Minor characters in The Adventures of Tintin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Adventures of Tintin has several minor characters.
For other more prominent characters see the list of supporting characters appearing in The Adventures of Tintin
[edit] Professor Hector Alembick
Professor Hector Alembick is a sigillographer - that is, an expert on seals - who appears in King Ottokar's Sceptre. Tintin meets him when returning a briefcase which the professor had forgotten on a park bench. Professor Alembick - a bespectacled, chain-smoking academic - 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; he subsequently hires Tintin as a secretary to accompany him 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 behavior lead Tintin to suspect that something is amiss. At the end of the album, Tintin discovers that Hector Alembick had indeed been kidnapped and impersonated by his twin brother Alfred (who has unimpaired vision and smokes). His name is a pun on Alembic.
[edit] The Bird brothers
The Bird brothers, two brothers named Max Bird and G. Bird (Bird being English slang for time spent in prison i.e. Max Bird meaning a long sentence and G suggesting Gaol (jail) Bird), are the main adversaries in The Secret of the Unicorn. They, like Tintin, are looking for three scrolls to unlock the secret of Red Rackham's treasure. They operate from their manor, Marlinspike Hall, where at one point they hold Tintin hostage and threaten him with torture, convinced he is behind their failure in collecting all three scrolls. Amongst their other crimes is attempted murder, as Max shot their helper, Barnaby, just before he could tell Tintin of their plot. The Bird Brothers were captured by Thompson and Thomson. Max escaped, but was later caught by the police, trying to leave the country.
In Red Rackham's Treasure, Max Bird escapes again and is spotted near the Sirius, a boat used by Tintin in the search of Red Rackham's treasure. He never moves to strike, supposedly due to the presence of Thompson and Thomson. The Bird brothers have not been seen since, though they were depicted in sketches for the never finished Tintin and Alph-Art.
[edit] Mr. Bohlwinkel
Mr. Bohlwinkel is a financier who appears in The Shooting Star. As the owner of the Bohlwinkel Bank of São Rico and a petroleum firm called Golden Oil, he uses his wealth and resources to attempt to beat Tintin 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 by depositing lit dynamite on its deck, instructing another ship under his control - the S.S. Kentucky Star - to ram the Aurora during a storm, refusing to allow the Aurora to refuel at a Golden Oil depot, and sending a fake S.O.S. to throw the Aurora off course. The Shooting Star ends with a dismayed Mr. Bohlwinkel listening to a radio announcement revealing that the police are on his trail.
It is conspicuous that Bohlwinklel has the exact physiognomy of the stereotypical Jew in Nazi propaganda; in the original edition of The Shooting Star, moreover, he was referred to as "Blumenstein" and his bank was explicitly stated as being located in New York. In later editions of the album, Herge attempted to alter the financer's antecedents by relocating him to a fictitious South American country, changing his name to a Belgian dialect word for a sweet shop - Bolwinkel - and modifying the spelling of the new name. Alas, he subsequently learned that Bohlwinkel is also a Jewish surname. Several other changes were made in later editions of The Shooting Star.
[edit] Mr. Bolt
A joiner who appears in The Castafiore Emerald, he was hired by Captain Haddock to fix the broken step in Marlinspike Hall. However, Mr Bolt is an immensely lazy man and he tends to put off the repairs due to many reasons he gives, namely: catching the flu, his cousin's marriage, etc. Because of his put-offs, the Captain has been thinking about finding someone else, but, strangely, never gets around to doing that either. Mr. Bolt was one of the people who sent the Captain a telegram when a magazine article about the Captain about to marry Bianca Castafiore was published. At the end of the book, Mr. Bolt finally comes and fixes the broken step. However, the Captain trips up on the step, instantly undoing Mr. Bolt's work!
[edit] Laszlo Carreidas
A wealthy business tycoon, Laszlo Carreidas is kidnapped (along with his new jet) by Rastapopoulos in Flight 714. His unassuming figure notwithstanding, Carreidas is revealed to be a cunning individual with a long history of unscrupulous behavior not limited to the business world; he is not above cheating Captain Haddock at a game of Battleships with the help of a closed-circuit television. A large part of his personal fortune is in a Swiss bank account under a false name and signature, presumably for taxation purposes.
