James Moriarty

Needs Less Canon: This article includes too much canon information for the amount of fannish content given. Please add fannish context or remove unneeded trivia. Although a brief overview of canon is welcome, the focus of every page should be about the fandom; canon details are important if they can be associated with a particular fannish activity, fanwork, or fannish event. See What Fanlore is not for more information.

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

This article is about the general character from Sherlock Holmes fandom. For the counterpart played by by Andrew Scott in Sherlock BBC, see Jim Moriarty.

Character
Name:	James Moriarty
Occupation:	Criminal Mastermind, Professor, army coach
Relationships:	Sherlock Holmes (archenemy), Colonel Sebastian Moran (side-kick, friend), Colonel James Moriarty (brother)
Fandom:	Sherlock Holmes
Other:
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Professor James Moriarty is widely considered Sherlock Holmes' archenemy in the Sherlock Holmes series, although he is only directly involved in two of the original stories. Moriarty is a popular antagonist for pastiches.

Canon

He is the Napoleon of crime, Watson. He is the organizer of half that is evil and of nearly all that is undetected in this great city. He is a genius, a philosopher, an abstract thinker. He has a brain of the first order.

- Sherlock Holmes on Professor Moriarty, The Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Professor Moriarty is the antagonist introduced in The Final Problem as Holmes is about to take down Moriarty's criminal empire. Holmes both admires Moriarty's brilliance and is horrified by his crimes. Moriarty is also referred to in The Empty House and has a key role in The Valley of Fear.

He is a "man of good birth and excellent education," a genius mathematician and author and described as "very respectable", although he was forced to resign his chair at an unspecified university due to "dark rumours" about him. He is unmarried and has at least one though probably two brothers - Colonel James Moriarty and a younger brother, name unknown. He is pale, tall and thin and has a habit of "oscillating" his face from side to side. Moriarty's best known acquaintance is Colonel Sebastian Moran, his chief of staff and his friend or "bosom friend".

Moriarty appears to be partly based on various real people including the real 'Napoleon of Crime', fraudster and crime boss Adam Worth, whose most famous crime was the theft of a valuable painting, something which seems to be alluded to in Moriarty owning a valuable painting himself.

Other texts

Professor Moriarty is either referred to or appears in a huge number of other texts by other authors and in numerous screen and audio adaptations. Some of the most notable or best known examples are given below.

Pastiches

Moriarty-centred, pastiche-style fiction has been produced by numerous professional authors. The most notable are probably:

• John Gardner; The Return of Moriarty (1974) and sequels
• Michael Kurland; The Infernal Device (1978) and sequels
• Neil Gaiman; A Study in Emerald (2003); Cthulhu Mythos crossover novelette.
• Kim Newman; Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles (2011 - collected Moriarty novelettes). Moriarty also appears as a vampire in Newman's Anno Dracula (1992) though he is not the focus of the story.
• Alan Moore; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999)
• Vernon Mealor; The File on Colonel Moran Volume One: The Lure of Moriarty (2008) and The File on Colonel Moran: Sherlock Holmes Takes a Hand (2011)
• Anthony Horowitz; Moriarty (2014)
• Various authors, edited by Maxim Jakubowski; The Mammoth Book of the Adventures of Moriarty (2015)
• Gareth Rubin; Holmes and Moriarty (2024)

Sherlock Holmes (1931 film series)

Moriarty is a recurring villain in the films which feature Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes, appearing in The Sleeping Cardinal (1931), The Triumph of Sherlock Holmes (1935) and Murder at the Baskervilles (1937). He was played by Norman McKinnel in the first and then by Lyn Harding in the second two films. In Murder at the Baskervilles, also known as Silver Blaze, Professor Moriarty along with Colonel Moran is shown to be behind the Silver Blaze case, loosely based on the canonical story of that name.

Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)

Professor Moriarty appears as the villain in three of the films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, being played by a different actor each time, by George Zucco in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939), Lionel Atwill in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942) and Henry Daniell in The Woman in Green (1945). Some elements of the films are loosely based on various canonical stories.

