The Mark of Zorro (1920)

A seeming fop is really the courageous vigilante Zorro(Douglas Fairbanks), who seeks to protect the oppressed from a ruthless government...

Although Judex (1916) is technically the first Superhero film, it is in Zorro that the Tropes completely gel-the Hero now has an actual masked Alter Ego, a signature (the 'mark' he leaves on his enemies) his horse Toronado etc. More to the point, Douglas Fairbanks, with his almost uncanny athleticism, brings Zorro up from a mere vigilante to a larger-than-life Hero-and between the professional direction of filmmaker Fred Niblo, a cast of seasoned actors and stuntmen, a good script and Don Diego de la Vega/Zorro leaping from peril to peril and making it look easy...well, there are worse ways to spend 97 minutes in front of a screen! Silent, B&W.