Top 10 Fictional Detectives
The greatest fictional detectives/investigators of all time.
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 proficiency with observation, forensic science, and logical reasoning that borders on the fantastic, which he employs... 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 is a fictional character appearing in the 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.
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, exclusively known by the mononym L, is a fictional character in the manga series Death Note, created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata . 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.
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.
Rorschach is a fictional anti-hero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first debuted in the graphic novel Watchmen, published from 1986-1987. Rorschach was created by writer Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons. 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.
Columbo or Lieutenant Columbo is the eponymous main character in the American detective crime drama series Columbo. The character is a shrewd but inelegant blue-collar homicide detective whose trademarks include his shambling manner, rumpled beige raincoat and off-putting, relentless investigative approach... 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!
Totally Tintin! He's the boss. He's cool and smart for a kid!
The Newcomers
Jimmy Kudo, known in Japan and internationally as Shinichi Kudo, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the manga series Case Closed and its adaptations, created by Gosho Aoyama. One of the best detectives.
He should be second.
Sherlock is his idol, but he deserves the first spot.
Anyone who doesn't agree Dupin should take the first place has never read his stories. He beats Sherlock Holmes any day.
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.
Scooby Doo is a famous fictional dog character from the show Scooby-Doo Where Are You? He is the protagonist of his series . 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.
Kyoko Kirigiri, a character from Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, is a student of Class 78 in Hope's Peak Academy, who also participates in Monokuma's Killing School Life. She is the Ultimate Detective.
Sam Spade is a fictional private detective and the protagonist of Dashiell Hammett's 1930 novel, The Maltese Falcon. Spade also appeared in three lesser-known short stories by Hammett. Spade combined several features of previous detectives, most notably his detached demeanor, keen eye for detail, and... read more
Professor Hershel Layton is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Professor Layton fictional universe, created by Level-5.
