The Mark of Zorro

In the sun-drenched, Spanish-ruled California of the early 1800s, a tyrannical governor's iron fist crushes the spirit of the land, leaving its native peoples abused, its clergy mistreated, and its gentry disrespected. Enter Don Diego Vega, a refined aristocrat seemingly more interested in finding a suitable bride than confronting injustice. Yet, by night, a different figure emerges: the masked, sword-wielding Zorro, a swashbuckling vigilante who rides the moonlit highways, carving his mark of justice into the fabric of a corrupt society. This origin story, originally serialized as *The Curse of Capistrano*, introduces the dual identity of a hero determined to restore balance to a frontier world teetering on the brink.