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.

Other media featuring Zorro include stories by different authors, audio/radio dramas, comic books and strips, stage productions, and video games.

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.

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.

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 wealthiest 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 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.

[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".

Zorro is incredibly acrobatic, using his bullwhip as a gymnastic accouterment to swing through gaps between city roofs, and can land from great heights and take a fall.

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.

After a group of pirates invades the de la Vega home, Bernardo witnesses the rape and murder of his mother, and a result, stops speaking.

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."

A notable exception to this portrayal is Disney's Zorro (1957–1959), where Diego, despite using the original façade early in the series, instead becomes a passionate and compassionate crusader for justice and masquerades as "the most inept swordsman in all of California".

The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico,[5] Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, and Tiburcio Vasquez.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[citation needed] In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.

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.

[30] Also, Bob Kane has credited Zorro, as one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a dual identity, as part of the inspiration for the character Batman, which was created in 1939.

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.

[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).

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.

Maestro Ramon Martinez and actor Alex Kruz gave a live demonstration of the Spanish style of fencing known as La Verdadera Destreza.

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.

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.

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.

[70] In 2023, it was announced that Sean Gordon Murphy would write and illustrate a four-issue miniseries for Massive Publishing entitled Zorro: Man of the Dead, set for release in 2024.

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.