World's Greatest Detective.

[Kyberwulf]

Who do you think should really have the title, "World's Greatest Detective."

Keep in mind that This thread is only concerned with Detecting abilites only. I am not concerned with combat prowss, or the amount of resources available to them. If all other things are equal, who has the best mind putting clues together and deducing the facts.

A small list I can come up with.
Sherlock Holmes- Obviously
Batman
Robert Goren
Columbo

If you have any other possible Detectives up for the prize, let me know.

(Yes, I know that some characters may just be a "Rip off" of certain other characters, but include them anyway since these characters have other characteristics then the source.)

[Soras Teva Gee]

"Everyone knows who you are. You're the world's greatest detective."

-Batman, explaining how he Sherlock Scanned Sherlock

[Weezer]

I'd actually go with Mycroft Holmes, he surpasses Sherlock in abilities, but he's just too lazy to go out and be a detective. If he decided to hit the streets he'd win hands down.

[BRC]

Only really familiar with Holmes and Batman, and independent of resources I would go with Holmes, who it is established has memorized an obscene amount of information on very trivial things, like tobacco ash. Mind you, as you get away from Late-19th century London, that information becomes increasingly irrelevant as cultural customs change. For example, an encyclopedic knowledge of Tobacco Ash becomes less useful when men stop smoking pipes, and when it becomes increasingly traditional to smoke outside, where evidence of that sort is more easily destroyed, than indoors.
Of course, he would be behind on even fairly simply techniques, like Fingerprinting, that don't require advanced resources.

Mind you, if we're going with "PResent them with facts, see who does the best", then the answer would be Mycroft, who is like Min/Maxed Sherlock. More Brilliant than his brother, but too lazy to actually investigate.

Edit: Moriarty'd

[Water_Bear]

I'm going to have to downvote Robert Goren. He's a great detective to be sure, but not the World's Greatest.

As for Batman v Sherlock Holmes, it's kind of a question of your definition of the word "detective". Holmes is absolutely the better detective in terms of rapidly solving mysteries and identifying guilty parties, but Batman is more full-service; he'll also go out and tie the dude up with Bat-Rope and hang him off a skyscraper. I'd personally give it to Holmes, but I can respect the Batman option.

[Kitten Champion]

I'd vote for L, from Death Note. If you consider the magnitude of the challenge involved, finding a single mass murderer with an untraceable magical means of killing from among billions of potential suspects based on incredible logical deductions and considerable personal bravery, he's his own level of awesome.

[Dr.Epic]

Dib from Invader Zim

You never said what "world," and he's one of only two people that can see through that disguise.

[Friv]

Given his near-perfection and habit of seeing through things, I'd have to put a suggestion in for Hercules Poirot. (Especially given that he and Holmes are two of the three characters that serve as the basis for essentially every detective ever, the third being the much more physical Sam Spade.)

[dps]

Originally Posted by Water_Bear

I'm going to have to downvote Robert Goren. He's a great detective to be sure, but not the World's Greatest.

Also, Goren's a bit like Frank Pemberton--his strongest suit is interrogating a suspect. His style is different than Pemberton's, and outside the interrogation room he's probably a bit better at noticing minor clues than Pemberton is.

Come to think of it, interrogating the suspect is a big part of Columbo's M.O., too, though his style is even more different from Goren's than Pemberton's is. Basically, Pemberton intimidates suspects, Goren distubs them, and Columbo makes them overconfident. The end result is the same, though--the suspect says the wrong thing and incriminates themselves.

Best detective though, I'd go with Sherlock.

[Kyberwulf]

I have to disagree with you on Goren. He only has to interrogate people to get them to confess to the crime. He already knows the hows and whys. Its just that most of the criminals will get away with their nefarious deeds due to lack of evidence.

[pita]

I think I upvote L. Sherlock would tell you what Light's favorite breakfast cereal is, but L would tell you that he actually ate something different today because he ran out of it.
If not L, then Sherlock.

[Jayngfet]

I'd put Sherlock over L, if only because we see more of Sherlock in action. L has like, one big case and references to some smaller ones to the best of my knowledge. Sherlock has a whole freaking library and wealth of information to go off of.

