Portugal in 2013.

Music[edit]

On the commercial release of the Zorro 1957 Disney TV series’ Zorro theme, the lead vocal was by Henry Calvin, the actor who played Sergeant Garcia on the program. The song was written by Jimmie Dodd.

The Chordettes sang the single version of the song, complete with the «Sounds of the Z» and the clip clopping of Zorro’s horse, which is heard at the song’s end. The song hit Number 17 in 1958 according to the Billboard Charts.

In 1964, Henri Salvador sang «Zorro est arrivé.» It tells from a child’s point of view how exciting it is whenever a villain threatens to kill a lady in the television series. But every time again, to his relief, the «great and beautiful» Zorro comes to the rescue. An early music video was made at the time.

Alice Cooper’s 1982 album Zipper Catches Skin includes the song «Zorro’s Ascent» which is about Zorro facing his death.

The 1999 song «El Corona» by Suburban Legends tells the story of «Don Diego», the «hombre en negro» («man in black»), a «tall Spaniard with a sharp sword» who was «down and out in LA» and defending the people from an unnamed corrupt ruler.

Video games[edit]

• Zorro (1985), Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC
• Zorro (1986), ZX Spectrum^[78]
• Zorro (1995), PC^[79]
• The Mask of Zorro (1999), Game Boy Color^[80][81]
• The Shadow of Zorro (2001), PC, PlayStation 2
• The Destiny of Zorro (2008), Wii
• Zorro: Quest for Justice (2009), Nintendo DS
• There is a Zorro themed poker machine at gaming establishments in Australia and New Zealand.
• Zorro is Morgana’s Persona in Persona 5 (2017), PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
• Zorro appears as a paid DLC Guest Fighter in Go All Out!, PC,
• Zorro: The Chronicles (2022), PC, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation^[82]

Role-playing games[edit]

• In July 2001, the Gold Rush Games published The Legacy of Zorro Introductory Adventure Game (ISBN 1-890305-26-X) by Mark Arsenault for Fuzion.
• In January 2019, Gallant Knight Games used crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to finance the game Zorro: The Roleplaying Game for the D6 System.^[83]

See also[edit]

• Gentleman thief

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

• Zorro Productions, Inc.
• A guide to the Walt Disney television series version of Zorro
• A comprehensive guide to the New World Zorro television series
• The Legacy of the Fox: A Chronology of Zorro
• Zorro at Inducks
• Don Diego de la Vega at the INDUCKS

Zorro
Cover to Dynamite Entertainment’s Zorro #2 (March 2008) by Mike Mayhew
First appearance	All-Story Weekly (August 1919)
Created by	Johnston McCulley
Portrayed by	Douglas Fairbanks Robert Livingston Reed Hadley Tyrone Power José Suárez Guy Williams Frank Langella George Hamilton Rodolfo de Anda Duncan Regehr Anthony Hopkins Antonio Banderas Alain Delon Christian Meier Miguel Bernardeau
In-universe information
Full name	Don Diego de la Vega
Alias	Zorro
Gender	Male
Occupation	Nobleman, vigilante
Weapon	Espada ropera Bullwhip
Nationality	New Spanish / Mexican

Zorro (Spanish for ‘fox’) is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California.^[1] He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, the townspeople started calling him «El Zorro» due to his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons, but the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he uses often to carve the initial «Z» on his defeated foes, and other objects to «sign his work». He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.

Zorro is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a young man who is the only son of Don Alejandro de la Vega, the richest landowner in California, while Diego’s mother is dead. In most versions, Diego learned his swordsmanship while at university in Spain, and created his masked alter ego after he was unexpectedly summoned home by his father because California had fallen into the hands of an oppressive dictator. Diego is usually shown living with his father in a huge hacienda, which contains a number of secret passages and tunnels, leading to a secret cave that serves as headquarters for Zorro’s operations and as Tornado’s hiding place. In order to divert suspicion about his identity, Diego hides his fighting abilities while also pretending to be a coward and a fop.

Zorro made his debut in the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, originally meant as a stand-alone story. However, the success of the 1920 film adaptation The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks and Noah Beery, which introduced the popular Zorro costume, convinced McCulley to write more Zorro stories for about four decades: the character was featured in a total of five serialized stories and 57 short stories, the last one appearing in print posthumously in 1959, the year after his death. The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. While the rest of McCulley’s Zorro stories did not enjoy the same popularity, as most of them were never reprinted until the 21st century, the character also appears in over 40 films and in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–1959, starring Guy Williams. Other media featuring Zorro include stories by other authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions and video games.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman drawing particularly close parallels to the character.

Publishing history[edit]

Zorro debuted in Johnston McCulley’s novel The Curse of Capistrano, serialized in five parts between August 9 and September 6, 1919, in the pulp magazine All-Story Weekly.^[2] The story was originally meant as a standalone tale, and at the denouement, Zorro’s true identity is revealed to all.

Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford, on their honeymoon, selected the story as the inaugural picture for their new studio, United Artists, beginning the character’s cinematic tradition.^{[citation needed]} The novel was adapted as the film The Mark of Zorro (1920), which Fairbanks produced, co-wrote and starred in as Diego/Zorro. The movie was a commercial success,^[2] and the 1924 reprint of McCulley’s story by publisher Grosset & Dunlap used the same title, capitalizing on the movie’s popularity. The novel has since been reprinted using both titles.

In response to public demand fueled by the film, McCulley wrote more than sixty more Zorro stories, beginning in 1922 with The Further Adventures of Zorro, which was also serialized in Argosy All-Story Weekly. Fairbanks picked up the movie rights for the sequel that year. However, Fairbanks’s sequel, Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), was more based on the 1919 novel Don Q’s Love Story by the mother–son duo Kate Prichard and Hesketh Hesketh-Prichard, than The Further Adventures. Thus McCulley received no credit on the film.^[3]

At first, production of new Zorro stories proceeded at irregular intervals: the third novel, Zorro Rides Again (not to be confused with the 1937 theatrical serial) was published in 1931, nine years after the second one. Then, between 1932 and 1941, McCulley wrote four short stories and two serialized novels. Zorro stories were published much more frequently between 1944 and 1951, a period in which McCulley published 52 short stories with the character for the West Magazine. «Zorro Rides the Trail!», which appeared in Max Brand’s Western Magazine in 1954, is the last story to be published during the author’s lifetime, and the second-to-last story overall. The last, «The Mask of Zorro» (not to be confused with the 1998 film), was published posthumously in Short Stories for Men in 1959. These stories ignore Zorro’s public revelation of his identity.

The Curse of Capistrano eventually sold more than 50 million copies, becoming one of the best-selling books of all time. For the most part, McCulley’s other Zorro stories remained overlooked and out-of-print until the 21st century. Bold Venture Press collected all McCulley’s Zorro stories Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, in six volumes.

Over 40 Zorro titled films were made over the years, including The Mark of Zorro, the 1940 classic starring Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone. The character was also featured in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced Zorro series of 1957–59, starring Guy Williams.^[2] Zorro appears in several stories written by other authors, comics books and strips, stage productions, video games and other media. McCulley died in 1958, just as Zorro was at the height of his popularity thanks to the Disney series.

Fictional character biography[edit]

In The Curse of Capistrano, Señor Zorro became an outlaw in the pueblo of Los Angeles in California «to avenge the helpless, to punish cruel politicians, to aid the oppressed» and is dubbed the «Curse of Capistrano». The novel features extensively both Don Diego Vega and Zorro, but the fact that they are the same person is not revealed to the reader until the end of the book. In the story, both Diego and Zorro romance Lolita Pulido, an impoverished noblewoman. While Lolita is unimpressed with Diego, who pretends to be a passionless fop, she is attracted to the dashing Zorro. The main villain is Captain Ramon, who also has his eyes on Lolita. Other characters include Sgt. Pedro Gonzales, Zorro’s enemy but Diego’s friend; Diego’s deaf and mute servant Bernardo; his ally, Fray (Friar) Felipe; his father Don Alejandro Vega, the richest landowner in California and a widower; Don Carlos Pulido and his wife, Doña Catalina, Lolita’s parents; and a group of noblemen (caballeros) who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.

In later stories, McCulley introduces characters such as pirates and Native Americans, some of whom know Zorro’s identity.

In McCulley’s later stories, Diego’s surname became de la Vega. In fact, the writer was wildly inconsistent. The first magazine serial ended with the villain dead and Diego publicly exposed as Zorro. But in the sequel, the villain was alive and the next entry had the double identity still secret.

Several Zorro productions have expanded on the character’s exploits. Many of the continuations feature a younger character taking up the mantle of Zorro.

McCulley’s stories are set during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821)^[4] and, although exact years are often vague, the presence of the Pueblo of Los Angeles means the stories cannot happen before 1781, the year it was founded. Some media adaptations of Zorro’s story have placed him during the later era of Mexican California (1821–1848).

