Characters / Moriarty the Patriot

Moriarty and his crew on the cover of chapter one.

This page contains character-specific tropes for the recurring characters of Moriarty the Patriot.

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James Moriarty

As a Group

• The Family That Slays Together: Invoked. William, Louis, and Albert discuss that their first murder together will bond them as "accomplices, associates, and family."
• Family Theme Naming: The Moriarty brothers all share the middle name "James," as the original Professor Moriarty was named "James Moriarty," but strangely enough, so were his brothers.
• Siblings in Crime: The Moriarty brothers work collectively as "The Lord of Crime."

William James Moriarty

^{Click here for his appearance after the time skip}

Voiced by: Soma Saito, Shizuka Ishigami [child] (Japanese); Aaron Dismuke, Emily Neves [child] (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Arturo Castañeda (Latin American Spanish), André Sauer (Brazilian Portuguese)

"I, William James Moriarty, crime consultant, have come to bestow upon you your punishment."

The protagonist of the series, Professor William James Moriarty teaches mathematics at Durham University while also planning crimes that he hopes will end systemic inequality in Britain.

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• Acting Your Intellectual Age: William helps out a lot with the kids at the orphanage when he was young, teaching them and other kids on the street, and even the adults. He is quiet, well-read, and unusually self-sufficient for someone barely ten.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: There is no indication in the original Sherlock Holmes stories that Professor Moriarty has These Hands Have Killed and Be All My Sins Remembered-style self-loathing, but William is actively suicidal for a significant portion of the series.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: In this adaptation, Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes met and become significant to each other before Sherlock met John Watson or had any idea at all that he ever would.
• Adaptational Heroism: He might still be a Serial Killer and criminal mastermind in this continuity, but he only targets the corrupt nobility who otherwise would have gotten away with their crimes and genuinely believes this is the only way he can save his country. Moriarty in the original Sherlock Holmes stories had no altruistic motivations, openly admitting that he does evil for evil's sake.
• Affably Evil: William is genuinely well-liked by his students, much of the upper class, his coworkers, and the people of Durham as a very kind, polite, and charming young man.
• Affectionate Nickname:
  • Sherlock quickly picks up calling his new friend "Liam," which Louis loathes because of the implied familiarity.
  • Jack still calls William "Young Master Will," as he did when William was a child, with William's full permission.
  • Albert and Bond affectionately call William "Will" (although Bond uses the suffix "kun" in Japanese while Albert leaves it off).
• Agent Provocateur: William is at minimum trying to be this, someone who is vilified by everyone in Britain equally in order to unite them against himself.
• Anti-Villain: William's goals are good, his character strong and principled. His methods? Those are pretty heinous.
• Artifact Alias: Even people who know William's birth name still refer to him as William.
• The Atoner: Sherlock talks him into making up for his sin instead simply dying.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Sherlock and William have a moment with their backs to each other in a fight together against all comers.
• Badass Bookworm: William might be a professor, but he's also quite handy with a sword.
• Badass Minds Think Alike: A mostly non-action version with Sherlock: when they solve mysteries together, they come to the exact same conclusions independently of each other and handle each side of their task without prior planning. They also do this in The Adventure of the One Student when getting Bill his place at Durham University. And in The Two Criminals, they both shift to point their guns at Milverton simultaneously.
• Badass Teacher: In Dancers on the Bridge, William makes a point to rescue one of his students from an Opium Den and murder someone trying to take advantage of them.
• Bash Brothers: With Louis, particularly, notably when they are taking out the false Jack-the-Rippers.
• Be All My Sins Remembered: William tells multiple people over the course of the series that while he appreciates their affection, he does not think he is worthy of it, and largely rejects it.
• Big Brother Instinct: William is very protective of Louis and even tries to keep him out of the murder plans entirely.
• Birds of a Feather: William claims Sherlock is the only person who can understand him. They are very similar.
• Book Smart: William graduated university at a younger age than most people begin attending.
• Broken Ace: William is good at nearly everything, brilliant beyond the bounds of realism, effective in a fight, charming, popular, attractive, charismatic as hell, and everyone adores him. Except himself.
• Byronic Hero: William is a charming, charismatic man with incredible intelligence. He is also moody, depressed, and withdrawn, keeping himself and most of his internal life to himself, with a dramatic streak a mile wide and ten deep. He strives to save the entire country from evil, carrying the burden entirely himself. His life is somewhat tragic and culminates in becoming The Atoner for his own crimes and sins.
• Cheshire Cat Grin: William has an absolutely magnificent example of one when he wants to.
• The Chessmaster: As expected of any Professor Moriarty, William frequently orchestrates murders from afar rather than taking a hand in them, and even when he does, he generally has several backup plans for his subordinates.
• Child Prodigy: In flashbacks, William is show to have memorized every single play William had ever written before the age of ten, and is already acting as an advisor to kids and adults alike for pretty much all of London.
• Chronic Self-Deprecation: William has committed enough horrific crimes to view himself as the devil and worthy of dying and shrugs off anyone's arguments otherwise.
• The Chooser of the One: William very much chose Sherlock to the be hero in his story intentionally.
• Classy Cane: While William's cane is also a weapon, it functions as a stylish accessory for a young nobleman.
• Cool Teacher: William is very popular with his students, possibly in part because he's barely any older than most of them.
• Cultured Badass: Odds are high that if he can find a way to quote Shakespeare before stabbing someone, he will.
• Dark Messiah: William is compared to Jesus a lot in the series, and he is actively trying to bring piece and rid the world of evil...but he has become a kind of evil on his path there.
• Dashingly Dapper Derby: William wears a bowler hat for the first time in the series in New York, after his reformation, playing with the Dastardly Dapper Derby and continuing his record of being a Sharp-Dressed Man.
• Dastardly Dapper Derby: Played with, since the first time William wears a bowler hat is actually after his reformation and beginning his Redemption Quest.
• Dead Person Impersonation: "William James Moriarty" was the name of a boy he killed and whose identity he assumed as a child to serve his own purposes.
• Death Seeker: William believes the only way to repent for what he's done is to die in the process of saving the country. Of course, Sherlock insists he's just trying to run away from his guilt, not atone for anything.
• Detrimental Determination: William is completely devoted to his plan of saving his country through murdering the toxic members of nobility...regardless of the mental health spiral it puts him on, the devastation following his plans causes to his Criminal Found Family and loved ones, the fights he gets into with them, and his own desire to give up the plan completely to hang out with Sherlock solving mysteries. He carries through with it until his plan is complete and his life is saved entirely against his will.
• Devil Complex: Counting how many times William has referred to himself as a devil at this point is probably a drinking game that would land you in the hospital. Dramatic bastard.
• Diabolical Mastermind: William is the mastermind behind The Lord of Crime.
• Dueling Messiahs: Sherlock and William fit into this, as both are set on fixing the inequality of the world but have very different ideas on how to make that happen. Not that Sherlock ever wants to be anyone's messiah before William shoves him into the role.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: William's eyes in The Final Problem arc take on an unusually dull sheen and appear at times even black.
• Elemental Motifs: William is constantly associated with fire in a huge swath of ways, from anger, hatred, inspiration, passion, and light. He comes haloed in light and fire and is reborn in fire as "William James Moriarty" in chapter one. He uses fire as almost a preferred weapon and sees hellfire wherever he goes. In fact, he even acknowledges this motif at the end of The Valley of Fellows by comparing himself to a fire he'd watched, realizing that much life fire he needs to be able to flicker, change, and adapt to keep burning and living.
• Emotionally Tongue-Tied: When Sherlock finally confronts William about why William chose him to be his killer, William is completely incapable of verbally responding. It works out, though, because William wrote a letter expressing his feelings and friendship for Sherlock to find.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: There seems to be nothing William can't consult on: growing flowers, math, criminal activities, drugs, violins, England's many accents—he seems to know something of everything.
• Enfant Terrible: William did not appreciate being underestimated as a child, and was very much like a Venus flytrap snacking on anyone dumb enough to anger him.
• Even Evil Can Be Loved: William is well-loved by his subordinates, and Sherlock cares for him deeply as well, to the point of interfering with his own plans.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: William cares about his brothers very deeply, as well as the rest of his crew.
• Evil Counterpart: To Sherlock. While William's evilness is muddied in the series with his honorable goals and intentions, Sherlock's Goodness is equally mired and confused with oft-questionable methods to match them very closely. While the two men are very similar down to their intentions for the country, they are meant to conflict.
• Evil Genius: He is Professor Moriarty, the man to intellectually compete with Sherlock Holmes, after all.
• Evil Is Burning Hot: William sets everything on fire. Serious pyromaniac tendencies, even though it appears to be mostly used because fire is incredibly good at destroying evidence of his crimes. But his final plan even culminates in setting all of London on fire. He's also generally associated with fire as motif.
• Evil Is Petty: After Holmes casually deduces that William is a mathematician, William responds with a number of increasingly personal deductions about Holmes, including noting his drug habit.
• Evil Teacher: For all that William is a Cool Teacher who is protective of his students, he also spends much of the time he's not teaching or focused on mathematics research actively plotting or committing murders.
• Expert Consultant: William James Moriarty, Crime Consultant. Obviously a play against Sherlock as a detective consultant, but no one can argue he's not incredibly good at the job.
• Eyepatch After Time Skip: Played with a bit, in that a rather nasty eye injury is shown in Sherlock's narration before William finally reappears after the time skip, but the first time his eyepatch over his left eye is shown is when he appears after the three-year Time Skip.
• Fake Aristocrat: William's reason for his Dead Person Impersonation of the William James Moriarty he killed is to access his status as the second son of an Earl instead of the pauper boy adopted into the family.
• Family Eye Resemblance: All of the biological families in the series have strong physical traits in common, but William and Louis are the only characters in the series to have a non-natural eye color. The first chapter of the manga is even named The Scarlet Eyes in recognition of them.
• First Friend: Sherlock and William are the first people each other ever thought of as a friend.
• Foil: For Sherlock, as the series is designed around the two characters contrasting each other.
• Force and Finesse: The Finesse to Sherlock's Force. William is much more subtle than Sherlock's work.
• Freudian Excuse: William desires to bring down the entire "nobility" system through crime and murder. This motivation seems to stem from his childhood experience as an orphan from the lower-classes abused by his adoptive family (with the exception of Albert) because they refuse to acknowledge a peasant as one of their own. However, a flashback shows that William already has the idea to "cleanse" the world of evil nobles even before being taken into the Moriarty family.
• Friendly Enemy: With Sherlock. In theory, they oppose each other. However, they always interact on positive terms.
• Friendly Rivalry: Sherlock and William definitely compete with each other pretty much constantly, but they have fun every second of it.
• Friend to All Children: William might be a villain, and, okay, he definitely killed a teenager when he was a kid himself, but he's actually quite fond of children both as a kid himself and as an adult. He likes teaching them and goes out of his way to mentor them and protect them from danger. The only child he's ever hurt is the one who abused him as a child himself.
• Gaining the Will to Kill: All three Moriarty brothers go through this process with their first murder. William says killing one person is the same as killing two. But It Gets Easier.
• Gentleman and a Scholar: Genuinely Affably Evil William and his incredible aptitude for numbers is matched with his fascination with chemistry, botany, religion, philosophy, theatre, history, and astrophysics at a minimum. William seems to genuinely enjoy his time spent in intellectual pursuits and while he may be evil and introverted, he is also quite kind and friendly.
• Good with Numbers: He teaches university-level mathematics for a living. It would be rather concerning if he weren't. Most notable when he does the math for Sherlock during The Two Detectives.
• Graceful Loser: When he realizes Sherlock has arrived to their final confrontation as his friend instead of as The Great Detective, William readily admits to his defeat and smiles at Sherlock before doing his utmost to save Sherlock's life.
• Grade Skipper: William starts university at sixteen (or possibly fourteen, given that he's actually two years younger than the boy whose identity he stole).
• Grin of Audacity: William is mostly guilty of this when competing with Sherlock, but he does so relish the thought of beating him.
• Had to Be Sharp: Played with. William mentions in chapter one that he works as a consultant for others and helps them with his intellect as a "gentler" way of living than picking pockets or committing crimes. That said, he was already helping plan thefts from nobility when he said this, and he winds up in a situation where murder is the only option to save his brother's life regardless of his intentions.
• Handicapped Badass: Newly missing vision in one eye and being only recently recovered from a coma bed doesn't stop William from racing on horseback to Sherlock's rescue and defeating the bad guys.
• Healthcare Motivation: William owes Albert majorly for getting them adopted so Louis could have the necessary heart surgery. Majorly enough that when Albert asks him to help murder the rest of the Moriartys, he does.
• Heavy Sleeper: William falls into a Deep Sleep whenever he's intellectually taxed and is unable to be awoken. Miyoshi has joked on Twitter that he's even fallen asleep while teaching, eating, and in the bath.
• Hidden Agenda Villain: Played with heavily. While the audience is quite well aware of William's reasons and motivations, the "hero" of the story, Sherlock, is not, and spends much of the series questioning "Why me?" and otherwise trying to figure out what William's motivations and plans are. He knows William is the Lord of Crime—what he can't quite figure out it why.
• Hyper-Awareness: To match with Sherlock, William rarely misses anything. He can even tell Sherlock is an amateur violinist when they first meet, despite Sherlock having a violin nowhere near him.
• He Who Fights Monsters: William is abused as a street orphan as a child, which definitely informed his lack of faith in anything resembling a justice system.
