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Professor James Moriarty is a Fictional Character who is the best known antagonist (and Archenemy ) of the detective Sherlock Holmes . Widely considered to be the first true example of a Supervillain , Moriarty is a criminal mastermind, described by Holmes as the " Napoleon of Crime". ( T. S. Eliot would later use the same phrase, in homage, to describe Macavity in '' Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats ''.) Arthur Conan Doyle , the creator of Sherlock Holmes, lifted the phrase from a real Scotland Yard inspector who was referring to Adam Worth , a true-life (though non-violent) model for Moriarty. APPEARANCE IN DOYLE'S FICTION Professor Moriarty first appeared in Conan Doyle's tale '' The Final Problem '', in which Holmes, on the verge of delivering a fatal blow to Moriarty's criminal organization, is forced to flee to the Continent to escape Moriarty's retribution. Moriarty follows, and the two apparently fall to their deaths whilst locked in mortal combat atop the Reichenbach Falls . During this story, Moriarty is something of a Mafia Godfather; he protects nearly all of the criminals of England in exchange for their obedience and a share in their Profit s. Holmes, by his own account, was originally led to Moriarty by the suggestion that many of the crimes he perceived were not the spontaneous work of random criminals, but the machinations of a vast and subtle criminal ring. Moriarty plays a role in only one other of Conan Doyle's Holmes stories: '' The Valley Of Fear '', which was set before ''The Final Problem'', but published afterwards. In ''The Valley of Fear'', Holmes attempts to prevent Moriarty's agents from committing a murder. Moriarty does not meet Holmes, but sends him a note of commiseration at the end. In an episode where Moriarty is interviewed by a policeman, a painting is described as hanging on the wall; its title, "La Jeune a l'Agneau" translated to "The young one has the Lamb " is a witty pun upon the name of Thomas Agnew of the gallery Thomas Agnew And Sons , who had a famous painting stolen by Adam Worth, but was unable to prove the fact. Holmes mentions Moriarty reminiscently in five other stories: '' The Empty House '', '' The Norwood Builder '', '' The Missing Three-Quarter '', '' The Illustrious Client '', and '' His Last Bow ''. More obliquely, a 1908 mystery by Doyle, '' The Lost Special '', features a criminal genius who could be Moriarty (and a detective who could be Holmes), although neither are mentioned by name. Although Moriarty only appeared in two of the sixty Sherlock Holmes tales by Conan Doyle, Holmes's attitude to him in those two stories has gained him the popular impression of being Holmes's nemesis, and he has been frequently used in later stories by other authors, parodies, and in other media. In fact, among casual Holmes fans it is commonly assumed that the real overall Plot Arc of the Holmes stories is the war that the detective wages with Moriarty, who oversees the crimes that Holmes foils. In the Conan Doyle stories, narrated by Holmes's assistant Dr. Watson , Watson never meets Moriarty (only getting distant glimpses of him in "The Final Problem"), and relies upon Holmes to relate accounts of the detective's battle with the criminal. In stories by other writers, Watson has encountered Moriarty more often. Conan Doyle himself is inconsistent on Watson's familiarity with Moriarty. In "The Final Problem", Watson tells Holmes he has never heard of Moriarty. But in ''The Valley of Fear'', set earlier on, Watson already knows of him as 'the famous scientific criminal'. played Moriarty in Granada Television 's '' The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes '' (1985).]]Moriarty's weapon of choice was the "air-rifle", a unique weapon constructed for the Professor by a blind German mechanic, von Herder, and used by his employee Colonel Sebastian Moran . It closely resembled a cane, allowing for easy concealment, and made very little noise when fired, making it ideal for Sniping ; the weapon became infamous for being Moriarty's favorite tool. Holmes described Moriarty as follows:
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