Editing Mickey Mouse universe (section)

=== The Sleuth ===
'''The Sleuth''', '''Sureluck Sleuth''' in full,<ref name="sureluck">{{cite web|url=https://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=S+75163|title=The Great Winks Robbery|publisher=[[INDUCKS]]|access-date=June 3, 2017|language=en}}</ref> is an [[Anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[Dog|canine]]. He is an English [[Private investigator|private eye]] operating in 19th century London and employing [[Mickey Mouse]] as an assistant. The character was created by [[Carl Fallberg]] (plot) and Al Hubbard (art) for the [[Disney comics#Disney Studio Program|Disney Studio Program]] and intended solely for foreign publication. The first story in the series is "''Mickey and the Sleuth: The Case of the Wax Dummy''". Unusually for material created for the program, this story appeared domestically in the [[Procter & Gamble]] ''Disney Magazine'' giveaway and then was published by [[Gold Key Comics|Gold Key]] in "''Walt Disney Showcase''" n°38 (1977). ''Mickey and the Sleuth'' stories were produced up until the late 1980s. Given their historical setting, these stories stand apart from other Mickey Mouse continuities. It is never explained if the "Mickey Mouse" working with the Sleuth is an ancestor of the present-day Mickey or if those stories are included in a totally different continuity. Adding to the muddle are the frequent humorous anachronisms which complicate the purportedly Victorian setting, and arguably place the stories in the genre of [[steampunk]]. Apart from Mickey, no other prominent Disney characters are featured in the stories. The Sleuth's recurring antagonists are [[#Professor Nefarious|Professor Nefarious]] and his three bumbling henchmen.

The Sleuth is a good-natured gentleman; wearing a [[deerstalker hat]], smoking a [[smoking pipe (tobacco)|pipe]] and using a [[magnifying glass]], he is an obvious parody of [[Sherlock Holmes]], Mickey basically playing the part of [[Dr. Watson]]. Like his literary counterpart, he also plays the violin (albeit horribly). Unlike Sherlock Holmes, he is totally hopeless as a detective, sometimes unable to figure out crimes committed right in front of his eyes. Nevertheless, he always manages to solve his cases – hence ensuring a reputation as a great investigator – either by sheer luck, or thanks to his foes' fecklessness or simply because Mickey Mouse does all the actual detective work for him. Apart from Mickey, no one seems to be aware of the Sleuth's utter incompetence.

The characters of The Sleuth and Professor Nefarious, complete with the University of Criminal Sciences and the henchman Fliplip, were portrayed in an extended sketch in an episode of ''[[Mickey Mouse Club|The New Mickey Mouse Club]]'' in 1978. Two Mouseketeer cast members – Lisa Whelchel as the Sleuth's niece Lisa, and Scott Craig as Fliplip – performed alongside the two lead rivals, using puppetry and ventriloquism skills. The setting of the story was England, near the White Cliffs of Dover.