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"Out of the night, when the full moon is bright, comes a horseman known as Zorro..."

Zorro is a mysterious masked and black-clad swashbuckling rider and swordsman who fights injustice in Spanish California in the early 19th century. He is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega, who pretends to be a timid Upper-Class Twit to hide his true skills and nature.

Perhaps the most iconic Proto-Superhero of all, Zorro has inspired many other heroes, such as Batmannote , Roronoa Zoro of One Piece, and Puss in Boots from the Shrek franchise.


Original work:

Adaptations & derivative works of Zorro:

    open/close all folders 
    Anime 

    Audio / Radio 
  • The Adventures of Zorro (1957) — Short-lived radio series based on the Disney TV series also featuring Guy Williams as Zorro.
  • The Mark of Zorro (1997) — Full cast dramatized audio adaptaion of the original novel by BBC Radio featuring Mark Arden as Zorro. No known copies are available.
  • Zorro and the Pirate Raiders (2009) — Full cast dramatized audio adaptation of D.J. Arneson's rewrite of The Further Adventures of Zorro by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air featuring Kevin Cirron as Zorro.
  • Zorro Rides Again (2011) — Full cast dramatized audio adaptaion of D.J. Arneson's rewrite of the third novel by Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air. Kevin Cirron returns as Zorro.
  • The Mark of Zorro (2011) — Full cast dramatized audio adaptation of the original novel from Blackstone Audio and Hollywood Theater of the Ear featuring Val Kilmer as Zorro.
  • The Adventures of Zorro: The Legend Begins (2018) — Full cast dramatized audio miniseries from American Radio Theater featuring Greg Porter as Zorro.

    Comic Books 
  • Walt Disney Presents: Zorro — Comics based on the 1950s live-action series, drawn by Alex Toth.
  • Lady Rawhide (1992 onwards) — The Bad Girl Breakout Character from Topps' 1992 Zorro series, Lady Rawhide starred in several miniseries which included appearance by Zorro.

    Films — Live-Action 

    Literature (non-McCulley) 

    Live-Action TV 

Zorro-centric series:

  • Zorro (1957-1959 series) — Starring Guy Williams.
  • Zorro and Son (1983 series, 5 episodes) — Starring Henry Darrow (as Don Diego) and Paul Regina (as his son Don Carlos).
  • Zorro (1990-1993 series) — Starring Duncan Regehr.
  • El Zorro, la espada y la rosa (2007) — Telenovela-style series starring Christian Meier.
  • Zorro (2024) — Mediawan Rights and Prime Video original Spanish-language series starring Miguel Bernardeau.

Puppet shows:

Unrelated series:

  • Once Upon a Time (2018) — He was intended to appear as Lily's father in Season 5, but the plan fell through due to copyright issues. He was namechecked in the Series Finale.

    Video Games 
  • Zorro (1985)
  • Zorro (1995)
  • The Shadow of Zorro (2001)
  • Pulp Adventures (2016) includes a level where you play as Zorronote .
  • Persona 5 (2016) — one of the Personas in-game is Zorro himself.
  • Zorro: The Chronicles (2022) — based on the 2015 animated series of the same name.
  • En Guarde (2023) — the protagonist, Adalia acts a lot like Zorro, only she is a female.

    Western Animation 


Zorro, in his various incarnations, provides examples of:

  • Acrofatic: Sergeant Garcia is often portrayed as this, being surprisingly agile and an accomplished swordsman despite his build.
  • Alternate Company Equivalent:
  • Animal Motifs: In name only, while his name means "fox" he never utilizes foxes visually.
    • Kaiketsu Zorori, the Japanese children's book character loosely based on Zorro, is literally a fox.
  • Animal-Themed Superbeing: Zorro is Spanish for fox. He would be type II in that he has no animal-based powers, weapons, or even an animalistic costume but he does assume the name of an animal.
  • Animated Adaptation:
  • Antagonistic Governor: The Mayor (Alcalde Mayor, or just Alcalde for short) of Los Angeles in California. A rich and powerful tyrant that Zorro squares off with time and time again. Some adaptations such as The Mask of Zorro upgrade this to the actual Governor of California.
  • Badass Native:
    • The Native American warrior Moonstalker in the Topps comic book.
    • Isabel Allende's novel made Zorro himself part-Native American through his Badass Native mother, therefore a mestizo (mixed blood) instead of the traditional criollo (pure Spanish but colonial-born). This detail has sometimes been carried over in later versions. This also meant that Diego got Native American training from his mother's tribe added to his origin backstory.
    • Bernardo, in most incarnations, is this as well.
    • Nah-Lin in Zorro (2024).
  • Berserk Button: Hinting that Senorita Lolita (heroine and love interest in the original novel) has morals that are at all questionable is a good way to get your ass kicked by El Zorro.
  • Big Eater: Sergeant Garcia usually is portrayed as one. Y'know, because he's fat.
  • Bilingual Bonus: The DIC series was set in and around the town of El Pueblo. Yes, the town of "The Town".
    • "Zorro" is Spanish for "fox", which is mentioned in the opening theme of the 1950's TV series.
  • Butt-Monkey:
    • Poor Sergeant Garcia...
    • Corporal Reyes takes this a step further, being Garcia's personal butt monkey.
  • Calling Card: Zorro's trademark "Z".
  • Cattle Punk: The 2005 movie.
  • Canon Immigrant: The Zorro we know with his small hat, cowl, and preference for using a sword is from the Douglas Fairbanks 1920 film and the pulp series was changed to reflect it. See Early-Installment Weirdness below for more details.
  • Clothes Make the Legend: Even the parody Zorro: The Gay Blade just changed the color of the costume.
  • Clothing Damage: A favorite trick of Zorro's, especially in the television series, where carving the flesh of his opponents would have violated broadcast standards. Or, in the case of the movie with Catherine Zeta-Jones, pure Fanservice.
  • Coat, Hat, Mask: A classic example.
  • Collective Identity:
    • In Isabel Allende's novel Diego has a second Zorro outfit and sword made for Bernardo to throw villains for a loop, and Isabel de Romeu butts in with Bernardo's Zorro costume when the villain is smart enough to have both Diego imprisoned and his men keep an eye on Bernardo in case he donned the Zorro outfit. The epilogue makes clear that in the end Diego is the main Zorro, but both Bernardo and Isabel would wear his costume if needed and can kick just as much ass as him.
    • In Zorro, the Gay Blade, Don Diego and his brother Ramon both are Zorro. The brothers' father was too, although he's deceased at the time of the movie.
    • In The Mask of Zorro, Anthony Hopkins plays the original Zorro (Don Diego de la Vega) and Antonio Banderas is his trainee and later son-in-law, Alejandro.
    • In the 1997 animated series Diego de la Vega was not the first Zorro, but the original was unknown and shrouded in legend.
    • The brief TV Series Zorro and Son was actually about an older Don Diego training his son, Don Carlos, to take his place.
    • In one of the animated series episodes a soldier is about to be executed upon suspicion of being Zorro, when Zorro himself intervenes and frees him. The soldier in gratitude also assumes the identity of Zorro in another part of old California, so in this continuity there ends up being two Zorros at work in different places, thus reinforcing the secret identity of both.
    • In the anime version, Bernardo also wears the Zorro costume. But in this continuity he is much younger than Don Diego, so he is called by the other name Little Zorro, and plays the role of Kid Sidekick rather than a fake Zorro.
    • In the 2015 animated series, Bernardo again assumes the identity to defer suspicion away from Diego. Diego's sister Ines also dons costume, when she thinks her brother isn't being pro-active enough.
    • In the 2024 live-action series, Zorro is an identity originated by the local Native American tribe, several have worn the mask over the years, and Diego is mystically chosen to be the next one despite being an outsider. But he gains a female native rival who also claims the Zorro identity for herself.
    • In the French graphic novel Don Vega, Zorro is a folk legend that a whole bunch of villagers try to imitate while resisting the local warlord and his thugs. Then Don Diego, the son of the original Zorro, shows up.
