title: Buckethead

text: In addition to his musical influences, Buckethead cites a diverse range of non-musical influences, out of which dedicated songs to said inspirations have been a staple of Buckethead's discography, with particular attention to basketball players like Michael Jordan (songs "Jordan" and "Jump Man", album "Happy Birthday MJ 23"), George Gervin (on "Iceman"), Blake Griffin (on "Crack the Sky" and "Griffin's Spike"), "Pistol" Pete Maravich (on "The Mark of Davis"), LeBron James (with four songs dedicated to him), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (album "Kareem's Footprint"). Other influences include martial artist and actor Bruce Lee (on "The Game of Death" song and inspiration behind the use of nunchakus on stage), author H. P. Lovecraft (on the "Lurker at the Threshold" suite, and his 55th Pike, "The Miskatonic Scale"), numerous science fiction and horror TV shows and movies including "Little House on the Prairie", Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain" (on Kaleidoscalp), and "Giant Robot" (mentioned on several songs, albums, and episodes shown on stage). Disney and Disneyland are also major influences on Buckethead's career. Buckethead is also inspired by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike, to whom a song on Pepper's Ghost is dedicated. "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" franchise of movies is also a big inspiration to him and he has written many songs such as Jowls, which are heavily inspired by those movies. The song "To Infinity and Beyond" from "Out Orbit" was dedicated to then-recently deceased basketball reporter Craig Sager.


title: Buckethead

text: Buckethead has released 30 regular solo albums, as well as 294 albums in the "Pikes Series", for 325 albums overall.


title: Buckethead

text: "Buckethead Pikes" are mini-albums, with 294 of them released since 2011. They have an average runtime of 30 minutes.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate (; LTS, short for Light Tactical Aircraft in Russian) is a single-engine, stealth fighter aircraft under development by Sukhoi for export and for the Russian Aerospace Forces. The Sukhoi Design Bureau also designates the aircraft as T-75 with marked registration RF-0075.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: A static mock-up was unveiled at the 2021 MAKS air show with President of Russia Vladimir Putin in attendance. The Checkmate's maiden flight was first scheduled for 2023 and then slipped to 2024, with initial deliveries are planned for 2026–2027. The Checkmate is designed to be low cost and for export, and may compete with the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II and Shenyang FC-31 aircraft of the same light to medium-weight category. Production is forecast to be 300 planes over 15 years.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: According to the chief executive of Rostec, Sergei Chemezov, the LTS Checkmate is expected to cost US $25–30 million each.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: On 14 November 2021, it was reported that the production of several prototypes of the Checkmate had begun at the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Plant, where the Sukhoi Su-57 is manufactured.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: Su-75 Checkmate development could be delayed due to international sanctions on Russia, and Russia could not import semiconductors and high-tech machining equipment from the European Union. The potential export sales also stalled because Russia cannot trade using U.S. dollars.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: On 16 August 2022, United Aircraft Corporation reported that they plan to build four prototypes of the Su-75 Checkmate, with flight tests planned for as early as 2024.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The Su-75 Checkmate has a diverterless inlet, a v-shape tail and internal weapons bays—all features intended to reduce radar signature. The wing area appears large, which has been interpreted by correspondent David Axe to imply that Sukhoi designed the fighter to fly and engage in combat at high altitudes—40,000 feet or higher.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The angular ventral inlet, which wraps around the lower nose section, shares features with a diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) design concept first introduced in the Boeing X-32 aircraft. A diverterless supersonic inlet (DSI) is mechanically simple; DSI can reduce cost compared to more intricate inlet designs such as Boeing F-15 and Sukhoi Su-27. Instead of separate horizontal and vertical stabilizers with moving rudders and elevators, the Su-75 fighter has “ruddervators” similar to that of Northrop Grumman YF-23. Ruddervators require sophisticated flight-control systems to be developed by Sukhoi as the functionality does not exist in Su-35 and Su-57 fighters.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: According to the jet's designers, the Checkmate is designed to fly with a range of up to , carry a payload of up , and reach speeds of up to Mach 1.8-2. The fighter will also feature an internal weapons bay with five missiles and an autocannon.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The powerplant appears to be the Saturn izdeliye 30 engine which will also power the Sukhoi Su-57's Su-57M variant. The "izdeliye" 30 is designed to be 30% lower specific weight than its AL-41F1 predecessor, and up to 18% more effective, with an estimated thrust of 107.9 kN (24,300 lbf) dry and 171.7 kN (38,600 lbf) in afterburner. Once in series production, the "izdeliye 30" engine will have a much longer life span than other Russian engines.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: Due to restrictions preventing taking cockpit photos, NBC News Matt Bodner, the first Western journalist able to see the jet in person, provided a preview without a point of view photo. According to Bodner, the cockpit layout is identical to the Su-57 with a glass cockpit with two 38 cm (15 in) main multi-functional LCD displays similar to the arrangement of the Su-35S. The cockpit has a wide-angle (30° by 22°) head-up display (HUD).


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The electronic infrastructure of the Checkmate is all open-architecture and makes use of "Matryoska" diagnostics systems that are mostly on-board. According to Russian newspaper "Top War", the prototype Su-75 is built with an active phased array radar. According to Yuri Beliy, NIIP radar design bureau plans to develop a low-cost AESA radar for the aircraft. According to Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov, the Checkmate will share the same components and avionics as the Su-57 as a cost-reduction mechanism by the Sukhoi Design Bureau.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: The Rostec chief executive said in an interview with "The Wall Street Journal" that the Su-75 fighter will carry more than 7 tonnes of air-to-air and air-to-surface armaments and will be capable of striking several targets at a time.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: An unmanned variant is reportedly in development, a two-seat trainer version can be developed if requested, and a carrier-based version is also under consideration.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: Rostec is anticipating that Argentina, India and Vietnam will become the primary export destinations for the aircraft, with the African market also showing interest. Sukhoi aims to export 300 Su-75 Checkmate aircraft to African countries over the next 15 years. The jet has also been pitched for export to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.


title: Sukhoi Su-75 Checkmate

text: In SITDEF-2021, Alexander Mikheev, the General Director of product export of Rosoboronexport stated that there was interest in the Su-75 in a number of South American countries.


