In fiction, the gentleman thief is typically superb at stealing while maintaining a gentleman's manners and a code of honour. For example,
A. J. Raffles steals only from other gentlemen (and occasionally gives the object away to a good cause);
Arsène Lupin steals from the rich who do not appreciate their art or treasures and redistributes it;
Saint Tail steals back what was stolen or taken dishonestly or rights the wrongs done to the innocent by implicating the real criminals;
Sly Cooper and his gang steal from other thieves and criminals. Another example would be
Kaito Kuroba, who only steals to amuse the audience, to find the Pandora Gem and to find the people who killed his father.
Gentlemen/lady thieves Notable gentlemen thieves and lady thieves in Western popular culture include the following: •
Rocambole, thief, adventurer, and later hero created by
Pierre Alexis Ponson du Terrail in 1857. •
A. J. Raffles, and his accomplice
Bunny Manders, from the
Raffles stories by E. W. Hornung, created in 1898. •
Arsène Lupin, created by Maurice Leblanc in 1905. •
Hercule Flambeau from the Father Brown short stories by G. K. Chesterton, introduced in 1910. •
Jimmie Dale, also known as The Gray Seal, from the series of stories by Frank L. Packard, created in 1914. • Filibus, an air pirate in the 1915 adventure film
Filibus, is a phantom thief in the tradition of Arsène Lupin, carrying out heists for the thrill of it. •
Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint" from the novels and short stories by Leslie Charteris, created in 1928. • The Robber (unnamed) in
Jewel Robbery (1932). •
Bugs Bunny in
Looney Tunes, introduced in 1940. •
Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, from the Batman comic books, introduced in 1940. •
Oswald Cobblepot, also known as The Penguin, from the Batman comic books, introduced in 1941. • Rick Blaine from
Casablanca in 1942. •
Jim Craddock, also known as Gentleman Ghost, from the DC Comics universe, introduced in 1947. • John Robie in Alfred Hitchcock's
To Catch a Thief (1955). •
Danny Ocean from the film ''
Ocean's 11 (1960) and the Ocean's Trilogy'' (2001–2007). • Jimmy Bourne in
The Happy Thieves (1961). • Sir Charles Litton, also known as "The Phantom" in
The Pink Panther (1963). • Thomas Hewett Edward Cat from the TV series
T.H.E. Cat (1966–1967). • Thomas Crown from
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968). • Sir Oliver from the
Alan Ford comics, created in 1969. • Captain Feeney in
Barry Lyndon (1975). • Edward Pierce from
The Great Train Robbery (1975). • Miss Eula Goodnight from
Rooster Cogburn (1975). •
Bernie Rhodenbarr, narrator of a novel series by Lawrence Block, created in 1977. •
Felicia Hardy, also known as Black Cat, from the Spider-Man comics, introduced in 1979. • René Belloq in
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). •
Carmen Sandiego, the title character from the
Carmen Sandiego franchise, created in 1985. • Walter Donovan in
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). •
Remy Etienne LeBeau, also known as Gambit, from the X-Men comics, introduced in 1990. •
Garrett, the Master Thief in
Thief series of games (1998–2004). • Scipio Massimo in Cornelia Funke's
The Thief Lord (2000). • Viper and also Valmont from the animated
Jackie Chan Adventures (2000–2005). • The Toy Taker, aka Mr. Cuddles from
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the Island of Misfit Toys (2001). •
Sly Cooper, created in 2002. •
Jack Sparrow from
Pirates of the Caribbean franchise (2003). • Moist von Lipwig from Terry Pratchett's
Discworld novels; he is the main character of
Going Postal (2004),
Making Money (2007), and
Raising Steam (2015). • RJ in
Over the Hedge (2006). • Locke Lamora from Scott Lynch's
The Gentleman Bastard Sequence, created in 2006. • Irina Spalko in
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). • Vincent Kosmos in
Vincent Kosmos: The time-thief, web series created in 2008. •
Neal Caffrey in the television series
White Collar (2009–2014). • David Goldman in
An Education (2009). • Lady Christina de Souza from the
Doctor Who episode "
Planet of the Dead" (2009). • Pierre Despereaux, a recurring character in the television series
Psych, portrayed by
Cary Elwes, introduced in its fourth season in 2009. •
Kasumi Goto from the
Mass Effect video game series, introduced in 2010. Her name approximately translates to "phantom thief." •
Flynn Rider in
Tangled (2010). •
Gru in
Despicable Me (2010). • Megamind in
Megamind (2010). • Michael De Santa and Devin Weston in
Grand Theft Auto V (2013). • The Four Horsemen; Dylan Rhodes, Henley Reeves, J. Daniel Atlas, Jack Wilder, Lula, and Merrit McKinney in
Now You See Me duology (2013–2016) •
Surly Squirrel in
The Nut Job (2014). • Constantine the Frog in
Muppets Most Wanted (2014). • Josiah Trelawny in
Red Dead Redemption II (2018). • Nolan Booth in
Red Notice (2021). • Loba Andrade, a playable character from the game
Apex Legends, introduced in its fifth season in Spring 2021. • Diane Foxington, Mr. Snake, Ms. Tarantula, Mr. Shark and Mr. Wolf in
The Bad Guys (2022). •
Nathan Drake of the
Uncharted franchise. •
Andrés de Fonollosa (Berlin) of the
Money Heist franchise. • Freddie "The Frog" Robdal, biological father of Rodney Trotter in
Only Fools And Horses. •
Puss In Boots in the
Shrek franchise. Introduced in 2004 in
Shrek 2.
