Did you guess it? The new face of superheroism? If not, I’ve got a last name for you: Holmes. Since the new millennium, Holmesian characters have cropped up with increasing frequency across the media. And, the recent conclusion of the third series of Sherlock has the infamous British detective generating so much buzz, it’s bizarrely upped both book and trench coat sales.

However, the most recent Holmes depictions have altered the character in ways that have changed his character’s very meaning. Sherlock Holmes is no longer just a crime solver; he’s a world saver, more like Superman than a detective.

Here’s why.

The Rise of Superman.

Superman first swooped into Action Comics in 1938, when the world was on the brink of war, when Hitler’s power was on the rise, as was that of Mussolini and Franco. In the midst of this chaos, Superman always represented the “good,” both of humans and of scientific advancement. I mean, the dude has a body to rival that of Michelangelo’s David, a crazy laser eye thing, and the ability to fly.

But he was also uniquely designed with powers that address the real tensions and anxieties of that moment in world history. Yes, he spends a good deal of time battling fictional foes, like Lex Luther, of a fictional city, Metropolis. But Luther, is not dissimilar to many very real villains. Often he’s portrayed as an evil scientist who tries to take over the world with advanced weaponry, and his first appearance in the comic introduced him as a megalomaniac genius taking control of European nations.

Sound familiar?

These challenges made Superman always ready to battle. His crime-fighting abilities are tied closely to his physical prowess and invulnerability, and it is these skills that help him kick some serious ass. He can destroy weaponry, subdue flawed scientific experiments, and thwart all world-takeover plans.

But this is the twenty-first century in the U.S., and in many ways our “enemies” have changed. Fear of nuclear war or tyrannical takeover, for the most part, has been replaced by fears of acts of terrorism and technological takeover. How can Superman battle a foe that he cannot see?

Enter the figure of Sherlock Holmes…

At first glance Holmes does not resemble the spandexed bodybuilder super-type. He dons a trench coat rather than a cape. He wears a deerstalker instead of a mask and his superpowers certainly don’t come from his physical abilities. Rather, all his powers are locked up inside his head (or “mind palace”, if you’re a fan of the BBC version).

Holmes’s figure is observant, aware, knowledgeable, witty, caustic, and clever. His destruction of the bad guy doesn’t involve smashing, pounding, pummeling or blowing the guy up. Sherlock thinks. He thinks inside the system and outside. His goal is to get into his villain’s mind, to use their own skills against them. To hack them, if you will.

Since the start of the new millennium, a host of Sherlock-esque characters have flooded television, including the snarky Dr. Gregory House, the great British Dr. Who, and San Francisco’s OCD detective, Adrian Monk. Actual depictions of Holmes include the 2009 and 2011 Sherlock Holmes films series starring Robert Downey Jr., as well as the modern adaptations of the character in the American series Elementary, and BBC’s Sherlock.

This is no doubt an incomplete list, but the trend is undeniable. The U.S. needs, wants, would love to have a superhero like Sherlock Holmes. Like the Superman of the 1940s, the Sherlock of today carries the skillset we deem necessary for warding off modern evils. Noble spirit has given way to tenacious cheek, firm stance to a lofty swagger. And bulging muscles have given way to a bulging brain as our greatest fears of literal destruction are tempered enemies we feel but which we cannot always see.

Sherlock Holmes is a detective no longer. He is a superhero of the 21^st century. It’s simply elementary.

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