The Foxlegendary masked hero, has returned to screens around the world. Amazon Prime Video has already released its new series about the iconic swordsman. A project that is starring Miguel Bernardeu along with performers of the stature of Luis Tosar, Rodolfo Sancho either Paco Tous. A version with which the streaming platform will try to modernize the character and present him to new generations. Because, in reality, there have been many Zorros, although with the mask on they are all the same. And it is nothing less than the last classical hero or, perhaps, the first modern hero.
Stories about mythological heroes are what have made up the entire culture from ancient civilizations to the present day. Legends to admire, capable of the greatest deeds in pursuit of a greater good. In the 20th century, the concept of a hero was completely redefined with the arrival of superheroes starting in the 1930s. But before them came a young man with a mask who, based on the swashbuckling stories of the great classics of previous centuries, established the foundation on which all the new and popular vigilantes would be built decades later.
The Curse of Capistrano
The year was 1919 when the American journalist and writer Johnston McCulley addressed his new adventure novel. The author named it The Curse of Capistrano and released it in serialized format in five publications! It’s in the magazine All-Story Weekly. The book was set in California in the first half of the 19th century, what is known as the Mexican era. There lived an aristocratic man from New Spain, Diego Vega. However, it is his alias that turned him into a myth: the Mr. Fox.
Diego was a person very sensitive to the injustices of the elites against his people. He is fed up with the excessive oppression of the Captain Ramon and the Sergeant Gonzales, decides to take action. With his deaf servant Bernard, Fox He confronts them to make the missions, towns and ranches in the area a little less miserable. Five years after the serialized publication of the story, in 1924, The Curse of Capistrano was reissued in the form of a single volume, and was renamed The mark of Zorro. The reason was in the cinema.
The origin of Zorro
In the year 1920, just a few months after the adventures of Diego Vega see the light, the illustrious actor Douglas Fairbanks brought the first adaptation to the big screen, which he himself wrote along with Eugene Miller, of the novel. A milestone that would mark a before and after in the character’s history. Directed by Fred Niblo, The mark of Zorro It became one of the most popular films of the time and, in those first decades of the seventh art, it defined what action and adventure cinema was going to be from then on.
The film was where, for the first time, Zorro’s iconic clothing was included. A black suit and cape, mask and Cordovan hat. With his incredible skills with a sword, the protagonist marked all his enemies with a Z, his distinctive symbol. At the end of the film, Diego Vega managed to defeat the corrupt governor Alvarado (Noah Beery) and, also, win the hand of his beloved, Lolita Pulido (Marguerite De La Motte). After the success of the film, a sequel arrived in 1925: Don Q, the son of Zorro.
Zorro, eternal phenomenon
Established as the popular character he had become, Zorro starred in many more adventures in the years to come. Johnston McCulley He assumed the new characteristics, especially the clothing, that the film had provided and, at the request of his readers, he developed dozens more comics. In them he also made the identity of the hero remain a mystery, since in the original novel this was discovered at the end. Finally, the author died in 1958 and, a year later, he was published posthumously The mask of Zorrohis last writing about the character, whose name had become Diego de la Vega.
The death of McCulley It came with Zorro’s popularity at its peak. The character was the protagonist of the iconic television series produced by disney with Guy Williams giving life to the hero. A decade earlier, in 1940, a new adaptation of The mark of Zorro had arrived in theaters, starring Tyrone Power. Once again, the film was a success and became a classic.
In total, Zorro has starred in more than 40 films, several series, plays, video games, writings by other novelists, comics… One of the most popular recent adaptations is The mask of Zorrothe movie of the year 1998. With Anthony Hopkins like a veteran Diego de la Vega, the witness falls to Alejandro Murrieta, whom he gives life Antonio Banderaswhich he would also repeat in the not so popular sequel.
The legacy of Zorro
The story of a masked man with a double identity and the conviction to carry out heroic acts in favor of ordinary people inspired superhero comic artists in later years. The Foxwho did not have superpowers, was directly the basis on which mythical characters such as batman. So much so that in several versions, the night in which the parents of Bruce Waynethe movie you see in the cinema right before is The mark of Zorro.
Erected as the last classical hero or the first modern hero, the influence of Fox is still present today. That’s why, Prime Video has not hesitated to give it his all with a large-scale production with which to reinvent it once again. So far, reviews have been mixed, although they generally praise the work and charisma of Bernardeu as the legendary masked vigilante.