In Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story “The Adventure of the Empty House,” the villain defeated by Holmes is Colonel Sebastian Moran.
Moran is introduced as a former colonel in the Indian Army and a highly dangerous criminal. Holmes describes him as one of the most formidable men in London, second only to Professor Moriarty in the criminal world. He is also an expert marksman.
Moran attempts to shoot Holmes with an air rifle while Holmes uses a wax bust of himself as a decoy in an empty house opposite 221B Baker Street. Holmes substitutes a mirror for his face, allowing the bullet to reveal the shooter’s position.
The story is important because it marks Holmes’s return after his presumed death at the Reichenbach Falls. Moran is sometimes confused with Moriarty, but they are separate characters: Moriarty is the criminal mastermind, while Moran is his chief associate and enforcer.