The Mark of Zorro is a silent swashbuckler movie starring Douglas Fairbanks. The 1940 remake was identified in 1986 as the film which a young Bruce Wayne saw in Monarch Theatre the night his parents were shot dead by Joe Chill in the alley at Park Row.
Batman History
1986 Dark Knight limited series
This was the film Bruce Wayne watched on the night of his parents' death. As an old man forced into retirement, Bruce watched late-night film reruns. One night, this film played on the television and Bruce was caught watching it as he did not consult with the TV schedule. As Bruce tried forcing himself to watch it, he had PTSD flashbacks to watching his parents murdered by Joe Chill, leading to his repressed Batman persona resurfacing. Years later when confronting Lex Luthor, Wayne carved a Z into his face with the bladed scallops of his cape.
New Earth
The Mark of Zorro was the film which Bruce watched with his parents at the Monarch Theatre on the night of their death. One of Dr. Thomas Wayne's last words to Bruce was, "They'd probably throw someone like Zorro in Arkham" in response to Bruce's idolization of the masked vigilante.
Zur-En-Arrh
Bruce enlisted himself to assist in isolation experiments conducted by government scientist, Doctor Simon Hurt. Unknown to Batman, Hurt was actually his evil relative Dr. Thomas Hurt who used the misheard last words of Bruce's father to create the violent alternate-personality, "The Batman of Zur-En-Arrh" (the planet's name coming from Zorro-In-Arkh(am)).
Blades
Batman became enemies with former stunt-man Hudson Pyle, the second incarnation of the villainous, "Cavalier". Pyle primarily used swords and dressed in a Zorro inspired outfit, while keeping several Zorro posters within his apartment.
Batman and Son
Throughout this period of Bruce's life, he frequently was exposed to the words, "Zur-En-Arrh" though whether this was imagined or intentionally left by Doctor Hurt is unknown.
The Return of Bruce Wayne
After Bruce's apparent death at the hands of Darkseid, he was actually sent back in time. Upon fighting his way back to modern-day Gotham, Doctor Hurt's hypnotic trigger caused him to become the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh, while accompanied by the hallucinated, "Bat-Mite". These personalities naturally subsided as Bruce fought Doctor Hurt and his Black Glove cult, stopping them from lobotomizing Nightwing in Arkham Asylum.
Dark Knight vs. White Knight
During the events of this story, Bruce arranged for a movie night in Wayne Manor for himself, Dick Grayson, Alfred Pennyworth, Tim Drake and Damian Wayne to watch The Mark of Zorro. When Dick asked if Bruce was in the right headspace to watch the film, Bruce responded by saying that up until Joe Chill came in, it was the best day of Bruce's life because he got to watch a film with both of his otherwise busy parents.
Prime Earth
In Prime Earth continuity, The Mark of Zorro is the film which Bruce watched on the night of his parents' deaths.
Endgame
When Joker planned to sever his relationship with Batman by releasing a Joker Virus created by Dr. Paul Dekker on Gotham, he lured Bruce to a hospital. In this hospital, Joker created an expressionist set modelled after Crime Alley with large theatre doors labelled, "Zorro". Joker then had a Jokerized Joe Chill try to shoot the parents of Duke Thomas dead in-front of him and Bruce, only for them to be saved by Bruce.
Background Information and Notes
Bill Finger cited Douglas Fairbanks as an influence on Bruce Wayne, but he never mentioned the word Zorro as an influence on the creation of Batman. This means the Robin Hood and Thief of Bagdad movies Fairbanks made would be equally valid as the movie the Waynes went to see. Most writers tend to use the 1940 remake starring Tyrone Power due to talkies being more popular than silent movies, even though it was not released util after Batman was actually created in 1939. Frank Miller selected this movie based on claims made by Bob Kane that the Zorro character was used as the template for Bill Finger's creation of Bruce Wayne, rather than The Shadow as it was in reality. Zorro is one of many pulp characters that borrow from the Scarlet Pimpernel literary template of the wealthy playboy with a secret swashbuckling identity by night. It is likely that Jenette Kahn preferred referencing Zorro to the Shadow due to DC being legally dependent on following Kane's narrative.
In other media
Film
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: In the opening of this film, the Waynes walk out from watching the 1940 Mark of Zorro. Next to it is a poster for John Boorman's Excalibur which fits what would've been playing during Ben Affleck's childhood in 1981.
- Joker: Above Monarch Theatre, the films Blow Out (1981) and Zorro, The Gay Blade (1981) are listed as being shown when the Waynes get shot.
Television
- Batman: The Brave and the Bold: In the episode Chill of the Night!, Phantom Stranger takes Bruce back to the night that he and his family went to watch Mark of Zorro. Bruce says to his father that he wants to be Zorro when he grows up.
- Justice League Unlimited: The Mark of Zorro is the film which Bruce and his parents were watching in a flashback induced by the alien plant Black Mercy. While exiting the theatre, Bruce played out sword-fighting. The film is indirectly referenced by Amanda Waller as a, "a rousing adventure film" when explaining how she planned to have Phantasm assassinate Terry McGinnis' parents outside a multiplex theatre playing, "The Grey Ghost Strikes".
- Gotham: In this continuity, the 1920 silent version of The Mark of Zorro starring Douglas Fairbanks was the film that the Waynes watched at the Monarch Theatre. In the episode Legend of the Dark Knight: Ace Chemicals, Jeremiah Valeska dressed up as Zorro and filmed his own version of The Mark of Zorro to taunt Bruce.
Trivia
- In the film Batman (1989), Bruce and his parents went out to watch the musical Footlight Frenzy. In Batman Begins (2005), they don't see a movie at-all and instead watched the opera Mefistofele.
- The Batman villain El Flamingo was described by their creator Grant Morrison as being an, "Evil Zorro". Flamingo is similar to the second Cavalier in this capacity.
- In The Batman (2022), Batman is referred to jokingly as, "Zorro".
- The film featured actor Basil Rathbone who is one of the namesakes of classic Batman Villain Basil "Clayface" Karlo.
- The minor super-villain "The Designer" from the controversial storyline, "Joker War" is shown fighting an old adversary, clearly modelled after Zorro. The Designer himself dresses in a cape and uses a rapier, similar to characters of the Zorro franchise.
- In the ABC television version of Zorro, Zorro's villainous uncle Esteban de la Cruz was portrayed by Cesar Romero who also played Joker in the Dozier television series.