The Adventure of the Final Problem (1955 BBC radio)

The Adventure of the Final Problem (1955) is an episode of the British radio series The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, produced by Harry Alan Towers and aired on the BBC and NBC radio between 1954-1955, starring Sir John Gielgud as Sherlock Holmes. In it Moriarty and Holmes's relationship is portrayed as a cordial one with their interaction being polite and even friendly, both in Holmes's rooms and at the Reichenbach Falls. Moriarty was played by Orson Welles.

Sherlock Holmes (Granada)

In the Sherlock Holmes (Granada) TV series, Moriarty's role was expanded on somewhat, showing him as being connected to The Red-Headed League plot in the episode of that name as well as having him appear in The Final Problem (1985), which also introduces a plot element involving Moriarty being involved in art theft and art forgery, possibly as a nod to Moriarty's ownership of a valuable painting in the canon as well as him being partially based on Adam Worth. It is one of the few screen examples that shows Moriarty 'oscillating' his head as described in the canon. The character was played by Eric Porter.

Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

In Young Sherlock Holmes, it is finally revealed at the very end of the film that the young Holmes's fencing instructor and also one of the film's antagonists, Professor Rathe, is Moriarty. He is played by Anthony Higgins.

Bert Coules BBC radio series (1989-1998)

Moriarty appears in The Final Problem (1992), The Empty House (1993) and the two-part The Valley of Fear (1997) episodes of the BBC radio adaptation by Bert Coules, starring Clive Merrison as Sherlock Holmes. In The Empty House it is revealed that at the Reichenbach Falls, Moriarty effectively asked Holmes to join with him, although Holmes swiftly turned him down and they then engaged in hand to hand combat. Moriarty was voiced by Michael Pennington in The Final Problem and The Empty House and by Ronald Pickup (as 'the narrator') in The Valley of Fear.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

In Guy Ritchie's 2009 Sherlock Holmes film, Professor Moriarty is a shadowy character manipulating Irene Adler. In the film's sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011), Moriarty is the film's main antagonist. The character is played by Jared Harris and is one of the few portrayals to show Moriarty as a mathematics professor as well as a criminal mastermind.

Sherlock (BBC)

Jim Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott, is the main antagonist of the series. This depiction of Moriarty is possibly psychologically disturbed, and he plays a "game" with Sherlock Holmes where people die if Sherlock doesn't figure out a case in the allotted time frame.

Jim really plays up the hoyay between himself and Sherlock, much to the delight of fans.

Elementary

Although not the main series villain, the identity of Moriarty was important in the climax of the first season of Elementary. Elementary is fairly unique in having a female Moriarty, called Jamie Moriarty. She initially goes by the name Irene Adler and poses as an art restorer, which may connect to Moriarty owning a valuable painting in the canon.

Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century

In Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century, the long-dead Moriarty is cloned and resumes his life of crime in the future. This prompts Detective Beth Lestrade to resurrect Holmes to stop him, thus beginning the series. Moriarty is the antagonist behind nearly all the crimes in the show.

James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal

James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal (2017) is an audiobook written by Andy Weir, read by Graeme Malcolm and published by Audible. Similar in style to most of the original Sherlock Holmes stories, it includes three short stories narrated by Moriarty's friend and criminal associate Sebastian Moran, in which Moriarty solves cases for various clients.

Yuukoku no Moriarty (Moriarty the Patriot)

Yuukoku no Moriarty or Moriarty the Patriot, a manga series (published starting in 2016) which has also been adapted into a 24 part anime series and 2 stage plays, effectively splits Professor Moriarty into three characters, the Moriarty brothers William James, Albert James and Louis James Moriarty, who together become the 'Lord of Crime'. This is an apparent nod to Professor Moriarty likely having two brothers in the canon. The manga and anime also covers key parts of their backstory. William James though is the actual Professor Moriarty who also works as a mathematics professor. The three brothers are also aided by their other associates including Sebastian Moran and James Bonde. Moriarty is shown as far younger than in most portrayals of the character and much of the focus is on William's sometimes antagonistic but also mutually respectful and friendly relationship with Sherlock Holmes.