title: First Man (film)

text: First Man is a 2018 American biographical drama film directed by Damien Chazelle and written by Josh Singer. Based on the 2005 book "" by James R. Hansen, the film stars Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong, alongside Claire Foy, Jason Clarke, Kyle Chandler, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, and Ciarán Hinds, and follows the years leading up to the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon in 1969. Steven Spielberg notably serves as an executive producer.


title: First Man (film)

text: The project was originally announced in 2003, with Clint Eastwood slated to direct. After that rendition fell through, Chazelle, Gosling and Singer all signed on by 2015, and principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2017.


title: First Man (film)

text: The film opened the 2018 Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2018, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 12, 2018, by Universal Pictures. The film received critical praise, particularly regarding the direction, Gosling and Foy's performances, musical score, and the Moon landing sequence. Before the film's release, the filmmakers' choice not to depict the planting of the U.S. flag on the lunar surface led online conservatives, including the then-President of the United States, to criticize the film for a lack of patriotism.


title: First Man (film)

text: Despite its positive critical reception, notable cast and crew, and $59 million production budget, the film was considered a box office disappointment, grossing $105 million worldwide. It received numerous accolades, including two nominations at the 76th Golden Globe Awards (winning Best Original Score), ten nominations at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards (winning Best Editing and Best Score), seven nominations at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, and four nominations at the 91st Academy Awards (winning Best Visual Effects).


title: First Man (film)

text: In 1961, NASA test pilot Neil Armstrong is flying the X-15 rocket-powered spaceplane when it inadvertently bounces off the atmosphere. Although he manages to land the plane in the Mojave Desert, his colleagues express concern that his recent record of mishaps is due to distraction.


title: First Man (film)

text: His 2-year-old daughter, Karen, is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor. Desperate to save her, Armstrong keeps a detailed log of her symptoms and researches possible treatments, but she dies soon afterward. Grief-stricken and suspecting he has been grounded, Armstrong applies for Project Gemini and is accepted to NASA Astronaut Group 2. With his wife Janet, and their son Rick, Armstrong moves to Houston alongside other astronaut families. He befriends Elliot See, another civilian test pilot, and Ed White. As Armstrong begins training, Deke Slayton impresses upon the new astronauts the importance of the Gemini program, as the Soviet Union had reached every milestone in the Space Race ahead of the United States. Armstrong and Janet have a second son, Mark.


title: First Man (film)

text: In 1965, after the Soviets complete the first extravehicular activity (EVA), Armstrong is informed that he will command Gemini 8, with David Scott as the pilot. Prior to the mission, See and Charles Bassett are killed in a T-38 crash, deepening Armstrong's grief at the string of recent losses. Armstrong and Scott successfully launch on Gemini 8 and dock with the Agena target vehicle, but soon afterward, a malfunction causes the spacecraft to roll at an increasingly dangerous rate. After nearly blacking out, Armstrong activates the RCS thrusters and safely aborts the mission. He initially faces criticism, but NASA determines the crew is not at fault and the mission is rated a "success".


title: First Man (film)

text: Later, White reveals that he has been selected for the Apollo 1 mission, along with Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee. During a launch rehearsal test on January 27, 1967, a fire kills White and the Apollo 1 crew. Armstrong learns the news while representing NASA at the White House. The next year, after Armstrong ejects from the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle in an accident that could have killed him, Slayton informs Armstrong that he has been selected to command Apollo 11, which will likely attempt the first lunar landing. As the mission nears, Neil becomes increasingly preoccupied and emotionally distant from his family. Prior to the launch, Janet confronts Armstrong about the possibility that he might not survive the flight and insists that he explain the risks of the mission to their young sons. After telling them about the risks he faces, Armstrong says goodbye to his family.


title: First Man (film)

text: Three days after launch, Apollo 11 enters lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin undock in the Lunar Module "Eagle" and begin the landing. The landing site terrain turns out to be much rougher than expected, forcing Armstrong to take manual control of the spacecraft. He lands "Eagle" successfully at an alternative site with less than 30 seconds of fuel remaining. After setting foot on the Moon, Armstrong utters his famous line, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Later he drops Karen's bracelet into Little West crater. With their mission complete, the astronauts return home and are placed in quarantine, where they watch footage of John F. Kennedy's 1962 speech "We choose to go to the Moon" on television, and Armstrong and Janet share a moment of tenderness.


title: First Man (film)

text: In early 2003, actor-director Clint Eastwood and production people at the Warner Bros. studio bought the film rights to James R. Hansen's "". Eastwood had previously directed as well as starred in the 2000 space-themed picture "Space Cowboys", though he stated that he would likely not appear on camera in "First Man".


title: First Man (film)

text: Universal and DreamWorks ultimately took up the "First Man" project in the mid-2010s. Damien Chazelle, who had received critical acclaim for his work on 2014's "Whiplash", signed onto the film's production that year, and hired Josh Singer to rewrite an existing script. Gosling, who starred in Chazelle's 2016 film "La La Land", joined as well to portray Armstrong in November 2015, and Hansen was hired to co-produce the film because of his role as the book's author. Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen also produced the film through Temple Hill Entertainment, with pre-production starting in March 2017. Actor Jon Bernthal was originally attached to the project and was cast as David Scott, but had to depart the production when his daughter suffered a serious illness. PIX Systems were used to aid in the production of this film.


title: First Man (film)

text: Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2017. Chazelle and cinematographer Linus Sandgren chose to shoot the film in three different formats: Super 16mm, 35mm Techniscope & Super 35 3-perf, and IMAX 70mm film for the Moon sequence. The 16mm format was used in most of the scenes that occur inside the spacecraft and 35mm film was used for the scenes that take place in the Armstrong house and around the NASA facility.


title: First Man (film)

text: "First Man" was shot without the use of green screen. Instead, LED displays of up to 10 meters were used. These projected images that would simulate the exterior of the spacecraft, both the Earth and space. Next to the screens, several simulators were built, each corresponding to a spacecraft. These were programmed to move synchronized with the images of the spherical LED screens that could be seen through the windows. Chazelle chose this technique because it allowed the actors to get more into the role; instead of seeing a green screen, they saw the outside environment recreated with visual effects. Miniatures were used for several exterior shots of the spacecraft.


