Whether it is a superhero or a more conventional heroic character, the true aura of the character emerges only when an appropriate anti-personality arrives. They all require a nemesis worthy of their prowess, and if this dangerous foe is capable of occasionally putting the hero’s abilities to the test, things become even more fascinating for the audience.
We all know Sherlock Holmes, and we have watched the world’s best detective solve the most difficult cases almost painlessly. His intelligence and perceptive skills are nearly superhuman, and criminals are rarely intelligent enough to avoid the long arms of the law. When Sherlock’s creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, introduced the figure of Professor James Moriarty, he gave him a worthy adversary.
This experienced sleuth has been tormented by this criminal mastermind on several occasions, and there is something particularly attractive about this cold-blooded villain that commands the adoration of Sherlock Holmes admirers. In this video, we will teach you everything there is to know about Sherlock’s archenemy, and you will see why he is considered one of the best fictional villains of all time!
Why was the character created?
Fame is fun until it starts to get taxing! This is something that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle learned the hard way. He never anticipated the widespread popularity of his works, and when Sherlock Holmes became something like a cult in fiction, it started to take a toll on the author. He would constantly be pressurized by fans from all over the world for new stories featuring the detective, and the veteran author felt this was getting a bit too tiring.
At the same time, he did not want to leave the character of Sherlock Holmes without closure because that meant running the risk of someone else crafting stories around his beloved detective that wouldn’t match up to the legacy. The solution was pretty simple – finish off Sherlock Holmes at the hands of a fitting antagonist! The author was bored of writing detective stories, and he figured that ending this narrative will allow him to focus on more serious literary endeavors.
This is when the character of Professor James Moriarty was created. It was supposed to be a device to be used to kill Sherlock, and the plan almost worked. We say almost because after getting the detective killed in a literal cliffhanger of a story, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had to finally relent to the demands of the fans and bring him back!
However, what it did was bring us the shrewd and cunning crime lord James Moriarty, who had a mind capable enough to rival the brilliance of Sherlock. Over the years, the character has been used several times in stories, TV series, and movie adaptations. In fact, the world of adaptations attaches far more importance to this character than the author ever did, and it is almost customary to bring in Moriarty in every important Sherlock adaptation.
How the author imagined Moriarty!
It is no secret that adaptations often allow the imaginations to run wild, and they take way too much creative liberty to add finesse to certain characters. The same has been done with Professor Moriarty as well, and some of these adaptations have portrayed the dreaded criminal as something far from what the author had imagined.
According to the illustration that accompanied the original publication of The Final Problem, he looked like a man you wouldn’t check out twice in a crowd. He was just a tall slim man with a balding head and his face nicely concealed the evil within. He was clean-shaven, pale, and his deeply sunken eyes looked like he hadn’t slept in a very long time. The author had been inspired by a real-life criminal mastermind named Adam Worth, who was referred to as Napoleon of Crime by a Scotland Yard inspector.
Even Moriarty has ascribed the title, and he was described as a consulting criminal who helped organize crimes around the city. His shrewd mind enabled him to devise strategies for the other criminals, which would help them escape from the law. Of course, for his services, Moriarty took a cut of the profit, and theoretically speaking, he was involved indirectly with almost all the major crimes that took place.
The First Appearance – the unforgettable introduction!
Professor Moriarty was first seen in the story titled The Adventures of the Final Problem, and what an introduction it was! The narrative takes you through certain investigations conducted by Sherlock, which brought him to the conclusion that most of the crimes that seemed to be isolated events were actually connected.
He reveals to his friend and assistant Doctor Watson that the crimes are the artwork of one mastermind, the unsaid leader of a criminal organization, Professor James Moriarty. There are some nail-biting moments in the short story, but none are near as chilling as the one where Moriarty randomly appears to confront Sherlock Holmes after learning that his cover has been blown.
He threatens the detective with dire consequences if he pursued these investigations any further, and the dialogues during this interaction is stuff that classics are made up of! The cold-natured approach and the nonchalance while taking on the finest detective showed the pedigree of the criminal, and we knew immediately that there was a lot more to come.
Sherlock ignores these threats, and just as expected, Moriarty and his men start to narrow down on him. In order to escape from being killed, Sherlock accompanies Watson and sets off for Switzerland, hoping that he can shake off the relentless criminal from his trail. However, it all boils down to one final confrontation at the top of Reichenbach Falls.
While Watson was not present during the confrontation, he later arrives to find clear signs of struggle and hand-to-hand combat at the edge of the cliff beside the waterfall. It seemed like both men fell to their deaths, and Watson also found a goodbye note left behind by Sherlock, which Moriarty had apparently allowed him to pen down before their fighting began. Could you find a nobler villain!
This was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s idea of a glorious retreat. Sherlock had sacrificed his life in order to take down the most dangerous criminal in the world. However, public pressure and some financial trouble prompted the author, to recreate a comeback for the seasoned sleuth. It turned out that he hadn’t died in The Final Problem, and we saw more of Moriarty, even though the timeline was before the events of their final showdown.