  • Cool Horse: Tornado
  • Cool Mask: And how. Most often it's a cowl so he can still look cool without his hat, or rarely just a domino mask but this doesn't compromise his identity even if he's hatless.
    • A minor point in the comic Don Vega is that Zorro wears improvised outfits with full-faced masks or rather hoods until the end where Diego receives the proper mask of his father.
  • Costume Copycat: One of the hazards of having a Secret Identity. Although Zorro himself has used it for his benefit...
  • Costume Drama: Penchants for fashion in (Imperial Spanish) Los Angeles are Older Than They Think.
  • Crazy Survivalist: Buck Wylde from the Topps comic book series.
  • Cunning Like a Fox: The 1950's TV series theme song mentions "Zorro, the fox so cunning and free...", which is especially meaningful since "zorro" is Spanish for "fox".
  • Cute Mute: Diego's servant, Bernardo.
  • Dancing Is Serious Business: Both in The Mark of Zorro (1940) and The Mask of Zorro.
  • Dark Is Not Evil: Very obviously.
  • Dashing Hispanic: Zorro himself, and some of his enemies, especially The Dragon of any given story.
  • Dating Catwoman: Zorro and Lady Rawhide in the Topps comic series.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness:
    • In his first appearance Zorro wore a sombrero and a poncho, his mask covered his whole face and he used a saber instead of a rapier but mainly threatened people with a pistol.
    • Originally the titular character's name was Don Diego Vega, only to morph in later stories into the more aristocratic sounding Don Diego de la Vega, which would become the default for the character.
  • Elaborate Underground Base: In the comics written by Don McGregor (for Topps and Dynamite), Zorro has an elaborate underground base that rivals the Batcave. The Filmation series likewise gave him an underground lair accessed by a hidden passage in his hacienda.
  • Even Evil Has Standards: In the 1940 movie, Diego Vega comments on a sergeant's big bullwhip, saying that he commiserates his poor horse. The sergeant is shocked and reassures him: He would never whip his dear horse, the whip is just for peones who don't cough up their taxes quickly enough.
    • In the anime adaptation Raymund clamps down on Gabriel's obsession for Lolita as soon as he's made aware that he broke an arsonist out of jail to blackmail her into marrying him and then kidnapped her, all but stating the only reason he's not having him tried and executed is that the entire garrison (including him) would be dishonoured if that got out. He's also quick to stop anyone whose thefts prevent someone from paying their taxes, and conveniently ignores that one of those people is paying them with money Zorro stole in his presence from the thief.
  • Expressive Mask: In the comic book versions.
  • Expy: In terms of the broader franchise, the supporting characters regardless of continuity easily fall into certain types:
    • The Big Bad official (Mayor or sometimes Governor)
    • The Dragon/Number Two of the official, a military man capable of matching Zorro in combat (often a Lieutenant or Captain)
    • The Mook Lieutenant Sergeant, often a big or fat guy, tends to be more sympathetic than his superiors
    • The town priest, who tends to know Zorro's identity and covertly helps him
  • Fat Idiot: More often than not, Sergeant Garcia is portrayed as this.
  • Feudal Overlord: Even though the setting of the story is in colonial rather than medieval times, the villains often fit this trope.
  • Fight Dracula: Zorro clashes within the Dracula vs. Zorro mini-series from Topps Comics.
  • Flynning: In (almost) every film, stage, and TV version. Averted in the 1940 remake The Mark of ZorroTyrone Power and Basil Rathbone were both highly skilled fencers and it shows.
  • Folk Hero: He's an iconic character for Latin America. Without a doubt, Zorro is the best-known fictional Hispanic hero in the World.
  • For Halloween, I Am Going as Myself: Used in The Gay Blade.
  • Gratuitous Spanish: Any English-language adaptation is likely to be full of this.
    • The 1990 series takes it a step further by referring to the evil mayor as the "alcalde" and the town the series takes place in as the "pueblo".
  • Guile Hero: He calls himself "Mr. Fox" for a reason, you know...
  • Heel–Face Turn: Used nigh-literally at the end of Zorro, the Gay Blade: The entire town has revolted, and the bad guys are reduced to the governor, his wife, and a single squad of soldiers protecting them from the surrounding mob. The captain of the squad, seeing which way the wind is blowing, orders, "About FACE!"... and the soldiers are now pointing their guns at the governor. (They thus turned on their heels for an about-face turn.)
    • In anime version, Sergeant Gonzales (equivalent of Garcia, but with more likable and humorous personality) changes sides and starts to fight for Zorro in the final story arc.
  • Hook Hand: Lucien Machete in the Topps comic.
  • Horseback Heroism
  • Hot Drink Cure: Exploited in the comic story "The Return of Zorro", when Zorro tells the woman he's helping to ask for some hot milk to quiet her nerves, which will enable him to slip out when the door is opened.
