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List of The Adventures of Tintin characters
This is the list of fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. The list is grouped by the Main characters, the Antagonists, and the Supporting characters. Before the list, there is an Index of characters for each of the 24 albums.
The supporting characters Hergé created for his series have been cited as far more developed than the central character, each imbued with a strength of character and depth of personality that has been compared with that of the characters of Charles Dickens.[1] Hergé used the supporting characters to create a realistic world[2] in which to set his protagonists' adventures. To further the realism and continuity, characters would recur throughout the series.
During the Nazi occupation of Belgium during World War II, and the subsequent restrictions this imposed, Hergé was forced to focus on characterisation to avoid depicting troublesome political situations. The public responded positively.[3] Colourful supporting players like Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus were first introduced during this period.[4]
- 1 Index of characters by album
- 1.1 Tintin in the Land of the Soviets
- 1.2 Tintin in the Congo
- 1.3 Tintin in America
- 1.4 Cigars of the Pharaoh
- 1.5 The Blue Lotus
- 1.6 The Broken Ear
- 1.7 The Black Island
- 1.8 King Ottokar's Sceptre
- 1.9 The Crab with the Golden Claws
- 1.10 The Shooting Star
- 1.11 The Secret of the Unicorn
- 1.12 Red Rackham's Treasure
- 1.13 The Seven Crystal Balls
- 1.14 Prisoners of the Sun
- 1.15 Land of Black Gold
- 1.16 Destination Moon
- 1.17 Explorers on the Moon
- 1.18 The Calculus Affair
- 1.19 The Red Sea Sharks
- 1.20 Tintin in Tibet
- 1.21 The Castafiore Emerald
- 1.22 Flight 714
- 1.23 Tintin and the Picaros
- 1.24 Tintin and Alph-Art
- 2 Main characters
- 3 Antagonists
- 3.1 Al Capone
- 3.2 Allan Thompson
- 3.3 Alonso Pérez and Ramón Bada
- 3.4 Bab El Ehr
- 3.5 Barnaby
- 3.6 Basil Bazarov
- 3.7 Bird brothers
- 3.8 Bobby Smiles
- 3.9 Chiquito
- 3.10 Colonel Jorgen
- 3.11 Colonel Sponsz
- 3.12 Corporal Diaz
- 3.13 Doctor Müller
- 3.14 Doctor Krollspell
- 3.15 Endaddine Akass
- 3.16 The fakir
- 3.17 General Tapioca
- 3.18 The gunrunner
- 3.19 J.M. Dawson
- 3.20 Krônik and Klûmsi
- 3.21 Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch
- 3.22 Miller
- 3.23 Mitsuhirato
- 3.24 Mr. Bohlwinkel (Blumenstein)
- 3.25 Omar Ben Salaad
- 3.26 Puschov
- 3.27 R.W. Trickler
- 3.28 Rascar Capac
- 3.29 Red Rackham
- 3.30 Spalding
- 3.31 W.R. Gibbons
- 4 Supporting characters
- 4.1 Alfredo Topolino
- 4.2 Aristides Silk
- 4.3 Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano
- 4.4 Arumbayas
- 4.5 Baxter
- 4.6 Bill the cook
- 4.7 Blessed Lightning
- 4.8 Bunji Kuraki
- 4.9 Captain Chester
- 4.10 Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto
- 4.11 Cutts the butcher
- 4.12 Doctor Patella
- 4.13 Frank Wolff
- 4.14 General Alcazar
- 4.15 Huascar
- 4.16 Igor Wagner
- 4.17 Irma
- 4.18 Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine
- 4.19 King Muskar XII
- 4.20 Laszlo Carreidas
- 4.21 Maharajah of Gaipajama
- 4.22 Martine Vandezande
- 4.23 Mik Kanrokitoff
- 4.24 Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah
- 4.25 Mr. Bolt
- 4.26 Mrs. Finch
- 4.27 Oliveira de Figueira
- 4.28 Pablo
- 4.29 Patrash Pasha
- 4.30 Picaros
- 4.31 Piotr Skut
- 4.32 Professor Decimus Phostle
- 4.33 Professor Euclide
- 4.34 Professor Hector Alembick
- 4.35 Professor Philippulus
- 4.36 Ridgewell
- 4.37 Sanders-Hardiman expedition members
- 4.38 Sir Francis Haddock
- 4.39 Sondonesians
- 4.40 Sophocles Sarcophagus
- 4.41 Tharkey
- 4.42 Wang Chen-Yee
- 4.43 Zorrino
- 5 Citations
- 6 Sources
- 7 External links
Index of characters by album[edit]
Tintin in the Land of the Soviets[edit]
Tintin in the Congo[edit]
Tintin in America[edit]
Cigars of the Pharaoh[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Thomson and Thompson
- Sophocles Sarcophagus
- The fakir
- The gunrunner
- Allan
- Rastapopoulos
- Patrash Pasha
- Oliveira da Figueira
- Maharajah of Gaipajama
The Blue Lotus[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Thomson and Thompson
- Maharajah of Gaipajama
- Chang Chong-Chen
- Wang Chen-Yee
- W.R. Gibbons
- J.M. Dawson
- Mitsuhirato
- The fakir
- Wang Chen-Yee
The Broken Ear[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Alonso Pérez and Ramón Bada
- General Alcazar
- General Tapioca
- R.W. Trickler
- Corporal Diaz
- Basil Bazarov
- Pablo
- Ridgewell
- The Arumbayas
- Thomson and Thompson
- Professor Euclide
The Black Island[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Thomson and Thompson
- Doctor Müller
- Puschov
- Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto
King Ottokar's Sceptre[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Thomson and Thompson
- Professor Hector Alembick
- King Muskar XII
- Boris (Colonel Jorgen)
- Bianca Castafiore
- Igor Wagner
- Mrs. Finch
The Crab with the Golden Claws[edit]
The Shooting Star[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Thomson and Thompson
- Mr. Bohlwinkel
- Captain Chester
- Professor Decimus Phostle
- Professor Paul Cantonneau
- Professor Philippulus
- Bill the cook
The Secret of the Unicorn[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Thomson and Thompson
- Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine
- Bird brothers
- Aristides Silk
- Barnaby
- Nestor
- Mrs. Finch
- Captain Chester
- Sir Francis Haddock
- Red Rackham
Red Rackham's Treasure[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Bill the cook
- Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine
The Seven Crystal Balls[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- General Alcazar
- Chiquito
- Sanders-Hardiman expedition members
- Bianca Castafiore
- Nestor
- Captain Chester
Prisoners of the Sun[edit]
Land of Black Gold[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah
- Bab El Ehr
- Oliveira da Figueira
- Professor Smith (Doctor Müller)
- Bianca Castafiore
- Nestor
Destination Moon[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Baxter
- Frank Wolff
- Miller
- Colonel Jorgen
- Doctor Patella
- Nestor
Explorers on the Moon[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Baxter
- Frank Wolff
- Miller
- Colonel Jorgen
- Doctor Patella
The Calculus Affair[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Bianca Castafiore
- Irma
- Igor Wagner
- Nestor
- Jolyon Wagg
- Cutts the butcher
- Alfredo Topolino
- Krônik and Klûmsi
- Colonel Sponsz
- R.W. Trickler
- Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch
- Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano
The Red Sea Sharks[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- General Alcazar
- J.M. Dawson
- Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah
- Bab El Ehr
- Oliveira da Figueira
- Piotr Skut
- Marquis di Gorgonzola (Rastapopoulos)
- Mull Pasha (Doctor Müller)
- Allan
- Bianca Castafiore
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Nestor
- Jolyon Wagg
Tintin in Tibet[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Tharkey
- Blessed Lightning
- Chang Chong-Chen
- Professor Calculus
- Bianca Castafiore
The Castafiore Emerald[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Bianca Castafiore
- Irma
- Igor Wagner
- Nestor
- Mr. Bolt
- Cutts the butcher
- Jolyon Wagg
- Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto
Flight 714[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Laszlo Carreidas
- Piotr Skut
- Spalding
- Doctor Krollspell
- Allan
- Rastapopoulos
- The Sondonesians
- Mik Kanrokitoff
- Jolyon Wagg
Tintin and the Picaros[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- General Alcazar
- General Tapioca
- The Picaros
- Pablo
- Bianca Castafiore
- Nestor
- Colonel Esponja (Colonel Sponsz)
- Jolyon Wagg
- Ridgewell
- The Arumbayas
- Cutts the butcher
- Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto
Tintin and Alph-Art[edit]
- Tintin
- Snowy
- Captain Haddock
- Professor Calculus
- Thomson and Thompson
- Endaddine Akass
- Martine Vandezande
- Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine
- Bird brothers
- W.R. Gibbons
- R.W. Trickler
- Cutts the butcher
- Irma
Main characters[edit]
Captain Haddock[edit]
Professor Calculus[edit]
Thomson and Thompson[edit]
Bianca Castafiore[edit]
Chang Chong-Chen[edit]
Jolyon Wagg[edit]
Al Capone[edit]
Al Capone is a Chicago crime boss and main villain in two of Hergé's The Adventures of Tintin: Tintin in the Congo and Tintin in America. In Tintin in the Congo, he runs a criminal diamond smuggling operation, trying to gain control of African diamond production. He orders thugs to face Tintin in Tintin in America. Capone's main rival in Chicago is Bobby Smiles.
Tintin arrests 355 members of Capone's Central Syndicate of Chicago Gangsters. Capone himself is tied up by Tintin and arrested, but he escapes.[5]
The character Al Capone is based on the real-life Al Capone of Chicago. Al Capone was alive in 1931 when Hergé depicted him in his comics.[5] It would be the last real-life individual to appear as a character in the Adventures using their real name.
Allan Thompson[edit]
Allan Thompson, commonly Allan, is a British[6] criminal henchman and merchant seaman,[7] often involved in smuggling and other criminal activities. Originally the treacherous first mate of Captain Haddock in The Crab with the Golden Claws, keeping him drunk and running the ship to smuggle opium, Allan takes orders from Omar Ben Salaad. He appears retroactively when Hergé redrew the earlier adventure Cigars of the Pharaoh, as he was not in the original.[8] The following year Hergé featured him in The Red Sea Sharks in league with Rastapopoulos, where his ship is used in slave trading. In Flight 714, he is Rastapopoulos' main accomplice. He is shown savagely beaten after escaping the Sondonesians, causing him to suffer a loss of all his teeth. After escaping a volcanic eruption on the island and fleeing in a rubber raft with the other criminals, he and everyone aboard the raft are hypnotised by aliens and compelled to board a spaceship, which whisks them away to an unknown fate.
His name is Allan Thompson in the original French, but English translations leave out his surname to avoid confusion with Tintin's friends Thomson and Thompson.