Genius (a dramatic podcast)

Genius (2019) is a 13 part dramatic podcast created and written by Tracey Houston, set in 2005 but with extensive flashbacks to the 1970s-1990s, in which the brilliant but reclusive Sabine Moriarty is caught between her estranged brother Jim Moriarty, and Sherlock Holmes. Moriarty is effectively divided into two characters, Sabine being the 'genius' mathematician while Jim is the ruthless criminal. Jim is explicitly portrayed as queer but is also obsessed with his sister. Although the podcast is referred to as season 1, no further seasons have been released so far as of early 2025. Sabine Moriarty is voiced by Sarah Marchand and Jim Moriarty by Mitchell Cohen.

Moriarty (podcast)

Moriarty is a drama podcast created and written by Charles Kindinger, produced by Treefort Media and Audible, with two seasons, Moriarty: The Devil's Game (2022) and Moriarty: The Silent Order (2023). It effectively reverses the usual narrative, portraying Moriarty largely as an innocent man who is framed for murder and having Sherlock Holmes be far more villainous. It is also a rare example of Moriarty being portrayed as a romantic figure and of him being put into a heterosexual relationship. Sebastian Moran also features in it as a major character who becomes Moriarty's friend. Moriarty is played by Dominic Monaghan.

Sherlock & Co.

In the Sherlock & Co. podcast, Professor James Moriarty has been briefly mentioned or alluded to a number of times across various episodes.

Influence

Macavity the Mystery Cat

Macavity or 'the Hidden Paw' is the antagonist in T. S. Eliot's book of poetry Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (1939) and also appears in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats (1981) and its feature film adaptation (2019), based on Eliot's book. Macavity is a cunning criminal cat and is a clear allusion to Professor Moriarty in both his name and behaviour.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

A holographic version of Moriarty, played by Daniel Davis, appeared in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Originally created to be a challenging holodeck opponent for Data, it gained self-awareness, built equipment to seize control of the Enterprise, and demanded its rights as a sentient being.

Doctor Who

The Master was made to be the "Moriarty" to The Doctor's "Sherlock Holmes".

Basil of Baker Street

Moriarty has a mouse equivalent in Professor Ratigan in the Basil of Baker Street books written by Eve Titus and illustrated by Paul Galdone. Ratigan was then changed into a rat in the later Disney film adaptation (1986) called The Great Mouse Detective or Basil the Great Mouse Detective depending on the country.

The Librarians (2014)

In the second season of The Librarians the fictional sorcerer Prospero, who has become real thanks to the belief of generations of audiences, uses a surge of magic to summon Moriarty (David S. Lee) from a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories and bring him into the real world as his agent.

Fandom

Within the Sherlock Holmes fandom Moriarty is a character who, as Holmes's antagonist or 'nemesis' who was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for the specific purpose of killing Holmes off, is disliked by many Sherlock Holmes fans, or at least is the character who many fans love to hate. Some even appear to celebrate his demise, as demonstrated by the erection of a plaque at the Reichenbach Falls which commemorated the 100th anniversary of Holmes 'vanquishing' Moriarty there. Nonetheless he is one of the best known characters from the original Sherlock Holmes canon and despite actually being a very minor character there, he has been used time and time again in adaptations and pastiches and in other fanworks and still has a great many fans. In one form or another Moriarty appears in a large number of pieces of fanfiction, with over 16,000 works listing James Moriarty as a character on Archive of Our Own for instance. His usage in fanworks, both fanfiction and other types, is split between those using him as an antagonist or villain, often while the main focus is on Holmes and where Moriarty is a relatively minor character, and those where he is himself the protagonist or the main focus of the work. In fanworks of both kinds his character will often be developed or expanded on significantly from details referred to in the canon or is sometimes changed far more drastically depending on the story or the verse a particular work is set in. He appears in both gen fanworks and ones involving shipping him with another character. A variety of topics may be addressed in both such as his history or backstory, his sexuality, various crimes he has committed or his family. With the latter other characters connected to him such as the brothers mentioned in the canon are sometimes also given expanded characterisation and roles, or sometimes original character family members such as children appear. A lot of Moriarty fanworks will tend to be focused on BBC Sherlock's Jim Moriarty but many others for many other verses do exist.