Phantom thieves is the term for the gentleman/lady thief in Japanese media such as
anime,
manga, and
JRPGs. It draws inspiration from Arsène Lupin and elements in other
crime fictions and
detective fictions. Notable phantom thieves in Japanese popular culture include the following: •
Lupin III (the grandson of Arsène Lupin, according to his creator, Monkey Punch) and
Fujiko Mine, from
Lupin the Third, created in 1967. • The Kisugi sisters (Hitomi, Rui and Ai) from the manga and anime series ''
Cat's Eye'', introduced in 1981. •
Tuxedo Mask, also known as Mamoru Chiba, and later the husband of
Sailor Moon, was at the start of the manga a thief searching for the
Silver Crystal. •
Kaito Kuroba, also known as the "Kaitō Kid", the main character of
Magic Kaito and a recurring character in
Detective Conan by Gosho Aoyama, created in 1987. • Kaitō Shinshi, the lady thief in
The Kindaichi Case Files, introduced in 1992. •
Meimi Haneoka, who transforms into Saint Tail, a phantom thief with acrobatic and magician skills, from
Saint Tail by Megumi Tachikawa; created in 1995. • The Mysterious Thief Dorapin from
The Doraemons, a spin-off of
Doraemon, introduced in 1997. •
Dark Mousy the angel-like phantom thief from
D.N.Angel by Yukiru Sugisaki, introduced in 1997. • Henry Agata (Hikaru Agata) A.K.A. Phantom Renegade (Kaito Retort) from
Medabots, introduced in 1997. • Kamikaze Kaitō Jeanne, the title character in
Phantom Thief Jeanne, created in 1998. •
Ada Wong, from
Resident Evil (
Biohazard in Japan), a supporting and playable character originally appearing in 1998. • Clara, better known as the phantom thief Psiren, an exclusive character from the anime adaptation of the manga
Fullmetal Alchemist, created in 2003. • Keith Harcourt / Black Rose, from
Ashita no Nadja, created in 2003. • Bleublanc, also known as Phantom Thief B, from the
Trails series, introduced in 2004. • Mask☆DeMasque, an
Ace Attorney character, from the third game,
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Trials and Tribulations (2004). • The Red Dozer gang from
Drill Dozer. Introduced in 2005. • Jack, also known as Joker, the title character from the anime and manga
Mysterious Joker who sometimes works with other phantom thieves in the series, created in 2007. • Riko Mine Lupin IV of
Aria the Scarlet Ammo, the great-granddaughter of Arsène Lupin. Allegedly, she is the child of Lupin III and
Fujiko Mine, whom her surnames are derived from; introduced in 2008. •
Daiki Kaitō, portrayed by Kimito Totani, a character who can transform into Kamen Rider Diend from 2009
Kamen Rider Decade. • Arsène, Rat, Twenty, and Stone River comprise the Thieves' Empire (Kaitou Teikoku) in
Tantei Opera Milky Holmes, created in 2010. • Loser, from
Dimension W, introduced in 2011. • Raphael/Ralph, also known as the Phantom R, the main character of ''
Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure'', created in 2012. • Danjuro Tobita, also known as the "Gentle Criminal", from the anime and manga series
My Hero Academia, introduced in 2014. •
Joker and the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, from
Persona 5, created in 2016. • Count Night from
Beyblade Burst Cho-Z created in 2018. • The Lupinrangers in
Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, created in 2018. • The Phantomirage in
Secret × Warrior Phantomirage!, created in 2019. • Laurent Thierry, a con artist in
Great Pretender, introduced in 2020. • The , the main antagonists of
Delicious Party Pretty Cure (2022-2023). • The , the main antagonists of
Star Detective Precure! ==Perceptions of real historical figures==