• Improbable Age: William is a university professor despite only being twenty-four, and he has had the position for years.
• Internal Reformist: This is William's true plan: instead of destroying the entire British nobility system, he chose to get rid the corrupt ones and unite all the classes in hopes for reformation. Sherlock also forces an agreement on Queen Victoria to remove the House of Lords' superiority over the House of Commons.
• In the Hood: William and Louis wear hooded black cloaks when performing Lord of Crime business to conceal their fairly recognizable features and only doff them when they're in front of their murder victims. William's hood blowing out of his face allows Charles Augustus Milverton to recognize him.
• A Lighter Shade of Black: Anytime William comes up against anyone he intends to kill, but most notably against Milverton, who acts only for his own satisfaction.
• Lazy Alias: In one of the novel stories, William uses the name "Willy" to hide his identity while running a scam with Moran, which is simply too embarrassing to comment on.
• Let Off by the Detective: Sherlock actually does this a couple of times for William, as he has no actual interest in arresting him at all. In The Phantom of Whitechapel he even lies about The Lord of Crime's involvement in the case to hide it.
• Likable Villain: William managed to defy expectations and win a reader popularity poll by a landslide despite being the protagonist of the series.
• Lonely Among People: Despite having a crew and family with strong bonds of mutual love and affection, William holds himself apart from them and does not fully accept their appreciation or feel that they can understand each other.
• Loved by All: For all that he's a Serial Killer, he is adored by just about everyone. His brothers worship him, his crew devotes their lives to him and break into tears once they discover he survived the fall in The Final Problem, his students want to visit his house, Bill Hunting religiously studied his theses, Sherlock Holmes considers him a dear friend, Mycroft Holmes considers him a "true patriot" and even John Watson says he seemed like a good person when they briefly met—even after discovering the man was The Lord of Crime. Just about the only person who doesn't like him is... William James Moriarty himself.
• Magnetic Hero: For a certain definition of "hero" anyway. William is very charismatic and has convinced his entire team into Undying Loyalty to not only his cause but to him as a person. Even his rival and antagonist is fond of him.
• Manly Tears: William cries for the first time in the series after realizing how truly beautiful the world is when not consumed with hate—but unlike Albert's Single Tear, both of William's eyes, blind and not, well up silently as he stares into the horizon.
• Meaningful Rename: When he took on the name "William James Moriarty" as he does not appear to have been named "William" at birth.
• Messianic Archetype: As a Dark Messiah version, William is often compared directly to Jesus by others, and was hoping to bear the sins of removing evil from the world and die to save everyone else.
• Miles to Go Before I Sleep: William is fully prepared to die for his crimes, but first he means to carry out his mission of removing all the "devils" from the world and from Britain, saving himself for last.
• Mirror Character: William's has a bunch of these. The series loves drawing parallels, and as he's the protagonist, he's the most common target.
  • Sherlock Holmes, of course. Both nearly incomparably brilliant men, protective of the weak and set on bringing justice, change, and equality to the British Empire, and both capable of horrible, horrible acts of murder. It's invoked over and over how identical they are, by William, Sherlock, even Lestrade and Mycroft get in on the action, and the series revolves around the idea that they're two halves of one whole, and see each other in ways no one else can.
  • William and Louis start pick this up after The Final Problem once Louis takes over command of MI6 and the crew. Moneypenny, Mycroft, and even Sherlock comment on how much looking at Louis is like looking at his older brother, and how similarly they act.
  • Adam Whiteley, the kind, charismatic MP who wants to force equality into British society whether people agree with him or not, and even resorts to blackmail, with a beloved blond disabled little brother who worships him and worries about his safety constantly, and wishes to repent for his sins with death. The arc ends on Adam placing his hopes for the country on William's shoulders, knowing they both want the same thing.
  • Another one-arc mirror for William is the brilliant math prodigy Bill Hunting who works for a printing company in Durham and, like William would have been had he not been adopted by the Moriartys, unable to access the elite education his brain is capable of. William says Bill stands on the same horizon as him (in regards to math), which is the first half of a Meaningful Echo to Sherlock saying that he finally stands on the same horizon as William after uncovering the mystery of the Lord of Crime completely. It's a look at what William could have been, if things were very different, and a reminder to himself of his cause.
  • Of all people, Mary Morstan, a pretty, stoic, well-educated, well-mannered, mysterious, suspicious blonde orphan who got herself into legal trouble just trying to help people because she was too inspired by French Socialism and the Paris Commune. Like him, she found herself blackmailed by Milverton despite wanting little more than to live a quiet, peaceful life and came to Sherlock begging for his help, whom Sherlock immediately agreed to assist without asking for anything and dismissing the need for begging. She's even a governess, which, while certainly not the caliber of a university professor at an elite university at such a young age, is someone who works as a private teacher.
  • Billy is also a fellow atoner after having been a "noble criminal" seeking to help people being victimized by horrible people, was well-loved, and his dear friend, the Sheriff and representative of justice, Pat Garrett, helped him fake his own death after getting into a confrontation and not seeing another way to save Billy's life. No, that doesn't sound like William and Sherlock at all...to help William figure out what he wants to the do in the aftermath of The Final Problem.
• More than Just a Teacher: William is a mathematics professor at Durham, while also masterminding the entire Lord of Crimes organization and plotting The Perfect Crime over and over to change Britain. While he does appear to genuinely love teaching, he is also using the opportunity to steer the next generation of elites in a more wholesome direction.
• The Most Wanted: After Whiteley's death, the British government beings hunting down The Lord of Crime in earnest, and after William's name is leaked to the press, he becomes Public Enemy Number One.
• The Musketeer: As the series is toward the end of the 19th century, swords and guns were both quite common, but most characters favor one or the other. William, however, favors a Sword Cane but breaks out a revolver for a number of engagements, particularly during The Two Criminals, with no blade to be seen.
• My Beloved Minions: William is very attached to all of his underlings, from his brothers to Moran to even the newest member in Bond and the ones seen on screen least often like Moneypenny and Patterson. He refers to them as his trusted companions and even goes shopping to buy them matching gifts and one point, and he's extremely protective of each and every one of them.
• Named by the Adaptation: Moriarty and his brothers are only known as "James" in the original. Here, he is given a first name: "William."
• Necessarily Evil: William genuinely believes he's helping society, and the series doesn't exactly prove him wrong.
• The Night Owl: William is noted on more than one occasion to be up at all hours of the night working on something, be it a math thesis or criminal plots. He also seems to generally wake up later than other characters like Louis.
• Noble Demon: More so than any of his companions, William is interested in saving people. Moran also exhibits this trait, but primarily because it's what William would want of him.
• No Place for Me There: Invoked, and how. He tells Louis he was keeping him out of the Grand Plan because it would keep him pure and capable of living on in William's new, bettered world, even though Louis insists he doesn't want to live in a world without William. He tells Sherlock quite straightforwardly that he's the last devil in the world that needs to be eliminated for Great Britain to flourish.
• Odd Friendship: William considers Sherlock a sort of friend, despite being "enemies."
• Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: William and Sherlock, respectively. William is very reserved and polite most of the time to most people.
• Politically Correct Villain: William is driven to evil because of his hatred of class inequality and abuses of power. He goes out of his way to lower rents owed to him so, doesn't indulge in excess himself, fights to bring education to all, and when Bond says he's a man, well, he's damn well a man and no one had better argue about it.
• The Power of Hate: William's driving motivation. He really hates the class system and abuses of power.
• The Profiler: William profiles many of the people he comes across in the series to determine what to do with them, as well as when competing with Sherlock during The Two Detectives. His profile of Sherlock is not as accurate as he thought, however.
• Red and Black and Evil All Over: While William's default appearance is a brown suit with a red tie (and of course, his red eyes), he just as often wears a black cloak, black top hat, or a black overcoat. Red is his Color Motif.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: William and Louis, two of the most terrifying characters in the series, are the only ones with red eyes.
• Seductive Spider: Downplayed a bit—William doesn't dramatically theme himself after a spider, but he is represented by one not only in his family heraldry but in quite a few manga panels showing spider webs and bound prey. And there's an awful lot of fanservice of him in official art for a male character in a shonen manga—and the manga does note him as an attractive man.
• Self-Disposing Villain: William himself is the only character who would like for him to die, but if he has to do all the work himself, that's fine with him. His entire plan requires his downfall.
• Self-Made Myth: William's entire plan revolves around building a reputation for The Lord of Crime and then killing him off.
• Serial-Killer Killer: William targets abusers who are largely immune from the formal legal system, but most often his victims are serial killers.
• Shabby Heroes, Well-Dressed Villains: While William is almost exclusively seen in a three-piece suit, even wearing sleeve garters when necessary, Sherlock cannot remember how to tie a necktie as he hasn't worn one since his university graduation and refuses to button his shirt up to hide his collarbones.
• Sleepy Head: William has only fallen asleep randomly a handful of times in the actual manga—but the artist for the series has made a number of comics on Twitter featuring him falling asleep while eating, teaching, bathing, and says she wishes they could have fit more of it into the actual manga.
• Sneaky Spider: Just as in the original Sherlock Holmes stories, Professor Moriarty is compared to a spider, scheming and scheming behind the scenes and weaving a web of plans around Sherlock and everyone else. The Moriarty family even has three spiders on their heraldry to symbolize the three brothers.
• Soft-Spoken Sadist: While not a Sadist by any measure, William is a villain with a soft, smooth voice and a polite, reserved way of speaking. His Japanese seiyuu, Soma Saito, is good at those.
• Spirited Competitor: William enjoys facing off against Sherlock because Sherlock provides a real challenge to him.
• Spree Killer: William goes on a killing spree in The Final Problem after his name is published in the news.
• Staff of Authority: While William's cane doesn't seem to be inherently associated with his position, the fact that he is seen with it so incredibly often and no one else in the series has one emphasizes its place as his authority. Also, it's a convenient weapon.
• Stern Teacher: William cares about his students, but his exams are very difficult, and he has a low tolerance for them behaving poorly.
• The Strategist: William plans virtually all plans for his criminal organization and is so good at it Billy tries to recruit the skill to use for the Pinkertons.
• Street Urchin: Louis and William spend some time on the streets growing up, although they're also at two different orphanages. It's mentioned they (at least claimed) to have spent some time living in a library.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Louis and William have different character designs, but look so similar fans often mistake them for being twins (William is actually one year older).
• Sue Donym: In one of the novel short stories, William goes by the inscrutable alias of..."Willy."
• Sword Cane: William's preferred weapon is a sword he carries inside his Classy Cane. It's a deadly weapon that looks like simply a stylish accessory just as he himself slides into noble society, although he appears capable with a gun as well.
• Sympathetic Murderer: The entire point of the series is to write about how the famous Napoleon of Crime from Sherlock Holmes might be a compelling character with reasons behind his murder. And it mostly works.
• These Hands Have Killed: William has a lot of angst about murdering people.
• Tragic Villain: William actively wishes he did not feel his crimes were necessary to help others.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Pretty much every time we get a flashback to William as a kid, it's made very clear he's poison behind his sweet smile. While dissatisfaction with the societal status quo isn't too out there for an underprivileged orphan, the lengths William is willing to go to for it are, and his willingness to plot complicated crimes and kill people is certainly "troubling."
• The Unfettered: William hates his murders, hates what he does, and thinks of himself as evil because of it—and absolutely none of that stops him from relentlessly pursuing his goals of a better, more equal world through the plan he made himself. Even when Sherlock tempts him with the reminder of his own humanity and the potential for a fun, enjoyable life, he refuses to abandon his own principles.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Subverted. While William was a kind enough child with the same heart he carries into adulthood, he was very much advocating killing aristocracy and planning thefts even before Albert found him.
• Vigilante Man: William has given up on the legal system and taken it into his own hands.
• Villain Has a Point: William's not exactly wrong that the class system in Britain is hurting people and some people are simply immune to the justice system. Sherlock never even argues with that, just that maybe murder isn't the best way to deal with it, William.
• Villain Protagonist: Professor Moriarty is the infamous Lord of Crime.
• Visionary Villain: William's vision of the future is a beautiful one free of injustice.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Unfortunately, William has fallen into this with his murder sprees throughout London, despite his ultimate hope that it will save the country.
• Wicked Cultured: The man quotes Shakespeare while stepping out the darkness to murder people and threatening the life of a man in court.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: While William's foresight and actual maturity can be debated, given his incredibly warped political leanings, the series certainly shows him capable of planning and reasoning well beyond what a normal child of about ten would manage in flashbacks.
• Withholding Their Name: William's birth name is never shared, as he assumed the identity of the real William James Moriarty after murdering him as a child. While the series makes it very clear he has a birth name, and that it's not William, no one, even his brothers, calls him by it. In flashback sequences before he took the name of "William" he is not referred to by any name at all (even Louis only calls him "brother"), and he damaged legal documents with his name on them to hide it. The only characters who seem to know for certain what it is are his brothers and Sherlock, when William gives him his birth certificate, and they never use it.

