UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA

FACULTAD DE FILOLOGÍA

GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES

Trabajo de Fin de Grado

Elementary, my Dear Alfred. Batman as the modern

successor of Sherlock Holmes

Alumno: David Rodríguez Bruña

Tutor: Manuel González de la Aleja

Salamanca, 2022
 UNIVERSIDAD DE SALAMANCA

FACULTAD DE FILOLOGÍA

GRADO EN ESTUDIOS INGLESES

Trabajo de Fin de Grado

Elementary, my Dear Alfred. Batman as the modern

successor of Sherlock Holmes

This thesis is submitted for the degree of English Studies

Tutor: Manuel González de la Aleja Barberán

Signature
Abstract:

Key Words:
Resumen:

Palabras Clave:
Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

Body.................................................................................................................................................2

Sherlock Holmes—Batman.........................................................................................................2

Inspector Lestrade—Lieutenant Gordon.....................................................................................2

Joker—James Moriarty................................................................................................................3

Alfred Pennyworth—John H. Watson.........................................................................................4

Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5

Works Cited.....................................................................................................................................6
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Elementary, my Dear Alfred. Batman as the modern successor of Sherlock Holmes

Introduction

Since his first appearance in A Study in Scarlet in 1887 until today, Sherlock Holmes has
been one of the best known detectives and literary characters of all time. Arthur Conan Doyle
wrote four novels and 56 short stories of the Victorian detective and his adventures, although the
character has appeared in many literary and filmic adaptations. His popularity is not only due to
the fact that said stories are entertaining, but because the figure of Sherlock Holmes represents
hope: he seems to be a heroic figure able to restore order and ready to end with worldly injustices
independently from how difficult the situation might appear. Another interesting trait of the
detective is that, according to Emma Reeves, “anyone could be him; the reasonable, surprisingly
simple methods Holmes uses could, in theory, be mastered by anyone, especially since the public
believed him to be real rather than fictitious” (12). This humanization and blurring of the line
between fiction and reality helped the Victorian society to truly believe there was a solution to all
the crime that took place in London at the time. Nonetheless, current days are not exactly as
those and therefore the figure of Sherlock Holmes needed a successor able to make people
believe there is a saviour who can end with the chaos that continuously attacks society. This TFG
defends that said successor can be found in the figure of Batman, the detective super-hero in
which Bruce Wayne, the charismatic Gothamit millionaire, transforms every night in order to
prosecute criminals. The fictional super-hero created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger in 1939 was
ready to use all his wealth and wit to fight against the crime and corruption of the city of
Gotham, a city which suspiciously resembles the city of New York. Therefore, “Batman took up
the mantle of the world’s greatest detective” (Reeves 10) and renewed the formula of the
Victorian detective in order to adapt to the technology and social nuances that our current time
presents. In fact this similarity is not casual, since “Bill Finger [, co-creator of Batman, said that]
the character was based in part on Sherlock Holmes himself” (Reeves 10), not as a copy, but as
“a unique re-visitation of a new kind of hero with characteristics specific to his societal
influences” (Reeves 11). The obvious inspiration is not only present in the figure of the detective
himself, but also on his secondary characters, for example, “Bruce Wayne’s closest ally and live-
in butler, Alfred Pennyworth, is a retired military doctor, just like Sherlock’s roommate Watson”
(Reeves 57). Both characters are necessary to the protagonist since they provide the detective the
societal lessons and serve as the moral compass that they need so as not to get too involved in
their work nor become completely isolated from the society they are trying to save. In order to
show how Bruce Wayne might be the perfect translation of Sherlock Holmes to the modern
world, this TFG will bring to light some evidence on the emulation of the formula by means of
its characters; comparing both Batman with Sherlock as the isolated super-detective who fights
for justice, Lieutenant Gordon with Inspector Lestrade as the representation of the rather
incompetent and corrupt security forces, Joker with James Moriarty as the genius nemesis who
stands out over the rest of criminals and in fact gives a sense to the hero’s life, and Alfred
Pennyworth with Dr. Watson as the moral compass and unconditional friend of the detective,
who keeps him with his feet on the ground. These comparisons will be made by comparing
extracts from some of the best known Batman stories with common knowledge from the
Sherlock Holmes’ universe.
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Body
Sherlock Holmes—Batman.
The Gotham vigilante shares various personality traits with Holmes. He is also an
analytic thinker whose mental processes we don’t know until he expresses himself. On the other
hand he is eager to use force if necessary when needed, which is comprehensible due to the fact
that he exists on graphic novels and audiovisual format mainly and spectacularity is a must to
keep the audience attentive. In The Batman his introduction shows him as a great fighter but on
the next scene we find a much calmer figure which resembles the English detective. In this
scene, there is a crime scene where the police are investigating evidence in order to reach a
conclusion on how the victim was murdered. Batman is present in silence, watchful, and he just
talks to make an observation nobody noticed and is that the victim had his finger cut before
dying. When Lt. Gordon looks at him interrogatively he just says “Ecchymosis around the
wound”. This is similar to the way Holmes would behave in a crime scene, since he usually
observes the scene, reaches his own conclusions, shares them, and leaves; as if the people around
didn’t matter. Both seem to do the job on their own and, although they work to seek justice, seem
to leave behind the forces which are there precisely to do so. They are aware of their superior