Allan is portrayed by Daniel Mays in the motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
Alonso Pérez and Ramón Bada[edit]
Alonso Pérez and Ramón Bada are the chief antagonists in The Broken Ear. They work solely for themselves in obtaining a diamond concealed in a fetish. Pérez, an engineer, is the leader of the two. Bada, the follower, is a knife thrower, and uses more Spanish in his speech than Pérez. While engaged with Tintin in a hand-to-hand combat for the diamond, Ramón and Alonso fall into the sea and drown, and are shown being taken away to Hell by smiling winged demons.
Bab El Ehr[edit]
Bab El Ehr, a self-styled sheikh, is an Arab insurgent who fights Emir Ben Kalish Ezab, ruler of the fictional Middle Eastern state of Khemed; though overall he comes across as a villain rather than a noble fighter. In Land of Black Gold he is shown allied with Doctor Müller and his Skoil Petroleum Company, and fighting a guerilla war against Ben Kalish Ezab. Bab El Ehr's men mistake Tintin for a weapons smuggler working for the sheikh, and rescue him from Ben Kalish Ezab's soldiers. After discovering the mistake, Bab El Ehr accuses Tintin of being a spy for the Emir, and makes him a prisoner. Tintin collapses from thirst after a long march on foot through the desert, and is left behind by Bab El Ehr. Bab El Ehr does not play a role in the second part of the story, the role of primary antagonist being taken by Doctor Müller.
Bab El Ehr plays a major behind-the-scenes role in The Red Sea Sharks, having used Mosquito fighter planes provided by J.M. Dawson to carry out a successful coup d'état and overthrow the Emir. After Dawson discovers Tintin spying on his arms dealership, he warns Bab El Ehr, who puts out a reward for the capture of Tintin and Haddock. Soon, the Marquis di Gorgonzola, the alias of Rastapopoulos, takes over the role of primary antagonist. At the close of The Red Sea Sharks, Bab El Ehr's regime is overthrown and he is presumably executed.
His name is derived from the Brussels dialect word babbelaar or "tattler".
Barnaby is the man hired by the antique dealers, the Bird brothers, to acquire the three parchments from the three model ships of the Unicorn—the first of which he finds in the Old Street Market, in The Secret of the Unicorn. When he failed his employers and Tintin purchased the ship instead, first he stole Tintin's Unicorn, then ransacked Tintin's flat after he broke the mast and did not find the parchment. Later, he chloroforms Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine and breaks the mast of his ship, acquiring a parchment. When he brings it to the Bird brothers and then asks them for more money to get the other two, then threatens to expose them when they refuse, he is shot and wounded outside Tintin's flat. He turns from his employers and tries to warn Tintin of them but could only point to feeding birds.
Basil Bazarov[edit]
Basil Bazarov is a German arms dealer who appears in The Broken Ear. He sells weapons to both sides of the conflict between San Theodoros and neighbouring Nuevo-Rico. He also works with his associate R.W. Trickler in an unsuccessful attempt to bring an end to their mutual enemy Tintin.
Hergé's Basil Bazarov was "characterised in every detail"[9] by the real life Greek arms dealer Basil Zaharoff, who profited by selling weapons to both sides of the conflict between Bolivia and neighbouring Paraguay during the War of the Gran Chaco (in The Broken Ear, Bazarov fuels the "War of the Gran Chapo").[9] Sir Basil Zaharoff enjoyed a good reputation at the time The Broken Ear appeared; he was made a Grand-officier de la Légion d'honneur and made member of the Order of the British Empire.[10]
Bird brothers[edit]
(French: Les frères Loiseau)
The Bird brothers, Max and G. Bird, are the main adversaries in The Secret of the Unicorn. They are identified both as "gangsters" and as "antique dealers" in the book.
In the original French their names are Loiseau (L'oiseau, French for "bird"). One of them, Maxime, is renamed Max in the English version—"bird" being English slang for time spent in prison, i.e., Max Bird meaning a long sentence and G suggesting Gustav or Gaol (jail bird). In the Golden Press edition translated into American English, the name is spelled Byrd.
The Bird brothers, like Tintin, are looking for the three parchments of Sir Francis Haddock that hold the secret of Red Rackham's treasure. They operate from their manor, Marlinspike Hall, where at one point they hold Tintin prisoner to force him to surrender the parchments. Furthermore, they threaten him with torture while refusing to accept Tintin's explanation that a pickpocket had stolen them earlier. Thus Tintin was forced to escape and managed to contact Captain Haddock and Thomson and Thompson, enabling them to arrive to help him before he came to harm. Amongst their other crimes is the attempted murder of their helper, Barnaby, just before he can tell Tintin of their plot. The Bird brothers are eventually captured by Thomson and Thompson. Max escapes, but is later caught by the police while trying to leave the country.
In Red Rackham's Treasure, Max Bird has escaped again and is spotted near the Sirius, a ship about to set sail with Tintin and Haddock in their search for the treasure. Thomson and Thompson are thus sent as part of the expedition in order to look out for him, but he never appears, the detectives concluding at the end of the book that he was discouraged to take action due to their presence.
The Bird brothers have not been seen since, though they were depicted in sketches for the never finished Tintin and Alph-Art.
Bobby Smiles[edit]
Bobby Smiles is a Chicago crime boss whose rival in America is Al Capone (Tintin in America). Smiles flees Chicago into America's wild west early in the story,[11] and remains Tintin's adversary throughout much of the adventure. Smiles even manages to convince the Native Americans to turn against Tintin. He is eventually captured and brought to justice.[12]
In the animated series, Smiles works for Capone, rather than against him.
Chiquito, or Rupac Inca Huaco, is a full-blooded Peruvian Quechua and one of the last descendants of the Incas. He is first seen as the sidekick to General Alcazar in The Seven Crystal Balls and is ultimately seen as a leading member of the Incas in Prisoners of the Sun.
He assists General Alcazar in his knife-throwing act but this serves as a cover since Chiquito, unknown to the General, is out to punish the European explorers who violated the tomb of his ancestors. He does so by breaking into the homes or offices of the explorers and breaking crystal balls in their presence. It is later revealed that the balls contain a coca-derived drug that plunges them into a deep sleep.
One night, at the home of Calculus's friend Professor Tarragon, Chiquito breaks the final crystal ball in Tarragon's room after climbing down the chimney. He also seizes the jewellry of Rascar Capac, the Inca mummy whose tomb was violated. As he escapes he is shot and wounded by a police officer and hides in a tree. In the morning, Calculus finds a bracelet that belonged to Rascar Capac and puts it on. He is promptly kidnapped by Chiquito and his men for sacrilege. To get past a roadblock he and his accomplices switch cars. Chiquito takes the professor to Peru and Tintin and Captain Haddock go after them. He reappears in Prisoners of the Sun on the Pachacamac and catches Tintin who has found Calculus. When Chiquito calls for his companion, Tintin takes the opportunity to escape and jumps into the water, swimming back to Haddock's boat as Chiquito shoots at him. Their next meeting is at the Temple of the Sun, high in the mountains, where he and the Incas perform the ceremony of burning Tintin and his friends at the stake, only to be interrupted by an eclipse. He eventually releases his control over the Sanders-Hardiman expedition members and they awaken from their deep sleep.
Chiquito is often confused with Huascar who bears a close resemblance to him; however Chiquito is the more ruthless of the two.
Colonel Jorgen[edit]
Colonel Jorgen is a sworn enemy of Tintin. They first meet in King Ottokar's Sceptre, where he is known simply as "Boris" and is a relatively minor character, supposedly in service of King Muskar XII as aide-de-camp. In fact Jorgen is a double agent for the neighbouring republic of Borduria. To all intents and purposes he is a Syldavian, but he is actually a traitor out to betray his country one way or the other. His fate at the end of the novel is not shown, but he is apparently arrested or discredited after the Bordurian plot is foiled.
Colonel Jorgen returns in Destination Moon and confronts Tintin again in Explorers on the Moon, having stowed away on the moon rocket that Tintin and his friends are piloting. Frank Wolff was told he would be a journalist; he only reveals his true objective when on the moon. When most of the group leaves on the moon-tank, Jorgen knocks Tintin out from behind, ties him up, and leaves him below. He and Wolff attempt to maroon the rocket's crew on the moon, but are prevented from doing so by Tintin, who severs the wires and holds Jorgen at gunpoint. Jorgen escapes custody during the return flight when Thomson and Thompson think handcuffs would be more secure than rope, and attempt to kill the rocket crew. Wolff turns on Jorgen for this, and in the ensuing struggle Jorgen inadvertently shoots himself through the heart, dying instantly. His body is subsequently ejected into space.
Colonel Sponsz[edit]
Colonel Sponsz, the round-headed, monocle-wearing military official, is Chief of Police of the Bordurian capital Szohôd, as well as the head of the Secret Police or ZEP, which operates on behalf of the country's dictator Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch. He first appears in The Calculus Affair; he is the mastermind behind the kidnapping of Professor Calculus by the ZEP to force Calculus to use his research on ultrasonic waves to create a weapon of mass destruction. He also arranges for Tintin and Captain Haddock, who are attempting to rescue Calculus, to be shadowed by ZEP agents Krônik and Klûmsi, who pose as translators. After Tintin and Haddock escape from Krônik and Klûmsi and hide in the Opera, Sponsz orders the police to surround the Opera while going to hear Bianca Castafiore sing. Unbeknownst to Sponsz, Tintin and Haddock are hiding in Castafiore's closet when Sponsz visits her in her dressing room. The two protagonists thus hear the entirety of the Bordurian plan for Calculus. Tintin and Haddock also manage to steal passes for two Red Cross representatives and a release order for Calculus from Sponsz's coat; they use these and some disguises obtained from the Opera to sneak Calculus out of the fortress of Bakhine, into neighbouring Syldavia, and home.
Sponsz reappears again as the primary antagonist of Tintin and the Picaros. In this adventure, he has been transferred by Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch to become a technical adviser to General Tapioca, the new ruler of San Theodoros, and is tasked with reorganizing the Secret Police there. In San Theodoros, he takes the Spanish spelling of his name, Esponja. Sponsz plants false documents in Bianca Castafiore's luggage, which provides "proof" of a conspiracy led by her against General Tapioca, justifying the arrest of Castafiore. Sponsz later arrests Thomson and Thompson as well. His motivation in this act was the humiliation subjected upon him by Tintin and Haddock in The Calculus Affair, and thus aimed for the entrapment and capture of Tintin and Captain Haddock, whom he knew would come to the rescue of Castafiore. He then uses Pablo, Tintin's ally in The Broken Ear but now a double agent for Tapioca in the camp of General Alcazar and the Picaros, to set up a second trap for Tintin, Haddock, Calculus, and General Alcazar. Sponsz appears again in the end of the book as he is captured by the Picaros along with General Tapioca, and is sent back to Borduria.
