Greatest Detective: Sherlock Holmes vs Batman?

Question

Feel free to tweak any of these characters. Example, you can have Holme's be a product of the 21st century so that he's up to speed with today's world. We're comparing each character's ability to solve a case based on clues (footwork, ability to work with surroundings, etc..)

Holmes wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sherlock_Holmes

Batman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman

Answer 1

I am dissapointed in every single one of you that chose batman, he has too many issues..And I add that he is always known to be fictional, while as Holmes has some fans that actually believe that Holmes,is really real.Both have had problems...(The belivers of Sherlock,say that he has issues with cocaine and morphine)..But in detective work,Sherlock is,indeed,the best detective ever,in real and fiction!

Answer 2

Batman Sherlock

Answer 3

Sherlock Holmes

Answer 4

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, Watson commentas that Holmes had a superior intellect and had developed his deductive detective method to the point of almost perfection but was rather ignorant of many subjects not pertaining directly to his job as a detective. Watson also states that Holmes was good as a boxer and fencer, and a fair marksman.

Batman, on the ohter hand, is undeniably possessed of a genius level intellect and is deeply knowledgeable of a shitload of subjects, not all necessarily pertaining to detective work. Besides, he's supposed to be one of the top 5 hand-to-hand fighters in the DC comics universe and the peak of human physical achievement.

Even if Holmes would be updated for the 21st Century, the fact remains that Batman outclasses him in every category of the job, and that's not even taking into account Batman's monetary resources. I mean, Holmes was by no means wealthy, right?

Answer 5

Sherlock

Answer 6

If you’re going to allow tweaks, that sort of destroys the fairness of the competition. But all right. Lets look at how they’ve done in the past. Batman and Sherlock Holmes met in some big anniversary issue of Detective Comics, where Batman acknowledged his debt to the great detective. (Holmes was 110 years old at the time, and keeping himself alive with an extract of royal jelly, produced by bees.)

Recall that Holmes was a pure detective, solving mysteries in the realms of history and archaeology, of personal relationships and international relationships, as well as crime. You might think of him as sort of a very broad general scientist. His background in chemistry was intense, and he learned to think in terms of specific causes and specific effects being inextricably linked together. He used logic, and prefigured psychoanalysis, being able to deduce the train of thought in a person’s mind on more than one occasion.

Batman is more general, and more specific. He is primarily geared toward fighting crime. His martial arts expertise is wider than that of Holmes. He is a superbly trained escape artist. He also (as many of his detractors point out) has billions to spend on ‘all those wonderful toys’. )

[However, how many of them would do good, if they had Wayne’s money to spend…? How many of them would sink down into a self-indulgent slough and waste the rest of their lives? How many of them would cause more trouble that they solved? How many of them would fall into the habit of just throwing money at problems, and not take the hands on approach at all? Sorry, I’m editorializing..]

I’m not disputing Batman’s reputation as the World’s (current) Greatest Detective. It’s largely earned, due to the effort and industry he puts into solving his cases. The other factors—his martial arts, escape arts, equipment (I am glossing over lots of details, here) also contribute.

Both men were largely unofficial, and even Holmes broke the law at times, in causes he considered just. I suppose that this makes him, technically, a vigilante. There were however, only one or two situations (the case of Charles Augustus Milverton) where Holmes (and his sidekick, Watson the Boy Wonder!) went masked.

The more I think about it, the more parallels I see. If they were both contemporary…?

I guess it would have to come down to motivations. Let’s look at why they turned, each of them, to a life of detective work. Young Bruce Wayne saw his parents shot by a holdup man; that would be enough to traumatize anybody, and they only way he could overcome it was to fight back against crime. Young Sherlock Holmes…? We have less data on him. So little is said concerning his younger days.

But, we may deduce certain things! Accepting for the time being the explanation given in The Seven and a Half Percent Solution— that Holmes’ mother had deceived his father and that he himself was actually illegitimate (so that Sherlock’s and Mycroft’s powers of mind came primarily from their mother’s side)—the truth was probably kept from the boy, although he must have suspected it!

This explains his disinterest, or contempt of women, and his brother’s remaining unmarried, as well. It also emphasizes his early desire to penetrate the façade and reveal the unspoken motives of people.

So, in terms of seeking pure truth, getting answers as to what happened, I must call Holmes the greater pure detective. Batman is the more effective crime fighter, though., and the greatest detective of our generation.

14 DEC 06, 1233 hrs, GMT

Answer 7

Boiled down to detective work, I have to give it up to Holmes (though I would have to throw in Danger Mouse as a close second). And he seems to do rather well in that cartoon where he's in the future (with a robotic Doctor Watson).

Everything else, Batman would win, hands down. More exp. with martial arts, street brawling, weapons and a lot of cool toys.

Answer 8

batman by far.

Holmes would likely be bieng busted by batman so batman could get to holmes' dealer.

Holmes is a coke addict remember?

Holmes would be like batman trying to solve crimes when he was addicted to venom, he would simply get his info from the wrong people and not care so long as he got his coke fix.

He is a junkie, I don't know why anyone thinks he can solve any crimes, a good match for him might be nancy drew or the hardy boys or someone with lesser maturity and intelligence than batman (a real detective).

Answer 9

well, sherlock holmes, ithink has more intelligence than batman..cause batman is in more into fighting and action skills, while holmes investigates on a sure and silent way..that's what i think, i dont know sherlock holmes and im quite not interested w/ batman!! hope i had helped you!

Answer 10

Batman