Who is more iconic: Sherlock Holmes, or Batman?

[DrNewGod]

I'm putting this on the Community forum, rather than the DC or Batman forums to broaden the response.

They are both epic. Moore excluded Holmes from The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen because he was concerned Holmes would overwhelm the rest of the cast. Batman sometimes is written to do the same.

So, between them, who is more iconic?

[Kirby101]

Superman is more iconic than Batman.

[DrNewGod]

Superman is more iconic than Batman.

Touche. [10 char]

[Riv86672]

I read somewhere years ago that Superman, Tarzan, and Sherlock Holmes are the three most famous ppl who never lived, but I’m gonna go w. apples and oranges. Both characters are equally iconic imo.

[The no face guy]

I think in popular culture today, Batman is probably more popular and well known to the general public than Sherlock Holmes (at least in North America)

Holmes is still popular in the UK, particularly with Cumberbatch's Sherlock tv show, but overall, worldwide in terms of marketing and merchandise sales it has to be Batman.

[Adam Allen]

I mean, fair enough to not ask on the DC or Batman boards, but this is still a comics forum. You just have to imagine Batman would end up coming out ahead, given the crowd.

That said, my honest opinion is Batman. I think people would recognize the bat symbol and be vaguely aware of some iteration of the character, even if they've never read a comic, seen a movie or watched one of his shows. Then too, just considering how many different movies or tv shows each character has had, so long as we include cartoons ... and, I guess, team shows like Justice League, for Bats ... then again, I'd imagine Batman comes out ahead. You'd need to be an adult predisposed to a certain type of show, to likely watch a Holmes show; on the other hands, generations of kids will have been exposed to Batman cartoons, just because they've been ever present.

Probably more books with Holmes, true, but even then, probably not if we count comics/graphic novels.

[Adekis]

I read somewhere years ago that Superman, Tarzan, and Sherlock Holmes are the three most famous ppl who never lived, but I’m gonna go w. apples and oranges. Both characters are equally iconic imo.

I heard it as Superman, Tarzan, Holmes, Robin Hood, and Mickey Mouse, as the most iconic pop culture icons.

That said, that was said back in the mid 20th century, I believe. If any characters have knocked a pop figure out of those annals of glory, they're Batman and Spider-Man.

But if any characters have been knocked out, they're Tarzan and Robin Hood. Holmes is still pretty big.

I don't think it's worth it trying to figure out if Holmes is bigger than Batman though. I voted Apples and Oranges.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

I roll with Holmes. He's been around longer, having intrigued fans like myself for generations in print, radio, comics, television (as much as I enjoyed Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock, IMO, he'll never touch the late, great Jeremy Brett) and on the big screen. If Batman is seen as iconic, it's probably because he's woefully overexposed these days.

[Powerboy]

I read somewhere years ago that Superman, Tarzan, and Sherlock Holmes are the three most famous ppl who never lived, but I’m gonna go w. apples and oranges. Both characters are equally iconic imo.

I remember an article where Harlan Ellison said that but I don't know if he was referencing someone else. At the time he said it, Batman would definitely not have been in the top three. I think he might now replace Tarzan who, let's face it, has faded in popularity.

It's also telling that the alleged three most famous are all within roughly the last century to century and a half. Really? What about Heracles/ Hercules? What about Merlon? Arthur?

I would say the Superman/ Tarzan/ Holmes trinity is more about who was the most famous at the exact time and place someone made that claim which was probably mid-twentieth century America.

[DrNewGod]

I remember an article where Harlan Ellison said that but I don't know if he was referencing someone else. At the time he said it, Batman would definitely not have been in the top three. I think he might now replace Tarzan who, let's face it, has faded in popularity.

It's also telling that the alleged three most famous are all within roughly the last century to century and a half. Really? What about Heracles/ Hercules? What about Merlon? Arthur?

I would say the Superman/ Tarzan/ Holmes trinity is more about who was the most famous at the exact time and place someone made that claim which was probably mid-twentieth century America.

Tarzan is an iconic figure, but he is problematic, given that his image is so bound up in white supremacy, and colonization of Africa. In many ways (IMO) he has been supplanted by Superman, who is something of an inversion of the Caucasian Prince Excelling, without violating the race boundary by giving the prince a non-terrestrial-insider origin. S&S may have had some sense of what they were unleashing, but couldn't have known all of what it could mean.

[BeastieRunner]

Superman is more iconic than Batman.

Come at me, bro!

FWIW I like Supes more than Batman ... But that always gives me a hearty chuckle because he is not wrong.

[Riv86672]

But that always gives me a hearty chuckle because he is not wrong.

I laughed out loud ...

[Kirby101]

More popular does not = more iconic. National Periodicals was built on Supermans back.

No matter what Will Arnett says.

[BeastieRunner]

More popular does not = more iconic. National Periodicals was built on Supermans back.

No matter what Will Arnett says.

Touche.

But in modern times ... video games, movies, TV ... Batman DID put DC on the map.

[Alan2099]

I have to go with Holmes. He's at a level that Batman simply can't quite match. You can say somebody is a regular Sherlock Holmes and people will know exactly what you mean.

If you say a character is like a modern day Sherlock Holmes, people get it.

You can't do the same thing with Batman.

Have you ever heard anyone say "no, s**t, Batman."?