An Overview on James Moriarty
Much of what we know about Moriarty is based on what we already know of the Holmes stories. We know that Moriarty is a brilliant mathematics professor, a philosopher, a savvy businessman, a genius tactician, and a ruthless criminal mastermind. However, Fate Grand Order also gives us another look at the man, showing him to be a more three-dimensional character.
It has been said that an individual’s clothing is their way of communicating to the world who they are, and what they believe. Have you noticed the emphasis placed on Moriarty’s clothing, and on how he likes to be called Mr. Dandy? A dandy was the term used to describe a man who was too self-absorbed and obsessed with his appearance, most notably, his own clothing. If his clothing is how he communicates with the world, then what is he telling us with the recurring images of the Chameleon, the Spider Web, and the Ulysses Butterfly?
Proud as he may be, Moriarty takes great care to make sure that his presence, influence, or desire in a matter is not made easily apparent, adapting to the situation around him and taking on the appearance of whatever suits him best, whether that be a respected professor (as seen in the source material), an amnesiac hero (Shinjuku’s beginning), or even a ruthless criminal mastermind (Shinjuku’s end). Because of his ability to hide in plain sight so easily, even when his presence is known, his motivations are not, ever the deceptive and charismatic chameleon.
Moriarty is an individual who likes to be in control, who masterfully conducts his business and personal matters as a Maestro would conduct an orchestra throughout a performance, watching and feeling out everything that happens around him, always plotting and planning and creating the music that everyone around him dances to, like a spider at the center of a great web, feeling the vibrations made by his prey and adapting accordingly. His reach is great, his vantage point, greater still, and even the slightest deviations in his plans have already been taken into account through ever-present contingencies.
Moriarty is a devious and scheming individual who actually sees chaos as a good thing. As a Math Professor, he would be familiar with Chaos Theory (an overarching theory stating that there are patterns within the randomness of seemingly complex systems) and likely also The Butterfly Effect (how small changes in the initial conditions of one system can result in massive changes ultimately taking place). He puts both to good use by setting into motion people and plans, using subtlety (whenever possible) and manipulation to achieve an objective.
However, the Ulysses Butterfly (also known as the Emperor Butterfly) fits Moriarty (The Napoleon of Crime) more than originally thought. This particular brightly-colored butterfly is known for not bringing attention to itself when on the ground (by folding its wings to hide its bright colors), and, when it does fly, it flies quickly and erratically (read: chaotically) to stay safe from predators. Moriarty, for his part, tends to keep a low profile until he absolutely has to reveal himself, not just planning ahead, but also improvising, keeping his actions as unpredictable as possible to keep his own enemies off-balance.
And, obviously, there is the matter of how butterflies are seen as representing death and rebirth.
When finally encountering Moriarty, it is easy to assume that he will be very similar to his other depictions in media, and, at first, he is. However, from the end of Shinjuku onward, we can see that he is very much a changed man, as his continuous interactions with The Master of Chaldea have affected him for the better. Though Chaotic Evil, we can see that he came to care for The Master of Chaldea up to the point that he held back during their final battle, an uncharacteristically sentimental decision that ultimately cost him victory. Through the description on Wicked Scriptures, we can also see that, while still Chaotic Evil, he cares for the Master enough to teach them all that he knows about evil, encouraging them to control evil itself rather than let themselves be controlled by it, not pushing the Master towards evil, but giving them a choice, and letting them know that he will support whatever decision they make. There is, of course, also the fact that Moriarty would later go out of his way to help Fran during the Summer Race, showing genuine love and affection toward the Servant who called him Papa, going as far as to help modify both Babbage’s form and Fran’s Saint Graph!
Taking into account all of these tidbits of information, whether it is his recurring animal motifs or his later actions, we can determine that once his mind is set on something, Moriarty will do anything and everything in his power to do it. But what motivates him? Why go through all of the trouble in the first place? His Bond Craft Essence, The Dynamics of an Asteroid, explains it best. Moriarty does what he does because the challenge in doing it is there. He meets the challenge because the challenge exists to be met, and not only is he doing it to meet that challenge and beat it in a way that he deems it best, he will look fabulous doing it
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