Louis James Moriarty

^{Click here for his appearance after the time skip}

Voiced by: Chiaki Kobayashi, Nao Tōyama [child] (Japanese); Howard Wang, Laura Stahl [child] (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Héctor Mena (Latin American Spanish), André Rinaldi (Brazilian Portuguese)

"William, I want this world to become a better place, but if that world doesn't have you in it, I don't see the value in being there myself."

William's younger brother and co-conspirator. He maintains the Moriarty estate and assets for the family.

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• Acting Your Intellectual Age: While not as stunningly brilliant as William, in flashbacks Louis is another quiet, reserved, brilliant child who takes to things like sacrificing his own food for the other children at the orphanage as an adult parent might and notices things he shouldn't.
• Bash Brothers: With William, especially in The Phantom of Whitechapel.
• Big Brother Worship: Louis loves William. A lot.
• Book Smart: While not as brilliant as William, Louis himself was also a King's Scholar.
• Code Name: After the Changing of the Guard post time-skip, Louis becomes "M".
• Co-Dragons: Louis shares The Dragon role for William with Albert, deferring only to William.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Louis finds himself torn between his strict allegiance with William's plans, and the fact that William's plans would destroy his beloved brother.
• Death Glare: In the manga, his glare even comes with lightning bolt effects at times (and is usually directed at either Sherlock or Moran).
• Devious Daggers: He is most associated with knives as the character most often using them and he rarely switches to other weapons when he has a choice. He's also by far the most pragmatic of the Criminal Found Family Moriarty crew, and they conceal the same way his brother William's Sword Cane does.
• Disapproving Look: If Louis isn't giving someone a Death Glare, it's probably a disapproving look instead—unless you're one of his brothers, or he's trying to manipulate you. His default emotion seems to be "Fed up."
• Dragon Ascendant: After William falls into the Thames, Louis takes over command of The Team and takes on the role of "M" from Albert once Albert goes to prison.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Louis very devotedly loves his brothers, especially William.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: In chapter 56, Louis finally switches up his hair so his bangs are no longer covering half his face and his facial scar.
• Family Eye Resemblance: All of the biological families in the series have strong physical traits in common, but William and Louis are the only characters in the series to have a non-natural eye color. The first chapter of the manga is even named The Scarlet Eyes in recognition of them.
• Gaining the Will to Kill: All three Moriarty brothers go through this process with their first murder. Louis definitely seems the least conflicted about it. But It Gets Easier.
• The Glasses Come Off: When Louis takes his glasses off, it's always an indicator he's about to do something badass—to the point where he doesn't even wear them after the Time Skip because he's always in badass mode.
• Hate at First Sight: Louis's first meeting with Sherlock escalates to Louis considering stabbing him with lightning speed. The dislike does not appear to be reciprocated.
• Hiding Behind Your Bangs: Louis lets his long bangs fall over the right side of his face, often partially obscuring his right eye, fitting his more reserved nature. He's concealing the scar on his right cheek that he gave himself when he conspired along with his brothers William and Albert to kill his adoptive family. Ever since, Louis has been one of William's main accomplices.
• Incurable Cough of Death: Played with. Although Louis is sick, coughing, and claiming it's Definitely Just a Cold in the flashback chapters, he gets surgery and thirteen years later is quite healthy.
• In the Hood: William and Louis wear hooded black cloaks when performing Lord of Crime business to conceal their fairly recognizable features and only doff them when they're in front of their murder victims.
• Irrational Hatred: While Louis's hatred of Sherlock does have some justification in jealousy and fear for his brother, he dislikes the man far more than anyone else and complains about things that aren't even entirely accurate.
• Lazy Alias: In chapter 57, Louis James Moriarty signs into a reception desk as "Lucas J. Morgans" as if no one at all could ever connect those two names.
• Mirror Character: For his beloved brother William, at least after The Final Problem, once Louis takes over command of MI6 and the crew. Moneypenny, Mycroft, and even Sherlock comment on how much looking at Louis is like looking at his older brother, and how similarly they act.
• Morality Pet: William is protective of Louis and wants to keep him out of his schemes to protect Louis's innocence. However, once Louis convinces him that he prefers to be useful than protected, he shows that he's actually more ruthless than some of William's other henchmen.
• Named by the Adaptation: Moriarty and his brothers are only known as "James" in the original." Here, he gets the first name "Louis."
• Not What I Signed on For: William's suicide. Louis realizes very late this is part of William's plan and is unhappy enough about it to try to stop it.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: Louis suffers from this in comparison to William, especially as they seem so similar. While he seems content enough with it, the effect is potent enough that even people who have spent time with him are somewhat shocked at how competent and badass he can be when big brother isn't there.
• Politically Correct Villain: Like his brothers, Louis is driven by a desire to being equality to Great Britain and is accepting of anything a person brings as long as they're all equal and sharing a burden. When Bond declares himself a man, Louis adjusts immediately.
• Prefers Proper Names: Louis, as scrupulously reserved and polite as he generally is, refers to almost everyone as by their last name with "san" appended to it—the exceptions being Fred (who is just "Fred"), and his brothers, who are politely referred to as "nii-san" by Japanese politeness conventions. He greets Billy as Henry Antrim before being told to simply use "Billy" and even once he finally deigns to call Sherlock by his first name, he's still "Sherlock-san."
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Post time-skip. Louis certainly discusses plans with the crew far more than William ever did.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Louis is absolutely terrifying when he chooses to be, with red eyes to match William's.
• Reformed Criminal: After The Final Problem, Louis begins work for the government properly and swears off vigilantism and convenient murder.
• The Reliable One: Louis keeps house for the Moriartys, runs errands for William, is tasked with sending messages to the university on William's behalf, gets the mail, makes tea, and generally makes sure everything is in order for the Moriarty plan. While he does take a more active role in plans later in the series after confronting William about his desire to do so, he maintains this role throughout. This comes in handy when dramatic schemes are no longer necessary to save the country and instead the drudgery of maintaining peace takes center stage.
• The Resenter: Louis does not understand why William would have chosen Sherlock Holmes of all people to be the hero of his story, and he does not appreciate how much William respects Sherlock.
• Scars Are Forever: Self-inflicted in The Scarlet Eyes, Louis's facial scar never disappears as he ages, as he hoped it wouldn't.
• Scylla and Charybdis: In The Final Problem arc, Louis finds himself caught between executing William's plan and saving his brother.
• Shipping Torpedo: While the possibility of Sherlock and William having romantic feelings for each has never been explicitly addressed, Louis hates them even being friends. He thinks Sherlock is way familiar with his brother, and as grateful as he is to Sherlock for saving William, he still thinks they're "too friendly" even after saving each other's lives according to his character profile.
• Sickly Child Grew Up Strong: As a child, Louis needed heart surgery for an unnamed medical condition, but as an adult, he kicks ass and cannot be pushed around.
• Street Urchin: Louis and William spend some time on the streets growing up, although they're also at two different orphanages. It's mentioned they (at least claimed) to have spent some time living in a library.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Louis and William have different character designs, but look so similar fans often mistake them for being twins (William is actually one year older).
• Sue Donym: In The Adventure of The Empty Hearts, Louis James Moriarty goes by the name of "Lucas J. Morgans."
• Sympathetic Murderer: While Louis is often colder and more ruthless than characters like William, he is still strongly likable and much more than the murders he occasionally commits—which always have reasons.
• Taking Up the Mantle: Louis takes on the code name and role of "M" for MI6 working under Mycroft after Albert chooses prison for his sins, and takes over command of the Moriarty crew after William's apparent death.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Like his brother, Louis was far too clever as a child and always the knife at William's side threatening to hurt anyone who put them in danger.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Subverted. One would think the sickly, big-brother-worshipping blond boy would be sweet, but he was very much the knife at Albert's back for William.
• Villain Respect: While Louis has an active dislike of Sherlock for a number of reasons, he does finally credit him at the end of The Final Problem and finally expresses a respect for him.
• The Watson: Despite being a series with an actual John Watson in it, Louis actually fulfills this role (and John rarely does). Louis is frequently with William, questioning his plans or his reasoning, so William has someone to explain it to.

