| “ | When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth? | „ |
| ~ Sherlock Holmes in The Sign of the Four. |
| “ | Elementary, my dear Watson. | „ |
| ~ Sherlock Holmes' iconic, but otherwise erroneous catchphrase. |
Sherlock Holmes, or just his surname Holmes, is an ecstatic Detective in his many adaptions of wider media, and the titular protagonist from the franchise of the same name. He was created by the writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is a Victorian-era detective who is quite possibly the smartest man alive, using his amazing brainpower to out-think a number of villains and solve seemingly impossible cases.
Personality[]
Sherlock is brave, and extremely intelligent. He has his own degree of personal cunning and a slightly suave demeanour. He is focused, vengeful and rather egotistical and strong-minded. He is also devilishly enigmatic and seemed to be clever enough to surpass James Moriarty, who was himself mentally inordinately agile. He cares deeply about John Watson, enough to challenge Moriarty about it. He also thought he was more devious than Moriarty. Holmes also shows empathy for victims of crime, even occasionally letting culprits go if it would be unjust for them to go to prison.
However, despite his brilliance, Sherlock is categorized as being selfish, narcissistic, rude, and rather crass. He sometimes appears to lack basic empathy, however he is shown to display manners, on certain occasions. Holmes is also a master manipulator, multiple times he has tricked Watson into helping him despite Watson's protests. Holmes also suffered from addiction to drugs such as cocaine to provide stimulation, which Watson tried to warn him against. In the Granada TV series adaptation, Holmes manages to give up cocaine.
Powers and Abilities[]
Holmes' abilities lay mainly in his skills of deduction and his genius-level intellect. He is incredibly observant, noticing the tiniest details, that most would not pay attention to.
Holmes' intelligence allows him to plan attacks and deduce (often correctly) exactly how a scuffle will play out. He is also shown to be proficient in many known martial arts and boxing and had an aggressive, if not slippery, fighting style. His style also involves psychological warfare. He is an adept bare knuckle fighter and was able to hold his own, overwhelm and defeat opponents much larger than himself, or multiple opponents inside and outside the ring. However Holmes is not above cheating, and will often use the environment, and other distractions in order to gain the upper hand when outnumbered, or outsized. Holmes also liked donning various disguises in order to spy on or obtain specific information from different suspects.
Though not as skilled as Watson, he is also a proficient marksman. However, he has a habit of unwisely unloading all of his bullets into a single target. He is said by Watson to be an expert at singlestick and swordsman, with Holmes saying that he practiced fencing at university. He is also not bad in a fight, as he has easily defeated others on occasion and is proficient in boxing, no doubt helped by the fact that he can bend metal (presumably due to a misassumption by Doyle).
Holmes can also play the violin.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Contrary to popular belief, Sherlock Holmes never uttered his iconic phrase "Elementary, my dear Watson." in any of Conan Doyle's publications. However, he has used the term "elementary" and has referred to Dr. Watson as "My Dear Watson" several times as two separate phrases in said publications.
- Sherlock Holmes is the most portrayed literary character in all of fiction.
- Some of the most notable portrayers of Holmes include:
- William Gillette, who was one of the earliest actors to play him on stage in a play both he and Conan Doyle authored which would be adapted into a silent film, and later on radio.
- Basil Rathbone, who portrayed him on radio, stage and most famously in a long running film series.
- Peter Cushing, who played the role a 1959 Hammer film adapting The Hound of the Baskervilles, the 1968 TV series, and the 1984 TV film The Masks of Death, considering him his favourite role.
- Jeremy Brett, who played the role for a decade in the Granada TV series, who is often considered the definitive Holmes.
- Peter Capaldi, who played the role for a character in Cashville, as a 51 year old middle aged adult man.
- Some of the most notable portrayers of Holmes include:
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