title: First Man (film)

text: To recreate Armstrong's home, the production crew built a replica of it in an empty lot. The lunar surface was recreated by building a set on the Vulcan quarry in Atlanta. Chazelle filmed these sequences at night, using a custom 200,000-watt light to duplicate the effect of sunlight on the surface. For the simulation of low gravity on the lunar surface, a balancing system calibrated for the actors was constructed. NASA historian Christian Gelzer, as well as astronauts Al Bean (from Apollo 12) and Al Worden (from Apollo 15), were on set as technical consultants.


title: First Man (film)

text: Paul Lambert served as the main visual effects supervisor. Visual effects for the film were provided by DNEG. To create the images that would be displayed on the LED screens, Terragen, a scenery generation program, was used. Additionally, archival footage such as that of an Apollo launch was used, found by DNEG in a 70mm military stock that had not been seen before. These shots were then cleaned up and extended on each side of the frame. Chazelle believed that it was important that the space scenes in the film matched what people knew from the historical footage, and using the historical footage itself made this possible.


title: First Man (film)

text: The pressure suits used in the film were made by prop maker Ryan Nagata. His work on the film includes the A/P22S-2 worn in the beginning of the movie, the ejection seat harness on the Gemini suits, and the gloves used on the Lunar Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) scene along with the Communications Carrier Assembly or "Snoopy cap", and a urine collection device. The Gemini, Apollo I, and Apollo A7L suits were made by Global Effects Inc, and were used throughout the section of the movie devoted to Apollo 11.


title: First Man (film)

text: The musical score for "First Man" was composed by Justin Hurwitz. The score was performed by a 94-piece orchestra, with instruments such as the electronic theremin and Moog synthesizer, as well as vintage sound-altering machines including Leslie speakers and an Echoplex, in order to balance vintage and electronic sounds. The score album released on October 12, 2018, by Back Lot Music and received praise from critics, especially for its balance of softer melodic passages and powerful themes.


title: First Man (film)

text: The film had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2018. It screened at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and at the Toronto International Film Festival in IMAX at the Ontario Place Cinesphere on September 9, 2018. It was theatrically released in the United States on October 12, 2018 by Universal Pictures.


title: First Man (film)

text: "First Man" grossed $44.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $60.7 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $105.6 million, against a production budget of $59 million.


title: First Man (film)

text: In the United States and Canada, "First Man" was released alongside "" and "Bad Times at the El Royale", and was projected to gross $18–25 million from 3,640 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $5.8 million on its first day, including $1.1 million from Thursday night previews at 2,850 theaters. It went on to debut to $16 million, finishing third at the box office behind holdovers "Venom" and "A Star Is Born". Anthony D'Alessandro of "Deadline Hollywood" stated that the under-performance was less a matter of any controversy involving the American flag and more to do with the 141 minute runtime and the film's focus on drama, although "Forbes" speculated the backlash played a factor. Michael Cieply, also of "Deadline", acknowledged that the flag controversy drew Internet criticism and that it could have hurt the film's performance at the box office. The film fell 47% in its second weekend, grossing $8.6 million and finishing fifth, and then made $4.9 million in its third week, finishing seventh.


title: First Man (film)

text: On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, ""First Man" uses a personal focus to fuel a look back at a pivotal moment in human history – and takes audiences on a soaring dramatic journey along the way." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 56 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 79% positive score.


title: First Man (film)

text: Owen Gleiberman of "Variety" called the film "so revelatory in its realism, so gritty in its physicality, that it becomes a drama of thrillingly hellbent danger and obsession." Writing for "IndieWire", Michael Nordine awarded the film a B+, describing it as "A powerful experience that will inspire renewed awe of what Armstrong and his ilk did." Nordine praised the opening flight sequence, Gosling's performance and Chazelle's direction. Peter Howell of the "Toronto Star" praised the Moon landing sequence, writing: "When the Eagle finally lands on the moon in "First Man", the picture truly soars." Nicholas Barber of the BBC gave it a five-star rating, stating that "Gosling and Foy's performances in "First Man" are probably too unshowy to win awards. But they should, because they could hardly have been bettered. The same goes for the whole of this extraordinary film."


title: First Man (film)

text: A. O. Scott, of "The New York Times", wrote that the film "gets almost everything right, but it's also strangely underwhelming. It reminds you of an extraordinary feat and acquaints you with an interesting, enigmatic man. But there is a further leap beyond technical accomplishment – into meaning, history, metaphysics or the wilder zones of the imagination – that the film is too careful, too earthbound, to attempt." Anthony Lane of "The New Yorker" said the film "captures the grandeur and otherness of the Apollo saga, but not the Midwestern modesty of its hero, Neil Armstrong," writing: "Skillful and compelling this film may be, but, if Neil Armstrong had been the sort of fellow who was likely to cry on the moon, he wouldn't have been the first man chosen to go there. He would have been the last."


title: First Man (film)

text: Richard Brody, also of "The New Yorker", said "First Man" would appeal to right-wing proponents as "a film of deluded, cultish longing for an earlier era of American life, one defined not by conservative politics but, rather, by a narrow and regressive emotional perspective that shapes and distorts the substance of the film." Armond White of the "National Review" gave the film a negative review, writing: "...director Damien Chazelle aims to give a realistic, procedural account of Armstrong's journey, yet the poetry never happens. Chazelle's take is dour, deliberately unromantic."


title: First Man (film)

text: "First Man" received ten nominations at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards, where it won for Best Editing and Best Score.


title: First Man (film)

text: At the 76th Golden Globe Awards, where Claire Foy had been nominated for Best Supporting Actress, Hurwitz again won the award for Best Original Score, The film was nominated for seven categories at the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, but did not win any. At the 91st Academy Awards, the film was nominated in four categories including Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing and Best Production Design, with the film's visual effects team of Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J. D. Schwalm winning the award for Best Visual Effects.