Albert James Moriarty

Voiced by: Takuya Sato (Japanese); Chris Guerrero (English) ^{Foreign VAs}David Allende (Latin American Spanish), André Schmidt (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Would you be able to kill for the sake of an ideal?"

William's adopted older brother and co-conspirator, Earl and the head of MI6.

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• Big Brother Instinct: Okay, so he may have killed his biological younger brother, but he is devoted to his adopted ones and willing to do just about anything to make them happy.
• Blue Blood: Albert is the only noble by birth that features as a major character in the series and is a member (however briefly) of the British House of Lords. Albert is a strong believer in noblesse oblige.
• Book Smart: Albert was mentioned to be his class valedictorian at Eton when he was 14, and like his adopted brothers, was a King's Scholar at Eton.
• Churchgoing Villain: Whether or not Albert continues to attend church as an adult, as a child he was very much convinced that the inequality of the world was wrong because all were meant to be equal in the eyes of God.
• Code Name: "M," the head of MI6 before he gives up the title to Louis.
• Co-Dragons: Albert shares this role for William with Louis.
• Cynicism Catalyst: He stops trusting people who want to befriend him after he discovers a boy he thought was his friend only hangs out with him to take advantage of his status.
• Gaining the Will to Kill: All three Moriarty brothers go through this process with their first murder. Albert mentions vomiting after his first murder. But It Gets Easier.
• Gentleman Snarker: Albert's snark primarily comes out when speaking to his old friend, Colonel Moran, but he can be quite biting when it suits him. But never in such a way that would have anyone call him out for poor manners.
• A Glass of Chianti: Albert is featured on the cover of volume five with a glass of red wine.
• It's All My Fault: Before Albert murdered anyone back as a young teenager, he was wracked with guilt by potentially causing tragedy by a twist of fate and very nearly Driven to Suicide. He also blames himself for cause William to go into murder, although William denies Albert's responsibility for this. Notably different from William's messiah complex in that William is willing to take on everyone else's sins without denying them and publicly take the blame, but Albert genuinely believes he did everything wrong.
• Mandatory Unretirement: Mycroft and the Queen attempt to pardon him and get him to come back as "M," but he refuses the offer and chooses prison instead.
• Manipulative Bastard: Albert uses this trait to get MI6 formed, although his manipulation doesn't go unnoticed by Mycroft.
• Mirror Character: To Mycroft, Sherlock’s older brother. Both eldest brothers are reserved and good and masking their emotions and are deeply fond and protective of their younger siblings. They work for the secret parts of the government together to help Britain in the shadows. They both even take on legal burdens hoping to protect their younger brother. Like Sherlock and William, they see themselves as the light and dark sides of London: Albert working in the shadows under aliases, and Mycroft openly part of the government
• Named by the Adaptation: Moriarty and his brothers are only known as "James" in the original. Here, he is given a first name: "Albert."
• Neat Freak: Albert is very fixated on things being clean and orderly.
• Obsessively Organized: Albert is fixated on things being in proper order, but the focus is more on his discomfort with "distortions" to the way the world should be properly, which makes it clear he has OCD.
• Officer and a Gentleman: Albert is one of the only genuinely well-meaning Blue Blood characters, and he works a Lieutenant Colonel in the army before his retirement to head MI6, using his soldiers to help rescue his brother William in a chessmastered ploy to create the secret service and use it to help Britain.
• Older Sidekick: For William, as Albert is three years older.
• Pen Pals: With Mycroft, oddly enough. Mycroft sent Albert letters in jail, which Albert referred to as the one light in the darkness and the sustenance for his life.
• Politically Correct Villain: Albert, like his brothers, fights for equality and sees acts of abuse and inequality as distortions on a perfect world he wishes to see.
• Rich Kid Turned Social Activist: Albert became disillusioned by the class system in Britain long before he met William and did what he could to help using his family standing.
• Self-Made Orphan: Albert murdered his biological family (and their servants) as a child.
• Self-Punishment Over Failure: After conflict of The Final Problem resolves, Albert chooses prison, rejecting a pardon, to bear William's legal punishment, acknowledging his role as the one who started William down the path to murder and that it was his request that birthed "The Lord of Crime."
• Self-Restraint: Albert's cell in The Tower seems pretty cushy, but he would have chosen prison even if it wasn't.
• Sibling Murder: He murdered his biological brother, the original William.
• Single Tear: When Albert finally cries, moved by the joy of William affirming their relationship, it comes as one single string of tears from one eye.
• Sympathetic Murderer: The family he murders are pretty hatable people, so it's not too much trouble to sympathize with him for it.
• Turn the Other Cheek: Albert tries this before he meets William; helping a man who repeatedly stole, forgiving him, paying his debts, and giving him the things he attempted to steal, only for the man to sell the goods to buy a gun, rob a bank, and kill people before dying by police. The fact that it didn't work helped drive him to villainy.
• The Unfettered: Albert is so committed to his ideals that he takes a couple of murderous orphans to help him kill his own family. Even when William's plans change from what he anticipated, he is entirely loyal to the goal and following whatever William's plan is—no matter how guilty he feels about it.
• White Sheep: Albert James Moriarty is the only nobleman of importance that is not portrayed as an evil dick. He adopts William and Louis into his household, and is the only one in his family to treat them with any sort of decency.

Team Moriarty / MI6

Sebastian Moran

Voiced by: Satoshi Hino (Japanese); Christopher Wehkamp (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Víctor Covarrubias (Latin American Spanish), Jonas Falcão (Brazilian Portuguese)

"I want to be William's one and only hero."

A former soldier recorded K.I.A. who now has devoted his life to William's goal and would follow William's orders to his death.

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• Artificial Limbs: Moran is missing his right hand due to an old war injury. He has a prosthetic that is always covered by a glove and does not appear to impede his sniping.
• Code Name: Agent 006 under M. He doesn't seem to like it.
• Cold Sniper: As usual, Moran favors a sniper rifle from Von Herder.
• Despair Event Horizon: William's fall into the Thames seems to have been this, as he disappears immediately afterward without speaking to the rest of the crew or letting them know where he is.
• Dislikes the New Guy: When Bond first joins the team, Moran is immediately unimpressed and forces him to prove himself.
• From Camouflage to Criminal: Moran had already returned from war by the time he meets William and devotes himself to William's life of crime.
• Handicapped Badass: Moran might have a prosthetic hand, but it doesn't impact either his sniping or his hand-to-hand combat skills.
• Hates Being Nicknamed: Moran vocally protests being assigned a code name as part of the MI6 organization, and thinks the rest of the code names for everyone else are also ridiculous.
• Improbable Aiming Skills: Moran is an incredible sniper that stretches the bounds of believability at times, but it's always fun to watch.
• Legally Dead: Moran was marked killed in action prior to the series.
• Personal Horror: Moran's actions during The Final Problem seem to become this for him, haunting him relentlessly years after.
• Recruited from the Gutter: While it certainly seems as though William does this a lot, the most notable example of him recruiting someone wracked by despair is Moran, who had returned from India marked Killed In Action, without the family he never fit into or the squad he'd grown to love in the military, and was shown sitting on the street in the rain when William found him.
• Sadistic Choice: William forces one of these on him unintentionally, demanding Moran to choose between helping him to his death, or sacrificing their shared ideals and Moran's loyalty.
• Scylla and Charybdis: The Final Problem arc, torn between furthering William's plan and his affection for William.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Moran's time in the army ends with a lot of trauma.
• Sniper Rifle: Moran favors a Sniper Rifle from Von Herder, which occasionally is switched out when he breaks them (which is often). It allows him to work from a distance and from concealment, just as the rest of the Lord of Crime organization does.
• Spiky Hair: Moran's hair is perpetually spiked up, showing him as the cool badass sniper.
• Survivor Guilt: Due to his active role in William's plunge into the Thames as well as his Undying Loyalty, Moran does not cope well (or at all) in the aftermath.
• Undying Loyalty: Moran is strongly defined by his loyalty to William.
• The Unfettered: Moran's loyalty to William is so strong and his commitment so rock-solid that he won't even entertain the idea of talking William out of his goals and willingly helps William to his own death. Even after he spirals wildly out of control afterward in guilt, he is willing to do anything to follow what he believes William's plans to be.