Character motifs[edit]

The character’s visual motif is typically a black costume with a black flowing Spanish cloak or cloak, a black flat-brimmed hat known as sombrero cordobés, and a black sackcloth mask that covers the top half of his head. Sometimes the mask is a two piece, the main item being a blindfold-type fabric with slits for the eyes, and the other item being a bandana over the head, so that it is covered even if the hat is removed: this is the mask worn in the movie The Mark of Zorro (1920) and in the television series Zorro (1957–1959). Other times, the mask is a one piece that unites both items described above: this mask was introduced in The Mark of Zorro (1940) and appears in many modern versions. Zorro’s mask has also occasionally been shown as being a rounded domino mask, which he wore without also wearing a bandana. In his first appearance, Zorro’s cloak is purple, his hat is generically referred to as a «wide sombrero,» and his black cloth veil mask with slits for eyes covers his whole face. Other features of the costume may vary.^{[citation needed]}

His favored weapon is a rapier, which he also uses to often leave his distinctive mark, a Z cut with three quick strokes, on his defeated foes and other objects to «sign his work». He also uses other weapons, including a bullwhip and a pistol.

The fox is never depicted as Zorro’s emblem. It is used as a metaphor for the character’s wiliness, such as in the lyrics «Zorro, ‘the Fox’, so cunning and free …» from Disney’s television series theme.

His heroic pose consists of rearing on his horse, Tornado, often saluting with his hand or raising his sword high. The logo of the company Zorro Productions, Inc. uses an image of Zorro rearing on his horse, sword raised high.

Skills and resources[edit]

Zorro is very intelligent and can not only use a complex strategy, prepared before entering the battlefield, but also improvise plans in the moment of danger and combat. He never uses brute force and, indeed, more often than not he uses humor and psychological teasing to irritate his opponents, causing them to lose their emotional detachment and become too eager for revenge to be able to coordinate in action and in combat. He fools them by provoking them into his traps.

In addition to having exceptional tactical skills, he specializes in infiltrating heavily guarded enemy structures or territories, espionage and improvised explosive devices. His calculating and precise ability as a tactician allowed him to also use weapons as an extension of his skillful hand. He is also a weapons expert and a master of escape and camouflage. He is also good at deciphering numerous languages, both spoken and written. Zorro also masters body language, gestures and symbols, facilitating communication with locals regardless of ethnicity or language.

Zorro is an agile athlete and acrobat, using his bullwhip as a gymnastic accoutrement to swing through gaps between city roofs, and is very capable of landing from great heights and taking a fall. Although he is a master swordsman and marksman, he has more than once demonstrated his prowess in unarmed combat against multiple opponents. Keen intelligence and an acute power of observation are two main skills allowing Zorro to surprise, in order to defeat, establishment enemies.

His calculating and precise dexterity as a tactician has enabled Zorro to use two key weapons, his sword and bullwhip, as an extension of his deft hand. He never uses brute strength. Instead and more likely, he uses his fox-like and sly mind, and well-practiced technique to outmatch an opponent. He uses seduction as Zorro and coyness as Don Diego de la Vega, tricking his opponents to obstruct easy access to his true identity by using deception as masterful skill.

In some versions, Zorro keeps a medium-sized dagger tucked in his left boot for emergencies. He has used his cape as a blind, a trip-mat and a disarming tool. Zorro’s boots are also sometimes weighted, as is his hat, which he has thrown, Frisbee-style, as an efficiently substantial warning to enemies. But more often than not, he uses psychological mockery to make his opponents too angry to be coordinated in combat.

Zorro is a skilled horseman. The name of his jet-black horse has varied through the years. In The Curse of Capistrano, it was unnamed. In Disney’s Zorro television series the horse gets the name Tornado, which has been kept in many later adaptations. In most versions, Zorro keeps Tornado in a secret cave, connected to his hacienda with a system of secret passages and tunnels.

McCulley’s concept of a band of men helping Zorro is often absent from other versions of the character. An exception is Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), starring Reed Hadley as Diego. In Douglas Fairbanks’ version, he also has a band of masked men helping him. In McCulley’s stories, Zorro was aided by a deaf-mute named Bernardo. In Disney’s Zorro television series, Bernardo is not deaf but pretends to be, and serves as Zorro’s secret agent. He is a capable and invaluable helper for Zorro, sometimes wearing the mask to reinforce his master’s charade. The Family Channel’s Zorro television series replaces Bernardo with a teenager named Felipe, played by Juan Diego Botto, with a similar disability and pretense. In Isabel Allende’s Zorro: A Novel, Bernardo is the child of the de la Vega’s Native housemaid, Ana, who forms a bond with Regina de la Vega, a former Native warrior who is converted, Christainized and married to Don Alejandro. Their dual pregnancies result in them giving birth the same night. Due to complications from birth, Regina cannot breastfeed her child, Diego, so Ana breastfeeds both boys, making them milk brothers. The two are shown to be inseparable, which helps Bernardo receive more formal education, and accompanies Diego to Barcelona. After a group of pirates invade the de la Vega home, Bernardo witnesses the rape and murder of his mother and a result stops speaking. Diego’s grandmother White Owl concludes Bernardo refuses to speak as a form of mourning. He is shown to speak to Tornado in a spirit quest and later to a fellow native girl, Light-in-the-Night, whom he marries.

Characteristics[edit]

In The Curse of Capistrano, Diego is described as «a fair youth of excellent blood and twenty-four years, noted the length of El Camino Real for his small interest in the really important things of life.» It is also said that «Don Diego was unlike the other full-blooded youths of the times. It appeared that he disliked action. He seldom wore his blade, except as a matter of style and apparel. He was damnably polite to all women and paid court to none. … Those who knew Don Diego best declared he yawned ten score times a day.» Though proud as befitting his class (and seemingly uncaring about the lower classes), he shuns action, rarely wearing his sword except for fashion, and is indifferent to romance with women. This is, of course, a sham. At the end of the novel, Diego explains that he has planned his double identity since he was fifteen:

«It began ten years ago, when I was but a lad of fifteen,» he said. «I heard tales of persecution. I saw my friends, the frailes, annoyed and robbed. I saw soldiers beat an old native who was my friend. And then I determined to play this game.»

«It would be a difficult game to play, I knew. So I pretended to have small interest in life, so that men never would connect my name with that of the highwayman I expected to become. In secret, I practiced horsemanship and learned how to handle a blade—»

«By the saints, he did,» Sergeant Gonzales growled.

«One half of me was the languid Don Diego you all knew, and the other half was the Curse of Capistrano I hoped one day to be. And then the time came, and my work began.»

«It is a peculiar thing to explain, señores. The moment I donned cloak and mask, the Don Diego part of me fell away. My body straightened, new blood seemed to course through my veins, my voice grew strong and firm, fire came to me! And the moment I removed cloak and mask I was the languid Don Diego again. Is it not a peculiar thing?»

This part of the backstory was changed in the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro: Diego is recently returned from Spain at the start of the movie, and Zorro later tells Lolita that he learnt his swordsmanship in Spain. The 1925 sequel Don Q, Son of Zorro expands on this concept by saying that: «Though the home of the De Vegas has long been on California soil, the eldest son of each new generation returns to Spain for a period of travel and study.» The 1940 film The Mark of Zorro keeps the idea of Diego learning his swordsmanship in Spain, and adds the idea of him being unexpectedly summoned home by his father Don Alejandro when California fell into the hand of an oppressing dictator. Both ideas would then be included in most retelling of the character’s backstory.

McCulley’s portrayal of Diego’s personality, with minor variations, is followed in most Zorro media.

A notable exception to this portrayal is Disney’s Zorro (1957–59), where Diego, despite using the original façade early in the series, instead becomes a passionate and compassionate crusader for justice and simply masquerades as «the most inept swordsman in all of California». In this show, everyone knows Diego would love to do what Zorro does, but thinks he does not have the skill.

The Family Channel’s Zorro (1990–1993) takes this concept further. While Diego pretends to be inept with a sword, the rest of his facade is actually exaggerating his real interests. Diego is actually well-versed and interested in art, poetry, literature, and science. His facade is pretending to be interested in only these things and to have no interest in swordplay or action. Zorro also has a well-equipped laboratory in his hidden cave in this version of the story.

In Isabel Allende’s novel, Diego is a mestizo, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a Shoshone warrior woman. Thus, as a child, Diego is caught between the divine right of nobility and the ways of his Native mother, grandmother and ancestors.

Inspirations[edit]

The historical figure most often associated with the Zorro character is Joaquin Murrieta, whose life was fictionalized in an 1854 dime novel by John Rollin Ridge. In the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro Murrieta’s (fictitious) brother Alejandro succeeds Diego as Zorro. As a hero with a secret identity who taunts his foes by signing his deeds, Zorro finds a direct literary predecessor in Sir Percival Blakeney, hero of the Scarlet Pimpernel pulp series by Emma Orczy.

The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico,^[5] Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, and Tiburcio Vasquez. Another possible historical inspiration is William Lamport, an Irish soldier who lived in Mexico in the seventeenth century. His life was the subject of a fictive book by Vicente Riva Palacio; The Irish Zorro (2004) is a recent biography. Another is Estanislao, a Yokuts man who led a revolt against the Mission San Jose in 1827.

The 1860s, 1880s and 1900s penny dreadful treatment of the Spring-heeled Jack character as a masked avenger may have inspired some aspects of Zorro’s heroic persona.^[6][7] Spring Heeled Jack was portrayed as a nobleman who created a flamboyant, masked alter ego to fight injustice, frequently demonstrated exceptional athletic and combative skills, maintained a hidden lair and was known to carve the letter «S» into walls with his rapier as a calling card.