deductive abilities, although this is much more evident in Sherlock novels. According to Reeves:
“What give Holmes the license to denigrate the police detectives is his scientific methods that far
excel any training received by a normal officer.” (23)
Therefore, Holmes’ behaviour is not as mysterious and calm as Batman’s; he blatantly
demonstrates his superiority to the extent that he mocks the police officers. Nevertheless, they
both cooperate with them since their intention is not just to seek revenge or fill the intellectual
urge to solve problems only. They seek justice. But this justice is not restraint to the legal idea of
justice, since sometimes they flout the law to reach their solutions. In Batman: A Death in the
Family, Batman is trying to bring justice after the Joker killed Robin, Batman’s sidekick.
Unluckily, Joker becomes immune to accusations of this crime since he becomes the Iranian
ambassador and his criminal record gets cleaned. At this point, Batman decides that the law is
unfair and the ideal of justice is over it and in fact thinks, related to the fact that Joker cannot be
judged anymore, that “That’s the law, not justice” (126). Parallel to this, Sherlock Holmes also
“prioritizes justice and fairness through several recurring plot patterns. In some stories, Holmes
occasionally breaks the law with overtly criminal acts in his search for truth; in others, he
withholds evidence from the police in order to ensure fairness in a case where the letter of the
law would result in an injustice” (Asim 44)
To sum up, both are methodical detectives who seem to purposely maintain away from society.
They do not necessarily seek recognition although they don’t like the fact that the Police Forces
are taking the merit for their work. Because of this, they sometimes omit what they are told by
them since their superior abilities make them feel confident enough of their actions when seeking
true justice. This idea is better seen in the next part of the TFG which focuses on the characters
who represent the law and the way in which law forces work themselves in their universes.
Inspector Lestrade—Lieutenant Gordon
Both detective stories were created to make the society of the time feel hope, which
implies that the state forces were regarded as unable to do so. In the case of Holmes’ stories, the
problem is that they seem to be incompetent, while in Batman’s case the problem is more related
to corruption, showing Lt. Gordon as the only trustworthy police officer the hero can find. In
both cases, the hero is presented as the solution and antithesis to this idea since they are evidently
superior intellectually and morally to their police counterparts. Holmes is portrayed as “salvation
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to the Metropolitan Police Force, though not without an air of badgering criticism thereof.
Numerous stories begin with a visit from Inspector Lestrade or another office begging Holmes
for help in an “unsolvable” case.” (Reeves 22.) Doyle presents a saturated police force which is
unable to find the solution to cases which difer from the day-to-day work. In Gotham, this can be
seen both in The Batman movie and Batman: Nightwalker: both stories show a moment where
the hero follows the criminal in his car although the police is present because he knows that they
are not going to be able to catch him. In the latter example also, the personnel in Arkham
Asylum (a prison for the mental-injured) despise young Bruce Wayne for being able to obtain
information from a suspect that refused to speak. Other examples of the superiority of the hero
over the corrupt Gotham police are the scene in Batman: The Killing Joke where there is a
“scene in the prisons in which it is revealed that [the police] failed to keep the Joker detained,
again pointing to Holmesian uselessness” (Reeves 43) and an impactating scene in Batman: Year
One where “the police, as has been mentioned, are corrupt throughout the text. But beyond their
wickedness, they also fail to address the crime of the city; at least one set of panels depict a
woman being attacked as police stand by doing nothing” (qtd in Reeves 43.) The evident lack of
respect that Batman has on the police is not born only from a feeling of superiority, but also and
most important from the demonstration that the law forces are in fact creating more problems
than solutions. Lt. Gordon is the only figure which Batman seems to cooperate with since he is
the only competent and lawful member of the force. Nevertheless, this is hard for him since
although Gordon is aware of the corruption in the body, he is criticized for cooperating with a
vigilante that blatantly mocks the institution and in fact seems to do the opposite of what he is
told to do by law enforcers. This gives us a really powerful scene where Gordon in Batman: Year
One, is seen sitting on his bed with a gun on his hand doubting between fighting next to the hero
or killing himself. The relationship between the Lieutenant and Batman is really complex, much
more than Sherlock’s with Lestrade. This is because Sherlock just laughs at Lestrade’s deductive
abilities and gets angry when the police office takes the merit for his work, creating a
relationship which apparently seeks a humorous situation rather than a direct critique. The
difference between both relationships might be due to the fact that the Victorian society saw a
Police force unable to solve crimes, while modern society is tired of continuously finding
examples where those whom we must put our trust into take it for granted and occasionally act
against our interests with immunity. The difference illustrates the idea of the renovation of the
formula while leaving recognizable similarities which in this case is the love-hate relationship
between the detective and the naïve police officer.
Joker—James Moriarty
The fact that these detectives have so many adventures relies directly on the fact that they
both live in cities where crime does not seem to rest. Nevertheless, their brilliance would be
meaningless if all the jobs they ought to do were related to mere murderers or burglars.
Therefore, the great minds of Holmes and Wayne need the existence of a nemesis that truly
makes resolving the cases a difficult issue. In fact, the existence of them in a way gives sense to
their life and work. The lack of balance between good and evil would eventually reduce both the
deductive skill of the detective since they would never feel really threatened and the complexity
of the villainous plan since it would be senseless to take so much time and carefulness on a plan
who would never be fully comprehended (Both Joker and Moriarty seem to enjoy knowing that
the hero is understanding the complexity of the plan). This idea of enemies as necessary for each