Fred Porlock

Voiced by: Yūto Uemura (Japanese); Caleb Yen (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Alan Fernando Velázquez (Latin American Spanish), Filipe Teófilo (Brazilian Portuguese)

"I want...to save all of the children."

A young criminal and information broker who works for William.

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• The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest member of William's crew is Fred, who starts the series already a well-trusted and loyal member of the organization at just nineteen, and while he's entirely competent in his role and trusted, he's also the only character consistently referred to by everyone by his first name with no honorific—even by Louis who Prefers Proper Names. Alongside his nature as The Quiet One, Moran calls him a little brother and frequently gives him advice, and he struggles a bit to voice his own opinions alongside the more seasoned members.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Most obvious in The Hunting of Baskervilles, Fred has very little patience for those violating his code of honor and harming children, and he can and will kill you if he deems it necessary.
• Caring Gardener: Fred takes care of the gardens for the Moriartys and is very fond of the roses especially, and is also one of the only members besides William of the Moriarty crew to take an active interest in helping people individually.
• Conflicting Loyalty: Fred finds himself eventually torn between a desire to save William and a desire to follow William's orders.
• Disguised in Drag: Fred does this a couple times for William, as he is the youngest, shortest, and slenderest of William's crew, and thus the most likely to be convincing. He also dresses up as other men.
• Even Mooks Have Loved Ones: In a twist, the loved one is actually William himself, and Fred cannot bring himself to go along with William's overly-complicated suicide mission.
• Introverted Cat Person: Fred is The Quiet One who barely talks and keeps to himself...unless it's the 30 stray cats he's feeding.
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Fred feed thirty stray cats around the slums of London and wishes he could adopt all of them. Of course, he's also one member of the team who strives most to keep everyone together and happy.
• Master of Disguise: Fred's most notable skill is disgusing himself, both as men and women, for William's schemes.
• Mook–Face Turn: Fred ends up reaching out to Sherlock of all people in hopes of saving William from his own plan.
• Mysterious Past: While Fred knew Moran and the Moriartys before the series well enough that William called him and Moran all the way from London to join William's plan full-time, a plan Fred was clearly aware of, no information has ever been given as to how Fred met them or why he is so loyal other than that he simply agrees with William.
  • Von Herder and Patterson's motivations and for following William are similarly vague, but Fred is a significantly more major character than either and the missing reasons stands out against Moran, whose backstory is shown in much more detail.
• Not What I Signed on For: William's suicide. Fred realizes quite late this is part of William's plan, and is unhappy enough about it to try to stop it.
• The Quiet One: Fred rarely has much to say, and even Moran comments on this, but he's perfectly capable of speaking when he has a reason and motivation to do so.
• Scylla and Charybdis: The Final Problem arc, torn between saving William and helping to execute William's plan.
• Stealth Expert: Fred spends much of his time spying or keeping watch as a lookout for other characters.

James Bond

^{Click here for their appearance pre-transition}

Voiced by: Yōko Hikasa (Japanese); Natalie Van Sistine (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Alex Delint (Latin American Spanish)

"After all, I've always hated the idea of being shoved into a mold."

A former actor who befriends Sherlock and eventually works under William.

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• Adaptational Badass: They're a competent fighter, despite being a normal opera singer in the original books. Here, they're able to hold their own against Sebastian Moran.
• Adaptational Gender Identity: A cis woman in the original Sherlock Holmes canon, they eventually transition into a man known as James Bond, who wasn't transgender his canon either. The profile for the character refers to Bond with "they/them" pronouns.
• Ambiguous Situation: A big part of their early plot is transitioning into a man and then fighting with Moran to be recognized as one, completely identifying as male after some initial uncertainty. However, fog was cast over the matter when an official character profile used they/them pronouns, despite Bond still identifying as a man and using male pronouns in the story itself, leaving fans unsure if they're a binary trans man or nonbinary.
• Code Name: Agent 007, licensed to kill.
• Distinguishing Mark: They have a small mole under their right eye, which Ms. Hudson recognizes them by after their transition. As they're a renown beauty as both a man and a woman, it makes sense they're the only one of the cast who has one, since they're called "beauty marks".
• Easy Sex Change: While they do receive some push back from Moran regarding their gender, for the most part, their transition is fairly painless. Everyone switches names immediately and they pass convincingly to strangers so quickly that women fawn over them. William and Louis are especially supportive and quickly shut down any protests from Moran on the subject.
• Expository Pronoun: After they transition, they switch personal pronouns in Japanese from "Watashi," a neutral, if somewhat feminine choice, to "Boku," a masculine one most often seen in young boys and men being excessively polite.
• He Knows Too Much: The British government is after Irene for stealing a top-secret document that reveals a very big conspiracy where Britain pulled the strings of the French Revolution. Since the British government wants them dead to prevent the scandal, Moriarty fakes Irene's death and Irene joins the MI6 as James Bond.
• Hidden Buxom: They have an ample bosom that they manage to conceal when wearing men's clothing.
• Lascivious Beauty Mark: They have a small beauty mark just under their right eye, which is played up when they're acting as a flirt or undressing—and becomes even more obvious when they transition to James Bond, international British sex symbol.
• Legally Dead: As Irene Adler, due to the amount of trouble they're in with the British government.
• Master of Disguise: So good at disguises that they manage to fool Sherlock Holmes when coming to meet him disguised as the king of Bohemia.
• Meaningful Rename: In the process of establishing a new identity to live under after Irene Adler's official death, Bond is given their first name, "James" by Albert, as "their" name as the James Moriarty brothers, and chooses "Bond" for themself as a surname to represent their relationships and connections with others.
• New Meat: When they first join William's crew, they don't understand how they work or what to do when complications arise. They adapt quickly once they understand how the team works together.
• Old Friend, New Gender: When they meet up with Hudson and John again after their transition, they carefully refer to Bond by their new name and Sherlock says their appearance might be different, but they're still the same person.
• Sixth Ranger: As they only join William's crew at the end of A Scandal in the British Empire, The Team had been well-established before they join on a permanent rotation.
• Trans Tribulations: Despite their easy transition, they spend most of The Adventure of the Four Servants arc questioning their gender identity and remaining unsure of exactly how they identify.
• Trojan Prisoner: They get arrested by Patterson in order to infiltrate Scotland Yard.
• Walking Spoiler: Their transition is a major spoiler for the character and what happens to Irene Adler.
• Writing Around Trademarks: Due to copyright issues regarding James Bond film rights, the official animation subtitles and manga spell their last name "Bonde." The Japanese manga romanizes it both ways.

Jack Renfield

Voiced by: Naoya Uchida (Japanese); Bruce Du Bose (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Raúl Solo (Latin American Spanish)

"As you wish, I will teach you the art of self-defense. Or, to call it by its true name...the art of killing."

The Moriarty brothers' butler and former instructor in self-defense and murder.

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• Battle Butler: Once properly employed by the Moriartys, Jack takes on the household duties of the London manor from Louis when he isn't in action furthering William's plans.
• Blade Enthusiast: Jack has a set of very fancy combat knives he keeps in William's care, who in turn keeps them in a safe deposit box and retrieves them for Jack's use when Jack asks him for help reclaiming his name of Jack the Ripper. They seem to be his primary and favored weapon.
• Old Master: Jack was famous on the war field before retiring to become a butler, and is still dangerous as anything.
• Old Retainer: While Jack originally works for the Rockwells and not the Moriartys, he helps raise them after the fire that murdered the original family and happily changed employers as soon as possible. He still calls William "Will-bou" or "Young Will" at William's request.
• Old Soldier: Jack's nickname "Jack the Ripper" is from his military days when he learned to fight.
• Red Baron: "Jack the Ripper" is his old military nickname.
• Retired Badass: Jack is happily working in secrecy as a butler before William discovers his past. He still spends most of his time keeping house for the Moriarty brothers, although he does come somewhat out of retirement to work for MI6.
• Silver Fox: Jack is the oldest of the Moriarty crew, with long silver hair that even is commented on by some of the young women who see him as a "distinguished gray" and implied to look like the hero of a romance novel, despite his age.
• Sink or Swim Mentor Once Jack takes the Moriartys under his wing, he's happy to help them, but first they have to prove their ability and willingness to fight against actively trying to kill them. He views the situation that if the Moriarty kids as not being up to the task as better off dead.
• Veteran Instructor: Jack teaches the Moriarty brothers—and Fred and Moran, to boot—how to fight after William picks up that he's a decorated, infamous war veteran, and he puts them through some Training from Hell.

Von Herder

Voiced by: Kosuke Toriumi (Japanese); Brandon McInnis (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Marc Winslow (Latin American Spanish)

"Even a child knows you can't combine a silencer and an automatic weapon! Do that again and I swear I'll kill you!"

The top inventor for the Moriarty crew, as well as MI6 under the alias "Q".

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• Blind Weaponmaster: Von Herder is a blind engineer as he was in the original Sherlock Holmes canon, but he is seen handling a gun prepared to shoot despite the fact that he can't see where it would hit.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Von Herder is an absolute genius inventor and invaluable, but he doesn't listen to anyone but William, constantly invents strange things, and talks about his inventions constantly. He's an incredibly valuable member of the team, but verges on The Friend Nobody Likes.
• Code Name: "Q," the inventor for MI6.
• The Engineer: Von Herder keeps all of the Moriarty crew in equipment, from Moran's air rifle to cars, to radio earpieces, and who even knows what else he's got up his sleeve?
• Eyes Out of Sight: He wears a blindfold to cover his eyes, as a symbol of his blindness.
• Gadgeteer Genius: Von Herder is frequently coming up with both brilliant and ridiculous inventions.
• Germanic Efficiency: Von Herder is a German engineer (living in Britain) who heads the entire equipment division of MI6 and is the top engineer for Moriarty's team (as...well as apparently the only one). Despite being blind, he's virtually flawless at his job.
• Mission Control: Von Herder takes on this role after the three-year time skip.
• No Full Name Given: Like Miss Moneypenny and Miss Hudson, Von Herder is only referred to by his last name.
• Plucky Comic Relief: Von Herder's main purpose in the series is to be teased.
• Something We Forgot: Von Herder is forgotten in the Moriarty basement after helping secure the location during a tea party.
• The Von Trope Family: Capitalized, as his first name is never shared, although Von Herder is most frequently referred to in the series as simply "Herder." One has to wonder if the Japanese author is aware "Von" is actually part of the last name.