Like Sir Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Don Diego avoids suspicion by playing the role of an effete dandy who wears lace, writes poetry, and shuns violence. The all-black Fairbanks film costume, which with variations has remained the standard costume for the character, was likely adapted from the Arrow serial film character The Masked Rider (1919). This character was the first Mexican black-clad masked rider on a black horse to appear on the silver screen. Fairbanks’s costume in The Mark of Zorro, released the following year, resembled that of the Rider with only slight differences in the mask and hat.^[8]

In 1860 Mór Jókai published his novel «Szegény Gazdagok» (Poor richmen), where the main character is the Hungarian Baron Lénárd Hátszegi, who is supposed to have the alterego of the «Fatia Negra» (The one with the Black face), an outlaw who robs local people during the night, and during the day lives an aristocratic life. The novel’s character was inspired by the real life Hungarian Baron László Nopcsa (1794–1884), who according to the local legends had a similar type of alterego.^[9]

Copyright and trademark disputes[edit]

The copyright and trademark status of the Zorro character and stories have been disputed. Most of the entries of the Zorro franchise are still protected by copyright, and many hundreds of copyrights are owned or controlled by Zorro Productions, Inc. but there are at least five exceptions: the 1919 novel The Curse of Capistrano, the 1920 film The Mark of Zorro, the 1922 novel The Further Adventures of Zorro, the 1925 film Don Q, Son of Zorro and the 1926 film In the Way of Zorro are in the public domain in the United States since at least 95 years have passed after their first release. Zorro Productions, Inc. asserts that it «controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro.»^[10] It further states «[t]he unauthorized, unlicensed use of the name, character and/or likeness of ‘Zorro’ is an infringement and a violation of state and federal laws.»^[11]

In 1999, TriStar Pictures, a division of Sony Pictures, sued Del Taco, Inc., due to a fast-food restaurant advertising campaign that allegedly infringed Zorro Productions’ claims to a trademark on the character of Zorro. Sony and TriStar had paid licensing fees to Zorro Productions, Inc., related to the 1998 film The Mask of Zorro. In an August 1999 order, the court ruled that it would not invalidate Zorro Productions’ trademarks as a result of the defendant’s arguments that certain copyrights in Zorro being in the public domain or owned by third parties.^[12]

A dispute took place in the 2001 case of Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group.^[13] On January 24, 2001, Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc. sued Fireworks Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, and Mercury Entertainment, claiming that the Queen of Swords television series infringed upon the copyrights and trademarks of Zorro and associated characters. Queen of Swords is a 2000–2001 television series set in Spanish California during the early 19th century and featuring a hero who wore a black costume with a red sash and demonstrated similarities to the character of Zorro, including the sword-fighting skills, use of a whip and bolas, and horse-riding skills.

Zorro Productions, Inc., argued that it owned the copyright to the original character because Johnston McCulley assigned his Zorro rights to Mitchell Gertz in 1949. Gertz died in 1961, and his estate transferred to his children, who created Zorro Productions, Inc. Fireworks Entertainment argued that the original rights had already been transferred to Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. in 1920 and provided documents showing this was legally affirmed in 1929, and also questioned whether the copyright was still valid.

The court ruled that «since the copyrights in The Curse of Capistrano and The Mark of Zorro lapsed in 1995 or before, the character Zorro has been in the public domain».^[14] Judge Collins also stated that: «Plaintiffs’ argument that they have a trademark in Zorro because they licensed others to use Zorro, however, is specious. It assumes that ZPI had the right to demand licenses to use Zorro at all.» Judge Collins subsequently vacated her ruling following an unopposed motion filed by Sony Pictures, TriStar Pictures and Zorro Productions, Inc.^[15]

In another legal action in 2010, Zorro Productions, Inc., sued Mars, Incorporated, makers of M&M’s chocolate candies, and ad agency BBDO Worldwide over a commercial featuring a Zorro-like costume.^[16] The case was settled («each party shall bear its own costs incurred in connection with this action, including its attorney’s fees and costs») on August 13, 2010.^[17]

In March 2013, Robert W. Cabell, author of Z – the Musical of Zorro (1998), filed another lawsuit against Zorro Productions, Inc. The lawsuit asserted that the Zorro character is in the public domain and that the trademark registrations by Zorro Productions, Inc., are therefore fraudulent.^[18] In October 2014, Cabell’s lawsuit was dismissed, with the judge ruling that the state of Washington (where the case was filed) did not have jurisdiction over the matter.^[19][20] However the judge later reversed his decision and had the case transferred to California.^[21] In May 2017, U.S. District Judge Davila granted Zorro Productions, Inc.’s motion to dismiss Cabell’s claim to cancel its federal trademark registrations.^[22] Cabell did not appeal.

In June 2015, Robert W. Cabell’s legal dispute with Zorro Productions, Inc. resulted in the Community Trade Mark for «Zorro» being declared invalid by the European Union’s Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market for goods of classes 16 and 41.^[23] This follows the ‘Winnetou’ ruling of the Office’s First Board of Appeal^[24] in which the Board of Appeal ruled that the name of famous characters cannot be protected as a trademark in these classes. Zorro Productions appealed the decision and, on December 19, 2017, the EUIPO Fourth Board of Appeal nullified the lower court’s ruling, declaring the contested trademarks as valid, and required Cabell to pay the costs of the legal action, the appeal and Zorro Productions’ legal fees and costs^{[citation needed]}. Zorro Productions, Inc. owns approximately 1300 other ZORRO related trademarks worldwide^{[citation needed]}. In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.^[25]

Legacy[edit]

The 1936 film The Vigilantes Are Coming features a masked vigilante with a costume similar to Zorro, which led several countries to name the movie after Zorro: the film was named Zorro l’indomptable in France, Zorro – Der blutrote Adler in Germany, Zorro – den blodrøde ørn in Denmark and Zorro – veripunainen kotka in Finland. The main character, The Eagle, is played by Robert Livingston, who would then play the actual Zorro in the movie The Bold Caballero, also released in 1936.The Vigilantes Are Coming «was a reworking of The Eagle, Rudolph Valentino’s silent film.»^[26] In the film, Valentino plays the masked hero Black Eagle. The Eagle was based on the posthumously published 1841 novel Dubrovsky by Alexander Pushkin, the Black Eagle does not exist in the novel and was inspired by the performance of Douglas Fairbanks as Zorro in The Mark of Zorro.^[27]

The Masked Rider, the primary mascot of Texas Tech University, is similar to Zorro. Originally called «Ghost Rider», it was an unofficial mascot appearing in a few games in 1936 and then became the official mascot with the 1954 Gator Bowl.

Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional avenger with a double identity, Zorro inspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media, and is a precursor of the superheroes of American comic books, Jerry Siegel has credited Zorro along with The Scarlet Pimpernel as one of the inspirations for the creation of Superman particularly the concept of his dual identity as mild mannered reporter Clark Kent, as Clark Kent’s harmless facade and dual identity were inspired by the protagonists of such movies as Don Diego de la Vega in The Mark of Zorro and Sir Percy Blakeney in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Siegel thought this would make for interesting dramatic contrast and good humor.^[28][29] Superman’s stance as the Champion of the Oppressed and devil-may-care attitude during his early Golden Age appearances were influenced by the characters of The Mark of Zorro star Douglas Fairbanks, who starred in similar adventure films such as Robin Hood.^[30]

Also being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a dual identity, Bob Kane has credited Zorro as part of the inspiration for the character Batman, which was created in 1939.^[31] Like Don Diego de la Vega, Bruce Wayne is affluent, the heir of wealth built by his parents. His everyday persona encourages others to think of him as shallow, foolish and uncaring to throw off suspicion. Frank Miller’s comic book miniseries The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and The Dark Knight Strikes Again (2001–2002) both include multiple Zorro references like the Batman inscribing a Z on a defeated foe. In later tellings of Batman’s origins, Bruce Wayne’s parents are murdered by a robber as the family leaves a showing of the 1940 film The Mark of Zorro, starring Tyrone Power.

Zorro inspired a similar pulp character known as El Coyote, which was created in 1943 by José Mallorquí. A sample superhero character called The Fox appearing in the Supers supplement of the GURPS role-playing system is also based on Zorro.

The Republic Pictures serials Don Daredevil Rides Again (1951) and Man with the Steel Whip (1954) features masked heroes similar to Zorro: Don Daredevil and El Latigo. Republic had previously released five Zorro serials between 1937 and 1949, but had since lost the licence for the character and could not use him anymore. The serial makes frequent use of stock footage from all five Zorro serials, with scenes originally showing Zorro now being interpreted as showing Don Daredevil and El Latigo: the result of this is that the costume and body shape of Don Daredevil and El Latigo keeps changing between scenes, even becoming female in scenes taken from Zorro’s Black Whip (1944).^[32][33]

The 1956 musical comedy The Court Jester features a masked freedom fighter called The Black Fox (played by Edward Ashley) who combines aspects of both Zorro and Robin Hood.