What makes Moriarty so dangerous?
You might disagree with us on this, but we feel like there is an uncanny similarity between Professor Moriarty and the Joker. They are both brilliant, and their intelligence is used for evil. Their cold-blooded nature is strikingly similar, and they are both calculative and manipulative schemers.
The only major difference is probably in their methods, and Professor Moriarty maintains order way more than the anarchy that is enjoyed by the Joker when it comes to his modus operandi. They are both almost obsessed with their respective heroes, and this obsession drives them to add to their criminalist bend of mind.
Professor Moriarty is extremely ruthless, and he doesn’t shy away from taking lives when he has to. He is smart enough to recognize the threat posed by Sherlock Holmes, and he doesn’t mince words when he warns him by saying, “if you are clever enough to bring destruction upon me, rest assured I shall do as much to you.”
He maintains his calm even in the worst situations, and no criminal activity is complicated enough for him to perfect. His cunning intellect is one of his greatest strengths, and this probably came from his solid educational background. His mathematical skills are unparalleled and he used them to weave a maze of crime around the city. As Sherlock once said, “He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city”.
He is such a perfect schemer that none of his actions leave a speck of doubt over him. It took another incredible mind to put together his acts of crime, and suspect Moriarty as the man behind everything. The way Sherlock described Moriarty almost felt like he was praising and admiring the man for his sheer brilliance.
After all, the greatest detective must have been delighted to have a worthy opponent who was smart enough to challenge him. The respect was mutual, and even Moriarty felt the same way about Sherlock. The two arch-rivals even shared a few similarities. For instance, Moriarty was just as sarcastic and outspoken as Sherlock, and they both had a tone that was useful to intimidate or annoy their opponents. But the sadistic psychopath was still treading the path of evil, and Sherlock was only determined to get rid of this scum.
Did BBC’s Sherlock add another dimension to Moriarty?
BBC’s Sherlock is undoubtedly one of the better Sherlock Holmes adaptations, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular detective who has been phenomenal in the role. The narrative is premised in modern-day London, and this prompted the makers to bring some of the cases of this seasoned detective to the present-day setting. Besides making some subtle changes to modernize the story, the makers stuck to the iconic characters, and the show received lots of love from the fans.
In both the first and the second season, the makers introduced James Moriarty as one of Sherlock’s greatest enemies, and Andrew Scott who played the role deserves all the appreciation for his efforts. He made Moriarty a psycho with order and brains, and this was a dangerous combination for the consulting detective to handle.
There comes a point in the narrative, where Moriarty is almost shown to be obsessed with Sherlock. He was a master of acting, blackmailing, and manipulation, and this enabled him to have his way with the law. He even hatched an elaborate plan to bring down Sherlock permanently, and his way to do so was by ruining his reputation.
We feel that this representation of Moriarty does justice to the ideas set by Conan Doyle, and the complex criminal who gets kicks from his weird acts is just a notch more dangerous than what he was in written fiction. However, when he gets to know about the dark side of Sherlock Holmes, his interests come to a halt and he kills himself in a situation where the detective had no choice but to commit suicide in order to save his friends. The show played on his obsessive side, and the maniacal villain stuck with us long after we were done watching.
The Origin of this twisted Psychopathic individual
Morning shows the day, and it was certainly the case with James Moriarty. When he was a mere child of thirteen, he killed Carl Powers, a talented swimmer, only because he had laughed at him. Since then, Moriarty possessed his shoes for over twenty years. His rough childhood probably shaped him into this heartless and remorseless individual. He went on to create a criminal organization across the world, and he planned things that were previously thought of as impossible by other criminals.
The Actors who played Moriarty perfectly!
We have already spoken about Andrew Scott’s wonderful performance and how it was a perfect companion for Benedict’s flamboyance. However, the late, great Eric Porter also played the role in the 80s, and he did a mighty fine job with the opportunity. He perfectly captured the repellent and twisted nature of Moriarty, and the biggest positive for him was how similar he looked in comparison to the original sketches.
Henry Daniell was another brilliant actor who essayed the role, and even though he appeared in one of the lesser movies in the series, his performance caught the eye of the fans. There have been some other prominent actors who played Moriarty, and the character has been explored thoroughly over the years.
Our Final Words
Professor Moriarty is not just a villain for the Sherlock fans. He adds an emotional value to the narrative and provides the challenge that was previously missing to some extent. The most intelligent detective to walk the Earth was at a loss for ideas at times, and it made him more human than what the initial stories made him be.
The only thing left for now is to explore the possibilities of a new Sherlock Holmes movie or a show that would focus largely on Moriarty and give us a better origin story and explanations behind his unusual acts. If Joker could be such a huge hit as a solitary villain in a movie, we are quite sure that Moriarty wouldn’t disappoint the fans either!