History Main / GreatDetective

* Subverted in ''VisualNovel/AceAttorney'' with the character Luke Atmey. As far as the player can tell, he devotes his life to his detective work, especially to cases involving a [[PhantomThief master thief]] named Mask☆[=DeMasque=]. By the end of the case, we find out [[spoiler:that he's been the mastermind behind everything Mask☆[=DeMasque=] has ever done, blackmailing the thief into heists and then taking advantage of them to improve his image in the public eye. He goes so far as to murder someone, then allow himself to be accused of being the thief himself to avoid this information getting out.]]
** That's arguably a deconstruction, since Luke [[spoiler:explicitly states ''twice'' he felt himself so great he needed to deliberately create an adversary that could match him. But, he maybe was just an AttentionWhore.]]
** [[spoiler:Considering that his name is "Look at me", and his theme is called "I just want love" (named after the pun in his Japanese name, Aiga Hoshiidake), he may be an AttentionWhore.]]

* HerculePoirot.

* In ''Literature/TheInvisibleLibrary'', Irene encounters one of those. He followed her trainee, deduced that they were after the same book thief he was investigating, and suggests that they should work together. Since she is a MagicLibrarian and they are in a parallel universe where mythical creatures are real, it is not quite clear whether he is supposed to be part of the "things working according to story logic" reality, or just sort of there because it ''is'' London.

* [[Spoiler: Kyoko Kirigiri]], the Ultimate/Super Highschool Level Detective in ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}''. She comes from [[BornDetective a clan of detectives considered the greatest in history]], and this makes her vital in solving the mysteries of the school. By the end of the game, after solving multiple mysteries and acting much like [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes her Watson]] of sorts, [[TheHero Naegi]] probably also counts.

* Kyouko Kirigiri, the Ultimate/Super Highschool Level Detective in ''Franchise/{{Danganronpa}}''. She comes from [[BornDetective a clan of detectives considered the greatest in history]], and this makes her vital in solving the mysteries of the school. By the end of the game, after solving multiple mysteries and acting much like [[Franchise/SherlockHolmes her Watson]] of sorts, [[TheHero Naegi]] probably also counts.

* In "TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering" lore Jace Beleren has played this role. Particularly recently where in both Shadows over Innistrad and Eldrich Moon he and Tamiyo worked together to solve the mystery of the strange happenings surrounding the deteriorating mental state of Avacyn and the transformation of some of the planes population into Eldrich Horrors.

** While it's not his official job title, due to the absurd amount of evidence he uncovers it can be argued that Phoenix himself fits the trope.

** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince. Despite being looked down on by the police [[NotNowKiddo for being a teenager]] and [[SamusIsAGirl a girl]], she's clever enough that her investigation occasionally outpaces the [[TrueCompanions Tnvestigation Team]]'s, despite having no clue about the supernatural forces involved in the kidnappings and serial murders. When she joins the Investigation Team proper, the plot quickly moves from saving the victims to figuring out the true culprit.

* Shin'ichi Kudo/Conan Edogawa, of ''Manga/DetectiveConan''. Also, Heiji Hattori who is on pair with him. Both are considered as the "Meitantei of East [Shin'ichi] and West [Heiji]", respectively. "The Sleeping Kogoro Mouri" is ''believed'' to be one, but it's actually Conan who solves the cases. However, the filler character Heihachiro Shiota was known as the "Legendary Great Detective" and was Kogoro's teacher.

* And thirdly, there's this faceless [[ComicBook/TheQuestion guy]]. He's straight up ace detective and lacks the gadgets and powers of the two above. He's also been referred to as the world's second greatest detective.

* Literature/ErastFandorin, the popular fictional Russian detective created by Boris Akunin. He is actually teamed with Literature/SherlockHolmes in one novella but [[spoiler:neither is able to "prevail" over the other]]. See TheOtherWiki for more information...

* Madame Vastra in ''Series/DoctorWho'', who is the InUniverse inspiration for Literature/SherlockHolmes.

* Oh and then there's also [[ComicBook/{{Robin}} Tim Drake]], who Batman has said will one day surpass him, in addition to being one of two people Ra's al Ghul calls "Detective." So some nice recommendations for the position.

* ''VideoGame/Persona4'' has Naoto Shirogane, the Detective Prince. Despite being looked down on by the police [[NotNowKiddo for being a teenager]] and [[SamusIsAGirl a girl]], she's clever enough that her investigation occasionally outpaces the [[TrueCompanions investigation team]]'s, despite having no clue about the supernatural forces involved in the kidnappings and serial murders. When she joins the investigation team proper, the plot quickly moves from saving the victims to figuring out the true culprit.
* The sequel, ''VideoGame/Persona5'', has [[HeroAntagonist Goro Akechi]], also titled the [[ContinuityNod Detective Prince]], who investigates the [[TrueCompanions Phantom Thieves of Heart]]. Despite his initial and public denunciations of the Phantom Thieves' [[HeelFaceBrainwashing methods]], he [[SixthRanger eventually joins the Phantom Thieves]] [[spoiler:only to betray them, revealing that he's actually in league with the Conspiracy, as well as the illegitimate son of the ringleader, and by making people's shadows go berserk, apparently caused all the crimes he investigated. His ultimate goal is to help his father's plan succeed, only to betray him at the last minute, but feelings of attachment to the party and a desire for his father's recognition complicate this.]]

* FunnyAnimal + DetectiveAnimal + EverythingIsBetterWithMonkeys + This Trope = [[Franchise/TheDCU Detective Chimp]]. He likes reminding people that Franchise/{{Batman}} is merely the world's greatest ''human'' detective.

* The sequel, ''VideoGame/Persona5'', has [[HeroAntagonist Goro Akechi]], also titled the [[ContinuityNod Detective Prince]], who investigates the [[TrueCompanions Phantom Thieves of Heart]]. He has a major case of [[KnightTemplar Law]], but [[SixthRanger eventually joins the Phantom Thieves]] [[spoiler:only to betray them, revealing that he's actually a sociopath who mostly cares about boosting his own self-image]].

Will often be accompanied by TheWatson as an AudienceSurrogate.

The first GreatDetective in fiction was Creator/EdgarAllanPoe's Literature/CAugusteDupin. Poe rejected the Vidocq model in favor of a more fantastic kind of detective. Later, the Dupin model was further codified by Creator/ArthurConanDoyle's Literature/SherlockHolmes, the most famous example to this day.

* ''LightNovel/{{Gosick}}'' gives us Victorique the ElegantGothicLolita GreatDetective. [[spoiler:Her brother]] Grevil, meanwhile, is ''[[FakeUltimateHero reputed]]'' to be this.

* ''LightNovel/HeavensMemoPad'' gives us Alice, the GreatDetective for the NEET detective team.

* The cast of ''VideoGame/GuiltyParty'', though the most classically GreatDetective-ish of them is their patriarch, The Commodore/Dorian Dickens.

* WhodunitMysteries has Inspector Parnacki, a classic example. He has his stoic personality, independent streak, and is reliant on deductive skills.