History MagnificentBastard / SherlockHolmes

-> "''He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order. He sits motionless, like a spider in the centre of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them. He does little himself. He only plans. But his agents are numerous and splendidly organized. Is there a crime to be done, a paper to be abstracted, we will say, a house to be rifled, a man to be removed--the word is passed to the professor, the matter is organized and carried out. The agent may be caught. In that case money is found for his bail or his detence. But the central power which uses the agent is never caught -- never so much as suspected. This was the organization which I deduced, Watson, and which I devoted my whole energy to exposing and breaking up.''"

DerivativeWorks/SherlockHolmes has faced countless criminals over the years, and though he is often quick to deduce their plots and schemes, it's elementary, dear viewer, to realize that a [[MagnificentBastard select few of his opponents are beyond the pale in intelligence and charm]], often in the form of Holmes' greatest rival, James Moriarty.

** Louis James Moriarty, the youngest of the three James Moriarty brothers, brings a ruthless, efficient practicality to the Lord of Crime's name, balancing out his brothers' theatrical flair with an ever-questioning mind hunting for weaknesses in their murderous plots. His massive case of BigBrotherWorship means he'd follow his older brothers to the ends of the earth and off it, but his true magnificence shines once TheGlassesComeOff and he [[TakingUpTheMantle takes over his brothers' roles as head of the Moriarty syndicate and MI6]] without either of them to rely on for help. Louis proves himself a true leader with no interest or attention to spare toying with his enemies when he could shut them down before a bystander has a chance to even notice something awry.

Franchise/SherlockHolmes has faced countless criminals over the years, and though he is often quick to deduce their plots and schemes, it's elementary, dear viewer, to realize that a [[MagnificentBastard select few of his opponents are beyond the pale in intelligence and charm]], often in the form of Holmes' greatest rival, James Moriarty.

* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': [[VillainProtagonist William James Moriarty]] himself is the criminal mastermind behind the "Lord of Crime" terrorizing the British Empire. He officially begins his crime spree at only eleven years old with the murder of original William James Moriarty and his entire family, taking the boy's name, family, and title to further his own goals. Even before he turned his hand to murder, he planned thefts in exchange for money, baked goods, any good turn someone could pass onto him, and cornered a noble in a court of law to threaten a man's life until William was promised all his worldly possessions, only to donate the money entirely to charity. As an adult, he is set on turning all of London into a stage for his great play to reveal the horrors rotting the aristocracy to show the abusive ruling class who the true devils in London are. William consults with those looking to plan a murder of their own if only it's interesting enough, serves his purposes, and they're willing to offer him their life in payment. William even charms the GreatDetective, Literature/SherlockHolmes himself into becoming his pawn, stringing him along like a puppet, all to save the country from its own corruption, and he won't be caught until his FailureGambit comes to fruition and seals his victory.

* ''Film/HolmesAndWatson'': [[TheDogWasTheMastermind Rose Hudson]] poses as [[BunnyEarsLawyer Sherlock Holmes]]' housekeeper to study him. Secretly the abandoned [[DaddysLittleVillain daughter]] of Professor James Moriarty, Hudson seeks to impress her father by doing what he could not: defeating Holmes. Through her criminal network, Hudson sends Holmes and his companion, Dr. John Watson, on a wild goose chase while she plots to kill [[UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria the Queen]]. Fooling Holmes into declaring Watson the culprit, she captures the arrested Watson and forces him to write about her victory before planting a bomb to kill the Queen aboard the ''Titanic'', coming within literal seconds of success.

* ''Literature/AStudyInEmerald'': "Rache" is the murderer of [[AssholeVictim Prince Franz Drago]], a revolutionary seeking to tear down the [[EldritchAbomination Great Old Ones]]. Rache [[LuredIntoATrap lures the Prince into a trap]] by promising him a girl to feed upon, whereupon Drago is led to Rache's partner to be murdered. When the detective of the story tracks Rache down under the alias Sherry Varnet, Rache easily deduces his true identity and eludes capture, throwing the country into uproar while he simply hides in the rookery of St. Giles where the police don't dare tread. While ruthless, Rache is dedicated to the defeat of the Old Ones, being in actuality the detective Franchise/SherlockHolmes as an anarchist in this dark world.

** Volume 1's "The Legend of the Yeth Hound", by Mark C. Richardson: [[HumanoidAbomination The Huntsman]] is a being of [[{{Satan}} supernatural origin]] who travels with his pack of [[HellHound demonic Yeth hounds]]. Getting [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters Sir Hugo Baskerville]]'s attention by allowing himself to be captured and tortured by him, the Huntsman escapes his shackles and makes a deal with Hugo, promising to help him claim the Roundhead's throne in return for a good hunt. Springing into action when Hugo's men appear to be losing, the Huntsman effortlessly slaughters the entire Roundhead family, allowing Hugo to claim leadership. Promising Hugo that he'll claim his reward someday, the Huntsman eventually sends one of his hounds [[KickTheSonOfABitch to tear an unsuspecting Hugo’s throat out]].