Zachary Patterson

Voiced by: Tokuyoshi Kawashima (Japanese); Anthony Bowling (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Dan Frausto (Latin American Spanish)

The chief of police and William's insider on the force.

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• Ascended Extra: Patterson was only briefly mentioned in one story (albeit with a key role offscreen). This series promotes him to a supporting character.
• Da Chief: Patterson is the chief of police after the events of The Riot in New Scotland Yard.
• Friend on the Force: William's friend, rather than Sherlock's, although as is a running theme in this series, Patterson and Lestrade are good friends. Patterson does not actively participate in most of William's activities, but does provide assistance.
• Lawman Gone Bad: Patterson became a cop in order to serve justice to the people of the British Empire, but quickly found that Scotland Yard was not the place he thought it was. Disillusioned, he joined up with criminal mastermind William's crew before the series even began.
• Mole in Charge: Patterson is the chief of police while feeding William information on the police's internal workings.
• Named by the Adaptation: His first name was never given in his sole mention in the original Sherlock Holmes stories.
• Token Good Cop: Played with. Patterson was jaded by the corruption at Scotland Yard that he works for Professor Moriarty as his mole to keep the police in line. But since Moriarty is the protagonist...eh.
• Who Watches the Watchmen?: That would be Patterson, who works for William and is well aware of the corruption in the force even before Lestrade notices.

Miss Moneypenny

Agent 005 of MI6, a woman devoutly loyal to William and his cause.

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• Adapted Out: Moneypenny never shows up in the anime.
• Code Name: Agent 005, licensed to kill.
• Dark Action Girl: Moneypenny might often be seen taking care of paperwork and other miscellany, but she's no slouch in a fight when it comes down to it. Darkness because she works happily for William's cause despite knowing what it is, and "licensed to kill."
• The Glasses Come Off: While Moneypenny is only occasionally seen in action, she disguises herself often for missions, and her glasses are almost always missing until after she returns to her "normal self."
• No Full Name Given: Her first name has never been revealed, and no one addresses her by it. Presumably she has one, as she's "Miss Moneypenny."
• Writing Around Trademarks: Due to James Bond still being under copyright in the US but public domain in Japan, the official licensed English-language manga spells her name as "Moniepeny" while the Japanese keeps it as "Moneypenny."

Team Holmes

Sherlock Holmes

^{Click here for his appearance after the time skip}

Voiced by: Makoto Furukawa (Japanese); Theo Devaney (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Manuel Campuzano (Latin American Spanish), Nestor Chiesse (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Me? A hero exposing the criminal acts of nobles? Why are people even sayin' that?"

A consulting detective who catches William's attention and becomes cast as the hero of William’s plan while quickly befriending the Lord of Crime himself.

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• Accent Interest: Sherlock speaks Cockney, despite his high-level education, and he does it on purpose. William calls it out the very first time they meet.
• Affectionate Nickname: Mycroft, Bond, and William call Sherlock by the nickname "Sherly," with great affection—especially in William's case, since he only picks it up after he realizes that they're allowed to be true friends.
• Anti-Hero: To match with William's Anti-Villain, Sherlock is morally dubious with a tendency for ethically objectionable methods, for all that his goals and intentions are ultimately positive and helpful.
• Atonement Detective: After killing Milverton and John scolding him for it, Sherlock embarks on a mission to atone for the murder.
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Sherlock basically runs on this, and John vocally finds his deductions very impressive. William is less impressed, but since he can do the same as Sherlock, he's not in awe.
• Back-to-Back Badasses: Sherlock and William have a moment with their backs to each other in a fight together against all comers.
• Badass Minds Think Alike: A mostly non-action version with William: when they solve mysteries together, they come to the exact same conclusions independently of each other and handle each side of their task without prior planning. They also do this in The Adventure of the One Student when getting Bill his place at Durham University. And in The Two Criminals, they both shift to point their guns at Milverton simultaneously.
• Birds of a Feather: Sherlock believes William is the only person who can understand him.
• Can't Tie His Tie: Sherlock rarely wears a tie and when he is first seen struggling with a necktie, he tells John he hasn't worn one since graduating university. This is repeated character flaw, and is underscored when John agrees to help him fix one before meeting with Queen Victoria after a fight, signifying that they've made up.
• Cavalier Competitor: Sherlock turns solving murders into a game and tends to grin wider the more dead bodies show up. But he can and does get serious when things get personal.
• Celibate Eccentric Genius: Sherlock, just like his original, is brilliant, very odd, and absolutely does not understand romance. He even asks John why he wants to get married at all.
• Challenge Seeker: Sherlock gets bored with simple mysteries very easily and delights when given difficult ones.
• Characterizing Sitting Pose: Sherlock seems unaware of how to to properly use a chair much of the time, including crossing his legs on it, propping his feet up on the seat, sprawling across them untidily, sitting on tables—all of which is in stark contrast to William's fairly formal posture and underscores how little Sherlock cares about conventions. And, once he shows up after the Time Skip, he sits neatly with crossed legs to showcase just how much he's matured.
• Defective Detective: As great a detective as Sherlock is, he also seem to have difficulty paying his rent consistently, has a drug addiction, very few friends, and shoots holes in his apartment wall, and is generally moody and difficult to get along with. Fortunately, none of this has ever hampered his detecting job.
• Deuteragonist: Sherlock is such a major character that he runs several arcs of the series himself, with William either completely absent for several chapters in a row or barely present and only from afar. Since the main emotional core of the series is their relationship, this role is necessary for him to shoulder.
• Dueling Messiahs: Sherlock and William fit into this, as both are set on fixing the inequality of the world but have very different ideas on how to make that happen. Not that Sherlock ever wants to be anyone's messiah before William shoves him into the role.
• Elemental Motifs: Sherlock is associated with water, from deep unknowable depths to calming purification. His introduction takes place on a cruise ship and he spends much of A Study in 'S', the first arc he owns as his own, doused in rain. He compares himself to a ship lost at sea looking for William's lighthouse fire for guidance.
• Encyclopaedic Knowledge: He's Sherlock Holmes; of course he has this. He can rattle off the most random of facts about nearly anything at no prompting. Just don't ask him to solve William's math problems.
• Enemy Compassion: During The Final Problem arc and William's race towards his death, his Friendly Enemy, Worthy Opponent, and Mirror Character Sherlock Holmes tries to talk him out of his despair and cares for William afterward as he recovers from the injuries from their confrontation.
• Expert Consultant: Sherlock is this in his role as a consulting detective. There's no one better someone could ask for help, since Mycroft doesn't take requests.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: When he returns in The Adventure of the Empty Hearts, Sherlock has taken down his ponytail to let his now-much longer hair flow freely down his back, in keeping with how much he's changed as a person in the three-year Time Skip.
• Famed In-Story: Literally, since John decides to write about Sherlock's exploits to make sure they're well known and he gets the credit he deserves. It works.
• Finger-Tenting: Sherlock's default thinking posture is to sit with his feet up in the chair and his hands together fingertip-to-fingertip. Miyoshi has also drawn William doing this, although he tends to crook a finger at his chin instead.
• First Friend: William and Sherlock are the first people the other saw as a friend.
• Foil: For William, as the series focuses on contrasting the two characters.
• Following in Their Rescuer's Footsteps: After being rescued by Billy the Kid after the fall into the Thames, Sherlock agrees to work with him in New York for the US government, on the condition that William's medical needs are taken care of.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Sherlock is Mycroft's more foolish younger brother: impulsive, somewhat irresponsible, childish, and more than a tad spoiled.
• Force and Finesse: The Force to William's Finesse. Sherlock has a rough, straightforward way of dealing with people and little subtlety.
• Friendly Enemy: With William, as they mostly interact positively despite being oppositional forces.
• Friendly Rivalry: Sherlock and William definitely compete with each other pretty much constantly, but they have fun every second of it.
• Good Is Not Nice: As good a friend Sherlock can be to those he cares about, he's also arrogant, stubborn, childish, blunt, and introverted to the extreme.
• Great Detective: As expected of Sherlock Holmes, he solves most crimes with reason, logic, and evidence.
• Grin of Audacity: Sherlock is nearly a perpetual adrenaline junkie and nothing makes him happier than a challenge.
• Guile Hero: While this version of Sherlock Holmes definitely has the physical abilities to back himself up and the willingness to use it, he does prefer to get the upper hand intellectually and trick his way to victory. Since the series focuses on his brilliant Mirror Character Moriarty, he's not always shown to win, but he still manages quite a number of manipulative victories.
• Healthcare Motivation: After The Final Problem, Sherlock agrees to work for the US government on the guarantee that all of William's medical care will be provided.
• Hero Antagonist: This tends to happen with a Villain Protagonist, but William specifically calls Sherlock out as the "hero" in his plan.
• Hyper-Awareness: See "Sherlock Scan" and "Awesomeness by Analysis": Sherlock rarely misses anything. The Sign of Mary even has him deducing a crime scene nearly immediately that Mary and John took hours to searching to puzzle out.
• Idiot Hair: Sherlock's ahoge has even been commented on in-series, although it doesn't stick directly up, and he's certainly not an idiot.
• Incompatible Orientation: Played with. John assumes Sherlock will be distracted by attraction to Irene Adler, at which point Sherlock informs him he's not interested.
  Sherlock: Unfortunately, I have no interest in women. That's more your area.
• Ineffectual Loner: Sherlock could be The Ace except for the fact that he's introverted and unsociable and doesn't try to get along with people. Much of his character arc is learning to accept friends and listen to John and learn to help people properly.
• In-Series Nickname: In addition to the Affectionate Nickname "Sherly" used by Mycroft, Bond, and William, Billy calls him "Ponytail-senpai."
• It's Personal: Sherlock attempts to bring John along to meet William and follow his clues, but John adamantly refuses, as he recognizes that William is clearly reaching out to Sherlock and Sherlock alone.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: While Sherlock can be very rude, abrasive, and terribly annoying to not only his clients but his friends and brother, he cares about them more than he is capable of expressing properly and would do just about anything to help people and protect them. He's just not very good at being sincere about it.
• The Lab Rat: Sherlock keeps a full chemistry lab in 221B Baker Street and he's frequently shown interrupted during experiment. When he first meets John, for example, he's working on a solution to detect traces of blood to assist with his detective work.
• Living Legend: Sherlock becomes this thanks to John writing about his exploits, to the point where random people on the street know his address and can recognize him to ask if he'll save them from The Lord of Crime.
• Loner-Turned-Friend: Much of Sherlock's character arc is turning from a solitary person to one with friends (particularly William and John, and by extension the people in their lives).
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Especially post-time skip, during which Sherlock grew his already-past-the-shoulder hair close to halfway down his back.
• Married to the Job: When Ms. Hudson says her heart goes out to Sherlock's future wife because of the state of his room, he replies not to worry, because his job is like his wife.
• Master of Unlocking: Sherlock routinely picks almost every lock that inconveniences him, and even makes a joke about not thinking a jail cell was locked.
• Mirror Character: As ever, to Professor James Moriarty. Both nearly incomparably brilliant men, protective of the weak and set on bringing justice, change, and equality to the British Empire, and both capable of horrible, horrible acts of murder. It's invoked over and over how identical they are, by William, Sherlock, even Lestrade and Mycroft get in on the action, and the series revolves around the idea that they're two halves of one whole who understand each other in ways no one else can.
• No Challenge Equals No Satisfaction: Sherlock turns down an offer of information on William from Hope because he doesn't see the point in a mystery someone simply gives you the answer to.
• Odd Friendship: Sherlock considers William a friend, despite their opposing roles in William's story.
• Pinkerton Detective: After The Final Problem, Sherlock is dragged into working for Pinkerton by Billy.
• Polite Villains, Rude Heroes: William and Sherlock, respectively. Sherlock is not known for his social niceties, although he seems to have them sometimes.
• Pragmatic Hero: Sherlock has very little interest in avoiding crimes if it helps him and doesn't hurt people. He even murders Milverton.
  Sherlock: Because I also have a talent for crime.
• Private Detective: Sherlock works for the Yard occasionally, but is staunchly self-employed and refuses cases from the Lestrade on at least one occasion. He is considered a civilian.
• The Profiler: Sherlock uses this method of detection frequently when solving cases, although it can never be relied on in the absence of all other evidence.
• Quirky Curls: Sherlock is shown with long, wavy, curls that stick up completely at random and which he usually pulls back into an untamed ponytail. His personality is just as eccentric and rebellious as his hair.
• Rebel Relaxation: Sherlock can't sit properly or stand properly—or really, he doesn't seem to want to. His posture is generally terrible and he especially spends a significant chunk of The Sign of Mary standing around with his arm crossed and foot against the wall while he smokes, letting Mary and John solve a case he already solved himself, to emphasize how obnoxiously he's behaving.
• The Redeemer: While William was already wracked with guilt and primed for a full-blown Redemption Quest, as the one cast as the Hero in William's story by William himself, it was up to Sherlock to drive home the point that William dying was just running away from the harm and damage he caused and that if he really wanted to be The Atoner, he'd have to make the difficult decision to live on and actually do something about it. And with the extra bonus of an agreement to atone alongside William for Milverton's murder—it worked.
• Revolvers Are Just Better: When Sherlock uses a weapon at all, he has a revolver: straight to the point with little in the way of subtlety, just like himself when he's on a case.
• The Rival: For William, the one man who can and will compete with him intellectually.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Sherlock and John, respectively. John is much better with people than Sherlock is.
• Shabby Heroes, Well-Dressed Villains: While William is almost exclusively seen in a three-piece suit, even wearing sleeve garters when necessary, Sherlock cannot remember how to tie a necktie as he hasn't worn one since his university graduation and refuses to button his shirt up to hide his collarbones.
• Signature Instrument: Sherlock has a Stradivarius violin that he plays on occasion, often when frustrated by one of William's plots. It's so important to him that Milverton tries to destroy it and very symbolically has one of his lackeys urinate on it, but Sherlock had hidden the real deal and substituted his backup to be destroyed. It's so signature to his character it was one of the first things William noted about him. It's also featured alongside lab equipment during an omake to indicate a desk belongs to him, and once he returns to 221B after three years in New York City, it's waiting for him alongside the lab equipment to show that his home has been left waiting for him to return to it.
• Smith of the Yard: Thanks to John's writing, Sherlock is a well-known detective people rely on to solve their problems.
• Socially Awkward Hero: Give Sherlock a murder to solve, any murder to solve, over forcing him to make small talk with his best friend's fiancee. Sherlock's idea of a fun conversation is asking William how he'd plan a murder, which is understandably off-putting to most people.
• Spirited Competitor: As part of his Challenge Seeker nature, Sherlock loves nothing more than a good mystery that's nearly impossible to solve. Even if he gets frustrated, he wants a challenge. Even when he on occasion loses to William, he's always eager to seek him out and test himself against William once again.
• The Strategist: Against fellow Strategist William, Sherlock devotes himself to planning ways to get one over on The Lord of Crime and foil his plans.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Mycroft and Sherlock are very difficult to distinguish when Sherlock pulls his hair out of his face.
• Sympathy for the Devil: For William, of course. Sherlock is particularly interested in stopping William to save him from himself.
• Unbroken Vigil: Subverted. While we do see Sherlock slumped over William's bed while William is comatose, it's made clear that Sherlock spends much of those months actually working to pay for the medical bills.
• The Unfettered: Sherlock is single-minded when it comes to pursuing mysteries, most especially William as the Lord of Crime. So much so that even Milverton assumes he has a one-track mind focused on catching the Lord of Crime, and catching the Lord of Crime alone. He even jumps off a bridge without hesitation to accomplish his goal.
• Unwitting Pawn: Sherlock's involvement in the main plot is brought upon by other characters' (read: William's) machinations. Later on, he gets entangled with Irene Adler's schemes because Adler herself, disguised as the King of Bohemia, hired his services. And even later, William reveals that he was actually behind a number of incidents Sherlock ran into off-screen, which has Sherlock questioning how many times he was played by The Chessmaster.
• Worthy Opponent: William and Sherlock peg each other as this almost immediately upon meeting. Louis comments that Sherlock is the only person William respects as an equal.
• Yearning for a Nemesis: Sherlock is absolutely delighted to have a Lord of Crime take an interest in him to hunt down.