title: First Man (film)

text: On August 31, 2018, it was reported that the film would not include a scene of Armstrong and Aldrin planting the American flag on the Moon. Florida Senator Marco Rubio described the omission as "total lunacy". Chazelle responded with a statement, saying: "I show the American flag standing on the lunar surface, but the flag being physically planted into the surface is one of several moments [...] that I chose not to focus upon. To address the question of whether this was a political statement, the answer is no. My goal with this movie was to share with audiences the unseen, unknown aspects of America's mission to the Moon." United States President Donald Trump commented on the omission: "It's almost like they're embarrassed at the achievement coming from America, I think it's a terrible thing. When you think of Neil Armstrong and when you think of the landing on the moon, you think about the American flag. For that reason, I wouldn't even want to watch the movie." Following the film's below-expectations opening of $16 million, some analysts speculated that the flag controversy was in part to blame.


title: First Man (film)

text: The film revived international interest in Armstrong's first wife, Janet, who plays a central part in the film. She died a few months before the film's release.


title: First Man (film)

text: During Armstrong's 1961 flight in an X-15, the rocket plane begins "ballooning" (i.e., bouncing off the top of the atmosphere). The view out the window shows a carpet of clouds just below the wings. However, Armstrong was at 120,000 feet, about twice the altitude at which even the highest clouds form.


title: First Man (film)

text: The movie depicts the cockpit, instrument panels and switches of both Gemini 8 and the Lunar Module to be grimy and even rusted. All early spacecraft were pristine, single-use ships that had never been flown before. According to Jim Lovell, they even had something of a new-car smell.


title: First Man (film)

text: Armstrong learns in the same conversation that he will command Apollo 11 and become the first man on the Moon. Apollo astronauts were assigned to their crews sometimes years in advance. For the two-plus years leading up to Apollo 11 it was assumed that the first lunar landing would not be attempted until Apollo 12, 13 or even 14.


title: First Man (film)

text: On the lunar surface, Armstrong spends a few minutes alone at Little West Crater. He opens his gloved hand to reveal his daughter Karen's tiny bracelet and drops it into the crater. While Armstrong did visit the crater, there is no historical record that he brought the bracelet with him to the Moon.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: Black Sails is an American historical adventure television series set on New Providence Island and written to be a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel "Treasure Island". The series was created by Jonathan E. Steinberg and Robert Levine for Starz. It debuted online for free on YouTube and other various streaming platform and video-on-demand services on January 18, 2014. The debut on cable television followed a week later on January 25, 2014. Steinberg is executive producer, alongside Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form, while Michael Angeli, Doris Egan, and Levine are co-executive producers. The show features treasure-seeking pirates fending off British government attempts to stop them.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: On July 26, 2013, Starz renewed the show for a ten-episode second season, which premiered on January 24, 2015. The early renewal, six months before the first season premiered, was based on the positive fan reaction to the show at the San Diego Comic-Con. The series was renewed for a third season on October 12, 2014, and a fourth season on July 31, 2015, both before the respective previous seasons had premiered. On July 20, 2016, Starz announced that the series' fourth season would be its last; the season premiered on January 29, 2017, and the series concluded on April 2, 2017.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: "Black Sails" is set in the early 18th century, roughly two decades before the events of "Treasure Island," during the Golden Age of Piracy. Feared Captain Flint brings on a younger crew member as they fight for the survival of New Providence island. According to the first episode, "In 1715 West Indies, the pirates of New Providence Island threaten maritime trade in the region. The laws of every civilized nation declare them "hostis humani generis", enemies of all mankind. In response, the pirates adhere to a doctrine of their own...war against the world." Real life pirates who are fictionalized in the show include Anne Bonny, Benjamin Hornigold, Jack Rackham, Charles Vane, Ned Low, Israel Hands and Blackbeard.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: The plot of the first season focuses on the hunt for the Spanish treasure galleon "Urca de Lima." At the beginning of the second season, the treasure from the Urca de Lima has been stranded on the shores of Florida with Spanish soldiers guarding it, but by the conclusion of the second season, the treasure has been taken by Jack Rackham and his crew and brought to New Providence Island. During the second season, the questions of how and why Flint—a man who was a navy officer and London gentleman—turned to piracy are answered. The third and the fourth seasons focus on the war for the control of New Providence between the pirates and the British Empire, represented by Captain Woodes Rogers.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: The series is filmed at Cape Town Film Studios in Cape Town, South Africa, with local production company Film Afrika.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: The opening title sequence was made by Imaginary Forces and directors Michelle Dougherty and Karin Fong with the backing sea chantey-inspired theme composed by "Battlestar Galactica" and "The Walking Dead" composer Bear McCreary. It accurately features an instrument of the period in the form of the hurdy-gurdy.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: For the amount of detail that was added to the vessels, it took over 300 workers to build just one ship.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: In real life, recurring actor Nick Boraine is Louise Barnes's husband; Anna-Louise Plowman and Chris Larkin are, respectively, Toby Stephens's wife and brother; and Guy Paul is Harriet Walter's husband.


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: The first season of "Black Sails" received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes the season holds a rating of 65%, based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.05/10. The site's consensus reads, ""Black Sails" boasts visual appeal, but the show's bland characters aren't strong enough to keep the show from being dragged down into its murky depths of aimless exposition". On Metacritic season one has a score of 58 of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: Tim Goodman of "The Hollywood Reporter" said, "This ambitious pirate story is helped immensely by going beyond the pay cable freedoms that often bog down lesser shows in boobs, blood and sex. "Black Sails" steers itself out of that realm after a few episodes and makes a play for bigger, more complicated stories". Robert Lloyd of the "Los Angeles Times" said, ""Black Sails" is a pirate treasure. The Starz series vividly depicts the daily life of pirates." Jeff Jensen of "Entertainment Weekly" said, "Not even a guilty pleasure, "Black Sails" is arrrrrr-estingly good". Tom Long of the "Detroit News" commented "Alliances are made and broken, power shifts go this way and that, blood is spilled, and wenches keep wenching. It's oddly addictive, and the cast—made up mostly of British, Australian, and Canadian actors—is as sharp as you'd expect from pay cable".


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: Conversely, Brian Lowry of "Variety" said, ""Black Sails" never quite takes off, developing into a tired treasure hunt with indifferent casting and stock characters. Counting Michael Bay among its producers, this South Africa–lensed production might tempt adventure-seeking viewers to plunge into its crystal-blue waters, but despite some handsome aspects, the show ultimately proves as hollow as its CGI-rendered ships". Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club said, ""Black Sails" is a handsome illusion at times, but it rarely finds its way beyond that."


