Sebastian Moran

This page is about the character. For the doujinshi, see Sebastian Moran (doujinshi).

Character
Name:	Sebastian Moran
Occupation:	Moriarty's second in command, criminal, card shark
Relationships:	Professor James Moriarty (employer, friend) Sherlock Holmes (enemy) Sir Augustus Moran (father)
Fandom:	Sherlock Holmes
Other:
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Colonel Sebastian Moran is a character in the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He is Professor James Moriarty's second in command, and Sherlock Holmes refers to Moran as "the second most dangerous man in London" after Moriarty.

Canon

Moran is the antagonist in The Empty House, which is the story that features Holmes' return after his supposed death in The Final Problem. Despite being arrested for murder at the end of the story, Moran is apparently not executed for what was then a capital crime since Holmes refers to him as still being alive in The Illustrious Client, a story that takes place eight years later, and in His Last Bow published in 1917. He is also referred to in The Valley of Fear.

Moran is Moriarty's second in command, described as being his chief of staff, and is also called Moriarty's friend and "bosom friend". During the events of The Final Problem, Moran is with Moriarty as they follow Holmes and Watson to the continent. Moran tries to kill Holmes himself twice: during the events of The Final Problem after Moriarty's death, and again in The Empty House. In His Last Bow, Holmes names Moran as one of the men who have sworn revenge against him.

Moran was formerly an "honourable soldier" in the Indian Army, of the 1st Bengalore Pioneers, and was also a famous big game hunter, noted especially for hunting tigers, including during an incident where he was said to have pursued a wounded tiger down a drain. However, as Holmes says, Moran "began to go wrong" and "made India too hot to hold him". Although there was no open scandal, he was driven to retire and return to London, where he was soon sought out by Professor Moriarty. According to Holmes in The Valley of Fear, Moran is paid six thousand pounds a year for his "brains" by Moriarty, more than the Prime Minister's salary. He is described as being "as aloof and guarded and inaccessible to the law as [Moriarty]" and in The Empty House it said by Holmes he was used by Moriarty for only "one or two very high-class jobs which no ordinary criminal could have undertaken". Moriarty appears to have protected Moran from arrest or even suspicion, since Moran was not suspected of being the murderer of Ronald Adair even though he had played cards with him shortly before Adair's death.

He was born in London in 1840 and his father is Sir Augustus Moran, the former British Minister to Persia (modern day Iran). He has blue eyes, a "gaunt and swarthy" face which is also described as "tremendously virile and yet sinister", and has the "jaw of a sensualist", a large moustache, a "projecting" nose and is said to have a face "scored with deep, savage lines", possibly indicative of facial scarring but as Watson also refers to Moran having a "deep-lined brow" this may likely be simply a reference to deep frown lines. He was educated at Eton and Oxford. While in the army he served in various campaigns in India and in Afghanistan during the Second Anglo-Afghan War. He was mentioned in despatches, meaning his name appeared in an official report by a superior officer in which some particular gallant or meritorious action in the face of the enemy was described. Moran is also the author of two books, Heavy Game of the Western Himalayas and Three Months in the Jungle and, connecting to his big game hunting, is referred to as being like a tiger himself. He lives in Conduit Street, London and is a member of three clubs, The Anglo-Indian, the Tankerville and the Bagatelle Card Club. Although it is not conclusively linked to Moran, the Tankerville Club is also referred to in The Five Orange Pips in relation to a card-cheating scandal, which given that Moran is a card cheat does suggest he was involved somehow.

Moran is arrested in The Empty House for the murder of the Honourable Ronald Adair, allegedly using a unique air-gun created by the blind German mechanic, Von Herder. However though Holmes claims that Moran will hang for the crime, he is still alive many years later at the very end of the canon. Moran is an excellent marksman, described as the "best shot in India" by Holmes who adds, "I expect that there are few better in London."

Moran is also the villain in the one-act play by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Crown Diamond (1921) the plot of which is almost identical to the story The Mazarin Stone published later in the same year, except that in The Mazarin Stone Moran was replaced by a different villain. In the play he is described as "An intellectual Criminal".

Other texts

Although Moran tends not to be utilised as often as Moriarty, he has still appeared in numerous other texts and adaptations, including as the narrator or co-narrator in some pastiches. Some examples are given below.