[Killer Angel]

It's hard to find a detective that can match Holmes' spirit of observation and analysis' skills, able to notice details and so expert in reading human nature.
I could name Patrick Jane, aka The Mentalist. (example. Not the best, but still...)

[Manga Shoggoth]

What? No love for Peter Death Bredon Wimsey? After all, Wimsey, Holmes and Poirot are the big three in UK Crime Literature.

Holmes was very good at the swift detection, Wimsey was much better at tracking down the details of a case.

[Devonix]

Detective Chimp. you said worlds greatest, not human greatest. ;)

Elongated man is up there too

[Morph Bark]

Originally Posted by Kitten Champion

I'd vote for L, from Death Note. If you consider the magnitude of the challenge involved, finding a single mass murderer with an untraceable magical means of killing from among billions of potential suspects based on incredible logical deductions and considerable personal bravery, he's his own level of awesome.

Originally Posted by Jayngfet

I'd put Sherlock over L, if only because we see more of Sherlock in action. L has like, one big case and references to some smaller ones to the best of my knowledge. Sherlock has a whole freaking library and wealth of information to go off of.

I'd put L over Sherlock, myself. Mainly because L really is incredible at deductions, whereas Sherlock mainly does abductions, which is a very different thing.

[Fri]

Poirot and Sherlock actually often work differently. Sherlock works like modern CSI, basing his investigation on hard and scientific evidences, while Poirot often work purely on psychological base alone, by mentally analizing eyewitnesses and suspects, and sometimes he even plant fake evidences to corner his suspects.

[Aotrs Commander]

Originally Posted by Fri

Sherlock works like modern CSI

...

...

...

Nope, can't resist.

Sherlock: Yes, my dear Watson, it seems the game...
.___
/___\__
( •_•)
.....\■
.___
/___\__
( •_•)>⌐■-■
.....\■
.___
/___\__
(⌐■_■)
......\■

...is afoot.

YEEEEEAAAAH!

(I can' take credit for the face/sunglasses thing, Soras, came up with that, I just added the deerstalker and pipe (which I hope look like what they're supposed to be...!)

[Moak]

Originally Posted by Aotrs Commander

...

Sherlock: Yes, my dear Watson, it seems the game...
.___
/___\__
( •_•)
.....\■
.___
/___\__
( •_•)>⌐■-■
.....\■
.___
/___\__
(⌐■_■)
......\■

...is afoot.

YEEEEEAAAAH!

This is AMAZING.

I think that Sherlock deserve this title. Behind him, I put L, Poirot and Ellery Queen.... simply because sometimes Ellery exploit seems to come out from nowhere.

[ThiagoMartell]

Batman himself has stated more than once that Elongated Man is better than him, so there is that.

L does seem better than Sherlock. What Sherlock does makes sense in some ways, but L simply looks like he has read the whole manga beforehand. Basically, better writing makes Sherlock look more credible and therefore less skilled.

[Smart_alec]

I did a scale for this a couple of months ago.

I'll see if I can find it.

[Dienekes]

Originally Posted by Weezer

I'd actually go with Mycroft Holmes, he surpasses Sherlock in abilities, but he's just too lazy to go out and be a detective. If he decided to hit the streets he'd win hands down.

Yes if you change his entire personality he'd be the best. But that's not his personality. So, I'm gonna go no, Sherlock surpasses his brother on this.

In any case I'd rate them somewhat like this.
L: haven't read it, but the synapses makes him seem impossibly intelligent
Sherlock, Batman, Elongated Man: Generally the characters given the title Worlds Greatest Detective in their respective works.
The Question, Detective Chimp, Poirot, Ms Marple: Great detectives that I'd put just behind the big 4.

Now who I want to have the title is Sherlock, cause come on he popularized the detective genre.

[Tyndmyr]

Dr. Cal Lightman.