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: The second season holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 8.7/10. Neil Genzlinger of "The New York Times" said, "Starz knows the formula for these costume-heavy action dramas from experience with shows like "Spartacus" and "Camelot". And that formula is executed with particular skill in "Black Sails", thanks to some strong performances and an exploration of the consequences of greed that could have come out of modern-day Wall Street".


title: Black Sails (TV series)

text: Season four holds a 80% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: ""Black Sails" marks 'X' and hits the spot during a swashbuckling final season that maintains the series' penchant for rum-soaked spectacle while gracefully delivering these roguish characters to their destinies."


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs (Bos primigenius) ( or ) is an extinct cattle species, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of the largest herbivores in the Holocene; it had massive elongated and broad horns that reached in length.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs was part of the Pleistocene megafauna. It probably evolved in Asia and migrated west and north during warm interglacial periods. The oldest known aurochs fossils found in India and North Africa date to the Middle Pleistocene and in Europe to the Holstein interglacial. As indicated by fossil remains in Northern Europe, it reached Denmark and southern Sweden during the Holocene. The aurochs declined during the late Holocene due to habitat loss and hunting, and became extinct when the last individual died in 1627 in Jaktorów forest in Poland.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs is depicted in Paleolithic cave paintings, Neolithic petroglyphs, Ancient Egyptian reliefs and Bronze Age figurines. It symbolised power, sexual potency and prowess in religions of the ancient Near East. Its horns were used in votive offerings, as trophies and drinking horns.


title: Aurochs

text: Two aurochs domestication events occurred during the Neolithic Revolution. One gave rise to the domestic cattle ("Bos taurus") in the Fertile Crescent in the Near East that was introduced to Europe via the Balkans and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Hybridisation between aurochs and early domestic cattle occurred during the early Holocene. Domestication of the Indian aurochs led to the zebu cattle ("Bos indicus") that hybridised with early taurine cattle in the Near East about 4,000 years ago. Some modern cattle breeds exhibit features reminiscent of the aurochs, such as the dark colour and light eel stripe along the back of bulls, the lighter colour of cows, or an aurochs-like horn shape.


title: Aurochs

text: The Old High German words "ūr" meaning "primordial" and "ohso" for "ox" were compounded to "ūrohso", which became the early modern "Aurochs".


title: Aurochs

text: The use of the plural form "" in English is a direct parallel of the German plural "Ochsen" and recreates the same distinction by analogy as English singular "ox" and plural "oxen". "Aurochs" is both the singular and the plural term used to refer to the animal.


title: Aurochs

text: The scientific name "Bos primigenius" was proposed for the aurochs by Ludwig Heinrich Bojanus in 1827 who described the skeletal differences between the aurochs and domestic cattle.


title: Aurochs

text: The name "Bos namadicus" was used by Hugh Falconer in 1859 for cattle fossils found in Nerbudda deposits.


title: Aurochs

text: "Bos primigenius mauritanicus" was coined by Philippe Thomas in 1881 who described fossils found in deposits near Oued Seguen west of Constantine, Algeria.


title: Aurochs

text: In 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature placed "Bos primigenius" on the "Official List of Specific Names in Zoology" and thereby recognized the validity of this name for a wild species.


title: Aurochs

text: Calibrations using fossils of 16 Bovidae species indicate that the Bovini tribe evolved about . The "Bos" and "Bison" genetic lineages are estimated to have genetically diverged from the Bovini about .


title: Aurochs

text: The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic relationships of the aurochs based on analysis of mitochondrial DNA genomes of 12 bovine species:


title: Aurochs

text: The cold Pliocene climate caused an extension of open grassland, which supported the evolution of large grazers. "Bos acutifrons" is a possible ancestor of the aurochs, of which a fossil skull was excavated in the Sivalik Hills in India that dates to the Early Pleistocene about . Fossils of the Indian aurochs were excavated in alluvial deposits in South India dating to the Middle Pleistocene. It possibly migrated west into the Middle East during the Pleistocene. An aurochs skull excavated in Tunisia’s Kef Governorate from early Middle Pleistocene strata dating about is the oldest known fossil specimen to date, indicating that the genus "Bos" might have evolved in Africa and migrated to Eurasia during the Middle Pleistocene. Middle Pleistocene aurochs fossils were also excavated in a Saharan erg in the Hoggar Mountains.


title: Aurochs

text: The earliest aurochs fossils excavated in Europe date to the Holstein interglacial 230,000 years Before Present (BP).


title: Aurochs

text: A mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that hybridisation between the aurochs and the steppe bison ("Bison priscus") occurred about 120,000 years ago; the European bison ("Bison bonasus") contains up to 10% aurochs ancestry.


title: Aurochs

text: Late Pleistocene aurochs fossils were found in Affad 23 in Sudan dating to 50,000 years ago when the climate in this region was more humid than during the African humid period.


title: Aurochs

text: Two aurochs bones found in the Romito Cave in Italy were radiocarbon dated to 20,210 and 19,351 years BP.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs bones found in a cave near San Teodoro, Sicily date to the Late Epigravettian 14,785–14,781 years BP.


title: Aurochs

text: Mesowear analysis of aurochs premolar teeth indicates that it changed from an abrasion-dominated grazer in the Danish Preboreal to a mixed feeder in the Boreal, Atlantic and Subboreal periods of the Holocene.


title: Aurochs

text: According to a 16th century description by Sigismund von Herberstein, the aurochs was pitch-black with a grey streak along the back; his wood carving made in 1556 was based on a culled aurochs, which he had received in Mazovia. In 1827, Charles Hamilton Smith published an image of an aurochs that was based on an oil painting that he had purchased from a merchant in Augsburg, which is thought to have been made in the early 16th century. This painting is thought to have shown an aurochs, although some authors suggested it may have shown a hybrid between an aurochs and domestic cattle, or a Polish steer. Contemporary reconstructions of the aurochs are based on skeletons and the information derived from contemporaneous artistic depictions and historic descriptions of the animal.


title: Aurochs

text: Remains of aurochs hair were not known until the early 1980s. Depictions show that the North African aurochs may have had a light saddle marking on its back. Calves were probably born with a chestnut colour, and young bulls changed to black with a white eel stripe running down the spine, while cows retained a reddish-brown colour. Both sexes had a light-coloured muzzle, but evidence for variation in coat colour does not exist. Egyptian grave paintings show cattle with a reddish-brown coat colour in both sexes, with a light saddle, but the horn shape of these suggest that they may depict domesticated cattle.


