Zorro (10/21/05)

When danger strikes, the citizens of Metropolis can call on Superman. New Yorkers have Spider-Man. But when evil threatens the ranchos of Old California, who can the poor and oppressed turn to? Why, to Zorro, of course! Though the story of the swashbuckling Mexican avenger seems like a folk legend, he was created by Johnston McCulley for his 1919 novel, "The Curse of Capistrano." The masked avenger caught on almost immediately, sparking movies starring Douglas Fairbanks, Tyrone Power, George Hamilton, and (most recently) Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas. From comic books and a television show in the '50s to a novel by Isabel Allende and musicals and ballets, Zorro has conquered the media the same way he overcomes the forces of evil and darkness -- with humor, derring-do, and unmatched swordsmanship.