Pastiches

• John Gardner; The Return of Moriarty (1974)
• Neil Gaiman; A Study in Emerald (2003)
• Elizabeth Bear; Tiger! Tiger! (2003 - short story in the Shadows Over Baker Street Cthulhu mythos meets Sherlock Holmes anthology)
• Michael Kurland; The Empress of India (2006)
• Kim Newman; Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles (2011 - collected Moriarty novelettes)
• 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)

Murder at the Baskervilles (1937)

While Moran does appear very briefly in another of the films which star Arthur Wontner as Sherlock Holmes, his bigger role is in Murder at the Baskervilles, also known as Silver Blaze, where he is shown as Moriarty's sidekick and he uses a concealed weapon, as Moran does in the canon. He was played by Arthur Goullet.

Terror by Night (1946)

Moran is the villain in this film, appearing as a notorious jewel thief who tries to steal a valuable diamond. Plot elements are taken from various different canonical stories and The Crown Diamond play by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle may also have influenced the inclusion of Moran. He was played by Alan Mowbray.

Sherlock Holmes (Granada)

Moran appears in the Granada Studios adaptation of The Empty House, being shown playing cards with Ronald Adair and others and testifying at the inquest into the death of Adair, as well as trying to kill Holmes. He was played by Patrick Allen.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

In Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, sequel to Sherlock Holmes (2009), Moran is portrayed by Paul Anderson. He appears as a somewhat younger version of the character and is said to have been dishonourably discharged from the army, becoming a gun for hire. He is a brilliant marksman who along with a rifle also uses poison darts to discretely murder people for Moriarty. He seems to have a close bond with Moriarty and be very protective towards him, interacting in a friendly manner with him and appearing extremely upset when Moriarty is almost killed by Watson's actions, leading to him being (non-fatally) wounded himself by Watson while in furious pursuit of Watson and Holmes. Towards the end of the film, though he is seen by Watson just after committing a murder, he escapes and disappears from the scene.

Sherlock (BBC)

In the Sherlock (BBC) series a character named Lord Moran acts as a minor antagonist in the episode "The Empty Hearse", but Sebastian Moran was never introduced as Moriarty's close associate. There is also a character named Sebastian Wilkes in the first series episode "The Blind Banker" but that Sebastian appears to be nothing at all to do with Moran. Nonetheless, Sebastian Moran is a very popular character in fandom and is often paired with Jim Moriarty. Many fans have a preferred/headcanon actor who portrays the character, as shown in gif sets on Tumblr and among roleplayers; common fan favorites include Michael Fassbender and Craig Parkinson. Some writers of the character reference Kim Newman's Professor Moriarty: The Hound of the D'Urbervilles, a pastiche in which Moran is central, for more source material and inspiration for adapting the character into the BBC series. Moran is also a useful character for Jim fans for exploring other sides of Jim's character in fanfiction.

Elementary

Moran appears in two episodes in the first season of Elementary (2012) as an ex-Royal Marine turned assassin for hire. He is hired by Moriarty to kill various people but does not actually know Moriarty. While imprisoned, he is told via a coded message from Moriarty to kill himself or his sister will die. He then attempts suicide and is not expected to survive the night, though his death was never officially confirmed. He is played by Vinnie Jones.

Yuukoku no Moriarty (Moriarty the Patriot)

Moran is one of the characters working with the three Moriarty brothers in both the Yuukoku no Moriarty (Moriarty the Patriot) manga and anime. He is a veteran of the Afghan war who was wrongly recorded as killed in action, although he did lose one of his hands during an incident when most of his fellow soldiers were killed. He is a very skilful sniper and he appears particularly devoted to William Moriarty. In the manga Moran is shown to be deeply affected by William's 'death' and goes rogue as a result. In the anime he is voiced by Satoshi Hino (Japanese) and Christopher Wehkamp (English).

Moriarty (podcast)

Moran appears as a main character in both series of the Moriarty mystery drama podcast created and written by Charles Kindinger, Moriarty: The Devil's Game (2022) and Moriarty: The Silent Order (2023). After escaping from prison with Moriarty, Moran becomes both his associate and friend who aids the Professor when he is framed for murder. He is voiced by Billy Boyd (The Devil's Game) and by Ross McCall (The Silent Order).

Fandom

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

Shipping

Moran's most common pairing is Moriarty/Moran, since Moriarty is both his employer and friend in the canon, although he is sometimes paired with other characters of various genders. Due to similarities between the characters and the possibility that the two could have met or known each other during their time in the army, Moran is sometimes shipped with John Watson.

• Moriarty/Moran

Fanworks

• Sebastian Moran -- doujinshi by Higaki

Fanfic

• Fearful Symmetry by tiger_moran (2012)

Meta

• That Time The Sherlock Fandom Invented A Character by Sarah Z
• He's Just Moriarty's Henchman by tiger_moran (2022)

External Links

• Sebastian Moran article at Wikipedia