title: Aurochs

text: Many primitive cattle breeds, particularly those from Southern Europe, display similar coat colours to the aurochs, including the black colour in bulls with a light eel stripe, a pale mouth, and similar sexual dimorphism in colour. A feature often attributed to the aurochs is blond forehead hairs. According to historical descriptions of the aurochs, it had long and curly forehead hair, but none mentions a certain colour. Although the colour is present in a variety of primitive cattle breeds, it is probably a discolouration that appeared after domestication.


title: Aurochs

text: The proportions and body shape of the aurochs were strikingly different from many modern cattle breeds. For example, the legs were considerably longer and more slender, resulting in a shoulder height that nearly equalled the trunk length. The skull, carrying the large horns, was substantially larger and more elongated than in most cattle breeds. As in other wild bovines, the body shape of the aurochs was athletic, and especially in bulls, showed a strongly expressed neck and shoulder musculature. Therefore, the fore hand was larger than the rear, similar to the wisent, but unlike many domesticated cattle. Even in carrying cows, the udder was small and hardly visible from the side; this feature is equal to that of other wild bovines.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs was one of the largest herbivores in Holocene Europe. The size of an aurochs appears to have varied by region, with larger specimens in northern Europe than farther south. Aurochs in Denmark and Germany ranged in height at the shoulders between in bulls and in cows, while aurochs bulls in Hungary reached .


title: Aurochs

text: The African aurochs was similar in size to the European aurochs in the Pleistocene, but declined in size during the transition to the Holocene; it may have also varied in size geographically.


title: Aurochs

text: The body mass of aurochs appears to have shown some variability. Some individuals reached around , whereas those from the late Middle Pleistocene are estimated to have weighed up to . The aurochs exhibited considerable sexual dimorphism in the size of males and females.


title: Aurochs

text: The horns were massive, reaching in length and between in diameter. Its horns grew from the skull at a 60° angle to the muzzle facing forwards and were curved in three directions, namely upwards and outwards at the base, then swinging forwards and inwards, then inwards and upwards. The curvature of bull horns was more strongly expressed than horns of cows. The basal circumference of horn cores reached in the largest Chinese specimen and in a French specimen. Some cattle breeds still show horn shapes similar to that of the aurochs, such as the Spanish fighting bull, and occasionally also individuals of derived breeds.


title: Aurochs

text: A well-preserved aurochs bone yielded sufficient mitochondrial DNA for a sequence analysis, which showed that its genome consists of 16,338 base pairs. Further studies using the aurochs whole genome sequence have identified candidate microRNA-regulated domestication genes.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs was widely distributed in North Africa, Mesopotamia, and throughout Europe to the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Caucasus and Western Siberia in the west and to the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in the north.


title: Aurochs

text: Fossil horns attributed to the aurochs were found in Late Pleistocene deposits at an elevation of on the eastern margin of the Tibetan plateau close to the Heihe River in Zoigê County that date to about 26,620±600 years BP. Most fossils in China were found in plains below in Heilongjiang, Yushu, Jilin, northeastern Manchuria, Inner Mongolia, near Beijing, Yangyuan County in Hebei province, Datong and Dingcun in Shanxi province, Huan County in Gansu and in Guizhou provinces. Ancient DNA in aurochs fossils found in Northeast China indicate that the aurochs survived in the region until at least 5,000 years BP. Fossils were also excavated on the Korean Peninsula, and in the Japanese archipelago.


title: Aurochs

text: Landscapes in Europe probably consisted of dense forests throughout much of the last few thousand years. The aurochs is likely to have used riparian forests and wetlands along lakes. Pollen of mostly small shrubs found in fossiliferous sediments with aurochs remains in China indicate that it preferred temperate grassy plains or grasslands bordering woodlands. It may have also lived in open grasslands. In the warm Atlantic period of the Holocene, it was restricted to remaining open country and forest margins, where competition with livestock and humans gradually increased leading to a successive decline of the aurochs.


title: Aurochs

text: In southern Sweden, the aurochs was present during the Holocene climatic optimum until at least 7,800 years BP.


title: Aurochs

text: In Denmark, the first known local extinction of the aurochs occurred after the sea level rise on the newly formed Danish islands about 8,000–7,500 years BP, and the last documented aurochs lived in southern Jutland around 3,000 years BP.


title: Aurochs

text: The latest known aurochs fossil in Britain dates to 3,245 years BP, and it was probably extinct by 3,000 years ago.


title: Aurochs

text: The African aurochs may have survived until at least to the Roman period as indicated by fossils found in Buto and Faiyum in the Nile Delta. It was still widespread in Europe during the time of the Roman Empire, when it was widely popular as a battle beast in Roman amphitheatres. Excessive hunting began and continued until it was nearly extinct. By the 13th century, the aurochs existed only in small numbers in Eastern Europe, and hunting it became a privilege of nobles and later royals.


title: Aurochs

text: Fossils found in West Bengal indicate that the Indian aurochs may have survived until the early 12th century.


title: Aurochs

text: The gradual extinction of the aurochs in Central Europe was concurrent with the clearcutting of large forest tracts between the 9th and 12th centuries. The population in Hungary declined since at least the 9th century and was extinct in the 13th century. Subfossil data indicate that it survived in northwestern Transylvania (in Romania) until the 14th to 16th century, in western Moldavia (also in Romania) until probably the early 17th century, and in northeastern Bulgaria and around Sofia until the 17th century at most. An aurochs horn found at a medieval site in Sofia indicates that it survived in western Bulgaria until the second half of the 17th to the first half of the 18th century.


title: Aurochs

text: The last known aurochs herd lived in a marshy woodland in Poland's Jaktorów Forest. It decreased from around 50 individuals in the mid 16th century to four individuals by 1601. The last aurochs cow died in 1627 from natural causes.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs formed small herds mainly in winter, but lived singly or in smaller groups during the summer. If aurochs had social behaviour similar to their descendants, social status was gained through displays and fights, in which both cows and bulls engaged.