  • Hotter and Sexier: The Hispanic Soap Opera and the Isabel Allende book.
  • Hunter Trapper: Buck Wylde from the Topps comic book series.
  • Identical Grandson: In the 1925 film Don Q, Son of Zorro, the title character is played by Douglas Fairbanks, who had played Zorro himself five years earlier.
  • Implausible Fencing Powers:
    • Being able to carve a "Z" in an opponent's cheek with one fluid movement of his sword certainly counts.
    • The 1990 TV series has Zorro somehow picking the lock on a trunk with the tip of his sword.
    • The 1940 version also includes the famous bit in which Don Diego slashes a candle — with no apparent result — until he lifts the candle to reveal he has sliced it in two.
      • In the 1957 TV show, Comandante Monastario (himself a sort-of Expy of the villain from the 1940 film) gets a moment of this; he slashes at a candle and seemingly misses, only to demonstrate to the Licenciado that he has indeed cut it in half before blowing it out.
      • Itself hilariously parodied in The Court Jester, in which "Giacomo" blows on the candles, and they fall apart.
      • Zorro the Gay Blade also parodied this by having Diego slash at a candle, apparently missing, but as soon as the Aldante turns his back Diego picks up the severed candle and uses it to light his cigarette before discreetly putting it back.
      • In a Mexican Zorro film from 1975, Zorro slashes at a candelabra horizontally and then again vertically. All the candles fall off, and the one in the center splits in two.
  • Instant Knots: Used in conjunction with his whip.
  • Killed Off for Real: Don Diego in The Mask of Zorro, and also in the Dynamite Comics continuity, in a crossover with its version of The Lone Ranger. Unlike Mask which is about Passing the Torch, the Dynamite storyline emphasizes an End of an Age with the changing times. Tellingly, Zorro dies by gunshot in both, but in the movie he takes it in the front and is able to kill his enemy before he dies some minutes later in his daughter's and successor's arms, while in the comic, he's unceremoniously shot In the Back, dies alone and it's up to the Lone Ranger to avenge him.
  • Knight of Cerebus: While for the most part Zorro is able to claim victory and carve a "Z" in most of his opponents, there are a few villains who have been able to give Zorro some serious trouble and take things up to a darker and more serious tone in the Kaiketsu Zorro anime.
    • The episode "Killer Guitar" introduced Sabat, an assassin and a sniper who hid his rifle inside his guitar. His episode marked the first time a villain actually killed another character on-screen(a newspaper guy who had been writing against the army). Sabat also came close to killing Zorro but fortunately, Zorro was prepared and blocked the bullet with armor. Sabat was also the only one-shot villain whose legacy lasted beyond a single episode as his brother would come back for revenge against Zorro in a later episode.
      • Zig-zagged with the guitar killer's brother, Sodom. In terms of pure villainy, he took it a step further than most other villains, being smart enough to figure out Zorro's identity after hypnotizing the entire town until he found out Diego was the man behind the mask from Bernardo and attempting to murder Diego's family. However, when it came to actual fighting prowess, Sabat's brother ended up faring no better than most of the other One-Shot villains and was defeated by Zorro in short order.
    • "Tears of Clown" introduced a magician named Black with a magical pendant that gave him both telekinetic and hypnotic powers. Black's magical powers proved potent enough that with the help of his pendant, he was able to inflict a serious psychic beatdown on Zorro, throwing him all over the place. After that curbstomp, Black nearly unmasked Zorro but thanks to a distraction by his allies, Zorro regained his Heroic Second Wind and turned the tables on Black.
    • "The Order To Kill Zorro" introduced Teo Angelo, a former schoolmate of Diego's and the man who taught Zorro everything he knew about fencing. After falling from grace and deciding that one needed to have money in order to be powerful, Teo took on an assignment to kill Zorro, his former friend and pupil and was able to defeat Zorro in the two fights they had, making him the only opponent in the series who was able to out-fence Zorro completely.
    • "A Prelude To the Collapse" introduced an enforcer for the South India Trading Company named Death who was quite possibly Zorro's most powerful opponent in any incarnation. Originally sent in to bring Kapital back to Spain, he found himself fighting Zorro in a dispute over Kapital's notebook. After leaving Zorro in critical condition, the South India Trading Company inspector pretty much got to sail off into the sunset with Kapital, though he did show himself to be somewhat of a Noble Demon, promising Zorro that the South India Trading Company would never harass California again(while in the Japanese version with English subtitles, he promises Zorro that Kapital would be put on trial and made to pay for his crimes, in addition to encouraging Zorro to continue to fight for peace and justice).
