Top 10 Fictional Detectives

Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes)

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional private detective created by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Referring to himself as a "consulting detective" in the stories, Holmes is known for his expertise in observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that often seems almost superhuman. He solves complex... read more

Sherlock Holmes is basically shorthand for "brilliant detective" at this point. He's one of the most frequently adapted characters in all of fiction, and for good reason: he's an exceptional detective. He's a mostly emotionless, calculating, analytical, deduction-obsessed genius who solves crimes not out of a sense of justice but more to prove how brilliant he is. Practically every fictional detective has drawn upon Sherlock Holmes as an influence since. Modern audiences have three separate Sherlock Holmes portrayals being made - CBS's Elementary, BBC's Sherlock, and the Sherlock Holmes movies. But there's apparently one detective even greater than Sherlock. It's...

Bruce Wayne (Batman)

Bruce Wayne is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He is a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and owner of Wayne Enterprises.

After witnessing the murder of his parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, as a child, Bruce swore vengeance against... read more

"The World's Greatest Detective" is appropriately the world's greatest detective. He solves his cases through a variety of methods: headbutting, using his cave's supercomputer, punching, kicking, dangling thugs off roofs, punching more, and occasionally throwing things. Sometimes he actually does do detective work - trying to determine the true identity of the Holiday Killer, the identity of Hush, and more. Even when he does, though, it still involves a lot of punching and gadgets solving things for him. Still, the results speak for themselves - he's put away more criminals than pretty much any other detective in history. Sure, most of them escape regularly, but that's really more of an Arkham Asylum security issue.

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's Poirot)

Hercule Poirot is a fictional Belgian detective created by British author Dame Agatha Christie. He first appeared in the novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920. Poirot is famous for his meticulous approach to solving crimes and his use of logic and psychology.

He is the best fictional detective of all time.
He can solve a case without leaving the room.
No one can beat the gray cells of Hercule Poirot.

His stories are so great and creative. Poirot is a very funny but smart character, and he deserves to be in the top three.

No one comes close to the greatest detective of all time with the little grey cells!

L Lawliet (Death Note)

L Lawliet, known exclusively by the mononym L, is a fictional character in the manga series Death Note. He was created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and illustrator Takeshi Obata. L is a highly intelligent and eccentric detective who takes on the challenge of capturing the mysterious killer known as Kira.

L took on a case where the murder weapon was unknown to man (not to mention also one of the deadliest fictional weapons ever), the killer himself was a brilliant sociopath with influence over the police, and anyone in the entire world was a possible suspect. He still figured out who the killer was in less than a year. Meanwhile, Sherlock Holmes was struggling to catch a dog with paint on its face, and Batman couldn't figure out who the Holiday Killer was, even though that could've been solved quite easily if he had just performed basic forensics on Alberto Falcone's "corpse." Enough said.

Unlike Holmes, L became a master detective when he was very young instead of waiting until he was older. When L sees Light Yagami as a suspect of being Kira, he watches him and sees that Light looks innocent. But when L sees someone acting innocent, he knows they're too innocent to be truly innocent.
Right from the beginning, he knew that Light was Kira but didn't tell the police force because they wouldn't believe him without proof. Even without proof, L managed to figure out that Light was Kira.

Miss Marple (Agatha Christie's Miss Marple)

Rorschach (Watchmen)

Rorschach is a fictional anti-hero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He made his debut in the graphic novel Watchmen, which was released in serialized form between 1986 and 1987. The character was created by writer Alan Moore and artist Dave Gibbons as a complex figure who embodies... read more

Rorschach solved a lot of mysteries - who was behind the murder of costumed heroes, what was the secret behind Dr. Manhattan's supposed cancer victims, who was really locked up in there, etc. But his greatest achievement was (probably) solving the mystery of how to ruin world peace. Pretty impressive for a guy who calls blood "human bean juice."

He was able to piece together a murder and also exposed who killed 4 million people.

Adrian Monk (Monk)

Adrian Monk is definitely in the top five. He is considered to be like Sherlock Holmes in the show. He solves so many impossible cases and is one of the most famous detectives.

Inspector Gadget (Inspector Gadget)

Inspector Gadget is a fictional cybernetic police inspector who debuted in a 1983 animated television series. He was voiced by Don Adams, who brought a comically clueless yet determined energy to the role. Gadget was later featured in two live-action films, a 1999 version starring Matthew Broderick and... read more

John Constantine (Hellblazer)

Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin)

Totally Tintin! He's the boss. He's cool and smart for a kid!

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Harry Dresden (The Dresden Files)

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Mikeneko Holmes (Mikeneko Holmes' Deduction)

Columbo (Columbo)

Columbo, also known as Lieutenant Columbo, is the central character of the American detective television series Columbo. He is portrayed as a perceptive yet modest homicide detective with a casual, disheveled appearance. His signature traits include a rumpled beige raincoat, an unassuming demeanor, and... read more

He is always smarter than the average crook, pretends to be dumb just to mess with everybody's mind, and has an awesome voice. Peter Falk is the best! Oh, and just one more thing... I like the way he says, "Oh, and just one more thing..."

20th? Are you joking? He should be at the top of this list!

Jessica Fletcher (Murder, She Wrote)

Scooby-Doo (Scooby-Doo)

Scooby-Doo is a famous fictional dog character from the animated television series Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, which premiered in 1969. He is the protagonist of the franchise, known for his role in solving mysteries alongside his human friends in Mystery Inc. The character was created by Joe Ruby and... read more

The other comment says it all. He has busted literally thousands of criminals, saved millions of dollars from schemes and plots, and is able to deduce who someone is using a single obscure detail. Oh yeah, and he's a dog. Suck on that, Batman.

C. Auguste Dupin (Edgar Allan Poe's Dupin)

Anyone who doesn't agree Dupin should take the first place has never read his stories. He beats Sherlock Holmes any day.

Philip Marlowe (Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe)

Shinichi Kudo (Detective Conan)

Jimmy Kudo, known in Japan and internationally as Shinichi Kudo, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series Case Closed, also known as Detective Conan. The series was created by manga artist Gosho Aoyama. Shinichi is a high school detective who is transformed into a child while... read more

One of the best detectives.
He should be second.
Sherlock is his idol, but he deserves the first spot.

Inspector Clouseau (The Pink Panther)

Would have been really disappointed if Jacques didn't get a mention. Gotta go pump up the parrot and take a long walk off a short pier.

Just for the memes. But this man is secretly a genius, despite how idiotic he appears. He may be clumsy, but he sure has talent.

Watson (Sherlock Holmes)

Dr. John H. Watson is a fictional character in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He first appeared alongside Sherlock Holmes in the novel A Study in Scarlet (1887). "The Adventure of Shoscombe Old Place" (1927) is the final story Doyle wrote featuring Watson and Holmes, although... read more

Lord Peter Wimsey (Dorothy L. Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey)

Benoit Blanc (Knives Out)

Sam Spade (The Maltese Falcon)

Sam Spade is a fictional private detective and the central character of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel The Maltese Falcon. In addition to the novel, he appeared in three short stories by Hammett: Too Many Have Lived, They Can Only Hang You Once, and A Man Called Spade... read more

Shawn Spencer (Psych)

Inspector Morse (Inspector Morse)

Father Brown (Father Brown)

Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He appears in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using intuition and a deep understanding of human nature. Chesterton loosely based the... read more

Charlie Chan (Charlie Chan)

Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers. He first appeared in the 1925 novel The House Without a Key. The character went on to appear in several more novels and became widely known through film and television adaptations.