Professor Moriarty is commonly viewed as not just the main villain or antagonist of the canon, hence his appearance in so many other texts, but also the narrative foil to Sherlock Holmes, his mirror character who is as Holmes might be if Holmes crossed the line into true villainy, even to the extent that he is seen as Holmes's only true intellectual equal and the only one who really understands him.

Shipping

Moriarty's most common parings are Moriarty/Moran and the enemyslash pairing of Holmes/Moriarty. Outside of BBC's Sherlock, which has the somewhat common Jim/Molly pairing, and some shipping of the character of William Moriarty from Yuukoku no Moriarty, het pairings involving Moriarty are very rare. Moriarty is canonically unmarried which often forms the basis of him being portrayed as gay, asexual, aromantic or some combination of these rather than as heterosexual and sometimes his relationship with Moran in particular is portrayed more as queerplatonic rather than as a conventional romantic one.

• Moriarty/Moran

Common Tropes and Storylines in Fanworks

• AU: Moriarty has often been placed into other universes, especially a modern day AU in some adaptations and in fanworks but he has also been put into various other AUs including some fantasy settings.
• Backstory: very little is known about Moriarty's past, other than he was intelligent, well educated, was a mathematics professor and became a criminal mastermind. This leaves it open for fans to fill in the gaps of Moriarty's upbringing and rise to power however they wish in their fanworks, as well as expanding on the small details given about his family. His brother or brothers for instance, mentioned in the canon, feature in multiple fanworks.
• Canon Divergence AU: Moriarty features often in fanworks that diverge from the canon to some degree, often to show him surviving when he supposedly dies canonically.
• Darkfic: Since Moriarty is canonically the antagonist, many fanworks do involve him committing various crimes himself or causing them to be committed, including murder, and often employing Moran to kill people on his behalf.
• Enemies to lovers: inspired perhaps by the apparently courteous and respectful way Moriarty and Holmes behave towards each other in the canon as well as in other portrayals in various adaptations, as well as the pair considering each other intellectual equals, Moriarty is sometimes shown developing a much more intimate relationship with Holmes.
• Friends to lovers: based on Sebastian Moran being called Moriarty's "bosom friend" in the canon, Moriarty has also been commonly shown developing a romantic and/or sexual relationship with Moran.
• Irish Moriarty: Moriarty is canonically described as an Englishman although his surname is of Irish origin so some fans portray him as English (though often with Irish ancestry), some as Irish.
• Kink: within fanworks which pair Moriarty with various other characters, kink is fairly common, often involving some form of BDSM. One probable reason for this is Holmes's quote in The Valley of Fear that "Moriarty rules with a rod of iron over his people. His discipline is tremendous" which can be seen as suggestive of Moriarty being a Dominant person not only in general but also in a sexual or kinky sense.
• Missing scene: fanworks often expand drastically on Moriarty's appearance in the canon, including showing him in scenes that may have been mentioned or implied by the canon but were not actually shown or were never witnessed by the canon's narrator Dr Watson. This may include covering some of Moriarty's other crimes, showing him as developing a relationship with Moran, or expanding on his encounter with Holmes at the Reichenbach Falls.
• Moriarty isn't real: a storyline that has been used in multiple fanworks, including some adaptations and pastiches, it appears to play on the idea that Holmes and Moriarty are narrative foils or mirror characters and are the only people who truly understand each other but suggesting that this is because either Holmes made Moriarty up or Holmes is Moriarty, sometimes in the sense that Moriarty is another personality within the same body. Such ideas have been done in various different ways in various texts including in Michael Dibdin's The Last Sherlock Holmes Story (1978) and the play The Secret of Sherlock Holmes by Jeremy Paul (first performed in 1988) and in other fanfiction.
• Name: Occasionally, primarily in some early film adaptations but also even some later fanworks, Moriarty's first name is given as Robert, though this originates from the William Gillette Sherlock Holmes play (1899) created before Conan Doyle canonically gave Moriarty the first name James. He is also sometimes referred to as 'Jim' even outside of BBC Sherlock fanworks. In other works which change Moriarty more drastically, such as by genderswapping him for instance, the character will usually be given a different first name also (as Elementary's Jamie Moriarty is).
• Obsession: Moriarty is commonly viewed in the fandom as being interested in Holmes to an obsessive degree, akin sometimes to a stalker even, and liable to choose death when he is effectively 'rejected' by Holmes. This idea appears to owe much to the BBC Sherlock portrayal in particular. Even the Conan Doyle Estate have claimed that Moriarty is Holmes's "obsessive fan" and that he is a mirror of Holmes in an "eerily romantic" way despite this being largely a fanon idea and not a storyline that was actually present in the canon.
• Presumed Dead: Moriarty does presumably die in the canonical story in which he is introduced. However his death was never conclusively shown, leaving room for fans to be able to plausibly 'resurrect' him, either to have him as a recurring villain responsible for many more crimes or simply to further explore his character.
• PWP: many fanworks focused on shipping Moriarty with another character (often Moran) are largely focused on smut.
• Recurring Character: Moriarty only really features in one canon story, The Final Problem, although he does play a key role in The Valley of Fear and the remnants of his criminal network are a major plot point in The Empty House. Many fans will increase Moriarty's presence in their fanworks, having him become a recurring antagonist, either by increasing his involvement with Holmes before their fatal showdown at Reichenbach Falls, or by having Moriarty return somehow and have him be a repeated threat to Holmes and Watson.
• Recurring themes, imagery and plot elements: Moriarty is canonically referred to by Holmes as "like a spider in the centre of its web" and this animal imagery is utilised in some fanworks, with him being called a spider or with spiderwebs being referred to or shown in fanart for example. He is also linked to death imagery or symbolism both within the canon and in adaptations and fanworks. These are amongst the topics discussed in the extensive meta essay The Mythology of Moriarty and Moran. His rivalry or his 'duel to the death' with Holmes is another theme or plot element that occurs repeatedly in fanworks, with this often being expanded on significantly from the canon and where also usually far more crimes are ascribed to Moriarty, often effectively making him a far greater villain than he ever actually was within the canon itself.
• Vampires: vampire AU fanfiction exists for Moriarty and there are published texts which link him to vampirism. Some of this may be directly inspired by Holmes's description of Moriarty in the canon, where he is described as "pale" and with animalistic traits, suggesting that he is somewhat of an 'inhuman' figure.