Hanna-Barbera Productions’ animated series Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks (1958–1961) featured a Zorro-like character with a mask, cape and sword known in the episode «Mark of the Mouse» (1959). Hanna-Barbera Production’s animated series The Quick Draw McGraw Show (1959–1962) features El Kabong, an alternate persona of the main character Quick Draw McGraw, which is loosely based upon Zorro.

In the animated series Justice League (2001–2004), a DC Comics character, El Diablo, bears a striking similarity to Zorro, in that he wears the same style hat, mask, sash and cape. The main difference is that his primary weapon is a whip. The Lazarus Lane version of El Diablo appears in Justice League Unlimited (2004–2006), voiced by Nestor Carbonell. While designed after his comic appearance, elements from Zorro’s appearance were added in. Seen in the episode «The Once and Future Thing» (2005), he appears alongside Pow Wow Smith, Bat Lash and Jonah Hex.

In 2015, The M7 Con Western Convention, held at the Los Angeles Convention Center featured a segment on the history of Zorro in film and television. The presentation focused on the great Zorro actors including Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, Guy Williams, and Duncan Regehr. Maestro Ramon Martinez and actor Alex Kruz gave a live demonstration of the Spanish style of fencing known as La Verdadera Destreza. The two dueled live as Zorro and the Comandante much to the delight of the crowd.^[34]

A cave that was used as a filming location in various Zorro productions is now known as «Zorro’s Cave» and remains in place, now hidden behind a condominium complex, on land that was once the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Calif., recognized as the most widely filmed outdoor shooting location in the history of Hollywood.

The DreamWorks character Puss in Boots, an anthropomorphic cat sporting high boots, a broad-brimmed and feathered sombrero, and a rapier, was also heavily inspired by Zorro (though ultimately based on the earlier Italian fairytale character of the same name). Portrayed by Antonio Banderas who also earlier played Zorro, he premiered as a character in Shrek 2 (2004) and in later sequels, as well as inspiring his own spinoff films Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Appearances in media[edit]

Stories by Johnston McCulley[edit]

The original stories were published in pulp magazines from the 1910s to the 1950s. Most remained unpublished in book form until the series of collected editions Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures, issued in 2016 and 2017.

• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 1 (2016)
  • The Curse of Capistrano, All-Story Weekly Vol. 100 No. 2 – Vol. 101 No. 2, serialized in five parts, August 9, 1919 – September 6, 1919 – novella The Curse of Capistrano published by Grosset & Dunlap in 1919, and reissued as The Mark of Zorro in 1924 by the same editor
  • «Zorro Saves A Friend», Argosy Vol. 234 No. 1, November 12, 1932
  • «Zorro Hunts A Jackal», Argosy Vol. 237 No. 6, April 22, 1933 (a.k.a. Zorro Hunts by Night)
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 2 (2016)
  • The Further Adventures of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 142 No. 4 – Vol. 143 No. 3, serialized in six parts, May 6, 1922 – June 10, 1922
  • «Zorro Deals With Treason», Argosy Vol. 249 No. 2, August 18, 1934
  • «Mysterious Don Miguel», Argosy Weekly, Vol. 258 No. 5 – No. 6, serialized in two parts, September 21, 1935 – September 28, 1935
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 3 (2016)
  • Zorro Rides Again, Argosy Vol. 224 No. 3 – Vol. 224 No. 6, serialized in four parts, October 3, 1931 – October 24, 1931
  • «Zorro Draws a Blade», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 2, July 1944
  • «Zorro Upsets a Plot», West Magazine Vol. 56 No. 3, September 1944
  • «Zorro Strikes Again», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 1, November 1944
  • «Zorro Saves a Herd», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 2, January 1945
  • «Zorro Runs the Gauntlet», West Magazine Vol. 57 No. 3, March 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Duel», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 1, May 1945
  • «Zorro Opens a Cage», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 2, July 1945
  • «Zorro Prevents a War», West Magazine Vol. 58 No. 3, September 1945
  • «Zorro Fights a Friend», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 1, October 1945
  • «Zorro’s Hour of Peril», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 2, November 1945
  • «Zorro Lays a Ghost», West Magazine Vol. 59 No. 3, December 1945
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 4 (2016)
  • The Sign of Zorro, Argosy Vol. 305 No. 2 – Vol. 305 No. 6, serialized in five parts, January 25, 1941 – February 22, 1941
  • «Zorro Frees Some Slaves», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 1, January 1946
  • «Zorro’s Double Danger», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 2, February 1946
  • «Zorro’s Masquerade», West Magazine Vol. 60 No. 3, March 1946
  • «Zorro Stops a Panic», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 1, April 1946
  • «Zorro’s Twin Perils», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 2, May 1946
  • «Zorro Plucks a Pigeon», West Magazine Vol. 61 No. 3, June 1946
  • «Zorro Rides at Dawn» West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 1, July 1946
  • «Zorro Takes the Bait», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 2, August 1946
  • «Zorro Raids a Caravan», West Magazine Vol. 62 No. 3, October 1946
  • «Zorro’s Moment of Fear», West Magazine Vol. 63 No. 3, January 1947
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 5 (2017)
  • «A Task for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 2, June 1947
  • «Zorro Saves His Honor», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 1, February 1947
  • «Zorro and the Pirate», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 2, March 1947
  • «Zorro Beats the Drum», West Magazine Vol. 64 No. 3, April 1947
  • «Zorro’s Strange Duel», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 1, May 1947
  • «Zorro’s Masked Menace», West Magazine Vol. 65 No. 3, July 1947
  • «Zorro Aids an Invalid», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 1, August 1947
  • «Zorro Saves an American», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 2, September 1947
  • «Zorro Meets a Rogue», West Magazine Vol. 66 No. 3, October 1947
  • «Zorro Races with Death», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 1, November 1947
  • «Zorro Fights for Peace», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 2, December 1947
  • «Zorro Serenades a Siren», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 1, February 1948
  • «Zorro Meets a Wizard», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 2, March 1948
  • «Zorro Fights with Fire», West Magazine Vol. 68 No. 3, April 1948
  • «Gold for a Tyrant», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 1, May 1948
  • «The Hide Hunter», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 2, July 1948
• Zorro: The Complete Pulp Adventures Vol. 6 (2017)
  • «Zorro’s Fight for Life», West Magazine, Vol. 74 No. 2, July 1951
  • «Zorro Shears Some Wolves», West Magazine Vol. 69 No. 3, September 1948
  • «The Face Behind the Mask», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 1, November 1948
  • «Zorro Starts the New Year», West Magazine Vol. 67 No. 3, January 1948
  • «Hangnoose Reward», West Magazine Vol. 70 No. 3, March 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hostile Friends», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 1, May 1949
  • «Zorro’s Hot Tortillas», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 2, July 1949
  • «An Ambush for Zorro», West Magazine Vol. 71 No. 3, September 1949
  • «Zorro Gives Evidence», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 1, November 1949
  • «Rancho Marauders», West Magazine Vol. 72 No. 2, January 1950
  • «Zorro’s Stolen Steed» West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, March 1950
  • «Zorro Curbs a Riot», West Magazine Vol. 73 No. 3, September 1950
  • «The Three Stage Peons», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 1, November 1950
  • «Zorro Nabs a Cutthroat», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 2, January 1951
  • «Zorro Gathers Taxes», West Magazine Vol. 74 No. 3, March 1951
  • «Zorro Rides the Trail!», Max Brand’s Western Magazine, May 1954
  • «The Mask of Zorro», Short Stories for Men Vol. 221 No. 2, April 1959

[edit]