Corporal Diaz[edit]
Corporal Diaz was a corporal for General Alcazar after Alcazar demoted him from Colonel. He was then replaced with Tintin after Diaz complained to the general that San Theodoros had too many colonels and too few corporals (The Broken Ear). In revenge, Diaz engaged in repeated, unsuccessful assassination attempts against Alcazar, the last of which killed him when his own bomb went off, because he had assumed it was set to go off an hour later.[13] Ironically, Alcazar had arrested and sentenced Tintin to death due to faked evidence, and had just promoted Corporal Diaz back to colonel.
Doctor Müller[edit]
(Doctor J. W. Müller is a German doctor whose position and qualifications serve as a cover for more villainous activities, including that of criminal, Nazi secret agent, and mercenary. Since Doctor Müller's first appearance in 1937, Hergé's anti-German message is clear, and he said he considered Müller "a Rastapopoulos figure prepared to risk his own life."[14]
Müller frequently uses profanities such as "Kruzitürken" that are of Bavarian origin, suggesting his background to be Bavarian or Austrian. Müller's first appearance was in The Black Island.
Doctor Müller also appeared in Land of Black Gold and The Red Sea Sharks. In both, he helped the rebel Bab El Ehr in his attempts to overthrow the Emir, Ben Kalish Ezab. He designed Formula Fourteen, which increased the explosive properties of petrol, and sabotaged the pipelines of Arabex, the Emir's preferred petrol company. While in his initial appearance he wore a goatee and moustache and had a plump physique, in later appearances he wears a full-grown beard and is leaner, enabling him to pose as an Arab. In The Red Sea Sharks he had changed his name to Mull Pasha (shown in the pile of newspaper clippings near the end of the story).
Once Bab el Ehr is overthrown at the end of The Red Sea Sharks, Doctor Müller is also captured and presumably executed or incarcerated.
Doctor Krollspell[edit]
(French: Docteur Krollspell)
Doctor Krollspell is a German doctor and associate of Tintin's enemy Rastapopoulos in Flight 714, but he later changes sides when it is in his best interest to turn from his employer.
Doctor Krollspell was the head of a psychiatric clinic in New Delhi (Cairo in the English version of the story). He developed a truth serum that Rastapopoulos intended to use on kidnapped millionaire Laszlo Carreidas in order to learn where Carreidas had left a large part of his personal fortune.
Krollspell is an ex-Nazi scientist, probably based on Josef Mengele, the infamous "Angel of Death",[15] or Adolf Hitler's quack doctor, Theodor Morell. In an interview, Hergé himself suggested that Krollspell had worked in a concentration camp—Flight 714 having been published some 20 years after the war.
"Kroll" is also part of the name of the Krolloper Berlin Opera House, where the Nazi-dominated German parliament met following the Reichstag fire of 1933. However, "Krollspell" is simply Brussels dialect for krulspeld, which means "hair curler".
By the end of Flight 714, Doctor Krollspell had lost his memory of the events that had occurred. A news programme in the story announced that Krollspell was found in India with no memory of how he got there.
Endaddine Akass[edit]
Endaddine Akass is a guru and main antagonist of the unfinished book Tintin and Alph-Art. More than likely, he is Rastapopoulos in disguise.
The fakir[edit]
The fakir, also called "The Eyes", appears in Cigars of the Pharaoh where he is a high-ranking member of an opium smuggling ring. He uses the dangerous Rajaijah juice that drives people literally mad. Among his talents are hypnosis, the Indian rope trick, and escapology (to the point where he is offended by Tintin thinking he could tie him up). He is eventually captured when the leader accidentally knocks him out with a rock that had been intended to knock Tintin out instead.
In the original black-and-white version published in 1932–1934, the fakir tells his boss on the phone how he intends to bribe an asylum guard into arranging Tintin's "suicide". It is also later hinted that he is the chairman of the meeting of the hooded leaders of the drug cartel.
In the sequel, The Blue Lotus, the fakir escapes from prison and again uses his darts to poison a Chinese man sent to warn Tintin against Mitsuhirato, another leader of the drug smugglers.
When the Blue Lotus was originally published in black-and-white in 1934, the fakir can be seen escaping through the forest with his blowpipe after shooting the dart at the Chinese man. Not taking any chances, Tintin tells the Maharajah of Gaipajama that he will not leave until he knows that the fakir is unable to do him any harm. The next day they receive a telegram from the police announcing The fakir had been captured.
General Tapioca[edit]
General Tapioca is the arch-rival of General Alcazar. Tapioca and Alcazar are both generals in their armies in the fictional banana republic of San Theodoros.[16] He assumes dictatorial leadership of the country with comedic frequency. In Tintin and the Picaros, General Tapioca was exiled to Borduria after General Alcazar took control.
The gunrunner[edit]
The gunrunner, who appears in Cigars of the Pharaoh, rescues Tintin from a storm at sea then turns him over to his enemies.[17] He is based on the real life French gunrunner Henry de Monfreid, a writer and adventurer whom Hergé initially admired. When Hergé learned that Monfreid was providing guns for war, his attitude about him changed and led him to cast Monfreid as the ultimately villainous gunrunner character.[17]
J.M. Dawson[edit]
J.M. Dawson is the corrupt British Chief of Police of the Shanghai International Settlement in The Blue Lotus.[18] In revenge for Tintin's rebuking of his American friend, the businessman W.R. Gibbons, Dawson attempts to have prison guards assault Tintin. Dawson subsequently turns Tintin over to the Japanese who have a price on his head,[18] calmly dismissing Tintin's protest that he is on neutral ground. Appearing in a more sinister role in The Red Sea Sharks, Dawson sells weapons to both General Alcazar and General Tapioca using the pseudonym Mr. Debrett (French: M. Dubreuil), and is being patronized by Rastapopoulos. He has Tintin and Captain Haddock denied entry to Khemed and plants a bomb on their return plane. His plan ultimately fails; his fate is unknown.
Krônik and Klûmsi[edit]
(French: Kronick et Himmerszeck)
Krônik and Klûmsi are inept Bordurian secret service agents ostensibly assigned by Colonel Sponsz to ensure Tintin and Captain Haddock's safety and well-being during their visit to the Bordurian capital Szohôd in The Calculus Affair. Presumably based on KGB agents, their real objective is to prevent the two visitors from making indiscreet inquiries in their hunt for Professor Calculus. Tintin and Haddock neutralize the agents by plying them with drinks at dinner and then locking them in their respective hotel rooms. Their names are undoubtedly puns on "chronic" and "clumsy". They appear to be the Bordurian equivalents of Thomson and Thompson.
Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch[edit]
(French: Maréchal Plekszy-Gladz)
Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch is dictator of the fictional regime of Borduria.[19] Although he never appears as a character in the series, he is mentioned by name and glimpsed in statues and portraits in The Calculus Affair and Tintin and the Picaros. His name is an allusion to his curved moustache, which also appears as a stylized circumflex mark in the Bordurian language (an example of this can be seen in his own name). "By the whiskers of Kûrvi-Tasch" is an amusing catch phrase Bordurians often exclaim, referring to their great leader.
Kûrvi-Tasch's Bordurian government closely resembles the Nazi Third Reich. For example, the usage of the country's national insignia (naturally resembling the marshal's moustache) on badges and armbands is similar to the swastika. The greeting "Amaïh Kûrvi-Tasch" (meaning "Hail Kûrvi-Tasch") is similar to "Heil Hitler!"
Miller is the calculating spymaster from an unnamed power who masterminds the plot to hijack the Syldavian rocket programme in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon. He was probably the man who offered to help Frank Wolff out of his gambling debts in exchange for information on the rocket programme carried out at the White Sands: Miller is shown in one scene checking a list of personnel at the Centre and presumably finds Wolff's name among them.
Miller is first seen on the plane to Syldavia in Destination Moon. He was seated in the row ahead of Tintin and Captain Haddock and was astonished to hear the Captain mention the name "Calculus". This shows that he was already planning to take over the moon programme that Calculus was working on. He discreetly followed Tintin and Haddock through Klow airport but pulled back when he realised that they were being escorted by the local secret police: Zepo.
With an associate known as the Baron, he then set about parachuting agents into the area of the Centre and obtaining the plans for the experimental unmanned rocket X-FLR6. When X-FLR6 was launched, Miller's technicians were able to intercept it and divert the rocket to their own territory. However, Tintin and Calculus had expected this and destroyed the rocket before it could land.
Miller threatened to have Wolff killed, as he suspected him of double-crossing him, but refrained when it was announced that a manned rocket was to go to the moon. Miller arranged for Colonel Jorgen, an old enemy of Tintin's, to be smuggled aboard. He himself stayed up-to-date with events by listening into radio broadcasts between Earth and the rocket. Ultimately though, his attempt to control the rocket failed—his agents Jorgen and Wolff both perishing in the process. Miller is last seen cursing the rocket's crew and his agents' bungling, wishing that they would all perish in the last stage of the return journey.
Like any good spymaster, Miller designated various codenames to his targets and operations: the Centre was referred to as the "Main Workshop"; Calculus and Haddock were "Mammoth" and "Whale"; and the operation to hijack the manned rocket to the moon was called "Ulysses" (after the Greek hero who also goes on an epic journey and is himself a master of intrigue and deception in Homer's Odyssey).
Mitsuhirato is a sadistic Japanese double agent who appears in The Blue Lotus. He owns a women's clothing shop on the "Street Of Tranquillity" in Shanghai, but is also involved in a drug trafficking cabal with Rastapopoulos and is also working for the Japanese government. Mitsuhirato is, along with the other Japanese principal characters, characterized as an evil, scheming person, exploiting political turmoil in China to his and his country's advantage. He is depicted as ugly, unscrupulous, and militaristic, with stereotypically rectangular teeth.[18] After his subsequent capture at the end of The Blue Lotus, he committed suicide by hara-kiri, or seppuku.
Mr. Bohlwinkel (Blumenstein)[edit]
Mr. Bohlwinkel is a financier from the fictitious South American country São Rico, who appears in The Shooting Star. As the owner of a major banking concern and a petroleum firm called Golden Oil, he uses his wealth and resources to attempt to beat Tintin and his friends in the race to find a recently fallen meteorite. Apart from financing the exploratory vessel Peary, he unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the competing expedition's ship Aurora, helmed by Captain Haddock. This includes depositing lit dynamite onto its deck (which Snowy puts out), instructing another ship under his control to ram the Aurora during a storm, refusing to allow the Aurora to refuel at a Golden Oil depot (only to have Haddock's old friend Captain Chester fuel the Aurora by having the oil the depot is pumping into his tanks be siphoned off), and sending a fake S.O.S. to throw the Aurora off course (Tintin contacting multiple shipping agencies to determine that the ship and company that sent the distress call do not exist). The Shooting Star ends with a dismayed Bohlwinkel listening to a radio announcement that reveals that the police are onto him.