* ''Literature/SherlockHolmesAndDoctorWasNot'': "Curtain Call" by J. Scherpenhuizen: [[Theatre/DoctorFaustus Dr. Johann Faustus]] returns from Hell, acting as {{Satan}}'s emissary on Earth and aids Literature/SherlockHolmes in taking down James Moriarty to consolidate his own criminal empire. Taking the alias [[Film/DrMabuseTheGambler Dr. Hieronymus Mabuse]] after killing him, he hypnotizes a man into believing he committed the murder and later manipulates him into killing Moriarty and himself. Revealing to Holmes his true nature, "Mabuse" sees he escapes karmic punishment while being the true mastermind behind the Great Detective's victory.

** [[GreatDetective Sherlock Holmes]] himself is as brilliant and witty as ever. An extremely talented and gifted detective, Sherlock started his career by solving many difficult cases for the police, bringing criminals to justice and using his talents to outwit everyone he meets. Discovering the true cause behind his mother's death and returning to London, Sherlock befriended Dr. John H. Watson and continued to solve various mysteries with his help. Defeating many criminals, including cult of Cthulhu, Arsene Lupin and Jack The Ripper, Sherlock was at his most ruthless in VideoGame/TheTestamentOfSherlockHolmes, where upon uncovering Professor Moriarty's scheme to take over England and frame him for various crimes, Sherlock decided to play along to lure Moriarty into a sense of security, allowing several innocent people to die, killing Moriarty spy, Inspector Baynes, and then faking his own death, leaving clues so that Watson could save him from thugs in time, after which they destroy Moriarty's base and stop his scheme, with Moriarty ending up dead and Holmes adopting his daughter to abide to his nemesis's dying wish. Afterwards continuing to solve crimes without fail and then easily defeating the terrorist group called The Merry Men, Sherlock proves himself as the most talented detective in London.

[[AC:Literature]]

[[AC:Manga]]
* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': [[VillainProtagonist William James Moriarty]] himself is the criminal mastermind behind the "Lord of Crime" terrorizing the British Empire. He officially begins his crime spree at only eleven years old with the murder of original William James Moriarty and his entire family, taking the boy's name, family, and title to further his own goals. Even before he turned his hand to murder, he planned thefts in exchange for money, baked goods, any good turn someone could pass onto him, and cornered a noble in a court of law to threaten a man's life until William was promised all his worldly possessions, only to donate the money entirely to charity. As an adult, he is set on turning all of London into a stage for his great play to reveal the horrors rotting the aristocracy to show the abusive ruling class who the true devils in London are. William consults with those looking to plan a murder of their own if only it's interesting enough, serves his purposes, and they're willing to offer him their life in payment. William even charms the GreatDetective, Literature/SherlockHolmes himself into becoming his pawn, stringing him along like a puppet, all to save the country from its own corruption, and he won't be caught until his FailureGambit comes to fruition and seals his victory.

[[AC:Comic Books]]

[[AC:Film]]
* ''Film/TheBakerStreetDozen: Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman'': [[WhiteCollarCrime Adrea Spedding]], fittingly described by Holmes as a female Moriarty, is the ringleader behind an InsuranceFraud scheme. [[FalseFriend Falsely befriending wealthy gamblers]] who were down on their luck, Spedding tricks them into pawning off their life insurance with accomplices of hers. Then, she would have the deadly spider, Lycosa Carnivora, sneak into their rooms and bite them, collecting the life insurance benefits for her gang. Quickly [[IKnowYouKnowIKnow seeing through Holmes' attempts to spy on her]], Spedding subtly causes him and Watson to nearly suffocate to death in their own office buying time for her to pre-emptively destroy a lead before Holmes can follow up on it. When Holmes tails her at a fairground, Spedding allows the detective to tail her to her hideout, only to have the gang ambush him and tie him behind a shooting gallery so that he can be accidentally killed by Watson. Being defeated thanks to luck combined with Holmes' quick thinking, Spedding [[GracefulLoser accepts defeat gracefully]] before allowing herself to be arrested.

[[AC:Live-Action TV]]

[[AC:Western Animation]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerryMeetSherlockHolmes'': [[GadgeteerGenius Professor Moriarty]] is once again the brilliant ArchEnemy of Literature/SherlockHolmes, depicted here as a skilled {{steampunk}} inventor. Planning to steal the riches of the Tower of London, Moriarty has his cat henchmen go on a robbing spree and steal diamonds from stores and museums using his creations, while leaving clues implicating singer Red as the culprit. Intentionally getting Holmes involved just to get rid of him, Moriarty sets up one robbery with a series of clues that lead the detective in a literal wild goose chase. Upon being found out by Tom and Jerry, Moriarty captures them via {{booby trap}}s and reveals his scheme: use the diamonds to power a makeshift solar laser, hire someone to place mirrors that lead to the Tower of London, and blow a hole in it so that he and his goons can steal the riches. Even after Tom, Jerry and Tuffy escape and Holmes gets involved again, Moriarty manages to fight them using his inventions, only being thwarted by his carriage being thrown off a bridge into water.