• Walt Disney’s Zorro by Steve Frazee 1958 Whitman Publishing Company, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro Outwits Death», Walt Disney’s Magazine Vol. III No. 3, April 1958. Loosely based on the episode «Zorro’s Secret Passage» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• «Zorro’s Merry Chase», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 5, August 1958
• «The Fire of the Night», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. III No. 6, October 1958 and Vol. IV No. 1, 1958
• «Zorro and the Missing Father», Walt Disney’s Magazine, Vol. IV No. 3, April 1959 and No. 4, June 1959. Adapted from the episodes «The Missing Father», «Please Believe Me», and «The Brooch» of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro by Olivier Séchan 1959 Hachette
• Il Ritorno di Zorro by B.F. Deakin 1968 Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, anthology of nine short stories
• Zorro arrive ! by Jacques Van Hauten 1971 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Le Retour de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1972 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le sergent Garcia by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• Zorro et le trésor du Pérou by Thérèse Bertels 1973 Hachette
• Zorro contre le gouverneur by Jean-Claude Deret 1974 Hachette, novelization of some episodes of the 1957 Zorro TV series
• L’Épée de Zorro by Jean-Claude Deret 1975 Hachette
• Zorro et l’épee du cid 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182556
• Zorro et la forteresse du diable by Valentin Dechemin 1991 Hachette ISBN 9782010182549, novelization of some episodes of the 1990 Zorro TV series
• Zorro and the Jaguar Warriors by Jerome Preisler September 1998 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6767-0
• The Mask of Zorro: A Novelization by James Luceno 1998 Pocket Books ISBN 978-0671519896, novelization of the 1998 movie The Mask of Zorro
• The Treasure of Don Diego by William McCay 1998 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51968-1, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Zorro and The Dragon Riders by David Bergantino March 1999 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6768-7
• Skull and Crossbones by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51970-4, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Secret Swordsman by William McCay 1999 Minstrel Books ISBN 978-0-671-51969-8, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• The Lost Temple by Frank Lauria 1999 Minstrel Books, based on the film The Mask of Zorro
• Lo Spirito e la Spada by Louis A. Tartaglia 1999
• Zorro! by Sally M. Stockton 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• El Zorro by Margarita Barberá Quiles 1999 Cideb, based on the novella The Curse of Capistrano
• Zorro and the Witch’s Curse by John Whitman April 2000 Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Books ISBN 978-0-8125-6769-4
• La vera storia di Zorro by Isabella Parrini 2000 Alberti & C. ISBN 978-8887936056
• Zorro: l’ultima avventura ovvero la storia di Zorro, Volume 2 by Isabella Parrini 2001 Alberti & C.
• The Legend of Zorro: A Novelization by Scott Ciencin 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060833046, novelization of the 2005 movie The Legend of Zorro
• The Lone Ranger/Zorro: The Death Of Zorro By Ande Parks 2012 Simon Bowlands Crossover between The Lone Ranger and Zorro
• Zorro by Isabel Allende 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 0-06-077897-0
• Young Zorro: The Iron Brand by Jan Adkins 2005 HarperCollins ISBN 978-0060839468
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California by Irene Sartini 2007 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664407
• Zorro l’angelo nero della California – L’avventura continua by Irene Sartini 2008 Alberti & C ISBN 9788889664575
• Tales of Zorro anthology of 17 short stories written by 22 authors, edited by Richard Dean Starr 2008 Moonstone Books ISBN 978-1-933076-31-7
• Zorro and the Little Devil by Peter David 2018 Bold Venture Press ISBN 978-1-7193-7410-1
• Zorro: The Daring Escapades anthology of 16 short stories, edited by Audrey Parente and Daryl McCullough 2020 Bold Venture Press ISBN 979-8637608508.

Films[edit]

The character has been adapted for over forty films.^[35] They include:

American theatrical feature films[edit]

• The Mark of Zorro (1920), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Fred Niblo
• Don Q, Son of Zorro (1925), with Douglas Fairbanks,^[3] directed by Donald Crisp
• The Bold Caballero (1936), with Robert Livingston, directed by Wells Root
• The Mark of Zorro (1940), with Tyrone Power, directed by Rouben Mamoulian
• The Sign of Zorro (1958), with Guy Williams, portions of the first 13 Zorro TV episodes edited into a feature film, released overseas in 1958 and domestically in 1960
• Zorro, the Avenger (1959), with Guy Williams, another theatrical compilation of several Zorro TV episodes, released overseas.
• The Erotic Adventures of Zorro (1972), an erotic parody of the masked avenger, co-produced in Italy and Germany, Douglas Frey
• The Mark of Zorro (1974), a made for television movie which is a remake of the 1940 film, with Frank Langella as Zorro, directed by Don McDougall
• Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981), a parody directed by Peter Medak with George Hamilton as Diego Jr. and his twin brother Ramon. Diego Jr. succeeds his late father as Zorro, but he soon breaks his leg and Ramon fills in while Diego Jr. recuperates.
• The Mask of Zorro (1998), directed by Martin Campbell with Anthony Hopkins as an aged Don Diego de la Vega and Antonio Banderas as Alejandro Murrieta, a misfit outlaw/cowboy who is groomed to become the next Zorro, with Alejandro eventually marrying Diego’s daughter Elena (Catherine Zeta-Jones)
• The Legend of Zorro (2005), the sequel to 1998’s The Mask of Zorro, again starring Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and directed by Martin Campbell

American film serials[edit]

• Zorro Rides Again (1937), with John Carroll as a modern-day descendant, James Vega
• Zorro’s Fighting Legion (1939), with Reed Hadley as the original Zorro/Don Diego de la Vega
• Son of Zorro (1947), with George Turner as a Civil War descendant, Jeff Stewart
• Ghost of Zorro (1949), with Clayton Moore as Ken Mason, Zorro’s grandson/»The Ghost of Zorro»

Despite the title and a credit to McCulley, Zorro’s Black Whip (1944), with Linda Stirling as an 1880s masked avenger known as The Black Whip, has nothing to do with Zorro.

Mexican films[edit]

• El Nieto del Zorro (1948) Mexican Western with Resortes
• El Zorro Escarlata (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El zorro escarlata en diligencia fantasma (1959), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar
• El Zorro Vengador (1962), Mexican Western with Luis Aguilar,
• El Zorro (1962), Mexican Western with Julio Aldama,
• La Gran Aventura Del Zorro (1976), Mexican Western with Rodolfo de Anda, set in a very primitive San Francisco Bay Area.

European films[edit]

• À la manière de Zorro / In the Way of Zorro (1926) Belgium William Elie – Unofficial
• Il sogno di Zorro / The Dream of Zorro / Zorro’s Dream (1952) Italy Walter Chiari
• La montaña sin ley / Lawless Mountain (1953) Spain José Suárez
• Zorro alla corte di Spagna / Zorro at the Spanish Court (1962) Italy George Ardisson
• La venganza del Zorro (1962) Spain Frank Latimore
• Le tre spade di Zorro / The Three Swords of Zorro (1963) Spain & Italy Guy Stockwell
• Zorro e i tre moschettieri / Zorro and the Three Musketeers (1963) Italy Gordon Scott
• Zorro contro Maciste / Samson and the Slave Queen (1963) Italy & Spain Pierre Brice
• Il segno di Zorro [it] / Duel at the Rio Grande / Sign of Zorro (1963) Spain, Italy & France Sean Flynn
• El Zorro cabalga otra vez / Il Giuramento di Zorro / Behind the Mask of Zorro (1965) Italy & Spain Tony Russel
• Zorro il ribelle / Zorro the Rebel (1966) Italy Howard Ross
• El Zorro / Zorro the Fox (1968) Italy & Spain George Ardisson
• I nipoti di Zorro / The Nephews of Zorro (1968) Italy, comedy with Franco and Ciccio as Franco La Vacca and Ciccio La Vacca, nephews of Don Diego de la Vega’s late wife. Dean Reed plays Raphael de la Vega, son of Don Diego and the new Zorro, while Franco Fantasia plays an aged Don Diego, who has retired from being Zorro.
• Zorro marchese di Navarra / Zorro, the Navarra Marquis (1969) Italy Nadir Moretti
• Zorro alla corte d’Inghilterra / Zorro in the Court of England (1969) Italy Spiros Focás
• E continuavano a chiamarlo figlio di … / El Zorro justiciero / The Avenger, Zorro (1969) Italy & Spain Fabio Testi
• La última aventura del Zorro / Zorro il dominatore / Zorro’s Latest Adventure (1969) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Zorro il cavaliere della vendetta / El Zorro, caballero de la justicia / Zorro, Rider of Vengeance (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• El Zorro de Monterrey / Zorro la maschera della vendetta / Zorro the Invincible (1971) Spain & Italy Carlos Quiney
• Les aventures galantes de Zorro / Red Hot Zorro (1972) France & Belgium Jean-Michel Dhermay
• Il figlio di Zorro / Son of Zorro / Man with the Golden Winchester (1973) Italy & Spain Alberto Dell’Acqua
• Il sogno di Zorro / Grandsons of Zorro / Dream of Zorro (1975) Italy Franco Franchi
• Zorro (1975) Italy & France Alain Delon
• La marque de Zorro / The Mark of Zorro (1975) France; additional sequences added to La venganza del Zorro (1962) with Frank Latimore renamed Clint Douglas
• Ah sì? E io lo dico a Zzzzorro! / Mark of Zorro / Who’s Afraid of Zorro / They Call Him Zorro … Is He? (1975) Italy & Spain George Hilton – Unofficial

Turkey:

• Zorro kamcili süvari (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit
• Zorro’nun intikami (1969) Turkey Tamer Yiğit

India:

• Zorro (1975) India Navin Nischol

Note: Unofficial means not included in official film list at zorro.com^[36]

Argentina

Zorro, el sentimiento de hierro (2019), fan film

Television series[edit]