[Traab]

I go with holmes, his powers of observation and encyclopedic knowledge of the most obscure facts, (really, his brain is batmans utility belt) While batman is good at spotting clues, but he then needs to go back to his huge crime lab and spend time figuring everything out. If both of them were at the same scene, batman would abscond with the evidence to do some digging, while holmes would say, "Aha! Come watson! The killer is on lexington and broadway. But he shall be leaving in 20 minutes, so we must hurry!" Then as they dash off to stop the criminal, holmes would go on a 10 minute long rant about how the shape of a bit of scuffing on a freshly polished floor means yadda yadda yadda, and utterly amaze his partner who should really be expecting this sort of thing by now.

[Avilan the Grey]

Sherlock, definitely.

Columbo? He's no better than 20 other TV detectives.

[DomaDoma]

Really, the main flaw with Sherlock Holmes is the tendency for the more "exotic" plot points to be factually dubious. For instance, snakes don't actually drink milk or respond to high-pitched noises, and the Indian swamp adder is completely fictitious. Then you have the occasional reference to physiognomy - sensualist jaws and so forth - which... well, it's just a good thing none of the stories revolve around it. But that aside, I don't believe he's been matched for pure sleuthing lo these 126 years after his inception. Not that I'm complaining about the fictional detectives with different shticks, mind. (Except Miss Marple.)

Also, since this seems the only crowd that will ever understand this poem I composed:

I Will Not Come Down from the Mountain (On the Decision to Become Anonymous)

Spoiler

You think I lie dead in the township,
That I callously left you behind -
And I know not if you would betray me,
Or if you dared not speak your mind.
And I like not the hellfire behind me
Nor the vertigo I must embrace,
But I need pay no ransom to speak here.
I'm redeemed by the mist 'round my face.

I will not come down from the mountain
To the valley where you may be living,
For the mountain is certainly fearful,
But the valley is far less forgiving.
I stopped at no inn by the wayside
On the night I crept out through the door,
And I will not come down from the mountain
Till there's hope in the valley once more.

I stand with my gun at the ready.
It's only the truth that I must,
For up here or down in the valley,
The main thing we learn is mistrust.
I skulk through the mists of the mountain
As they boast of their evils below,
And I stand with my gun at the ready
For a battle I may never know.

I'll come down, my love, in the springtime
When the battle is over at last -
But it has been winter so long now,
Could it be that the battle has passed?
And if it is so, and the summer
Is long ago fallen and dead...
Then you must join me here on the mountain,
Or trudge on, all May's thoughts unsaid.

The herald, the toiler, the sweetheart and sailor
Still live 'neath the shade of the fountain -
And could not that shade yet be broken or stayed
While the common man stands on the mountain?

[Brother Oni]

Originally Posted by Tyndmyr

Dr. Cal Lightman.

Dr Lightman isn't really a detective - as he says, he'll know that you are lying, but not the why and he usually has outside help in the form of proper detectives or government agents to figure out the why.

Originally Posted by DomaDoma

Really, the main flaw with Sherlock Holmes is the tendency for the more "exotic" plot points to be factually dubious.

To be fair, the original Holmes stories were products of their time and the more esoteric elements don't stand up well to modern scrutiny.

The BBC remake is much better in that respect, despite their blatant disregard of British gun control laws and some bit ham fisted nods to the original story (scrapings near the winding hole of a pocket watch being changed to scrapings near the charging port on a mobile phone).

[Androgeus]

Pfft, none of these detectives can measure up to

Spoiler

Flint, The Time Detective

[DomaDoma]

I wonder what my tendency to miss the keyhole of my apartment says about me? :p

In my view, the BBC series' biggest problem is that nobody has the basic idea of passwords and encryption that you get from signing up for a free email address. Including the guy who runs a top-secret military base. Well, no, the biggest problem is "Blind Banker", but I've long since stopped hating Thompson for being a bad writer and started hating him for being a good writer, and can comfortably forget that.

[INoKnowNames]

For some reason, this thread immediately reminded me of the Great Mouse Detective....

Anywho, I'll +1 L. Isn't he, in that series, the top -3- detectives, to the point where an enemy group hires him to detect himself, letting him play them from both sides? It wasn't until "Guy with God of Death's Book", which is certainly something not normally encountered, appeared that -ANYONE- had even seen him before. Which says a lot, at least to me.