title: Aurochs

text: With its hypsodont jaw, the aurochs was probably a grazer, with a food selection very similar to domesticated cattle feeding on grass, twigs and acorns.


title: Aurochs

text: Mating season was in September, and calves were born in spring. The bulls had severe fights, and evidence from the Jaktorów forest shows these could lead to death. In autumn, aurochs fed up for the winter, and got fatter and shinier than during the rest of the year. Calves stayed with their mother until they were strong enough to join and keep up with the herd on the feeding grounds. They were vulnerable to predation by grey wolf ("Canis lupus"), brown bear ("Ursus arctos"), while healthy adult aurochs probably did not have to fear predators. The lion ("Panthera leo"), tiger ("Panthera tigris") and hyena ("Crocuta crocuta") were likely predators in prehistoric times. According to historical descriptions, the aurochs was swift and could be very aggressive, but not afraid of humans.


title: Aurochs

text: Acheulean layers in Hunasagi on India's southern Deccan Plateau yielded aurochs bones with cut marks.


title: Aurochs

text: An aurochs bone with cut marks induced with flint was found in a Middle Paleolithic layer at the Nesher Ramla Homo site in Israel; it was dated to Marine Isotope Stage 5 about 120,000 years ago.


title: Aurochs

text: An archaeological excavation in Israel found traces of a feast held by the Natufian culture around 12,000 years BP, in which three aurochs were eaten. This appears to be an uncommon occurrence in the culture and was held in conjunction with the burial of an older woman, presumably of some social status.


title: Aurochs

text: Petroglyphs depicting aurochs in Gobustan Rock Art in Azerbaijan date to the Upper Paleolithic to Neolithic periods.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs bones and skulls found at the settlements of Mureybet, Hallan Çemi and Çayönü indicate that people stored and shared food in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B culture.


title: Aurochs

text: Remains of an aurochs were also found in a necropolis in Sidon, Lebanon, dating to around 3,700 years BP; the aurochs was buried together with numerous animals, a few human bones and foods.


title: Aurochs

text: Seals dating to the Indus Valley civilisation found in Harappa and Mohenjo-daro show an animal with curved horns like an aurochs.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs is denoted in the Akkadian words rīmu and rēmu, both used in the context of hunts by rulers such as Naram-Sin of Akkad, Tiglath-Pileser I and Shalmaneser III; in Mesopotamia, it symbolised power and sexual potency, was an epithet of the gods Enlil and Shamash, denoted prowess as an epithet of the king Sennacherib and the hero Gilgamesh. Wild bulls are frequently referred to in Ugaritic texts as hunted by and sacrificed to the god Baal.


title: Aurochs

text: Petroglyphs depicting aurochs found in the upper Nile valley were dated to the Late Pleistocene about 16–15,000 years BP using luminescence dating and are the oldest engravings found to date in Africa.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs are part of hunting scenes in reliefs in a tomb at Thebes, Egypt dating to the 20th century BC, and in the mortuary temple of Ramesses III at Medinet Habu dating to around 1175 BC. The latter is the youngest depiction of aurochs in Ancient Egyptian art to date.


title: Aurochs

text: The aurochs is widely represented in Paleolithic cave paintings in the Chauvet and Lascaux caves in southern France dating to 36,000 and 21,000 years BP, respectively.


title: Aurochs

text: Upper Paleolithic rock engravings and paintings depicting the aurochs were also found in caves on the Iberian Peninsula dating from the Gravettian to the Magdalenian cultures.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs bones with chop and cut marks were found at various Mesolithic hunting and butchering sites in France, Luxemburg, Germany, the Netherlands, England and Denmark. Aurochs bones were also found in Mesolithic settlements by the Narva and Emajõgi rivers in Estonia. Aurochs and human bones were uncovered from pits and burnt mounds at several Neolithic sites in England.


title: Aurochs

text: A cup found in the Greek site of Vaphio shows a hunting scene, in which people try to capture an aurochs. One of the bulls throws one hunter on the ground while attacking the second with its horns. The cup seems to date to Mycenaean Greece. Greeks and Paeonians hunted aurochs and used their huge horns as trophies, cups for wine, and offerings to the gods and heroes. The ox mentioned by Samus, Philippus of Thessalonica and Antipater as killed by Philip V of Macedon on the foothills of mountain Orvilos, was actually an aurochs; Philip offered the horns, which were long and the skin to a temple of Hercules.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs were occasionally captured and exhibited in venatio shows in Roman amphitheatres such as the Colosseum. Aurochs horns were often used by Romans as hunting horns.


title: Aurochs

text: In the "Nibelungenlied", Sigurd kills four aurochs. During the Middle Ages, aurochs horns were used as drinking horns including the horn of the last bull; many aurochs horn sheaths are preserved today. The aurochs drinking horn at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge was engraved with the college's coat of arms in the 17th century.


title: Aurochs

text: An aurochs head with a star between its horns and Christian iconographic elements represents the official coat of arms of Moldavia perpetuated for centuries.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs were hunted with arrows, nets and hunting dogs, and its hair on the forehead was cut from the living animal; belts were made out of this hair and believed to increase the fertility of women. When the aurochs was slaughtered, the "os cordis" was extracted from the heart; this bone contributed to the mystique and magical powers that were attributed to it.


title: Aurochs

text: In eastern Europe, the aurochs has left traces in expressions like "behaving like an aurochs" for a drunken person behaving badly, and "a bloke like an aurochs" for big and strong people.


title: Aurochs

text: The earliest known domestication of the aurochs dates to the Neolithic Revolution in the Fertile Crescent, where cattle hunted and kept by Neolithic farmers gradually decreased in size between 9800 and 7500 BC. Aurochs bones found at Mureybet and Göbekli Tepe are larger in size than cattle bones from later Neolithic settlements in northern Syria like Dja'de el-Mughara and Tell Halula.


title: Aurochs

text: In Late Neolithic sites of northern Iraq and western Iran dating to the sixth millennium BC, cattle remains are also smaller but more frequent, indicating that domesticated cattle were imported during the Halaf culture from the central Fertile Crescent region.


title: Aurochs

text: Results of genetic research indicate that the modern taurine cattle ("Bos taurus") arose from 80 aurochs tamed in southeastern Anatolia and northern Syria about 10,500 years ago.