It is conspicuous that Bohlwinkel has physical traits reflecting a stereotypical Jew in Nazi propaganda. In the original edition of The Shooting Star (published during World War II) he was referred to as an American Jew named Blumenstein, and his bank was explicitly stated as being located in New York.[20] In later editions of the book, Hergé attempted to alter the financer's antecedents by relocating him to the fictitious South American country São Rico, and changing his name to a Brabantian dialect word for a sweet shop, bollewinkel. He also modified the spelling of the new name. Hergé however subsequently learned that Bohlwinkel is also a Jewish surname.
Omar Ben Salaad[edit]
Omar Ben Salaad is an Arab merchant who appears in The Crab with the Golden Claws. He is a wealthy businessman based in the fictional port city of Bagghar in Morocco, then a French possession. A shopkeeper claims he is the wealthiest man in Bagghar, and he is revealed to be one of the most respected men in the city, owning a palace with servants, horses, cars, huge amounts of land, and a plane.
Tintin however discovers him to be behind an opium trafficking ring, which uses tins of crab to smuggle the drug. When Tintin was captured early in the book, it was Salaad who wired the initial order to have Tintin thrown overboard, but Tintin's escape prevented it. Later, Tintin discovers the base where the opium is stored is in Salaad's cellar, with an entrance behind a bookcase. Ben Salaad tries to shoot Tintin but is knocked out when Snowy bites him, causing him to shoot a chandelier onto himself, and is arrested. It is later revealed that his activities went all the way to the Far East.
It is theorized that Salaad may be the villain in Tintin and Alph-Art in disguise, as his nose is the right shape.
Omar Ben Salaad's city Bagghar sounds like bagarre, the French word for "fight" or "brawl". "Omar" is a common Arabic name, but Omar Salaad also sounds like homard salade ("lobster salad").
Omar Ben Salaad is portrayed by Gad Elmaleh in the motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn; however, in the film he has no part in any conspiracy, merely owning a palace at which Bianca Castafiore performs.
(French: Wronzoff)
Puschov is part of the international gang of banknote counterfeiters and henchman to Doctor Müller in The Black Island. He is a cunning and deceptive figure, tricking Tintin and the authorities several times: framing Tintin for the assault on the train and, upon seeing Tintin "return from the dead", falling on his knees and begging the "ghost" for mercy, only to trip him over in order to acquire his gun.
R.W. Trickler[edit]
(French: R.W. Chicklet)
R.W. Trickler is an unscrupulous American businessman who represents General American Oil in the South American republic of San Theodoros. Trickler attempts to engineer a war in order for San Theodoros to seize total control of the supposedly oil-rich Gran Chapo region from neighbouring Nuevo-Rico and hand it over to his company. He further seeks to profit even more through the sale of arms by his associate Basil Bazarov to both countries.
Trickler tries unsuccessfully to bribe Tintin into convincing General Alcazar to start a war against Nuevo-Rico. When that fails he tries to have Tintin assassinated, and bribes Alcazar in person, then has Tintin framed as a spy and nearly executed. In the end, it turns out the Gran Chapo region has no trace of oil.
He appears anonymously in The Calculus Affair on p. 47, staying in hotel Zsnorr; presumably he is in arms traffic.
In the unfinished adventure Tintin and Alph-Art, Haddock and Tintin visit Bianca Castafiore at an island villa. There they meet a number of guests, including Trickler; "Director of an important oil company", Catafiore says.
Rascar Capac[edit]
Rascar Capac is the Incan mummy in The Seven Crystal Balls. He is an ancient Incan priest dug up by the Sanders-Hardiman expedition members. Professor Hercules Tarragon displays the mummy in his house. When lightning strikes into the chimney, it sends a fireball hurling through the living room, and the fireball crashes into Rascar Capac, apparently vaporizing him. That night, Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus all have the same dream: Rascar Capac climbs into the room carrying a crystal ball and smashes it onto the floor. What happens to the apparently resurrected mummy afterward is unclear.
Red Rackham[edit]
(French: Rackham le Rouge)
Red Rackham is the pirate who attacks the Unicorn, the ship captained by Sir Francis Haddock (Captain Haddock's ancestor). In the story, Rackham engages Haddock in battle, resulting in the almost total destruction of Rackham's ship. As his ship is sinking, Rackham and his men board The Unicorn and manage to gain control of the vessel. Haddock is captured and tied to the ship's mast and the crew is cast overboard. Rackham intends to have Haddock tortured by his men the following day, but before he can, Sir Francis frees himself and engages in single combat with him using cutlasses. Rackham is killed in the duel and Sir Francis manages to blow up the Unicorn and get away safely. He is a reference to real-life pirate Jack Rackham.
Red Rackham is portrayed by Daniel Craig in the motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
The character of Red Rackham was based on the 17th century buccaneers John "Calico Jack" Rackham, Blackbeard and Montbars the Exterminator [21]
Spalding appears in Flight 714; he is the English secretary for millionaire Laszlo Carreidas and is one of the hijackers of that flight. Rastapopoulos planned to eliminate him and the other conspirators.
In an interview with the Sunday Times in 1968, Hergé is quoted as saying that Spalding was "an English public school man, obviously the black sheep of his family". Spalding has a formal manner, stiff upper lip, and fashionable clothes. Captain Haddock mistakes him for Carreidas when they first meet.
W.R. Gibbons[edit]
W.R. Gibbons is an American steel trader first seen in Tintin in the Congo and then later in The Blue Lotus. Gibbons is portrayed as an overweight, loud-mouthed, racist bigot.[18] He is rude and abusive to a middle aged Chinese rickshaw driver, for whom Tintin has an altercation with Gibbons and gets the better of him. He also physically assaults a Chinese waiter at the "Occidental Private Club". He reports Tintin to the Japanese authorities in retaliation only to get himself arrested as a liar when his information is found inaccurate.
In the unfinished adventure Tintin and Alph-Art, Haddock and Tintin visit Bianca Castafiore at an island villa. There they meet a number of guests, including Gibbons; "He's in import-export", Castafiore says.
Supporting characters[edit]
Alfredo Topolino[edit]
Alfredo Topolino is a Swiss expert in ultrasonics residing in Nyon, Switzerland, who appears in The Calculus Affair. An acquaintance of Professor Calculus, he survives first an assault on his doorstep then the destruction of his house by Bordurian agents interested in Calculus's work. His manservant Boris works for the secret service of that country.
Aristides Silk[edit]
(French: Aristide Filoselle)
Aristides Silk is a pickpocket who becomes a pivotal character in The Secret of the Unicorn. Silk claims he is not a thief, but admits he is a kleptomaniac. He explains he adores wallets and displays his large collection, none of which have been emptied of their contents.
He is first seen in the market near the start of the story, moving away from Thomson and Thompson just before their wallets are stolen. He later steals Tintin's wallet containing the parchments of Sir Francis Haddock that hold the location of Red Rackham's treasure. He is among the invited guests at the end of Red Rackham's Treasure in the Maritime Gallery at Marlinspike Hall.
Aristides Silk is portrayed by Toby Jones in the motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano[edit]
Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano is the expert Italian driver of a Lancia Aurelia GT in The Calculus Affair. He eagerly helps Tintin and Captain Haddock pursue Syldavian agents who kidnapped Professor Calculus in the story's car chase scene. While speeding through a built-up area in the French Haute Savoie on market day, he was stopped by a gendarme who wanted to record his name. The flabbergasted gendarme meekly let them off with "Don't do it again." When they finally stopped the Syldavian car and did not find Calculus inside, Arturo accused Tintin and the Captain of making up their story to get a free ride before zooming away. As an Italian driver, he has great pride in Italian cars, which he claims are number one in the world.
The Arumbayas are an indigenous people living in the South American rainforest (along the fictional river Coliflor). They first appear in The Broken Ear where, investigating the theft of an Arumbaya fetish with a broken ear, Tintin and Snowy venture into the San Theodoros jungle. The British explorer Ridgewell lives with them. Despite having a reputation for being vicious savages, the Arumbayas prove to be relatively civil when Tintin encounters them (their bad reputation may in fact be down to the actions of their near-neighbours, the Rumbabas, who behead anyone who passes their way, shrink the heads down, and put them on display).
Mr. Baxter is the Syldavian Director General of the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, appearing in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon. He is humble, refusing to go to the Moon in Captain Haddock's place when he offered it to him, and he works well with Professor Calculus, who is supports completely. He is misses most of the excitement of the Moon journey, having to stay and man the Centre, but acquires some of it when the returning Moon rocket nearly lands on his car.
Bill the cook[edit]
Bill, a ship's cook, is the cook on board the Aurora during The Shooting Star. He then returned as cook on board the Sirius during Red Rackham's Treasure and was the first character seen in that adventure, meeting a friend at a pub before sailing. His indiscreet talk of treasuring hunting was overheard by a newspaper reporter, which, after that story was published, caused Tintin and Captain Haddock to be besieged with more newspaper reporters. Bill was beleaguered by both Snowy and Professor Calculus, the former who stole a chicken and the latter who stole a box of biscuits.
Blessed Lightning[edit]
Blessed Lightning is a Tibetan Buddhist monk with psychic powers. He occasionally goes into a trance, floats into the air, and is able to see events from the future. He foresees Snowy's journey to bring the monks a distress message from Tintin, leading to Tintin's rescue.
Bunji Kuraki[edit]
Bunji Kuraki is a Japanese detective of the Yokohama police force appearing in The Crab with the Golden Claws. He was investigating a powerful gang of drug smugglers in the Far East and followed their trail to Europe, but was kidnapped from the street outside Tintin's flat before he could warn him. He was finally able to meet Tintin at the end of the adventure after he had been freed by police.
Captain Chester[edit]
Captain Chester, an old friend of Captain Haddock, is a gruff merchant skipper with red hair and a bushy red moustache. He first appears in The Shooting Star in Iceland, where he bumps into Captain Haddock at the docks and launches into a bizarre greeting ritual with Haddock that Tintin at first interprets as the build-up to a fight. However, Haddock and Chester warmly clasp hands and take Tintin to a local bar to reminisce over a bottle of whisky. Chester is captain of the Sirius, a merchant trawler, and uses it to secretly refuel Haddock's research vessel in Iceland when their competitors block the supply, allowing his friend to continue his voyage.
Chester later lends the Sirius to Haddock when he and Tintin set off to find Red Rackham's Treasure. Chester is briefly mentioned in The Seven Crystal Balls—Tintin and Haddock attempt to visit him while he is docked at a port, but he departs before they arrive—and is one of the people to send Haddock a telegram in The Castafiore Emerald.
Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto[edit]
(French: Jean-Loup de la Battellerie et Walter Rizotto)
Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto are a writer and photographer working for the magazine Paris Flash. They first appear in The Castafiore Emerald where, to the fury of Captain Haddock and the amusement of Bianca Castafiore, they write a sensational article for their magazine announcing that the captain and the diva are engaged. They later appear briefly in Tintin and the Picaros. In the redrawn version of The Black Island, Willoughby-Drupe is shown interviewing the old man in the pub while Rizotto is in the crowd of reporters welcoming Tintin at the docks.
Hergé created the pair after being interviewed for Paris Match and finding the resulting piece dubious.
Cutts the butcher[edit]
(French: Boucherie Sanzot)
Cutts the butcher runs the local butcher's shop whose phone number of 431 is frequently mistaken for 421 to Marlinspike Hall. As a result, the mansion's inhabitants are endlessly plagued by orders for lamb chops and sausages. The irony is that when making calls himself Captain Haddock usually ends up getting put through to Cutts' shop, rather than the place he was actually calling.
The unseen delivery man from Cutts' butcher shop plays a vital role in The Calculus Affair by offering Professor Calculus a lift to the village just in time to save him from a Bordurian kidnapping attempt.
It would appear that Cutts is also the local mayor, since he can be seen dressed very formally along with the local municipal band congratulating Haddock and Bianca Castafiore on their "engagement" in The Castafiore Emerald. He had one last reference at the start of Tintin and Alph-Art, where a call for him was made.
In the original French, the name of the butcher's shop Boucherie Sanzot is a pun. Sanzot sounds like sans os, which means without bones. The English translation uses Cutts to make a different pun.[22] Cutts also appeared in a French TV ad for cooking oil with Professor Calculus in 1979.[23]
Doctor Patella[edit]
(French: Docteur Rotule)
Doctor Patella is a ginger bearded osteopathic doctor who appears briefly in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon. His model skeleton is arrested by Thomson and Thompson, and later he attends to an unconscious Captain Haddock after his arrival back on Earth. He also sent a congratulatory telegram to Haddock when (incorrect) news of his engagement to Bianca Castafiore was announced in The Castafiore Emerald.
The name Patella (Rotule) has a medical origin. It means "kneecap".
In 2000, on one episode of the French-language version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, 73 percent of the voting audience correctly identified Doctor Patella (French: Docteur Rotule) as the doctor who treated Captain Haddock in Explorers on the Moon. This led to allegations that the show was rigged: one Tintin fan questioned how such a large portion of the audience could pick from four options the correct answer, especially given Doctor Patella's very minor role in the series. A psychoanalyst postulated that children remember proper names much better than adults, hence its retention by members of the audience who read Tintin in their youth.[24]
Frank Wolff[edit]
Frank Wolff is the rocket engineer who assists Professor Calculus during the Syldavian expedition to the moon (Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon). In an interview, Hergé described him as clever, stating he had a PhD in Mathematics with Mechanics and a BEng in Chemical Engineering, but also described him as feeble and quiet.
Wolff is ultimately exposed as a spy who was coerced into helping an unnamed foreign power hijack the moon rockets he had helped build, after they learned of his former compulsive gambling and heavy debt. As the rocket ship is returning to Earth without enough oxygen for Tintin and his friends, Wolff, still overcome with guilt over the way he had betrayed his companions, redeems himself for his past mistakes and sacrifices himself for the survival of the group by throwing himself into space. Even the cynical Captain Haddock, who had, until the last moment, still suspected Wolff of treachery, was moved by his selfless act.
General Alcazar[edit]
General Alcazar is a close friend of Tintin, general, and occasional dictator of the fictional banana republic of San Theodoros. He is involved in a never-ending struggle for power with his arch-rival General Tapioca.[16] Both men claim leadership of the country and rename its capital after themselves upon arriving in power. Alcazar controls the Presidential Palace of Los Dopicos in The Broken Ear,[16] but then loses power and becomes a cabaret act in Europe by the time of The Seven Crystal Balls. In The Red Sea Sharks, Alcazar seems to have returned to politics as he is discovered to be buying weapons from a dealer. Finally in Tintin and the Picaros Alcazar has returned to his country and is finding it difficult to lead the Picaros on a guerilla operation in the tropical forest. He is also now married to a harridan who bullies him. Tintin, though uninterested in his cause, devises a stratagem to return him to power in order to rescue his own friends. As the book ends, Alcazar is once again in charge of the country but it is suggested that he and Tapioca are interchangeable.
The character of General Alcazar was inspired by the Cuban revolutionist, Fidel Castro, Alacazar's guerilla band was based on Castro's barbudos (Spanish for bearded men). In fact, Herge originally thought of calling Alcazar's men Bigotudos ("mustachioed men"). Interestingly, the inspiration for Peggy Alcazar came from one of the women leaders of Ku Klux Klan.[25]
Huascar, in Prisoners of the Sun, is a leading member of the Incas, who worship the Sun in a hidden city in the mountains. Wearing a hat and poncho, Huascar watches Tintin and Captain Haddock when they arrive in Peru to rescue Professor Calculus. He listens in on their conversation with the chief of police and follows them through the streets of Callao.
At Santa-Clara, he arranges a train "accident" that nearly gets them killed by threatening a guard with the consequences of disobeying the orders of the Inca.
At Jauga, however, he sees Tintin defending a young orange seller named Zorrino from two white men. Surprised that a white foreigner such as Tintin should do such a selfless act, he advises him to stop searching for Calculus since he will be risking his life. Tintin states he will continue anyway, so Huascar gives him a talisman that he claims can keep danger away. Later captured by the Incas, Tintin gives the talisman to Zorrino. The Incas, who intend to kill them for treachery, are then forced to spare the younger boy's life. Present at the scene, Huascar is revealed to be a High Priest of the Sun. He uses a large magnifying glass to set fire to the stake used to burn the westerners, but is thwarted by an eclipse that leads to their release.
Prisoners of the Sun, originally published in Tintin magazine with additional scenes not included later in book form, included a scene with Huascar. In the magazine version, Tintin and Haddock are at the bridge waiting for an unknown guide when they meet Huascar, who tells them that their guide has gotten sick. He smiles at Haddock's insults and walks away. Zorrino then calls them over to the bridge. He claims that Huascar took him prisoner but that he escaped.
Huascar is sometimes confused with Chiquito who bears a close resemblance to him; however Huascar is the nobler of the two.
Igor Wagner[edit]
Igor Wagner is the quiet pianist working for Bianca Castafiore. He is driving with his employer when she first encounters Tintin in King Ottokar's Sceptre. He does not contribute to a plotline until The Castafiore Emerald, when he is discovered to be a gambler who bets on races in secret. He has a small moustache and dresses formally in black. After the thievery of Castafiore's emeralds, his attempts to help only incriminate him, as it was his footprints found near Castafiore's window, it was him suspiciously rummaging in the attic, and it was he who broke a step on the staircase. He tries to sneak out of his practise sessions (dictated by Castafiore) and instead of practising is caught using a playback tape recorder. He was imprisoned along with Castafiore and Irma in Tintin and the Picaros, before being freed by Tintin.
His name is made up of a humorous reference to two well-known composers: Igor Stravinsky and Richard Wagner.
Irma is the maid of Bianca Castafiore. Irma first appeared in The Calculus Affair before appearing in The Castafiore Emerald. Castafiore describes her as a faithful, loyal, and honest servant. Despite giving a meek impression, she has a strong sense of personal pride: when Thomson and Thompson accuse Irma of stealing Castafiore's emerald, she becomes angry and assaults them with a walking stick. In Tintin and the Picaros she is arrested and put in jail along with the others. She also appears in Tintin and Alph-Art as a background character and is the person who informs Castafiore of Tintin and Captain Haddock's arrival to Endaddine Akass's villa.
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine[edit]
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine lives in Brussels and is a collector of models of ships, among which, one is the Unicorn. He appears in The Secret of the Unicorn. Noticing another model of the Unicorn in a market place, he and another man Barnaby try to buy it, only to find that it has already been claimed by Tintin. Tintin declines all the offers made by Barnaby and Sakharine to buy the model off him.
Tintin's Unicorn is later stolen and he suspects Sakharine of the theft. Visiting Sakharine he discovers the other Unicorn model. Sakharine is later attacked by Barnaby who steals the parchment from the second Unicorn. It is one of three parchments that lead to a treasure. The Bird brothers are later arrested and claim that the parchments they obtained have since been stolen. Tintin thinks Mr. Sakharine stole the two parchments, but he soon discovers that it was a third party and recovers them.
At the end of Red Rackham's Treasure, Mr. Sakharine can be seen attending the exhibition held at Marlinspike Hall, together with his landlady, showing off the various items recovered from the actual ship itself. He himself has apparently offered Captain Haddock his Unicorn model, which is shown in the display with the other two.
In the unfinished Tintin adventure Tintin and Alph-Art, the surviving drafts of the story suggest that Haddock and Tintin notice Sakharine at a meeting hosted by mystic Endaddine Akass.
In the film adaptation The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, Sakharine is reimagined as the main antagonist. The film portrays him as the descendant of the pirate Red Rackham, seeking vengeance on behalf of his ancestor against Sir Francis Haddock, who killed Rackham. Voice by Daniel Craig.
King Muskar XII[edit]
King Muskar XII is the monarch of Syldavia. He appears in King Ottokar's Sceptre. A keen motorist who drives his own car and keeps his own gun for protection, he is married to an unnamed queen consort. Because the Crown's sceptre once saved the life of King Ottokar IV in 1360, every year on Saint Vladimir's Day the current king must show the people that he has the sceptre. Otherwise he will be forced to abdicate.
Tintin discovered a plot to steal the sceptre and set out to warn King Muskar XII, though traitorous elements in the king's entourage, led by his aide-de-camp Boris (Colonel Jorgen), were ready to stop him. After punching Boris out of his way, Tintin found himself face-to-face with the king and his aimed gun. After explaining the plot, the monarch was fair-minded enough to check out Tintin's claims, which turned out to be true: the sceptre had been stolen, a constitutional crisis was imminent, and Syldavia was about to be plunged into an invasion by its long-term enemy Borduria. In contrast to many modern monarchs, Muskar then mounts an active role in his government, ordering his ministers and generals to prevent the coup and invasion.
A political party in the story called the Iron Guard may have been inspired by the Fascist paramilitary groups that were widespread in Europe between the wars. The abdication crisis was very similar to that of the Anschluss in Austria in 1938, though the conclusion was not the same.
King Muskar XII and his country do not appear to have been based on definitive models—both apparently were inspired by various Eastern European and Balkan states.[26] Many of these states were monarchies ruled by Carol II of Romania, Zog I of Albania, Alexander I of Yugoslavia, and Boris III of Bulgaria. The king's costumes may have been inspired by the portrait of Spanish king Alfonso XIII[27] and the Rumanian prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza. The king bears a striking resemblance to Zog of Albania, a man who also carried a gun and confronted numerous violent conspiracies.