American series – live-action

• Zorro, a Disney half-hour television series, running from 1957 to 1959, starring Guy Williams as Zorro for 78 episodes. The two features listed above starring Guy Williams were episode compilations, and there were four one-hour follow-ups on the Walt Disney anthology television series in the 1960–1961 TV season.
• Zorro and Son, broadcast in 1983 for 5 episodes, was a situation comedy in which an aged Don Diego (Henry Darrow) trains his son Carlos (Paul Regina) to succeed him as Zorro.
• Zorro, also called The New Zorro, New World Zorro, or Zorro 1990, was a television series which starred Duncan Regehr as Zorro for 88 episodes on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993. Two feature-length videos were episode compilations. An unaired alternate pilot episode was included in the 2011 DVD release of the series: the pilot features a different cast and story, with Don Diego dying and Don Antonio de la Cruz (Patrick James) taking up the mantle of Zorro.
• In the series finale of Once Upon a Time, «Leaving Storybrooke» (aired May 18, 2018), Zorro is said to be able to shapeshift into a dragon, and in that form, fathered Maleficent (Kristin Bauer van Straten)’s daughter, Lily (Nicole Muñoz (teen)/Agnes Bruckner (adult)). Zorro himself does not appear in the series, possibly as a result of cancellation. Lily appears in the fourth season (2014-2015) episodes, «Breaking Glass,» «Lily,» «Mother,» and «Operation Mongoose: Part 2.»
• In November 2019 it was announced that a new series was in development by NBC with Alfredo Barrios Jr. as both writer and executive producer, with by Propagate and CBS Television Studios as producers. The series will have more of a «modern day» setting and will follow Z, a female descendant from the Zorro bloodline, as she fulfills her duty to «protect the defenseless in her community».^[37] In December 2020, Robert Rodriguez and Sofía Vergara were announced as executive producers.^[38] In January 2022, the series was moved from NBC to The CW and later ordered six scripts.^[39][40]
• In December 2021, it was announced that a new series was in development by Disney-ABC. Wilmer Valderrama will executive produce and star as Diego de la Vega in what is described as a «reimagining» of the series. Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television stated that the series is «set in Pueblo de Los Angeles, but told in a very modern telenovela style».^[41] Valderrama confirmed that the series will be on Disney+.^[42]
• In May 2022, Amazon Prime announced that Secuoya Studios is developing a modern-day Zorro series. The ten-episode series will be directed by Javier Quintas and Miguel Ángel Vivas with Miguel Bernardeau cast in the lead, along with Renata Notni.^[43]

American series – animation

• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1981 animated series from Filmation, which consists of 13 episodes.
• The New Adventures of Zorro, 1997–1998 animated series from Fred Wolf Films, which consists of 26 episodes.
• The Amazing Zorro, 2002 made for TV animated film created by DIC Entertainment as part of their DIC Movie Toons lineup. It premiered on Nickelodeon and was later released on DVD and VHS shortly afterward by MGM Home Entertainment.
• Zorro: Generation Z,^[44] 2006 animated series from BKN International which consists of 26 episodes. It follows a descendant of the original Zorro, also named Diego De La Vega, fighting crime and the corrupt government of Pueblo Grande in a future setting.

International series

• Kaiketsu Zorro, (1996–1997) Japanese anime version from NHK and Ashi Productions, which consists of 52 episodes.
• Zorro: La Espada y la Rosa (The Sword and the Rose), a 2007 Spanish language telenovela from Sony Pictures and Telemundo, starring Christian Meier as Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro. It consists of 112 episodes.
• Zorro, a 2009 TV series from the GMA Network of the Philippines, starring Richard Gutierrez.^[45] It consists of 98 episodes.
• Zorro: The Chronicles, a French animated series (2015), voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch^[46]
• On October 14, 2022, it was announced that a French television series based on the character was in development for France Télévisions, starring Jean Dujardin as Don Diego / Zorro.^[47]

Audio/radio dramas[edit]

• Walt Disney’s Zorro: [1. Presenting Señor Zorro; 2. Zorro Frees The Indians; 3. Zorro And The Ghost; 4. Zorro’s Daring Rescue] (1957) released by Disneyland Records. This album retold stories from the Disney Zorro television series and featured Guy Williams as Zorro and Don Diego, Henry Calvin as Sergeant Garcia, Phil Ross as Monastario, Jan Arvan as Torres, Jimmie Dodd from The Mickey Mouse Club as Padre Felipe, with other voices by Dallas McKennon and sound effects by Jimmy MacDonald and Eddie Forrest. Record story adaptations by Bob Thomas and George Sherman. Music composed and conducted by William Lava.
• The Adventures of Zorro. (1957) Based on the original Johnston McCulley story The Curse of Capistrano (aka The Mark of Zorro). It was written by Maria Little, directed by Robert M. Light and produced by Mitchell Gertz. This short-lived radio show was a series of short episodes. Only a handful of episodes are known to have survived.
• The Mark of Zorro. (1997) [No longer available] Produced by the BBC it starred Mark Arden as Zorro, Louise Lombard as Lolita and Glyn Houston as Friar Felipe. It aired in 5 parts. 1. July 3, 97 Night of the Fox: 2. July 10, 97 Deadly Reckonings: 3. July 17, 97 The Avenging Blade 4. July 24, 97 The Place of Skulls 5. July 31, 97 The Gathering Storm
• Zorro and the Pirate Raiders. (2009) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s The Further Adventures of Zorro. Produced by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. Published by Brilliance Audio. It features Kevin Cirone, Shonna McEachern, Hugh Metzler, J.T. Turner, Sam Donato, Joseph Zamperelli Jr., and Dan Powell.
• Zorro Rides Again. (2011) Based on the D.J. Arneson adaptation of Johnston McCulley’s «Zorro Rides Again». Produced by Colonial Theatre on the Air. It features the voice talents of Kevin Cirone, Jeremy Benson, Shonna McEachern, Shana Dirk, Sam Donato, and Hugh Metzler.
• The Mark of Zorro. (2011) Based on The Curse of Capistrano. Produced by Hollywood Theater of the Ear for Blackstone Audio. It features the voice talents of Val Kilmer as Diego de la Vega/Zorro, Ruth Livier as Lolita Pulido, Elizabeth Peña as Doña Catalina Pulido, Armin Shimerman as the Landlord, Mishach Taylor as Sgt Pedro Gonzalez, Keith Szarabajka as Cpt Ramone, Ned Schmidtke as Don Carlos Pulido, Scott Brick as the Governor, Stefan Rudnicki as Fray Felipe, Kristoffer Tabori as Don Alejando de la Vega, Philip Proctor as Don Audre, John Sloan as the Magistrado, and Gordo Panza in numerous roles.

Toys[edit]

Due to the popularity of the Disney TV series, in 1958, The Topps Company produced an 88-card set featuring stills from that year’s movie. The cards were rare and became collectors’ items. In the same year the Louis Marx company released a variety of Zorro toys such as hats, swords, toy pistols and a playset with the Lido company also making plastic figures.

A major toy line based on the classic Zorro characters, motifs and styling, was released by Italian toy giant, Giochi Preziosi, master toy licensees of the property. The toy range was developed by Pangea Corporation and released worldwide in 2005 and featured action figures in various scales, interactive playsets and roleplaying items. New original characters were also introduced, including Senor Muerte, who served as a foil to Zorro.

In 2007, Brazilian toymaker Gulliver Toys licensed the rights to Zorro: Generation Z, which was co-developed by BKN and Pangea Corporation. The toy range was designed concurrent and in association with the animated program.

In 2011, US-based collectibles company Triad Toys released a 12-inch Zorro action figure.

Comics[edit]

Zorro has appeared in many different comic book series over the decades. In Hit Comics #55, published by Quality Comics in November 1948, Zorro is summoned by Kid Eternity, but in this version has only a whip and does not wear a mask.^[48]

Dell Comics published Zorro in Four Color Comics #228 (1949), 425 (1952), 497 (1953), 538 (1954), 574 (1954), 617 (1955) and 732 (1957). These stories featured artwork by Everett Raymond Kinstler (#497, 538, and 574), Bob Fujitani, Bob Correa and Alberto Giolitti.^[49]

Dell also had a licence to publish Disney comics in the United States and, following the launch of Disney’s Zorro TV series in 1957, published seven more issues of Four Color dedicated to Zorro between February 1958 and September 1959, under said licence, with the first stories featuring artwork by Alex Toth.^[50] In December 1959, Dell started the publication of a standalone Disney-licensed Zorro title, which started the numeration at #8 and continued to be published until issue #15 (September 1961). The character then appeared in four stories published in the monthly Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories (also published by Dell), one story per issue from #275 (August 1963) to #278 (November 1963): these were the last Zorro stories produced in the United States under the Disney licence. However, Disney produced more stories from 1964 to 1978 through the Disney Studio Program, a unit producing comic book stories exclusively for foreign consumption.^[51] In addition to publishing translations of American stories and Disney Studio stories, many foreign publishers also produced their own original stories under the Disney licence: these countries are the Netherlands (1964–1967),^[52] Chile (1965–1974),^[53] Italy (1969–1971),^[54] Brazil (1973–1983),^[55] France (1974–1986)^[56] and Germany (1980–1982).^[57]

Gold Key Comics started another Disney-licensed Zorro series in January 1966, but, like their contemporaneous Lone Ranger series, it featured only material reprinted from the earlier Dell comics, and folded after 9 issues, in March 1968. The character remained dormant in the United States for the next twenty years until it was revived by Marvel Comics in 1990, for a 12-issue tie-in with the Duncan Regehr television series Zorro. Many of these comics had Alex Toth covers.

In 1993 Topps Comics published a 2-issue limited series Dracula Versus Zorro followed by a Zorro series that ran 11 issues. Topps also published two limited series of Lady Rawhide, a spin-off from the Zorro stories created by writer Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew.^[58][59][60] McGregor subsequently scripted a limited series adaptation of The Mask of Zorro film for Image Comics.

A newspaper daily and Sunday strip were also published in the late 1990s. This was written by McGregor and rendered by Tom Yeates. Papercutz once published a Zorro series and graphic novels as well. This version is drawn in a manga style.