Example Fanworks

Fanfic

• Holmesian fanfiction focusing on Professor Moriarty by Andy Weir (2009-2014. Was subsequently turned into the audiobook James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal)
• A Fake Cause: A Fake Death by MourningThyme (2014)
• Kingdom Down by wickednlazy (2015)
• The Memorandum-Book of James Moriarty by Juliana Brandagamba (2015)
• The Devil by tiger_moran (2020)
• You Should See Me in a Crown by tiger_moran (2020)
• Janus by orphan_account (2023)
• Dusted off by the devil by Blistering_Typhoons (2025)

Meta

• The Mythology of Moriarty and Moran by tiger_moran (2023)

Podcasts

• Dynamics of a Podcast - 'A podcast fangirling over the Napoleon of Crime himself, Professor James Moriarty'

Videos

• Professor Moriarty Origins - The Criminal Mastermind Mathematician Is A True Nemesis Of Sherlock by Marvelous Videos
• Why This Was The Best Version of Moriarty by In The Mind of A Villain
• Professor Moriarty Tribute by Psycho Mask
• The Real Professor Moriarty - Influences Behind a Literary Masterpiece by The Sherlockian
• One Villainous Scene: Professor Moriarty - How One Scene Built an Immortal Legacy by KateCast Reviews

External Links

• Professor Moriarty entry on Wikipedia
• James Moriarty tag on Archive of Our Own
• Hell Yeah Professor Moriarty tumblr blog
• Macavity the Mystery Cat entry on Wikipedia