King Muskar XII is also a military officer. He is sometimes shown wearing a military uniform, holding the rank of Colonel of the Royal Guards. The king's military service is similar to members of other real European royal families, who have members that have served in their nation's militaries.
King Muskar XII is noticeably absent from the other post-war stories set in Syldavia: he does not appear at the launching of the moon rocket in Destination Moon, and Tintin does not call on him for help when his friend Professor Calculus is kidnapped by Bordurian and later Syldavian agents in The Calculus Affair.
Laszlo Carreidas[edit]
Laszlo Carreidas, a wealthy aircraft manufacturer tycoon, becomes embroiled in the adventure Flight 714. While Tintin and his friends are traveling in Indonesia on their way to Sydney, Australia, Captain Haddock mistakes Carreidas sitting in the Jakarta airport for a tramp. His unassuming figure notwithstanding, Carreidas is revealed to be a cunning individual with a long history of unscrupulous behaviour not limited to the business world; he is not above cheating Captain Haddock at a game of Battleships with the help of closed-circuit television. A large part of his personal fortune, over ten million dollars, is in a Swiss bank account under a false name and signature, presumably for taxation purposes.
An aircraft industrialist, Laszlo Carreidas naturally travels in a prototype supersonic business jet, the Carreidas 160. This aircraft is a private plane of the sort owned by wealthy businessmen, with the added particularity that it has swing-wing capabilities. It is possibly the purest, most practical example of the concept to-date. It was designed by Roger Leloup, a Studios Hergé artist whom Hergé would rely upon to create detailed, realistic drawings and elaborate decoration.[28]
Carreidas is kidnapped by the criminal mastermind Rastapopoulos, who intends to take his Swiss fortune, which launches the adventure of Flight 714.
Despite the caution he appears to take with his money, refusing to pay any ransom and with the multiple efforts he has gone to in order to keep his accounts secret, Carreidas generally appears to have a random attitude about his finances, ordering the purchase of multiple paintings simply because a rival ("Onassis") is after them when he originally rejected the idea of purchasing them and appearing more concerned about the loss of a rare hat ("a pre-war Bross & Clackwell") at the conclusion of the novel than the loss of his prototype airplane.
Carreidas' name is a pun: carré d'as means "four aces" in French. Accordingly, the logo on the tail of his business jet consists of four aces.
Hergé based Carreidas on Marcel Dassault, the French aircraft industrialist, who possessed a similar combination of wealth, aeronautical engineering genius, and quaint notions of fashion (Dassault's wardrobe remained frozen in the mid-1930s).
Maharajah of Gaipajama[edit]
The Maharajah of Gaipajama is the monarch of a fictional region of India. He is kind and immediately trusting of Tintin, whom he meets in Cigars of the Pharaoh. The Maharajah explains that his family have long been fighting a criminal opium-smuggling gang. The story of The Blue Lotus opens in the Maharajah's palace, where Tintin has been his guest.
In reality, there is no place in India called Gaipajama, the name is a nonsensical mix of two Hindi words, Gai (cow) and pajama (pyjamas) - literally cow's trousers [29]
Martine Vandezande[edit]
Martine Vandezande is a character that only appeared in one book, Tintin and Alph-Art. She wears large glasses and is a follower of Endaddine Akass. She is the assistant of Henri Fourcart.
Mik Kanrokitoff[edit]
(French: Mik Ezdanitoff)
Mik Kanrokitoff is a Russian writer for the magazine Space Week. He appears in Flight 714 and helps Tintin, Captain Haddock, and their friends escape from an Indonesian island after Rastapopoulos and his cohorts set off an explosive charge, stirring up the island's volcano. Kanrokitoff wears a small antenna and transmitter that enables him to communicate telepathically with other people and even subject them to mass-hypnosis. He maintains close touch with an unseen race of extraterrestrials and it is their spaceship that enables Tintin and the others to escape the island.
Mik Kanrokitoff was inspired by the Russian-born writer and journalist Jacques Bergier.[26]
'Ezdanitoff' in the original version is a mock Russian surname, another example of Hergé's Bruxellois wordplay, is dat niet tof in Dutch, meaning "isn't that nice".
Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab and Abdullah[edit]
Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab is the Emir of the fictional Middle Eastern state of Khemed, and Abdullah is his spoiled, mischievous son. After first appearing in Land of Black Gold, the Emir and his son reappear in The Red Sea Sharks, when Ben Kalish Ezab has been temporarily overthrown by his rival Sheikh Bab El Ehr and entrusts his son to Tintin's care. Abdullah is a serial practical joker whose favourite victim is the short-tempered Captain Haddock. At the end of The Red Sea Sharks, father and son were reunited.
The Emir can be described as kind and jovial to his friends and vicious and cruel to his enemies. One moment he gives the impression of being mild mannered, in the next moment he is angrily promising flogging and execution. Doctor Müller, an old adversary, who once kidnapped his son and referred to him as a merciless fiend, attempted suicide rather than be caught and handed over to him. More than anything else Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab dotes on his son Abdullah, whom he sees his treasure.
Abdullah has a tendency to dislike people and promise punishments from his father to everyone who annoys him—even as he's playing pranks on them. He grows to heavily like Captain Haddock however, finding his tantrums and general behaviour hilarious. He refers to the captain as "Blistering Barnacles" and one of his most common lines is "Do it again, Blistering Barnacles! Do it Again!"
Kalish Ezab is a wordplay; in Dutch/Brussels dialect it means "liquorice juice" (kalisjensap).
Mr. Bolt[edit]
(French: Isidore Boullu)
Mr. Bolt is a joiner who appears in The Castafiore Emerald, hired by Captain Haddock to fix the broken step in Marlinspike Hall. However, Mr. Bolt repeatedly fails to turn up, offering a never-ending stream of excuses. Mr. Bolt is one of the people who send the Captain a telegram when his engagement to marry Bianca Castafiore is erroneously announced, and is also a member of the band that plays outside Marlinspike as part of the "celebrations". At the end of the book, Mr. Bolt finally comes and fixes the broken step. However, the Captain wastes no time tripping on the step, instantly undoing Mr. Bolt's work. By the time of Tintin and the Picaros, Mr. Bolt seems to have finally fixed the step.
Mrs. Finch[edit]
Mrs. Finch is Tintin's landlady at 26 Labrador Road, where Tintin lived before Captain Haddock acquired Marlinspike Hall. A simple soul, she was badly frightened when Bunji Kuraki of the Yokohama police force was kidnapped from the street outside Tintin's flat.
Oliveira de Figueira[edit]
Oliveira de Figueira (or Oliveira da Figueira) is the friendly Portuguese master salesman who can sell even the most trivial of items, from umbrellas to roller skates. He and Tintin first meet in Cigars of the Pharaoh.[17] Tintin and Snowy have been cast adrift in the Red Sea when they are picked up by a dhow; De Figueira is a passenger. He quickly talks Tintin into buying a variety of superfluous objects. He later appears in Land of Black Gold, where he plays a valuable role in helping Tintin infiltrate Doctor Müller's headquarters, taking Tintin there disguised as his nephew while keeping the guards distracted with an elaborate story. In The Red Sea Sharks, he hides Tintin and Captain Haddock in his house so they can speak to the Emir. He gets a brief mention in The Castafiore Emerald, when he sends good wishes to Captain Haddock following a news report claiming that he and Bianca Castafiore are engaged.
Oliveira de Figueira is the form used by Hergé in the later appearances of this character. He is named Oliveira da Figueira (lit. "Olive-tree of the Fig-tree") in his initial appearances. For The Red Sea Sharks Hergé changed his name to Oliveira de Figueira. (Both spellings are correct in Portuguese: "de" means "of", while "da" means "of the".)
Pablo is a native of San Theodoros and lives in the capital Los Dopicos. His first appearance is in The Broken Ear, in which the story's villain R.W. Trickler hires Pablo to bring an end to Tintin. Pablo's attempt fails, Tintin captures Pablo, who begs for mercy, and Tintin lets him go. Trickler then frames Tintin for espionage and the young man is soon sentenced to death. Pablo, grateful that Tintin spared his life, assembles a gang of men, breaks into the prison, and frees Tintin and Snowy.
In the 1935 serialized version of the story, Pablo's full name was given as Juan Paolino, the Terror of Los Dopicos and best shooter in the country.[30]
Pablo returned in Tintin and the Picaros, where he appeared to help Tintin and his friends escape their current captivity, but really putting them in a position where they could be shot while trying to escape. When Tintin discovered his treachery, he allowed Pablo to go free, as he remembered Pablo once saved his life.
Patrash Pasha[edit]
Patrash Pasha is an Arab sheikh appearing in Cigars of the Pharaoh and a big fan of The Adventures of Tintin. He arranges for Tintin to be kidnapped, but when Tintin is brought before him he recognises him from his adventures, frees him, and sends him on his way with fresh supplies. His servant shows Tintin an Adventures of Tintin book that Pasha owns. The book title shown to Tintin has changed over the years; it was originally Tintin in America, it became Tintin in the Congo at one point, and eventually settled on Destination Moon—the most recently published title at the time but, confusingly, takes place after the events in Cigars of the Pharaoh.[31]
The Picaros are a band of guerillas in the country of San Theodoros, supposedly under the control of General Alcazar in Tintin and the Picaros. Alcazar has returned to his country and is attempting to command the Picaros to mount a guerilla operation over of his arch-rival General Tapioca. However, the Picaros have become corrupt drunkards since Tapioca started dropping copious quantities of alcohol near their camp.
Tintin offers to cure the Picaros of their alcoholism if Alcazar agrees to refrain from killing Tapioca and his men. Alcazar reluctantly agrees. Moments after the Picaros are cured, a musical troupe called the Jolly Follies arrives, intending to perform at the upcoming carnival in San Theodoros. Alcazar, with a little advice from Tintin, launches an assault on Tapioca's palace during the carnival by dressing the Picaros in the troupe's costumes and sneaking them into the capital.
Piotr Skut[edit]
(French: Piotr Szut)
Piotr Skut, an eyepatch-wearing Estonian pilot, appears in two albums: The Red Sea Sharks and Flight 714. In The Red Sea Sharks, Skut flies one of the DeHavilland Mosquitoes used by Sheikh Bab El Ehr to seize power in Khemed, and his squad strafes the boat Tintin and Haddock are using to cross the Red Sea. Tintin shoots down Skut's plane with an assault rifle in self-defence, but later rescues Skut from the waters onto a hastily-assembled life raft. Grateful for his rescue, Skut becomes a faithful friend and later refuses to betray Tintin and Haddock, instead sharing the rest of the adventure with them. He repairs the sabotaged radio of the S.S. Ramona and calls for help, which arrives just in time to save the boat from a submarine's attack.