other is explored in Batman: White Knight, a story where Joker is cured from his madness and
demonstrates by using the law that Batman is the true villain since he has no problem destroying
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the whole city as long as it makes him get closer to Joker, a mentally disabled man who became
that way because of Batman’s cruelty. At the beginning of the story, Batman is following Joker,
who recently escaped from Arkham Asylum. As the chasing goes on, Joker is continuously
applauding Batman on how “heroic” he is looking chasing him. In page 10, when they finally
meet, joker says “Congrats on another great performance, partner! Great leap over Gotham Ferry
[…] but can you stand some constructive criticism? Little reckless at the construction site, almost
flattening that one worker. Not to mention all those damaged rooftops.” The monologue keeps on
in a similar style with Joker just praising Batman as if everything was pure spectacle. Just when
Batman is about to catch him, he says that in fact they are the only thing they both have in the
world since their lives would be meaningless without the other. This goes to an extent where
Joker says they are both best friends. In Batman: Joker Time, a similar event takes place and just
after a full building is brought to rubble by a huge explosion, Joker says “Greatest comedy team
in history!” (15.) Obviously Joker is a deranged man but I think the point these authors are trying
to make is really interesting since it is in fact true that if Joker did not exist Batman wouldn’t
ever perfect his skills that much. In the same comic we have an example of a much more
analytical plan. Joker is bound to fool everyone in order to bring two TV hosts to a pool of acid.
When Batman arrives Joker is not only not surprised but happy to see him arrive, as he was
waiting for him. The genius of the villain seems uncanny since he seems to precisely know the
next movement of his opponent. At the end of course Batman wins, as he also went a couple
steps further than his nemesis. This situation is similar to that of Holmes and Moriarty, their
adventures more than detectivesque ones seem to be more like chess matches as they are
continuously forced to think on the next move of their adversary to prepare in advance a solution
to it. The conflict between Holmes and Moriarty ends in The Final Problem (Although Holmes is
later resurrected.) When Watson reaches the top of a waterfall where Sherlock and Moriarty had
been, he finds footprints which get progressively closer to the edge. This means that they both
fought and ended up falling together which in a sense provides the metaphorical idea of hero and
nemesis being necessary for the other. If just one of them had fallen the other one would have
won in the short term, but would end finding no pleasure in their job since there is no true
competition. Therefore, both villains seem to exist just to demonstrate how intelligent the hero is.
Their existence is necessary for the show to go on and even improve on its complexity. On a
deeper analysis we could even find that both villains and heroes seem to have the same abilities
and problems but use them for the opposite: Moriarty is also an isolated genius who pays great
attention to every detail on the crimes he commits, and Joker is a delusional man who lives to
forget about his surroundings and past demons.
Alfred Pennyworth—John H. Watson
As previously mentioned, none of the main characters are alone on their adventures; they
both have a companion who helps them in many ways. They are both looked at with contempt by
Sherlock and Batman for not being as intelligent and able as them, but in the end it is manifest
that they are necessary for the hero not to lose their grip to reality. In fact, their similarity is such
that they both are Ex-Medical Doctors. In Batman: White Knight, Alfred sacrifices himself one
last time in order to save Batman, leaving a note that the hero will not read until the end of the
story. When he does so, we learn that the note talks about how the butler was really proud of him
and that he knows that he has taken a long time to read it because of his fear to say goodbye and
accept he is truly gone. The loss of Alfred is horrible for Batman not just because he loses his
moral compass but because he lost a father. It is Alfred the one who asks Batman to rest from
time to time, feeds him and gives counsel on how to behave on social events. This is similar to
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the paper Dr. Watson has with Sherlock. At first he thinks that Holmes is quite a peculiar man
but ends up trying to understand him and forcing him to act “humanly”. The presence of these
two characters is determining for the hero since they make manifest what they lack, making them
even more human. They compensate the cold-mechanical intellect and the eagerness to non-stop
act with sympathy and sensibility. The lacking of them would leave the hero completely isolated
and prone to completely lose their mind on the prosecution of crime.
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Conclusion
Throughout this TFG there has been evidence on how both Holmes’ and Batman’s
universes are parallel taking into account the fact that their key characters share many similar
characteristics with the difference that those appearing in Batman’s stories adapt better to
contemporary times. Due to this fact we could say that the legend of Sherlock Holmes as the
perfect detective who gave hope to a whole nation is present and renewed in the figure of
Batman, who somewhat is a modernized version of the Victorian detective.
Nonetheless both sets of works are truly valuable on their own since they represent great
stories in which we can find similar dilemmas differenced by nuances related to the social
context where they take place. Sherlock stories have proven to entertain readers from different
set of ages and Batman would in fact serve for the same purpose too with the improvement that
the greater diversity on authors and themes would suit almost any kind of audience while
arguably the Sherlock Holmes corpus is a much rigid corpus in these terms.
The idea of using Batman as the successor for Holmes might result quite interesting from
an educative point of view since the graphic novel format might seem more appealing to newer
generations and the variety of stories and style it presents would help students to understand
different types of detectives rather than strictly sticking to the whodunit stories of Doyle’s works.
Needless to say, both characters and their adventures are great works of art which will
remain to be enjoyed, renewed and adapted throughout time due to their interesting personalities
and the huge variety of contexts in which they could appear.
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Works Cited

