Sherlock Holmes is the famous British "consulting detective" known for his incredible powers of observation and deduction. Holmes was also a noted forensic scientist, martial artist, and master of disguise. His adventures where chronicled by his best friend and assistant, Dr. John Watson.
He has an older brother who works for the British Government named Mycroft Holmes. The elder Holmes is known for having deductive powers far greater than his famous younger brother, but was known for being too lazy to do the leg work being a detective required.
Sherlock's adventures eventually had him cross paths with the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty. This resulted in a confrontation between the two that ended in both of their apparent deaths.
After his battled with Moriarty, Holmes went into retirement and mainly tended to his apiary.
History[]
Fight at Reichenbach Falls[]
In May 1891, one of Holmes' case led him to, what he believed, was a final confrontation with Professor James Moriarty at Reicenbach Falls. Prior to the final showdaown, Holmes had been dismantling Moriarty's criminal empire. Holmes writes a letter what seems to be a farewell to Dr. Watson. He notes that he's left an envelope with "Moriarty" written on it, presumably detailing the criminal activities. As Holmes write, Moriarty gives a speech about the mathematical beauty of the view on top of the falls. Holmes finishes his note and both him and Moriarty declare the match to begin.
Moriarty lunges at Holmes with a big knife and slices his shoulder. Holmes then easily grabs Moriarty's arm and launches him off the side of the falls. He then begins to climb up the side of the falls to fake his own death. He successfully manages to fake his death, not without difficulties from Moriarty's right hand man, Colonel Sebastian Moran.
Mycroft, Sherlock's older brother, seems to be the only one who knows that he's still alive.
Retirement[]
In 1904, Mina Murray meets with an elderly Holmes in his garden. Long retired from being a detective, Holmes mainly attends to his apiary. She asks him to reconsider her offer of advising a new team she's putting together. Holmes politely declines and explains that extraordinary individuals are a detriment to humanity. He claims while they try to do good and may have good intentions, they only make matters worse. Although he does thank Mina for taking care of Moriarty for good.
Source material[]
Sherlock Holmes was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and first appeared in A Study in Scarlet and then became the subject of three other novels and nearly sixty short stories. He is often considered one of the most popular fictional characters in history and the standard at which all mystery stories are judged.
2003 film[]
Though Holmes is not directly mentioned in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen film, Moriarty briefly alludes to the events of The Final Problem at Reichenbach Falls.[1] He appears in the novelisation, in a scene lifted directly from Volume I.[2]
Trivia[]
- The symbol of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen appears on his cigarette case, hinting that he was at least once a member of the League.
- Moore and O'Neill decided against featuring Holmes as a major character because, as with Dracula, they felt he was such a significant literary characters would overshadow the rest of the League.
- The comic is set during the "Great Hiatus", the years in which Holmes faked his death after the events of "The Final Problem", to compensate for Holmes' lack of presence in the series.
- Winnie-the-Pooh can be seen snooping around his garden in 1904.
- The dialogue and action from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen's depiction of the fight at Reichenbach is imitated very closely by the DC Comics/Wildstorm miniseries Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies, the only substantial difference being Moriarty's transformation into a zombie after the fall.