In Flight 714, Skut has become a supersonic business jet pilot of the Carreidas 160, the prototype jet for millionaire Laszlo Carreidas. The aircraft is then hijacked by his own crew, who were under the pay of criminal mastermind Rastapopoulos. Skut aids Tintin and Haddock in rescuing the other captured passengers and, after an adventure involving extraterrestrials, returns with them to civilization.
Neither Piotr, Skut, nor Szut (in the original French) are plausible Estonian names. Piotr is Polish for Peter while the correct Estonian version would be Peeter. The name Skut was rather an excuse for a gag, as Captain Haddock believes he is telling him to "scoot" rather than introducing himself. (In the original French, the Captain mistakes the name "Szut" for "zut", the French exclamation of frustration. In other international versions the last name is likewise often changed by the choice of language, to entail a rudely dismissive or slightly offensive term.)
The Skut character is based on Reem Milk, an Estonian pilot who escaped to Sweden from Estonia in a pontoon Arado.[32]
Professor Decimus Phostle[edit]
(French: Professeur Hippolyte Calys)
Professor Decimus Phostle is the observatory director and expedition leader appearing in The Shooting Star. Tintin consults him about a large bright star he saw in Ursa Major. Professor Phostle claims that it is a ball of fire that will hit the Earth and cause the end of the world the following morning, and actually looks forward to this, thinking that predicting the end of mankind would make him famous. Initially disappointed that the meteor has missed the Earth, Phostle consoles himself by naming an unknown metal fallen from the meteor after himself: "phostlite". He then leads an expedition of scientists to follow Tintin and Captain Haddock to attempt to retrieve the fallen phostlite from the sea.
Phostle was to return in Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon as a villain, but that early draft by Bernard Heuvelmans was abandoned by Hergé.[26]
Professor Euclide[edit]
Professor Euclide is an absent-minded professor, appearing in The Broken Ear who forgets his glasses, wears his cleaning-lady's overcoat, holds his cane upside-down as if it were an umbrella, mistakes a parrot for a man, and leaves his briefcase next to a lamp post.[16] In the original edition published in 1935, his name is given as Professor Euclide (after the Greek mathematician). He is one of Hergé's many prototypes for Professor Calculus.[16]
Professor Hector Alembick[edit]
(French: Professeur Nestor Halambique)
Professor Hector Alembick is a sigillographer—that is, an expert on seals used to officiate state documents. He appears in King Ottokar's Sceptre; Tintin meets him when returning a briefcase the professor had forgotten on a park bench. Professor Alembick is a bespectacled, chain-smoking academic. He tells Tintin of his desire to visit Syldavia to research an ancient seal belonging to the Syldavian monarch King Ottokar IV that he had discovered recently. Tintin then learns that he and the professor are under surveillance by some strange men and warnings are issued to him to mind his own business. He thus offers to act as Alembick's secretary on his journey. On the day before the trip, Alembick calls Tintin by telephone; in the midst of the conversation Tintin hears a struggle and a cry for help before the connection is cut short. When Tintin rushes to the professor's apartment to investigate, he is startled to find the professor calmly packing his bags. Although Alembick's appearance seems unchanged, subtle changes in his behaviour lead Tintin to suspect that something is amiss. At the end of the adventure, Tintin discovers that Hector Alembick had indeed been kidnapped and impersonated by his twin brother Alfred (who has unimpaired vision and does not smoke).
Professor Alembick's name is a pun on alembic, an alchemical still.
Professor Philippulus[edit]
Professor Philippulus, or Philippulus the prophet as he calls himself, is an astronomer who appears in The Shooting Star. After observing a ball of fire making its way towards Earth, Philippulus goes insane, dresses himself in white sheets and goes around town beating a gong and claiming to be a prophet tasked with announcing the end of the world. The madman also decides that Tintin is a spawn of the Devil after the reporter advises him to go home, and takes to harassing him at his home. Philippulus represents the dilemmas some face over religious belief and scientific research. In his case the conflict took a toll on his mind when the end-of-the-world appeared to be imminent.
Philippulus later escapes a mental asylum where he has been sectioned, and tries to stop the expedition looking for a fragment of the shooting star in the ocean. He makes it to the expedition's ship, the Aurora, and causes a great deal of trouble, eventually taking refuge up the main mast and nearly setting off a stick of dynamite in the belief that it is a firework. Tintin tricks him into climbing down by using a megaphone to shout supposedly heavenly instructions for him, and Philippulus is taken back to the asylum.
Ridgewell is a British explorer who travelled into the South American rainforest occupied by the Arumbayas. He first appeared in The Broken Ear and appeared later in Tintin and the Picaros.[33] Ridgewell settled down with the Arumbayas and decided to stay, not caring if the outside world knew if he was dead or alive. When Tintin ventured into Arumbaya territory, Ridgewell initially fired darts at him in order to scare him away but later agreed to take him to the Arumbaya village for information.
Ridgewell did bring some of Western civilization to the Native South Americans, such as introducing them to the game of golf. However, the players do not appear to have mastered it well—on one occasion hitting Tintin's ear hole (another "Broken Ear") rather than the hole in the ground.
Ridgewell's influence on the Arumbayas resulted in him gaining an enemy in the local witch doctor. When Ridgewell was captured by an enemy nation called the Rumbabas (bibaros in the original French), the witch doctor kept this from the other Arumbayas, hoping to be rid of his rival. When one Arumbaya expressed concern for Ridgewell, the witch doctor threatened to turn him and his family into frogs. But Ridgewell got away and fired a dart into the witch doctor's bottom as punishment. Fortunately, unlike the Arumbayas, the British man did not use poisoned darts.
Ridgewell was also a ventriloquist and had a sense of humour, shown on occasions such as when, in Tintin and the Picaros, he fired a dart into the cigar of General Alcazar, with whom he was acquainted. In that adventure he reestablished ties with Tintin, and was shown to lament changes in the behaviour of the Arumbayas, namely the spread of alcoholism.
The character of Ridgewell is strongly reminiscent of the real-life British explorer Percy Fawcett who disappeared in the Amazon in 1925 under similar circumstances.
Sanders-Hardiman expedition members[edit]
(French: Expédition Sanders-Hardtmut)
The Sanders-Hardiman expedition members brought the Incan mummy Rascar Capac back to Europe in The Seven Crystal Balls. The members of the Sanders-Hardiman expedition are: Professor Sanders-Hardiman (French: Professeur Sanders-Hardtmut, head of the expedition), Professor Reedbuck (French: Professeur Laubépin), Peter Clarkson (French: Clairmont, photographer), Mark Falconer (French: Marc Charlet), Professor Paul Cantonneau (who made an appearance in The Shooting Star), Doctor Midge (French: Docteur Hornet, director of the Darwin Museum), and Professor Hercules Tarragon (French: Professeur Hippolyte Bergamotte), who has the Rascar Capac mummy in his possession. They were cursed by the Incas as punishment for the theft of the mummy, put into comas and made to suffer nightmares. Tintin visited the Incas' hidden temple in order to save Professor Calculus, who had been kidnapped by them. He persuaded the Inca leader to lift the curse, assuring the Incas that the expedition's purpose was not to steal from their people but simply to teach others about them.
Sir Francis Haddock[edit]
(French: Chevalier François de Hadoque)
Sir Francis Haddock is an ancestor of Captain Haddock. He is a knight and a Ship-of-the-Line Captain in the Royal Navy, commanding the Unicorn under the Union Jack in 1676. In the original French version, he is Chevalier François de Hadoque of the French Royal Navy, commanding la Licorne for King Louis XIV. He was rewarded by the king with the titleship of Marlinspike Hall (Moulinsart) in 1685. Sir Francis was forced to scuttle the Unicorn when it was taken by pirate captain Red Rackham. After the Unicorn sank, Sir Francis lived for two years among the natives of the nearby tropical island. Upon returning home, Sir Francis concealed a treasure stolen from Rackham in the cellars of Marlinspike Hall.
Sir Francis Haddock is portrayed by Andy Serkis (who also portrays Captain Haddock) in the motion-capture film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn.
Sir Francis Haddock, is hinted at being the illegitimate son of the French Sun King (Louis XIV), a possible reference to Hergé's own family history - Hergé liked to believe that his father was the illegitimate son of the Belgian king Leopold II.[34][35]
The Sondonesians are a fictional Southeast Asian people who appear in Flight 714. The name sounds similar to "Indonesians" and may also refer to the Indonesian Sunda Islands.
Rastapopoulos hires the Sondonesians as mercenaries to collaborate in his scheme to steal the fortune of Laszlo Carreidas, explaining that he will help them in their war for independence. They assist in capturing Carreidas' plane and diverting it to an Indonesian island, keeping the passengers and pilot imprisoned in old Japanese WWII bunkers. Rastapopoulos has mined the Sondonesians' junks so that they will be eliminated.
When Allan corners Tintin and his entourage in a cave, the Sondonesians refuse to enter, pointing to signs the gods have left on the cave threatening punishment for anyone who enters. In fact, these "gods" are extraterrestrials who have been using the island for years, and a landing of theirs had occurred just the previous night, as signified by some strange lights in the sky that the Sondonesians mentioned had frightened them. When the main characters meet Mik Kanrokitoff, he explains that he has hypnotized and freed the Sondonesian guards (whom Tintin and Captain Haddock had bound and gagged) and let them spread fear among their compatriots. When an earthquake occurs shortly afterwards, the Sondonesians' nerves are finally stressed beyond their breaking point. Allan frantically attempts to stop them, but they assault him and flee the island.
Hergé depicts the Sondonesians using the real Indonesian language. While on duty, two of Tintin's captors talk about a particular Indonesian dish that originated in Java: sambal rujak (ground chilli sauce with shrimp paste).
Sophocles Sarcophagus[edit]
(French: Philémon Siclone)
Sophocles Sarcophagus is an absent-minded professor and Egyptologist in search of the tomb of the Pharaoh Kih-Oskh, whom Tintin meets on a cruise ship at the beginning of Cigars of the Pharaoh. At this stage he is already a bit of an eccentric: rowing a boat, unaware that it is not even in the water; saying goodbye to Snowy the dog as if he was a little boy; and bumping into things and people. He is the first of Hergé's numerous experiments with absent-minded professors; like Professor Calculus who would come later, Sophocles Sarcophagus is distracted, dresses Edwardian, and has an unusual beard.[36]
He leads Tintin to the tomb hidden under the sand, but disappears soon after finding it. He, Tintin, and Snowy end up in sarcophagi in the middle of the Red Sea. Sophocles is then picked up with a ship captained by Allan, a drug smuggler whose gang uses the tomb of Kih-Oskh as a base. With Sophocles as a prisoner the ship sets off for India.