    • Epically Subverted in "The Sword from Japan": the episode revolves around a katana, believed to be able to cut through another sword and kill the man wielding it, and the three-way fight between the soldiers supposed to deliver it to the governor (Raymund had bought it as a gift for the governor), a group of bandits that want its incredible cutting power, and Zorro, who aims to keep it out of from anyone who could use it for evil, but when the bandit leader gets his hands on it and attacks Zorro is discovered it was a bamboo fake.
      • Beyond epically subverted with Anti-Climax Boss and the Big Bad of the series, Commander Raymond himself. Even though he was THE main villain of the series and the final opponent Zorro faced, he doesn't really last much longer than most of the other One-Shot villains who fought against Zorro and got cut down. In the final battle of the series, he attacks Zorro but only fares for a few seconds before Zorro kills him for good.
  • Lampshade Hanging: At one point in the '50s live-action series, Don Diego tells the villain of the week that Zorro would be around his age, build, height and social class.
  • The Lancer: Corporal Reyes to Sergeant Garcia. Bonus points because because he actually is one of the lancers (a type of soldier) who answer to Sergeant Garcia.
  • Legacy Character: Several of the adaptations have featured Zorro's descendants or an unrelated person taking up the sword to fight for justice. Sometimes Diego is not even the original Zorro, thus a legacy character himself.
  • Magical Native American: White Owl, Zorro's maternal grandmother in the Isabel Allende novel, is a shaman who trains him. It's why he adopts the fox as his symbol, as it's his spirit animal. A version of White Owl also appears in The New Adventures (as Grey Owl, and not stated to be his grandmother), Generation Z (as an unnamed Spirit Advisor who appears as a young girl) and The Chronicles (as Zorro and his sister Ines's grandmother Tainah, who is training her granddaughter).
    • Cuervo Nocturno in Zorro (2024).
  • Masquerade Ball: Always a great place to hide a masked man.
  • Master Swordsman: Obviously.
  • Meaningful Echo: In the 1940 movie: "to raise fat children and watch the vineyards grow" accompanied by the hurling of the sword so it sticks in a beam in the ceiling.
  • Minion with an F in Evil: Sergeant Garcia, at his most sympathetic. On his defense, he never is truly evil, he just follows his superior's orders. When the evil governor isn't around and the town is under García's control, life is much easier for everyone. On one occasion he even dresses as Zorro to try to free some unjust prisoners from his own jail!
  • Mountain Man: Joe Crane from the Disney TV series.
  • Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Zorro meaning "fox".
  • Non-Powered Costumed Hero: One of the earliest "superheroes".
  • Obfuscating Disability: Bernardo is mute, but often pretends to be deaf as well.
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Except in the Disney version, where Don Diego is an open crusader for justice, but supposedly inept at combat instead.
  • Opening Narration: From the Filmation animated series.
    "As Don Diego, I pretend to be afraid. But with a mask as my disguise, I ride into the night, and raise my sword in the name of justice! For I am... Zorro!"
  • Outside-Context Problem: The comic book "Zorro: Swords of Hell" sets Zorro against a Zombie Apocalypse.
  • Pirate Girl:
    • Scarlet Fever from the second Lady Rawhide miniseries from Topps Comics.
    • As well as Lucia the Pirate from the Filmation cartoon.
  • Popcultural Osmosis: Thanks to countless bits of derivative media ranging from parodies to Christmas tree ornaments, most people who've never read or watched an actual Zorro story can still name him on sight.
  • Powder Trail
  • President Evil: The evil governor of California.
  • Proto-Superhero
  • Public Domain Character: It's complicated. With 1919 being the year of the character's first publication, he is public domain in the US, but Zorro Productions Inc. claims to "control the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name visual likeness and the character of Zorro." While this isn't strictly true, Zorro Productions Inc. has litigated in spite of court decisions and disputed and even disregarded rulings that the character is in the public domain. In other words, while there's no copyright (at least in the US or Canada), they will still likely sue people for using the character. It's all enough of a headache to navigate that in at least one instance of change-through-homage, Nintendo made the female Mexican sniper "The Fox" in Code Name: S.T.E.A.M as a vaguely defined daughter of Zorro instead of just using the man himself.
    • The character of Zorro is public domain in Canada for a different reason—in that country, the standard copyright term is the author's life plus 50 years. Since Johnston McCulley died in 1958, Zorro and all other characters in the literary series became PD in that country in 2009.