title: Aurochs

text: Taurine cattle spread into the Balkans and northern Italy along the Danube River and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.


title: Aurochs

text: Hybridisation between male aurochs and early domestic cattle occurred in central Europe between 9500 and 1000 BC.


title: Aurochs

text: Analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences of Italian aurochs specimens dated to 17–7,000 years ago and 51 modern cattle breeds revealed some degree of introgression of aurochs genes into south European cattle, indicating that female aurochs had contact with free-ranging domestic cattle. Cattle bones of various sizes found at a Chalcolithic settlement in the Kutná Hora District provide further evidence for hybridisation of aurochs and domestic cattle between 3000 and 2800 BC in the Bohemian region.


title: Aurochs

text: Whole genome sequencing of a 6,750-year-old aurochs bone found in England was compared with genome sequence data of 81 cattle and single-nucleotide polymorphism data of 1,225 cattle. Results revealed that British and Irish cattle breeds share some genetic variants with the aurochs specimen; early herders in Britain might have been responsible for the local gene flow from aurochs into the ancestors of British and Irish cattle. The Murboden cattle breed also exhibits sporadic introgression of female European aurochs into domestic cattle in the Alps. Domestic cattle continued to diminish in both body and horn size until the Middle Ages.


title: Aurochs

text: Aurochs fossils found at the Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Pakistan are dated to around 8,000 years BP and represent some of the earliest evidence for its domestication on the Indian subcontinent. Female Indian aurochs contributed to the gene pool of zebu ("Bos indicus") between 5,500 and 4,000 years BP during the expansion of pastoralism in northern India. The zebu initially spread eastwards to Southeast Asia.


title: Aurochs

text: Hybridisation between zebu and early taurine cattle occurred in the Near East after 4,000 years BP coinciding with the drought period during the 4.2-kiloyear event. The zebu was introduced to East Africa about 3,500–2,500 years ago, and reached Mongolia in the 13th and 14th centuries.


title: Aurochs

text: A third domestication event thought to have occurred in Egypt's Western Desert is not supported by results of an analysis of genetic admixture, introgression and migration patterns of 3,196 domestic cattle representing 180 populations.


title: Aurochs

text: In the early 1920s, Heinz Heck initiated a selective breeding program in Hellabrunn Zoo attempting to breed back the aurochs using several cattle breeds; the result is called Heck cattle.


title: Aurochs

text: Herds of these cattle were released to Oostvaardersplassen, a polder in the Netherlands in the 1980s as aurochs surrogates for naturalistic grazing with the aim to restore prehistorical landscapes. Large numbers of them died of starvation during the cold winters of 2005 and 2010, and the project of no interference ended in 2018.


title: Aurochs

text: Starting in 1996, Heck cattle were crossed with southern European cattle breeds such as Sayaguesa Cattle, Chianina and to a lesser extent Spanish Fighting Bulls in the hope of creating a more aurochs-like animal. The resulting crossbreeds are called Taurus cattle. Other breeding-back projects are the Tauros Programme and the Uruz Project.


title: Aurochs

text: However, approaches aiming at breeding an aurochs-like phenotype do not equate to an aurochs-like genotype.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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 , and a mask covering the upper half of his face.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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 , 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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". The story was originally meant as a standalone tale, and at the denouement, Zorro's true identity is revealed to all.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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, 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: "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.


title: Zorro

text: Over 40 Zorro titled films were made over the years, including "The Mark of Zorro", the 1940 classic starring Tyrone Power. The character was also featured in ten TV series, the most famous being the Disney-produced "Zorro" series of 1957–59, starring Guy Williams. 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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 () who, at first, hunt Zorro but are then won over to his cause.


title: Zorro

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


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

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


title: Zorro

text: McCulley's stories are set during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821) 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).


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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 with a system of secret passages and tunnels.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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:


title: Zorro

text: "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 , annoyed and robbed. I saw soldiers beat an old native who was my friend. And then I determined to play this game."


title: Zorro

text: "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—"


title: Zorro

text: "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."


title: Zorro

text: "It is a peculiar thing to explain, . 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?"


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: The character recalls other figures, such as Robin Hood, Reynard the Fox, Salomon Pico, 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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." 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."


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: A dispute took place in the 2001 case of "Sony Pictures Entertainment v. Fireworks Ent. Group." 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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". 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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. However the judge later reversed his decision and had the case transferred to California. 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. Cabell did not appeal.


title: Zorro

text: 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. This follows the 'Winnetou' ruling of the Office's First Board of Appeal 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. Zorro Productions, Inc. owns approximately 1300 other ZORRO related trademarks worldwide. In May 2018, Judge Edward Davila processed a complaint by Cabell to find Zorro Productions infringed copyright on his musical.


title: Zorro

text: 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 s 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." 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".


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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".


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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).


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

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


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. 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. 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), Chile (1965–1974), Italy (1969–1971), Brazil (1973–1983), France (1974–1986) and Germany (1980–1982).


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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. McGregor subsequently scripted a limited series adaptation of "The Mask of Zorro" film for Image Comics.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: In 2018, American Mythology took the license, launched the series "Zorro Legendary Adventures", written by Jean-Marie Nadaud and drawn by Robert Rigot and limited series "Zorro: Swords of Hell", written by David Avallone and illustrated by Roy Allan Martinez. 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.


title: Zorro

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


title: Zorro

text: 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:


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: Zorro

text: Alice Cooper's 1982 album "Zipper Catches Skin" includes the song "Zorro's Ascent" which is about Zorro facing his death.


title: Zorro

text: 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.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion () or The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several earlier sources, some not antisemitic in nature. It was first published in Russia in 1903, translated into multiple languages, and disseminated internationally in the early part of the 20th century. It played a key part in popularizing belief in an international Jewish conspiracy.


title: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

text: Distillations of the work were assigned by some German teachers, as if factual, to be read by German schoolchildren after the Nazis came to power in 1933, despite having been exposed as fraudulent by the British newspaper "The Times" in 1921 and the German in 1924. It remains widely available in numerous languages, in print and on the Internet, and continues to be presented by neofascist, fundamentalist and antisemitic groups as a genuine document. It has been described as "probably the most influential work of antisemitism ever written".