Dynamite Entertainment relaunched the character with a 20-issue Zorro series which ran from 2008 to 2010, written by Matt Wagner and drawn by multiple artists. The publisher also released an earlier unpublished tale called «Matanzas» by Don McGregor and artist Mike Mayhew. Zorro (here a 1930s descendant) also appears in the 2013 Dynamite eight-issue limited series Masks alongside the Green Hornet and Kato, The Shadow, and The Spider. It was written by Chris Roberson with art by Alex Ross and Dennis Calero.^[61]

Dynamite Entertainment also published a seven-issue series titled Django/Zorro between November 2014 and May 2015, teaming Zorro with the character Django Freeman from Quentin Tarantino’s movie Django Unchained (2012). The series was co-written by Tarantino and Matt Wagner, with art by Esteve Polls.^[62]

In 2018, American Mythology took the license, launched the series Zorro Legendary Adventures, written by Jean-Marie Nadaud and drawn by Robert Rigot^[63] and limited series Zorro: Swords of Hell, written by David Avallone and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez.^[64] The company has since released crossovers featuring Zorro with their other licensed properties, namely Zorro in the Land that Time Forgot featuring Diego De La Vega accompanying an expedition to the lost world of Caspak from the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels.

Collected editions[edit]

Over the years, various English reprint volumes have been published. These include, but are not limited to:

• Zorro in Old California, Eclipse Books ISBN 978-0-913035-12-2
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume One, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 9781582400143
• Zorro The Complete Classic Adventures By Alex Toth. Volume Two, Image Comics 1998. ISBN 978-1582400273
• Zorro The Dailies – The First Year By Don McGregor, Thomas Yeates. Image Comics 2001. ISBN 1-58240-239-6
• Alex Toth’s Zorro: The Complete Dell Comics Adventures. Hermes Press 2013. ISBN 978-1613450314
• Zorro: The Complete Dell Pre-Code Comics. Hermes Press 2014. ISBN 9781613450666

Stage productions[edit]

Approximately 65 separate Zorro live productions have been produced. These have included traditional stage plays, comedies, melodramas, musicals, children’s plays, stunt shows, and ballets. Some examples include:

• Ken Hill wrote and directed the musical production of Zorro, which opened on February 14, 1995, at the East Stratford Theater in London. Ken Hill died just days before the opening.^[65]
• Alvaro Cervino produced a musical comedy, «Zorro El Musical» in Mexico City, Mexico in July 1996. Critics called it «a show that captivates audiences both by its performances and above all, by its magnificent musical numbers».
• Michael Nelson wrote a stage adaptation of Zorro for the Birmingham Children’s Theater in 1996. Beaufort County Now called it «a fun and fast paced production perfect for children 6 and up.» Abe Reybold directed with scenic design by Yoshi Tanokura and costume designs by Donna Meester. Jay Tumminello provided an original score.^[66]
• Theater Under the Stars in Houston, Texas, put on Zorro, the Musical as an opera in 1998. It was written and directed by Frank Young and starred Richard White as Zorro.^[67]
• Z – The Masked Musical by Robert W. Cabell was released in 1998 as a CD. The CD premiere with Ruben Gomez (Zorro) and Debbie Gibson (Carlotta) is published as a CD. In 2000, the stage play premiered at the South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon, where it had four performances by the amateur group, ACE. It was then produced on June 13, 2013, at the Clingenburg Festspiele in Klingenberg am Main, Bavaria, Germany, with Karl Grunewald and Philip Georgopoulos as alternating Zorros, Judith Perez as Carlotta, Daniel Coninx as Governor Juan Carlos, Daniel Pabst as Capitàn Raphaél Ramerez and Christian Theodoridis as Sergeant Santiago Garcia. This production was directed by Marcel Krohn and premiered in the presence of the composer.
• In 1999, Anthony Rhine and Joseph Henson wrote Zorro Live!, which was performed at the Riverside Light Opera theater.^[68]
• In 2000, Fernando Lúpiz produced his first original «Zorro» show. It was such a crowd pleaser that he mounted a new production thereafter almost annually until 2014. His productions were performed most frequently in arenas, featuring live horses, rousing swordplay and songs.
• In 2001, the Gaslight Theatre of Tucson, Arizona, reprised its 1994 spoof called «Zerro Rides Again» or «No Arrest for the Wicked». It was described as «full of silly wigs, ridiculous situations, songs that barely fit in, and dialogue so fat with wordplay that it’s tough not to love it. ‘Zerro’ is a chance to laugh yourself silly. Seize it».
• In 2002, playwright Michael Harris wrote The Legend of Zorro, which has been performed in many high schools.
• In 2002, Luis Alvarez produced his El Zorro El Spectaculo in the Teatro Calderon in Madrid, Spain. Critics lauded it saying «Manuel Bandera makes the ideal Zorro. We hope he has the stamina necessary to endure the long run this play deserves.»
• Michael Smuin’s critically lauded modern ballet version of Zorro premiered in the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco in 2003. Composer Charles Fox provided the score, and Matthew Robbins wrote the libretto. Ann Beck was costume designer and Douglas W. Schmidt was set designer. Smuin himself choreographed.^[69]
• Culture Clash’s Zorro in Hell opened in 2005 in the Berkeley Repertory theater, then in 2006 in the La Jolla Playhouse and the Montelban Theater in Los Angeles. Zorro In Hell was written and performed by Richard Montoya, Ric Salinas and Herbert Siguenza. Culture Clash used the legend of Zorro as a lens to examine California’s cultural, economic and historical issues. The LA Times called it «a zany bicultural send-up of California history.»^[70]
• Award-winning playwright Bernardo Solano wrote a modern adaptation of Zorro for TheatreWorks at the University of Colorado in 2007. Robert Castro directed and Justin Huen starred as Zorro. The Denver post called the production «a fresh take,» and «a formula other companies should emulate.»^[71]
• In Uppsala, Sweden, Erik Norberg wrote a Zorro stage adaptation for the Stadsteatern Theatre directed by Alexander Oberg and starring Danilo Bejarano as Zorro. The production opened in 2008.^[72]
• A musical titled Zorro opened in the West End of London in 2008. It was written by Helen Edmundson and Stephen Clark, with music by the Gipsy Kings and John Cameron, and directed by Christopher Renshaw. It was nominated for 5 Oliviers, including Best Musical.^[73] It has since enjoyed professional productions in Tokyo, Paris, Amsterdam, Moscow, Prague, Warsaw, Tel Aviv, Seoul, Shanghai, São Paulo and elsewhere. The US premiere production took place in 2012 at Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a further production at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta Georgia, where it won five awards including Best Musical.
• The Scottish children’s theater troupe Visible Fictions put on a touring production of The Mask of Zorro in 2009. Davey Anderson wrote the script and Douglas Irvine directed. Robin Peoples designed the sets, which The New York Times called «a triumph.»^[74]
• Lifehouse Theater, a Redlands, CA-based company, put on ‘Zorro, written and scored by Wayne Scott. Zorro opened in 2009.^[75]
• In 2012, Janet Allard and Eleanor Holdridge produced and directed Zorro at the Constellation Theatre in Washington, DC. Holdridge directed and Danny Gavigan played Zorro. The Washington Post said of the production, «Constellation augments its classical thrust in a thoughtful way with ‘Zorro,’ which continues the company’s laudable efforts at delivering intimate theater with high standards for design.»^[76]
• In 2012, Medina Produzioni, based in Rome, Italy, produced its musical, «W Zorro il Musical – liberamente ispirato alla storia di William Lamport» in numerous theatres throughout Italy.
• The Oregon-based ballet troupe Ballet Fantastique produced Zorro: The Ballet as an opener to their 2013 season. Eugene Weekly called the ballet «zesty, fresh, fantastic treat.»^[77]
• Elenco Produções produced its musical, «Zorro», in Porto, Portugal in 2013.

Music[edit]

On the commercial release of the Zorro 1957 Disney TV series’ Zorro theme, the lead vocal was by Henry Calvin, the actor who played Sergeant Garcia on the program. The song was written by Jimmie Dodd.

The Chordettes sang the single version of the song, complete with the «Sounds of the Z» and the clip clopping of Zorro’s horse, which is heard at the song’s end. The song hit Number 17 in 1958 according to the Billboard Charts.

In 1964, Henri Salvador sang «Zorro est arrivé.» It tells from a child’s point of view how exciting it is whenever a villain threatens to kill a lady in the television series. But every time again, to his relief, the «great and beautiful» Zorro comes to the rescue. An early music video was made at the time.

Alice Cooper’s 1982 album Zipper Catches Skin includes the song «Zorro’s Ascent» which is about Zorro facing his death.

The 1999 song «El Corona» by Suburban Legends tells the story of «Don Diego», the «hombre en negro» («man in black»), a «tall Spaniard with a sharp sword» who was «down and out in LA» and defending the people from an unnamed corrupt ruler.

