A Unique Type of Hero

Most fictional heroes are created to display a few unique characteristics that make them different than any other hero. Superman can fly, the Flash has super speed, Harry Potter is a wizard, each person while they often follow similar developments have something unique about them. These characteristics are defined at the discretion of the author, however in the case of Sherlock Holmes, there are many iterations of his character each with a slightly different take on the original persona written by Arthur Conan Doyle. I haven’t had the pleasure to read many of the original works, but I still would like to look at the modern versions of this hero.

On the surface, Sherlock hardly has any distinguishing characteristics, he has no super powers, and from his job description he is just another detective trying to solve a crime. Does this make every detective a hero in some way? I guess in a sense it does, in that they all work towards a goal of solving murders and other crime and often face setbacks and opposition during their “journey”. So what sets apart Sherlock from any other detective? Every iteration of Sherlock characterizes him as incredibility intelligent and possessing almost supernatural deductive talents. Sherlock uses these talents to rush into danger and solve crimes that to a normal audience seem unsolvable.

In the recent BBC TV Series Sherlock, a different approach to this character is taken. In a more modern setting, Sherlock’s deductive reasoning and intellect is taken to a whole new level, so much so that it comes at a cost. The cost being that Sherlock seems to lack all emotion and seems to almost have sociopathic qualities. He is incredibly impulsive and lacks regard for the safety of himself and others. There seems to be nothing heroic about such a character. Imagine a madman running around the city chasing after murders and trying to solve crimes without being attached to any law enforcement agency. Such a man would have no place in our society, he would constantly be putting himself and others in danger, and in a way acting as a vigilante.

Yet, as we watch this TV series we can’t help but encourage such behavior. We constantly hope that Sherlock is able to solve the next case even faster than before. However, what makes this show enjoyable is that it depicts no win scenarios, (Spoiler) but in one case Sherlock kills a man in cold blood rather than let him get away with what he did. This is not a very heroic act, yet we continue to hope that Sherlock won’t face the consequences. Sherlock embodies a very unique type of hero that blurs the lines of justice.