    • However, Zorro is still under copyright in the EU and Australia. Both entities changed to "life plus 70 years" terms within 50 years of McCulley's death.
    • Queen of Swords, basically a Serial Numbers Filed Off Gender Flip TV version that was made by producers of the Highlander TV series in the wake of Mask of Zorro, got hit by a lawsuit by Zorro Productions over copyright, and Zorro being public domain was the show's defense. It didn't quite work out for both sides, since the courts ruled Zorro was public domain but the show got Screwed by the Lawyers and had its TV airing Cut Short over other issues anyway.
  • Public Execution: Two of these are attempted in Zorro's Fighting Legion, one by firing squad, and the other by hanging. The Legion manages to save both potential victims.
  • Rearing Horse: The classic victory pose for Zorro is his black horse rearing up while Zorro thrusts his sword in the air.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Sergeant Garcia, full stop. Once the horrible Captain Monasterio is defeated, Garcia takes his place and things immediately become way nicer than before. It's too good to last, as The Eagle soon arrives...
  • The Remnant: Colonel Augustus Barton and his renegede Confederate bushwhackers in The Lone Ranger and Zorro: The Death of Zorro from Dynamite Comics.
  • Royal Rapier: His signature weapon in adaptations (he used a cavalry sword in the original novel), along with a whip.
  • Scenery Porn: While every set of Spanish California in every incarnation may qualify, the one for the Disney TV series is arguably the most prominent.
  • Secret-Keeper: Many, depending on the story. Most often, Don Diego's mute manservant Bernardo.
  • Sequel Series: Zorro and Son was a loose one to the Disney TV show, and it used the same theme song but with lyrics adjusted to be about the horsemen known as Zorro.
  • Signature Headgear: Zorro's iconic black Cordobés.
  • Spoiler Title: Guess what happens in the comic miniseries The Lone Ranger and Zorro: The Death of Zorro. Even one of the covers had the Ranger brooding at his fresh grave.
  • Stab the Sky: When his horse rears.
  • Stop, or I Shoot Myself!: Doña Lolita, the heroine of the original Zorro novel, does this with a dagger forcing the Alcalde's guards to let her escape.
  • Story Arc: Disney's Zorro is especially notable for being a show that used arcs in the 1950s, when most other television was strictly episodic.
  • Stripperiffic: Lady Rawhide from the Topps Comics series.
  • Swallow the Key: The television series with Duncan Regehr twisted this — at the end of one episode, he chained up the alcade in the town square and forced the alcade to swallow the key.
  • Swashbuckler: The most shining example coming from America in the genre.
  • Swiss-Army Weapon: Lucien Machete's Hook Hand in the Topps comic.
  • Sword Fight: Every Zorro story has at least one.
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Zorro himself. Except for the anime version who is blondish instead of dark-haired.
  • Transformation Sequence:
    • The Kaiketsu Zorro anime had one. Technically, it was just Diego putting on his costume really fast, kind of like Tuxedo Mask.
    • The Filmation version also had one.
  • Utility Belt: Albeit an example that doesn't involve an actual belt. On most occasions, Zorro is armed — at minimum — with a sword, a knife, a pistol, a bolo, a lariat, and a set of lock-picking equipment. He often also carries a rope and graple-hook. Sometimes he'll have even more weapons and equipment than that. In the pulp stories, Zorro has a pistol as a backup weapon, but with the technology limitations of the time, seldom relies on it.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Zig-zagged with Commander Raymond in the Kaiketsu Zorro anime. The Spanish army and its commander were clearly hated by the populace but Raymond proved adept at manipulating public opinion, always positioning himself at the right time and place to make himself look more generous than he really was. A notable instance was where Zorro had implicated the army and a corrupt merchant named Diaz in stealing grain from the people. As soon as he was exposed, Raymond acted quickly, shooting Diaz and then promising the people that they could have their grain back while allowing Zorro to leave unharmed as a gesture of good will for "helping" the army uncover Diaz's corruption, thereby avoiding an angry riot and looking like a Reasonable Authority Figure. So while Raymond didn't have a one hundred percent approval rating, he was still smart enough to know how to make himself look reasonable enough in the public eye to avoid outright rioting.
  • Weredragon: In the Once Upon a Time multiverse, the local Zorro was capable of shapeshifting into a dragon. In this form, he fathered a child on a similarly transformed Maleficent.
  • You Fight Like a Cow: Usually against lesser opponents. You can tell when an opponent is actually challenging Zorro, because he is too busy to quip.


Alternative Title(s): The Shadow Of Zorro

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