Carreidas is the owner of a brand of soft drink called "Sani-Cola" (a pun on the French pronunciation of "Saint Nicolas"), which apparently contains chlorophyll. The healthfulness of this beverage is brought into question when the whisky-loving Captain Haddock discreetly empties a cup forced upon him by Carreidas into a potted plant that wilts dramatically immediately thereafter.
Carreidas' name is a pun: carré d'as means 'four aces' in French. Accordingly, the logo on the tail of his Carreidas 160 supersonic business jet consists of four aces. This aircraft appears to be a combination of a Gates Learjet and the Mirage G swing-wing fighter, and possibly is the purest - and most practical - example of the concept to date. It was designed by Roger Leloup, an artist working in the Studios Hergé.[1]
It seems that Hergé based Carreidas on Marcel Dassault, who possessed a similar combination of wealth, aeronautics engineering genius, and quaint notions of fashion (Dassault's wardrobe remained frozen in the mid 1930s).
[edit] Captain Chester
An old friend of Captain Haddock, Captain Chester 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 which Tintin interprets as 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 his trawler to secretly refuel Haddock's research vessel in Iceland. Chester later lends his ship to Haddock while the latter searches for the casket of jewels taken from the pirate Red Rackham by one of Haddock's ancestors. He is briefly mentioned in "The Seven Crystal Balls" and is one of the people that sends Haddock telegrams in "The Castafiore Emerald".
[edit] Chiquito
Chiquito appears as the sidekick of General Alcazar in The Seven Crystal Balls. One night, at the home of Calculus's friend Professor Tarragon, Chiquito hides himself in the trees after casting a spell on Tarragon. In the morning, Calculus is kidnapped by Chiquito and his men. Chiquito takes the professor to Perú and Tintin and Captain Haddock go after them. He later appears in Prisoners of the Sun on Pachacamac and catches Tintin who have found Calculus. When Chiquito yells for his companion Alonzo Tintin takes the opportunity to escape and jumps into the water and swims to Haddock's boat as Chiquito shoots after him.
Chiquito is very often mixed up with Huascar who resembles Chiquito very much.
Chiquito is known to be a practitioner of black magic. He casts a spell on all seven members of the Sanders-Hardiman expedition, and holds them in a drug-induced trance. He is also able to torture them remotely from his temple. His real name is Rupac Inca Huaco and he is one of the few remaining descendants of the Incas.
[edit] Cutts the Butcher
- In French: fr:Boucherie Sanzot
The local butcher shop where calls from Marlinspike Hall usually connect to first by accident, as the butchers' number of 431 is frequently mistaken for 421 to Marlinspike. Marlinspike Hall is similarly plagued by incoming calls from customers who have dialled the wrong number, infuriating the mansion's inhabitants by endlessly calling to order lamb chops and sausages.
The delivery man from the butcher plays a vital (but invisible) 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.
[edit] The Fakir
This unnamed fakir appeared in Cigars of the Pharaoh, and was a high-ranking member of an opium smuggling ring. He created the dangerous Rajaijah Juice, the "poison of madness," and among his talents were hypnosis, the Indian rope trick and escapology (to the point where he was offended by Tintin thinking he could tie him up). The fakir caused Sophocles Sarcophagus and Mr. Zloty to go mad with his poisoned darts, and made an attempt on the Maharajah of Gaipajama, though Tintin had placed a dummy in the Maharajah's bed which took the dart instead. Once Tintin unmasked the members of the ring, the fakir helped the head of the ring (later revealed to be Rastapopoulos) escape, but was captured when a falling rock knocked him out. In the next book, The Blue Lotus, the fakir was never actually seen, but it was mentioned that he escaped from prison, and probably poisoned a messenger sent to warn Tintin against Mitsuhirato.
[edit] Huascar
In Prisoners of the Sun Huascar is trying to stop Tintin & Haddock from finding Calculus. He fixes a train "accident" that nearly got them killed. But when he sees Tintin defending Zorrino from bullies he changes his mind about them. He gives Tintin a talisman and says it will help him through danger. The talisman becomes useful eventually. He is later revealed to be a High Priest of the Sun God when he defends Tintin & Haddock and tells the The Incas that they saved Zorrino from the bullies.