John H. Watson

Voiced by: Yuki Ono (Japanese); Ryan Colt Levy (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Daniel Lacy (Latin American Spanish), Eduardo Drummond (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Look, Sherlock, I know at heart you're a good man. Even if the whole world were to be against you, know that I would always be on your side."

Sherlock's roommate and detective partner, and a veteran medic from the Afghanistan war.

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• Best Friend: He quickly grows to be fast friends with Sherlock after meeting him, impressed and delighted by Sherlock's obvious brilliance, and Sherlock appreciating his company immensely.
• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: Habitually, John is very good at managing the entirely bizarre geniuses he's surrounded by. Jack refers to him as a "genius at managing geniuses."
• Combat Medic: As a former veteran, John certainly has some idea how to fight, although his primarily role was as a doctor. While most of the time he's seen examining dead bodies for Sherlock and evaluating health conditions, it doesn't take much for him to pull out a gun when one is needed.
• The Confidant: The one person Sherlock tells all of his honest deductions to (eventually, as it takes quite a long time for him to get around to telling John about William). John generally chooses to keep these secrets and twist them to protect his friend.
• The Conscience: Sherlock's moral compass is fairly wobbly, but John's is decidedly not. This causes a fair amount of conflicts between the two of them.
• Famed In-Story: John includes himself in his write up of Sherlock's cases, leading to him being as easily recognized by name as Sherlock is.
• Happily Married: Post-Time Skip, John is happily married to Mary Watson née Morstan with no particular drama in their relationship.
• Mysterious Middle Initial: The "H" is never clarified into a full name, just an initial (unlike Billy, who as a Historical Domain Character, has a middle initial that's easy to look up).
• Nice Guy: One of the only genuinely nice people in the series, John believes in Sherlock's good nature even when he's threatening to kill someone in cold blood, and even comments that Professor Moriarty seemed like a good person when they met briefly—after finding out he was the Lord of Crime. No wonder he serves as Sherlock's moral compass.
• Older Sidekick: John is actually two years older than Sherlock.
• Returning War Vet: John is just home from the war in Afghanistan when he needs a roommate and Stamford introduces him to Sherlock as a potential one.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Sherlock and John, respectively. John is much better with people than Sherlock.
• The Storyteller: John writes Sherlock's adventures under the pen name "Conan Doyle" in the series. Of course, much of the stories are fabrications agreed on with Sherlock, usually to keep the secrets of the mysteries Sherlock is actually pursuing, or to help Sherlock and William manipulate public perception of events in the direction they want.
• Time-Passage Beard: When he first appears after the Time Skip, he has a mustache, which he claims was for an author photo for the Conan Doyle books and he has intentions to shave off immediately.

Mycroft Holmes

Voiced by: Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese); J. Michael Tatum (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Juan Carlos Tinoco (Latin American Spanish), Ricardo Juarez (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Makes me wonder just how much of this you had planned out."

Sherlock's older brother and M's boss. He is the chief of the War Office's intelligence department.

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• Adaptational Badass: This version of Mycroft Holmes lacks his book counterpart's laziness and outmatches his younger brother in practically every endeavour, including physical prowess. Their first on-screen meeting has Mycroft taking down Sherlock before announcing that it's his 673-0 victory.
• Adaptational Job Change: Mycroft works as the chief of the War Office's intelligence department in this series, while his governmental position in the books is a lot vaguer. In "The Greek Interpreter", Sherlock describes Mycroft's role as one who efficiently provides information for the other departments as they need it, and that there "has never been anything like it before, nor will be again".
• Aloof Big Brother: While Mycroft seems to dote on Sherlock, he is generally very reserved about it and expresses his affection in silent, distant, awkward ways. Sherlock finds him a pain in the ass. Mycroft is smarter and stronger, and their first on-screen meeting has Mycroft barging into Sherlock's apartment, tackling him, then giving him a cryptic warning about "women" before going on his merry way.
• Always Someone Better: Mycroft repeatedly takes Sherlock to task for failing at his observational skills (at least, compared to his big brother).
• Authority Sounds Deep: Mycroft Holmes, the director of the War Department's Intelligence agent and the boss of all the Moriartys, has not only one of the deepest voices in the Japanese cast, but one of the deepest voices in Japanese voice acting.
• Big Brother Instinct: Whether Sherlock appreciates it or not, or is even aware of it, Mycroft does his best to make sure his little brother is safe and taken care of, and shoulders their family burdens to keep Sherlock free to do as he pleases.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Mycroft in this series is not nearly as lazy as his original counterpart, but he still contributes very little to anyone's plan other than sitting and talking things out, and very occasionally issuing orders. When Sherlock is arrested and believes he has to give up on catching The Lord of Crime and tells Mycroft to do it, Mycroft refuses and ensures his little brother can get back on the case—dealing with William is absolutely not his job.
• British Stuffiness: Mycroft is very much The Stoic and the very act of him quietly spilling a few drops of tea while pouring it into a cup is a sign he’s majorly shook up.
• Compassionate Critic: To Sherlock. He constantly points out what his brother is doing wrong, mostly in hopes that his brother will get better.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Mycroft is much more mature than Sherlock and bears burdens of their ancestor's sins that he ensures Sherlock is unaware of, and even occasionally drops by to give his brother advice (regardless of Sherlock's appreciation or not for such advice).
• The Good Chancellor: Mycroft may work for a monarchy dutifully, but even he knows the class system in England isn't working, and he willing accepts The Moriarty Plan.
• In-Series Nickname: "Mykie," which Sherlock calls him post-Time Skip.
• Mirror Character: To Albert. Both eldest brothers are reserved and good and masking their emotions and are deeply fond and protective of their younger siblings. They work for the secret parts of the government together to help Britain in the shadows. They both even take on legal burdens hoping to protect their younger brother. Like Sherlock and William, they see themselves as the light and dark sides of London: Albert working in the shadows under aliases, and Mycroft openly part of the government
• Pen Pals: With Albert. While Albert was in prison, Mycroft took the time to write and send him letters via his pet bird.
• Quirky Curls: Mycroft has even more untamable curls than his brother does—the only difference is that he makes the attempt. According to his official profile, he spends a full half hour every morning trying to style it, and it still doesn't make it through the day. Needless to say, Mycroft is at least as strange as his brother and more devoted to hiding it.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Mycroft is Albert's boss and aware of The Moriarty Plan, but has limits on what he'll be bothered to help with.
• Strong Family Resemblance: Mycroft and Sherlock are very difficult to distinguish when Sherlock pulls his hair out of his face.