Video games[edit]

• Zorro (1985), Apple II, Atari 8-bit family, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC
• Zorro (1986), ZX Spectrum^[78]
• Zorro (1995), PC^[79]
• The Mask of Zorro (1999), Game Boy Color^[80][81]
• The Shadow of Zorro (2001), PC, PlayStation 2
• The Destiny of Zorro (2008), Wii
• Zorro: Quest for Justice (2009), Nintendo DS
• There is a Zorro themed poker machine at gaming establishments in Australia and New Zealand.
• Zorro is Morgana’s Persona in Persona 5 (2017), PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4
• Zorro appears as a paid DLC Guest Fighter in Go All Out!, PC,
• Zorro: The Chronicles (2022), PC, Xbox, Wii, PlayStation^[82]

Role-playing games[edit]

• In July 2001, the Gold Rush Games published The Legacy of Zorro Introductory Adventure Game (ISBN 1-890305-26-X) by Mark Arsenault for Fuzion.
• In January 2019, Gallant Knight Games used crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to finance the game Zorro: The Roleplaying Game for the D6 System.^[83]

See also[edit]

• Gentleman thief

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

External links[edit]

• Zorro Productions, Inc.
• A guide to the Walt Disney television series version of Zorro
• A comprehensive guide to the New World Zorro television series
• The Legacy of the Fox: A Chronology of Zorro
• Zorro at Inducks
• Don Diego de la Vega at the INDUCKS

Теперь вы знаете какие однокоренные слова подходят к слову Как правильно пишется зорро на английском, а так же какой у него корень, приставка, суффикс и окончание. Вы можете дополнить список однокоренных слов к слову «Как правильно пишется зорро на английском», предложив свой вариант в комментариях ниже, а также выразить свое несогласие проведенным с морфемным разбором.

Ahoy! This here is the 88th Featured Article. «Roronoa Zoro» has been featured, meaning it was chosen as an article of interest.

For the chapters of the same name, see Chapter 3 and Chapter 485.

The subject of this article is sometimes called Roronoa Zolo.

Roronoa Zoro,^[19] also known as «Pirate Hunter» Zoro,^[8] is the combatant of the Straw Hat Pirates, one of their two swordsmen, one of the Senior Officers of the Straw Hat Grand Fleet,^[3] and is publicly recognized as the right-hand man of his crew’s captain Monkey D. Luffy.^[20][21] Formerly a bounty hunter,^[5] he is the second member of Luffy’s crew and the first to join it, doing so in the Romance Dawn Arc.^[2]

As a master of Three Sword Style, a swordsmanship style which he created during his childhood training in Shimotsuki Village, Zoro is among the three most powerful combatants of the Straw Hats, alongside Luffy and Sanji.^[22][23] His dream is to become the greatest swordsman in the world, in order to honor a promise he made to his deceased childhood friend Kuina.^[24]

In addition to his infamy as one of the Straw Hats and as a former bounty hunter, Zoro is also regarded as one of twelve pirates who are referred to as the «Worst Generation».^[25]

He gained his first bounty of 60,000,000 after the Arabasta Arc. It later increased to 120,000,000 after the Enies Lobby incident, then again to 320,000,000 after the Dressrosa Arc.^[16] Following the Raid on Onigashima, his bounty was increased to 1,111,000,000.^[15]

Appearance

Further information: Roronoa Zoro/Gallery

Zoro is a muscular man of average height with lightly tanned skin. He always carries his three swords along with him, bundled up with a green haramaki over his right hip, allowing him to easily draw them with his left hand. Of the three swords he has on his person, he has always been seen carrying the Wado Ichimonji, while his other two swords have varied over time due to them being destroyed and subsequently replaced with progressively better ones. Although his right hand is usually seen resting over them, he can also use this hand to pull his swords out before sitting down. He has three identical gold earrings on his left earlobe. Zoro normally keeps a black bandana^[26] tied around his left bicep and ties it around his head when he is fighting seriously against an opponent.

Zoro’s body is covered with scars from his many battles, most notably the massive scar stretching from his left shoulder to his right hip that he acquired during his loss against the world’s greatest swordsman, Dracule Mihawk, at Baratie. His other visible scars are the scars he inflicted upon his ankles in a desperate attempt to free himself from Mr. 3’s Giant Candle Service Set by trying to cut his feet off at Little Garden. After the timeskip, he gained another scar over his left eye, obtained through unknown means.

Zoro’s other remarkable feature is his cropped green hair, which Sanji often teases him about by calling him «marimo» (moss-ball, moss-head in the Viz Manga and FUNimation dub) due to its resemblance to one.

Before the Timeskip

Similar to most of his male crewmates, Zoro has the same outfit throughout most of the series. Before the timeskip, he would consistently wear black trousers^[26] tucked inside black boots, a plain white shirt with three undone buttons at the collar and his green haramaki. However, only Zoro’s shirt varies from time to time in the arcs.
During the Arlong Park Arc, he disembarked Sanji’s fishing ship neglecting to put on a shirt. After beating up most of Arlong’s crew, he wore an opened, navy-blue shirt decorated with light blue whirlpools that he stole from one of the fish-men. Since Zoro received his scar from Mihawk during the Baratie Arc before the Arlong Park Arc, Zoro wore bandages that were visible underneath his shirt.

During the Loguetown Arc, Zoro acquires Sandai Kitetsu and Yubashiri to replace the two conventional katana which were broken by Mihawk in the Baratie Arc.

During the Drum Island Arc, Zoro was bundled up for the winter island, but later stripped down after a foolish choice to swim in the frigid water on the island. He remained shirtless and shoeless in the beginning of the arc after getting lost from the Going Merry and left unable to redress himself, until he stole a parka from a man in Wapol’s army, which was a hooded, forest green parka with a light green sash and white fur on the cuffs, hood, and hem, as well as a pair of boots.

During the Arabasta Arc, he wore an orange keffiyeh with a gold chain on his head, a long-sleeved white coat with black lines all over it, and the bottom of his black trousers were torn above his ankles.

During the Skypiea Arc, he wore his usual outfit in the beginning of the arc until he took it off after fighting a sky shark to save Chopper from being eaten. Afterwards, he wore a long, deep blue T-shirt and goggles strapped either on his head or around his neck, which were later broken and discarded.

During the Water 7 Arc, he wore his usual outfit until near the end, where he wore an unzipped, bright yellow jacket with a closed pocket flap on each side. He continued wearing this outfit throughout the Enies Lobby Arc.

During the Post-Enies Lobby Arc, he wore a black shirt with the Galley-La Company emblem on it in white.

At the end of the Thriller Bark Arc, he wore an opened, gray shirt. He also replaced Yubashiri, which was rusted away by Shu in the Enies Lobby Arc, with Shusui, which was entrusted to him by the zombie of Ryuma brought to life by Brook’s shadow.

During the Sabaody Archipelago Arc, he wore an opened white shirt with red stripes.

During his time at Kuraigana Island, shortly after being sent there by Bartholomew Kuma, he wore an opened, dark blue shirt. Since Zoro was critically injured when he arrived at the island, Perona patched him up, so bandages were all over his body.

After the Timeskip

During and after the two-year timeskip, Zoro gains a new scar running down over his left eye, which is now implied to be critically injured, as it is always closed. His frame gets larger, showing considerably more muscle mass, and his hair has gotten shaggier, while slicked back. Zoro now wears a long, open dark-green coat closed on his waist that’s held by a red sash, into which his three swords are tucked. His black bandanna is tied around his left forearm. His coat exposes his bare chest, revealing his green haramaki underneath the coat. He has also grown noticeably taller, as he is similar in height to Robin.

During the Punk Hazard Arc, he wore a white furry coat for protection against the cold weather on the frozen side of Punk Hazard, which he took from Brownbeard’s Centaur Patrol Unit.

During the Dressrosa Arc, he wore a black suit and a white dress shirt with the top button undone. He also wore black sunglasses and a fake white mustache as a disguise. His sunglasses were destroyed in his clash with Admiral Fujitora. Additionally, he discarded the moustache upon his identity being exposed. After the battle against the Donquixote Pirates, Zoro took off his suit jacket and unbuttoned his shirt, leaving his chest and scar exposed.

During the Zou Arc, Zoro wore a dark-blue T-shirt with his green coat and haramaki over a pair of long, black trousers and boots.

During the Wano Country Arc, Zoro wore a white yukata with black details and a green cloud pattern on its bottom. He wore a dark green jittoku haori with a mon of a black sun over a khaki gear, and zōri with a black strap. Zoro also styled his hair in the chonmage style. After agreeing to allow Shusui to return to Ryuma’s grave and remain in Wano, Zoro was given the legendary blade Enma in exchange, which was entrusted to him by Kozuki Hiyori, the daughter of the sword’s original owner, the legendary Samurai, Kozuki Oden.^[27] During the raid on Onigashima, Zoro donned a black version of his normal coat and a new bright red sash. He also briefly wore a Beasts Pirates uniform created by Kin’emon, before he and Luffy were discovered by the enemy pirates.

Non-canon

In the Movie 2, after the Trump Pirates stole the Going Merry with his clothes inside, he had to wear a black kimono from a wedding store. Then he changes his clothes for an open black jacket, a white scarf, and black pants like the ones he normally wears.

In the Movie 3, he wears an open blue jacket with short sleeves, with a white line on the sleeves, short black pants, and still wearing his green haramaki. Also momentarily, he wears an extravagant penguin costume designed by Usopp.

In the Movie 6, he wears black pants, and a brown shirt, which he later exchanges for an open white jacket.

References

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