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Diego State University. https://digitallibrary.sdsu.edu/islandora/object/sdsu%3A1730 Ac-
cessed 7 May 2022

Brubacker, Ed. Batman: The Man who Laughs (The Deluxe Edition). Illustrated by Patrick
Zircher, DC Comics, 2005.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Final Problem, The Complete Sherlock Holmes Cannon. https://sher-
lock-holm.es/stories/pdf/a4/1-sided/fina.pdf. Accessed 18 May 2022.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Cannon. https://
sherlock-holm.es/stories/pdf/a4/1-sided/vall.pdf. Accessed 18 May 2022.

Hall, Bob. Batman: Joker Time. DC Comics, 2000

Lu, Marie. Batman: Nightwalker. Adapted by Stuart Moore and Illustrated by Chris Wildgoose
and Cam Smith, DC Comics, 2019

Miller, Frank. Batman: Year One. Illustrated by David Mazzucchelli. DC Comics, 1988.

Murphy, Sean. Batman: White Knight. DC Comics, 2017

Reeves, Emma. The World’s Greatest Detectives: Analyzing the Relationship and Cultural
Meaning of Sherlock Holmes and Batman. 2016, University of Southern Mississippi ht-
tps://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1508&context=honors_theses. Accessed
25 April 2022

Starlin, Jim, et al. Batman: A Death in the Family (Deluxe Edition). Illustrated by Jim Aparo, DC
Comics, 2011.

The Batman. Written and Directed by Mat Reeves, Warner Bros. Pictures, 2022

Veisz, Elizabeth. “Sherlock Holmes and Cavalier Masculinity: The Curious Case of ‘The Mus-
grave Ritual.’” Restoration: Studies in English Literary Culture, 1660-1700, vol. 41, no.
2, 2017, pp. 94–99. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/26860540. Accessed 19 May
2022.