George Lestrade

Voiced by: Fuminori Komatsu (Japanese); David Matranga (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Ferso Velázquez (Latin American Spanish), Guilherme Marques (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Ugh...it's like having a second Sherlock around...what's with this Moriarty person?"

A police officer who frequently calls on Sherlock for help.

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• Friend on the Force:
  • Lestrade is frequently the one who finishes tying up the loose ends of Sherlock's investigations, as well as protecting John and Sherlock from consequences during The Sign of Mary.
  • Inverted during The Riot in New Scotland Yard, in which Lestrade hands evidence over to Sherlock to allow him to take credit for the discovery and avoid fallout from calling out the police for corruption himself. This is not exactly an example of Cops Need the Vigilante, as Sherlock does not actually commit any crimes.
• Inspector Lestrade: Somewhat self-explanatory, Lestrade comes to Sherlock for help almost by default when he needs it, but imposing all the authority necessary on the cases. He seems to trust even Sherlock's thinnest of lies.
• Token Good Cop Lestrade is featured as an innately good cop genuinely trying to help people and unable to really handle the discovery that Scotland Yard is hopelessly corrupt.

Miss Hudson

Voiced by: Kana Asumi (Japanese); Suzie Yeung (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Ellie Rojo (Latin American Spanish), Juliana Shibata (Brazilian Portuguese)

"Together, there's no problem you two can't solve, right?"

Sherlock and John's landlady.

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• Age Insecurity: She insists that she's eternally 17—despite clearly being old enough to be a landlady. Sherlock calls her out and says that's she's somewhere in her 30's, but she cuts him off before he's able to reveal her entire age.
• Cranky Landlord: Downplayed. She likes Sherlock and John well enough, but she can be a harsh authority on them.
• No Full Name Given: Her first name has yet to be revealed, and no one addresses her by it. Presumably, she has one, as everyone else but Moneypenny seems to.
• Only Sane Man: Sherlock and John are extremely strange individuals, and Miss Hudson deals with them doing things like blowing up her apartment building.
• Territorial Smurfette: Miss Hudson does not like Adler when they first meet, shocked and horrified by her apparent relationship with Sherlock and also that Adler is a more stunning natural beauty. However, they come to terms and Miss Hudson is willing to help save Adler at the end.

Other Characters

Charles Augustus Milverton

Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese); Kayleigh McKee (English) ^{Foreign VAs}Gerardo García (Latin American Spanish)

"Evil is the transcendence of the vigors and morals established by man. The evil wrought by the Lord of Crime is merely the transgression of the social conventions of human society. But as for me? I am "evil" itself."

A media mogul who thrives on blackmailing others and takes a vested interest in foiling both William and Sherlock.

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• Adaptational Personality Change: While Charles Augustus Milverton is still very much a villainous blackmailer and Smug Snake, his personality is rather different from the original story. Doyle's Milverton was Faux Affably Evil and was primarily interested in exploiting his victims for financial gain. This Milverton is ruining lives for his own sadistic enjoyment and is essentially a Card-Carrying Villain, dropping any pretense of affability.
• Card-Carrying Villain: He outright identifies himself as the embodiment of evil.
• Conflict Killer: Milverton inserts himself between William and Sherlock's conflict, hoping to neatly remove them both from his life as problems, and winds up the target of both.
• The Corrupter: Milverton uses blackmail to force people into committing horrific acts because he finds it amusing to watch humans fall to evil.
• Deal with the Devil: As capable as he seems at solving problems, dealing with the sadistic "King of Blackmailers" never ends well for the dealer.
• Devil Complex: Milverton fully believes he's the epitome of evil.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation: Rather than being assassinated by one of his victims, he's killed by Holmes much like he is in Sherlock. This is based on a long-standing fan-theory that Watson wrote his account to cover up Sherlock's crime.
• For the Evulz: Milverton's motivation for doing what he does is simply because he finds it amusing to watch people suffer and cross into Personal Horror.
• Hope Crusher: Milverton actively seeks out opportunities to push people past their Despair Event Horizon for pure enjoyment. Most notably, he does this with Adam Whiteley, but he also tries to do this with Sherlock, Mary Morstan, William, and has done it with many people in the past.
• Immoral Journalist: Milverton uses his position to blackmail people for no reason other than that he enjoys watching other people suffer and find themselves making choices they abhor.
• Indirect Serial Killer: Milverton is an Immoral Journalist who blackmails others into becoming killers.
• Multiple Gunshot Death: Sherlock is apparently so fed up with him that he empties his entire revolver into Milverton's back.
• Mysterious Watcher: Milverton's introduction comes as this during The Phantom of Whitechapel.
• Red Baron: "The King of Blackmailers" appears to be a self-assigned moniker.
• Satanic Archetype: Not only is making a deal with him already painted as a Deal with the Devil, he sees no greater joy than in tempting people into committing heinous atrocities in moments of weakness, or in his own words, "compelling those who do good deeds to work evil". This is akin to how many satanic figures are characterized as beings who tempt others to sin, to the point where he even likens himself to the devil himself.
  Since the dawn in history, nothing in the world has held greater allure for mankind than wrongdoing. Consequently, it is depicted in the Bible as being a forbidden delight; and it is the pursuit thereof which is the true essence of evil.
• Smug Snake: Milverton is fairly intelligent and deceptive, but ultimately foiled because he thinks he's far better than he is. His death is a result of him severely underestimating Moriarty and Sherlock.
• Viler New Villain: Milverton shows up for the first time in The Phantom of Whitechapel, but it becomes clear quickly that he's far more loathsome than the Villain Protagonist William, notable Noble Demon. In contrast, Milverton acts on evil only for his own personal enjoyment and murders even disabled children, something William would never even contemplate. To the point: Sherlock loathes him, while he's quite fond of William.
• White Hair, Black Heart: Milverton doesn't quite appear old enough to naturally have a full head of white hair, but he has one anyway, paired with the belief that not only is he evil itself, that he wants to be evil.
• Yellow Eyes of Sneakiness: Joining William and Louis as the only characters to have a non-natural eye color, Milverton's yellow eyes underscore his horrid personality and conniving blackmailing ways. It also makes him look more like a snake when he compares himself to the the serpent in the Garden of Eden tempting humans to evil.

Henry Antrim

"Long time no see, Mr. Ponytail."

Also known as "William H. Bonney" and "Billy the Kid", an agent of the US government who rescues William and Sherlock from the Thames.

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• The Atoner: Billy has mentioned that he, too, is working for the U.S. Government as a sort of atonement.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Billy was shown on the cover of chapter one, but since he never showed up in the story, many readers sort of forgot he was ever shown and assumed it would never matter. But he's critical to William and Sherlock surviving The Final Problem and their time spent during The Great Hiatus.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Billy is very sensitive to anyone calling a friend a "traitor" and it is very clear he's talking to himself when discussing the loss of a friendship that can never be regained. The friend in question is Pat Garrett, the man who killed him.
• Shipper on Deck: Billy constantly comments on how he can tell they're really close, laughs at their displays of affection, constantly teases them about it, and even swears to protect Sherlock with his life to ensure that Sherlock and William never have to live through losing the other. And then he makes a joke about their "wedding vows."
• The Gunslinger: Billy carries six-shooters on him and Sherlock notes them when determining he's American.
• Historical Domain Character: Yes, that Henry Antrim: Billy the Kid.
• I Have Many Names: Henry Antrim, William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid...Billy has definitely settled on "Billy the Kid" but he's known by a lot of names.
• Legally Dead: He's publicly a dead man after a shoot-out with Pat Garrett and works in secret for the government.
• Mirror Character: Billy is also a fellow atoner after having been a "noble criminal" seeking to help people being victimized by horrible people, was well-loved, and his dear friend, the Sheriff and representative of justice, Pat Garrett, helped him fake his own death after getting into a confrontation and not seeing another way to save Billy's life. No, that doesn't sound like William and Sherlock at all...to help William figure out what he wants to do in the aftermath.
• The Nicknamer: Billy knows Sherlock for all of about fifteen minutes before dubbing him, "Ponytail-senpai." When Sherlock asks about it, he says he considered "Ahoge-senpai," but thought it would be rude.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Billy's legal name might be "Henry Antrim," but he specifically requests to go by Billy.
• Pinkerton Detective: The Pinkerton Agency is where Billy works on behalf of the U.S. Government.
• Rescue Introduction: Inverted. He's the one rescuing the protagonist.
• Sweet Tooth: Billy is a fan of sweet foods like fruit and coffee with lots of sugar. He's quite surprised when Sherlock has realized he has one without Billy having said anything about it directly. It seems to be paired with his generally childish persona.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Bill is a huge fan of fruit, to the point where Sherlock even brings some for him when he knows Billy will be at a dinner and has to tell Billy that it's not all for him.
• The Trope Kid: Billy the Kid—Moran even comments that he really does act childish. He's only 22 when he's first introduced, which is on the younger side for the cast.
• Walking Spoiler: Since Billy doesn't appear until after the resolution of The Final Problem arc, and his introduction indicates that both Sherlock and William survived it and where they went afterward, it's difficult to mention him.

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