-->--'''Sherlock Holmes''' on '''Professor James Moriarty''', ''The Final Problem''

Sherlock Holmes has faced countless criminals over the years, and though he is often quick to deduce their plots and schemes, it's elementary, dear viewer, to realize that a [[MagnificentBastard select few of his opponents are beyond the pale in intelligence and charm]], often in the form of Holmes' greatest rival, James Moriarty.

Sherlock Holmes has faced countless criminals over the years, and though he is often quick to deduce their plots and schemes, it's elementary, dear viewer, to realize that a [[MagnificentBastard select few of his opponents are beyond the pale in intelligence and charm]], often in the form of Holmes' greatest rival, James Moriarty."

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* Manga/MoriartyThePatriot: [[VillainProtagonist William James Moriarty]] himself is the criminal mastermind behind the "Lord of Crime" terrorizing the British Empire. He officially begins his crime spree at only eleven years old with the murder of original William James Moriarty and his entire family, taking the boy's name, family, and title to further his own goals. Even before he turned his hand to murder, he planned thefts in exchange for money, baked goods, any good turn someone could pass onto him, and cornered a noble in a court of law to threaten a man's life until William was promised all his worldly possessions, only to donate the money entirely to charity. As an adult, he is set on turning all of London into a stage for his great play to reveal the horrors rotting the aristocracy to show the abusive ruling class who the true devils in London are. William consults with those looking to plan a murder of their own if only it's interesting enough, serves his purposes, and they're willing to offer him their life in payment. William even charms the GreatDetective, Literature/SherlockHolmes himself into becoming his pawn, stringing him along like a puppet, all to save the country from its own corruption, and he won't be caught until his FailureGambit comes to fruition and seals his victory.

[[AC:Comics]]

* ''Series/SherlockHolmes'': "The Six Napoleons": [[WildCard Beppo Cicollini]] is an Italian craftsman and low-level criminal connected to TheMafia. When the Venucci family endeavored to steal the Black Pearl of the Borgias from the Colonna royal family, Beppo acted as a go-between for the family and the patriarch's daughter Lucrezia, who was a maid for the Princess of Colonna and whom Beppo had been courting. Obtaining enough information to steal the Pearl, Beppo covers his tracks well enough that Holmes himself is unable to find him. Fleeing into his workplace after a fight with Lucrezia's brother Pietro, Beppo [[HastilyHiddenMacGuffin hides the Pearl among a batch of six busts]] of Napoleon Bonaparte before being arrested. Released from prison a year later, Beppo sets out to recover the pearl. [[TheCharmer Charming his way]] into employment with seller Morse Hudson with the help of a cousin, Beppo systematically locates each bust and breaks them to find the pearl, taking careful measures to avoid being discovered. Killing Pietro when the latter accosted him outside one of the burglaries, Beppo [[NearVillainVictory nearly found the Pearl again]] before being arrested and executed for his crimes.

* ''Literature/SherlockHolmesAndDoctorWasNot'': In "Curtain Call" by J. Scherpenhuizen, [[Theatre/DoctorFaustus Dr. Johann Faustus]] returns from Hell, acting as {{Satan}}'s emissary on Earth and aids Literature/SherlockHolmes in taking down James Moriarty to consolidate his own criminal empire. Taking the alias [[Film/DrMabuseTheGambler Dr. Hieronymus Mabuse]] after killing him, he hypnotizes a man into believing he committed the murder and later manipulates him into killing Moriarty and himself. Revealing to Holmes his true nature, "Mabuse" sees he escapes karmic punishment while being the true mastermind behind the Great Detective's victory.

** [[TheGreatDetective Sherlock Holmes]] himself is the brilliant, aloof [[PrivateDetective consulting detective]] who uses his [[SherlockScan mastery of deduction]] to manipulate, plot and outwit his way through London's worst criminal minds. Having honed his [[AwesomenessByAnalysis analytical skills]] since childhood in which he solved mysterious happenings even then, Holmes spends his adulthood assisting the Scotland Yard in taking down the most devious of criminals just to alleviate his own boredom with the challenge, Holmes rarely finding anyone to be a match for his prowess. Able to figure out entire cases from mere moments of time on a scene or witness statements, Holmes often devises ingenious ploys that involve [[MasterOfDisguise masterfully disguising himself]], turning criminals on each other, or just using the most simple of tactics to entrap his prey. [[GracefulLoser Always willing to admit]] when he's met his match in the likes of Irene Adler or James Moriarty and never swearing his goals to the law itself, Holmes will let killers go free, use innocents as bait, and commit other various felony offenses if it suits his personal moral code. In one of his most innovative ploys, Holmes staged his own death for years, using it to dismantle an entire global criminal organization before returning to his old life and friend John Watson to fight evil for years to come. Defining a generation of detective stories and considered by many to be the greatest crime solver in fiction, Sherlock Holmes is a classic literary character defined by intelligence, charisma and cold genius.