Real Life Zorro?

Now concidering the source (Cracked.com) I am prepared to take this at face value but I have seen this story before. There was real Captain Love who did display the head of one of the Murietta brothers in a water jar.

"As we have previously pointed out, before there was Batman, there was Zorro. Zorro was first introduced to the world in 1919, by Johnston McCulley. Cracked first deemed Zorro culturally significant in 1998, when Catherine Zeta-Jones appeared in The Mask of Zorro. By day, Zorro is Diego de la Vega, a wealthy but boring, self-centered loser with no ambition or interests. However, by night, Master Bru- excuse us, Diego, dons his signature costume, emerges from his underground hideout and enforces justice throughout California, punishing the criminals and evading the authorities. Zorro is athletic and sly, sly like a fox ('cause that's what his name means).

The Real Guy: Joaquin Murrieta"


"In the 19th century, Joaquin Murrieta was the leader of an outlaw group known as "The Five Joaquins," consisting of--and we're serious here--himself and four other dudes name Joaquin. The gang allegedly committed numerous thefts throughout Sierra Nevada; legend has it that the group used the money to provide the impoverished people of California with assistance. Sadly, this didn't go over too well with the governor, and he created a posse to catch Murrieta and his companions. The posse claimed to confront Murrieta, killing him, and, in the old-school style of law and order, severing his head to prove that they did the deed. Strangely, this scene was never included in the Disney television series of Zorro, though Hollywood did give a shout-out to Murrieta by including a character by that name in The Mask of Zorro (who does in fact get killed and beheaded)."


"Murrieta quickly became a legend and folk hero, developing a reputation as an outlaw vigilante who fought for justice. Some stories claim that his quest started when his wife was attacked, but that the white-bread establishment of the time wouldn't let him testify against her attackers. The writers of Zorro had their inspiration, and we don't blame them. That sounds like a superhero origin story to us, too."

http://www.cracked.com/article/99_5-badass-movie-characters-you-didnt-know-were-real-people/