Vigilantism in the context of "Bald Knobbers"

The Great Kantō Earthquake (Japanese: 関東大地震, romanized: Kantō daijishin or 関東大震災, Kantō daishinsai) was a megathrust earthquake that struck the Kantō Plain on the main Japanese island of Honshu at 11:58:32 JST (02:58:32 UTC) on Saturday, 1 September 1923. It had an approximate magnitude of 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale (M_w), with its epicenter located some 100 km (62 mi) southwest of the capital Tokyo. The earthquake devastated Tokyo, the port city of Yokohama, and surrounding prefectures of Kanagawa, Chiba, and Shizuoka, and caused widespread damage throughout the Kantō region.

The event was a complex disaster, with modern research indicating it consisted of three consecutive shocks in the span of several minutes. The initial megathrust event in Kanagawa Prefecture was followed three minutes later by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake centered beneath Tokyo Bay, and two minutes after that by a magnitude 7.3 shock in Yamanashi Prefecture. Fires, exacerbated by strong winds from a nearby typhoon, spread rapidly through the densely populated urban areas, accounting for the majority of the devastation and casualties. The death toll is estimated to have been between 105,000 and 140,000 people, including tens of thousands who went missing and were presumed dead. Over half of Tokyo and nearly all of Yokohama were destroyed, leaving approximately 2.5 million people homeless. The disaster triggered widespread social unrest, including the Kantō Massacre, in which ethnic Koreans and others mistaken for them were murdered by vigilante groups based on false rumors.

The Spirit is a fictional masked crimefighter appearing in American comic books. Created by cartoonist Will Eisner, he first appeared as the main feature of a tabloid-sized comic book insert distributed in the Sunday edition of Register and Tribune Syndicate newspapers. Popularly referred to as "The Spirit Section", the insert ran from June 2, 1940 to October 5, 1952.

The Spirit is the alias of Denny Colt, a private investigator and criminologist based in the fictional Central City, who falls into suspended animation while trying to apprehend the mad scientist Dr. Cobra. Officially pronounced dead, Colt revives after being interred in Wildwood Cemetery. With the blessing of his old friend, police Commissioner Eustace Dolan, Colt becomes a domino mask-wearing "friendly outlaw" who pursues criminals that might otherwise escape capture by traditional law enforcement. The Spirit usually does not possess any superpowers, but relies on his wits and physical prowess, as well as the myth of his supposed resurrection, in his battles against evildoers. He frequently encounters femme fatales over the course of his adventures, including serial seducer P'Gell, thief-turned-troubleshooter Silk Satin, and his estranged childhood friend Sand Saref; he also comes into conflict with his archenemy the Octopus, an unseen criminal mastermind. Other supporting characters include Ellen Dolan, Commissioner Dolan's headstrong daughter and the Spirit's primary love interest, and his recurring sidekick Ebony White, a young, diminutive cab driver.

Zorro (Spanish: [ˈsoro] or [ˈθoro], Spanish for "fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo de Los Ángeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and Indigenous peoples of California against corrupt, tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a Cordovan hat (sombrero cordobés), and a mask covering the upper half of his face.

In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but he is too skilled and cunning for the bumbling authorities to catch and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. The townspeople thus started calling him "El Zorro", because of his fox-like cunning and charm. Zorro is an acrobat and an expert in various weapons. Still, the one he employs most frequently is his rapier, which he often uses 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 named Tornado.