(When Cigars of the Pharaoh was first published in the 1930s, Sarcophagus was an unnamed and beardless scholar who wore sunglasses. When Tintin explored the tomb he found sarcophagi for himself and Snowy but not for the scholar, who does not even turn up in the Red Sea incident—thus, how he ends up in India is left unresolved. In fact, Tintin even speculated that the scholar was a member of the gang of drug smugglers that he found himself pitted against.)
Tintin finds Sophocles in the Indian jungle completely by chance in a string of absurd coincidences,[37] painting the symbol of Kih-Oskh on palm trees. Sophocles is now completely mad and imagines himself to be the Pharaoh Ramesses II. He is eventually committed to a sanatorium in India for treatment.
He does not appear in any other Tintin stories, but is the first of a number of eccentric scientists and scholars that would culminate in the character Professor Calculus.
Tharkey is a Sherpa guide who helps Tintin locate the ill-fated Patna-Kathmandu flight carrying Chang Chong-Chen in Tintin in Tibet. Although reluctant to risk the perilous attempt to find Chang, whom he believes to be dead, Tharkey leads Tintin and Captain Haddock to the crash site of the aircraft. After initially leaving the site to return to his village, he feels guilty for leaving them alone and returns just in time to help Tintin and Haddock out of a dangerous situation. However, he subsequently breaks his arm and must return to the plains after partly convalescing at a Buddhist monastery while Tintin and the Captain continue their search for Chang.
He may have been based on Tenzing Norgay, one of the first men to reach the summit of Mount Everest on 29 May 1953.
Wang Chen-Yee[edit]
Wang Chen-Yee is the Han Chinese leader of the Sons of the Dragon brotherhood featured in The Blue Lotus. He serves as Tintin's host during his stay in China, and later adopts Chang Chong-Chen.
Zorrino is an indigenous Indian Peruvian boy who made a living by selling oranges in the mountain town of Jauga. In Prisoners of the Sun, he led Tintin and Captain Haddock on the trail of their kidnapped friend Professor Calculus to the Inca civilisation in the mountains. At the end of the book, Zorrino is invited to stay in the Inca city and follow their way of life, an invitation which he accepts.
- ^ McCarthy 2006.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 207–208.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 127.
- ^ Yusuf 2005.
- ^ a b Thompson 1991, p. 58.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 44.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 65.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 65–66.
- ^ a b Thompson 1991, pp. 86–88.
- ^ Thompson 1991, pp. 86, 91.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 53.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 55.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 90–91.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 96.
- ^ Farr 2001, p. 180.
- ^ a b c d e Thompson 1991, p. 90.
- ^ a b c Thompson 1991, p. 66.
- ^ a b c d Thompson 1991, p. 79.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 85.
- ^ Hnady, Bruce (24 December 2009). "Tintinabulation". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Red Rackham's Treasure - Young readers edition - Bonus material. USA: Little Brown. 2010. ISBN 0316358347.
- ^ Farr 2001, p. 149.
- ^ Dailymotion 31 December 2006.
- ^ BBC News 13 October 2000.
- ^ "Backstory". Tintin and the Picaros. Tintin - Official US website. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ a b c Farr 2001, p. ?.
- ^ Wallace 2002.
- ^ Dupuis.
- ^ Apostolidès, Jean-Marie (2010). The Metamorphosis of Tintin. CA, USA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0804760314.
- ^ Thompson 1991, pp. 89–90.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 70.
- ^ JSS Gallery 2011.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 89.
- ^ "Tintin v Asterix : An interview". The Guardian. 18 October 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
- ^ Screech, Matthew (2005). Masters of the Ninth Art: Bandes Dessinées and Franco-Belgian Identity. Liverpool: Liverpool University press. p. 34. ISBN 085323938X.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 66–67.
- ^ Thompson 1991, p. 69.
- Farr, Michael (2001). Tintin: The Complete Companion. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-5522-0. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- McCarthy, Tom (1 July 2006). "Review: From zero to hero". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- Thompson, Harry (1991). Tintin: Hergé and his Creation. London: Hodder and Stoughton. ISBN 978-0-340-52393-3.
- Wallace, Natasha (5 August 2002). "King Alfonso XIII of Spain; Portrait by British artist Philip Alexius de Laszlo". JSS Gallery. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- Yusuf, Bulent (14 November 2005). "Alphabetti Fumetti: H is for Hergé". Ninth Art. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- "1979 – Fruit d'or (Professeur Tournesol)". Dailymotion.com. 31 December 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- "Leloup Biography". Dupuis. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
- "Tintin, Estland och Arado" [Tintin, Estonia and Arado]. JSS Gallery (in Swedish). 1 November 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
- "Tintin 'rescues' Millionaire contestant". BBC News (London). 13 October 2000. Retrieved 11 May 2010.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tintin. |
- Tintin.com – List of characters on official website
- Tintinologist.org – List of characters on oldest and largest English-language Tintin fan site


text:
May 2011
Association News
Joliet Junior College takes top spot at District 6 competition
On 15 April, 14 teams competed in the ISA District 6 Student Competition hosted at the Mitchell Technical Institute in Mitchell, N.Dak.
The competition was broken up into five challenges throughout the day, which consisted of two design exercises and three analog calibration scenarios. The time limit for each exercise was 45 minutes. The team scoring the highest in the two design exercises was selected to compete in the Quiz Bowl against the team scoring the highest in the three analog exercises. The overall winner of the competition was determined by the winner of the Quiz Bowl held at the end of the competition. The Bowl consisted of a serious of technical questions—within a 45 minute time limit or 50 questions, whichever comes first.
Joliet Junior College's ISA Student Section team was the 2011first place winner. It is the first time this student section team has won first place in this competition. Team members were Kyle Andre, Keith Cannon, Bob Clark, and Tim Quigley. The team is advised by Adjunct Technical Professor Edward Meyers.
The following are how the teams placed in this year's competition.
First: Joliet Junior College
Second: Mitchell Technical Institute – Team #3
Third: Northwest Iowa Community College – Team #3
Fourth: Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – Team #1
Fifth: Northwest Iowa Community College – Team #1
Sixth: Mitchell Technical Institute – Team #2
Seventh: North Dakota State – Team #1
Eighth: Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College – Team #2
Ninth: North Dakota State – Team #4
Tenth: Northwest Iowa Community College – Team #2
Eleventh: North Dakota State – Team #2
Twelfth: Mitchell Technical Institute – Team #1
Thirteenth: Mesabi Range Community & Technical College
Fourteenth: North Dakota State Team – Team #3
Joliet Junior College earned first place at the 2011 District 6 Student Competition. |
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subset: commoncrawl


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Beckerman, Beltran and Rimando will report to the U.S. Men's National Team on Sunday, following RSL's Saturday match at Toronto FC. Saborio will depart Salt Lake City to join up with the Costa Rican squad today.
Real Salt Lake fans will have an opportunity to see all four players in action on Saturday July 13, when Rio Tinto Stadium will host a Gold Cup doubleheader featuring a U.S.-Cuba tilt and a Costa Rica-Belize match.
The 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup will begin on July 7 and run until July 28. Beckerman, Beltran and Rimando will miss a minimum of two MLS games while at the tournament and Saborio will be gone for at least three league matches.
Both the U.S. and Costa Rica are in Group C of the Gold Cup. Group C will kick off the tournament on July 9 in Portland, with the U.S. taking on Belize and Costa Rica taking on Cuba. They will then head to the Wasatch Front for Rio Tinto Stadium's Gold Cup doubleheader on July 13. The U.S. and Costa Rica will close out the Group Stage on July 16, facing off against each other in the Group C finale at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Conn.
Beckerman has 25 appearances for the United States and was called in for the U.S.'s 1-0 World Cup Qualifying win over Honduras at Rio Tinto Stadium on June 18. The 31-year-old holding midfielder captained the U.S. in its 0-0 draw against Canada on Jan. 29 in Houston, a game that featured a very similar roster to the group called into the Gold Cup.
Called in for the last two games of the U.S.'s recent World Cup Qualifying run, Rimando has six career caps with the U.S. The veteran 'keeper is one of three goalies on the U.S. roster and will likely start ahead of youngsters Sean Johnson (Chicago Fire) and Bill Hamid (D.C. United) in the Gold Cup.
Beltran has one cap with the U.S. senior national team, starting and playing the first half in the Americans' scoreless draw against Canada on Jan. 29. The 25-year-old fullback was called up to the U.S. for its March World Cup Qualifiers against Costa Rica and at Mexico.
One of Costa Rica's most important players, Saborio captained the Ticos side that qualified for the Gold Cup by winning Copa Centroamericana in January. Now fully healthy, the 31-year-old striker played with Costa Rica during its recent World Cup Qualifying run, coming off the bench while recovering from injury in Costa Rica's 1-0 win over Honduras on June 7 and its 0-0 draw at Mexico on June 11 before playing the full 90 in Los Ticos' 2-0 win over Panama on June 18.
The winner of the 2013 Gold Cup will compete in a playoff with the winner of the 2015 event for the right to represent CONCACAF at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. The U.S. has reached the final of the Gold Cup in five of the last six tournaments, winning three titles. Costa Rica has never won the Gold Cup.
Real Salt Lake will return to action this Saturday, traveling north of the border to take on Toronto FC at BMO Field.


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The Plainview Volunteer Fire Department responded to a report of smoke in the house on Sunday, January 18 at approximately 12:45 p.m. on Radcliffe Road. FULL STORY
Katherine Zhu and Andrew Brickman, both seniors at Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School, were named Intel Semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search 2009, a program of the Society for Science and the Public. FULL STORY
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"Vote" pin (November 4, 2012) |
High turnout is expected at the polls tomorrow as voters cast votes for President and other races.
Somerset County Elections director Tina Pritts said she expects to see a 65 percent voter turnout at the polls Tuesday. She said turnout is higher in Somerset County during Presidential elections. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Other races on the ballot are Auditor General, Attorney General, Treasurer, U.S. Senate, U.S. Representative in the ninth and 12th district, and State Senate in the 35th district.
"They should try to get there earlier and not try to get there the last minute," she said.
Pritts approved 2,200 absentee ballots which is average for a Presidential election but, in general, high.
This year there are two new voting places. Somerset Borough NW was moved to the Grace United Methodist Church and Conemaugh Township No. 2 was moved to the Benscreek Lutheran Church.
Anyone who is voting in a place for the first time needs to provide id, which includes their voter id card. Everyone will be asked to show ID, but it is not mandatory under the new voter id law that was put on hold for this election.
Somerset County Republican Party Chairman James T. Yoder said he would like to see the voter turnout to be around 70 percent in Somerset County. He said it is a right and obligation to go vote.
"I feel it's incredibly important to vote," he said. "Our founding fathers gave us this right so we wouldn't have a tyrannical government take over and we can change leaders."
Yoder said the Republican party has an incredible ticket with many candidates possessing a business background which is needed in government such as Tom Smith who is running for Senate. Smith is a self-made businessman in the coal business, Yoder explained.