Huascar is sometimes mixed up with Chiquito because that Huascar looks like Chiquito with a hat.
[edit] Irma
- In French: fr:Irma (Tintin)
The maid of Bianca Castafiore. In The Castafiore Emerald, she went with Bianca Castafiore and her pianist Igor Wagner to Marlinspike Hall. Castafiore describes her as a faithful, loyal and honest maid. Despite giving a meek impression, she has a strong sense of personal pride. When Thompson and Thomson accuse Irma of stealing Castafiore's emerald, in the titular album, she becomes very angry and assaults the Thompsons with a walking stick.She also appears in The Calculus Affair as La Castafiore's maid.
[edit] Kronik and Klumsi
Kronik and Klumsi 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. Like the KGB agents on whom they are presumably based, their real objective is to prevent the 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 undoubtably puns on chronic and clumsy. They appear to be the Bordurian equivalents of Thompson and Thomson.
[edit] Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano
The mad Italian driver in The Calculus Affair, who eagerly helped Tintin and Captain Haddock go after the Bordurian agents that have kidnapped Professor Calculus. While chasing the kidnappers, they speeded through a built-up area on market day, causing great destruction and chaos. However when they were finally stopped by a gendarme, who wanted to record their names, they escaped due to Arturo flabbergasting the gendarme with his overly long name, with the gendarme letting them off with a "don't do it again...". When they finally stopped the Syldavian car, however, they didn't find Calculus inside as he was hidden in a secret compartment. This greatly upset Arturo who then accused that Tintin and the Captain made the story up to get a free ride. He has great pride in Italian cars, due to being an Italian driver, which he claims are "number one in the world".
[edit] Miller
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 when the latter was working in the US: Miller is shown in one scene checking a list of personnel at the Centre where the Syldavian rockets are being built and presumably finds Wolff's name amongst them.
Miller is first seen on the plane to Syldavia in Destination Moon. He was seated in the row ahead of Tintin and 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 which 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 or Zepo.
Miller somehow contacted Calculus's assistant Frank Wolff and blackmailed him into supplying him with the plans for the rockets which were being built at the Sbrodj Atomic Research Centre.
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 kill Wolff whom he suspected 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 the attempt to get hold of the rocket failed, with Jorgen and Wolff both perishing in the process.
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 codenamed "Mammoth" and "Whale" respectively; and the operation to hijack the manned rocket to the moon was called "Ulysses", after the Greek hero who was himself a master of intrigue and deception (Homer refers to him as such in the Odyssey).
[edit] Professor Decimus Phostle
- In French: fr:Professeur Calys
Professor Decimus Phostle appeared in The Shooting Star as the director of an observatory whom Tintin consulted about a large bright star he saw in Ursa Major. Phostle claimed that it was a ball of fire which would hit the Earth and cause the end of the world ! He calculated that it would occur at 8.12½ a.m. the following morning. Phostle actually appeared to look forward to this, thinking that predicting the end of mankind would make him famous.
He turned out to be wrong however, since the meteor passed 48,000 km away from the Earth. Far from being pleased, Phostle was furious and took it out on his assistant who had made the estimates. However, a piece of the meteor broke off and collided with the Earth causing an earthquake. Using a spectroscope, Phostle discovered that the meteor possessed an unknown metal which he named Phostlite after himself.
For a discovery of this importance, Phostle decided to celebrate with a packet of sweets (then again, the story was first published in 1942 at a time when most foodstuffs were rationed due to the war).
The meteorite had fallen in the Arctic Ocean and an expedition was organised which included Tintin and Captain Haddock on board the ship Aurora.
If Phostle came across in his first appearance as someone who sought fame and fortune whatever the cost (even that of the Earth), he appears to have matured a bit during the expedition. He even showed a paternal attitude to Tintin, advising the young man to put on warmer clothes as they approached the arctic circle; when the seaplane took off for the first time he expressed hope that nothing bad would happen to Tintin and the pilot; and when an SOS arrived from another ship he immediately stood up and announced that they would have to abandon the search for the meteorite and go to the rescue. (The SOS later turned out to be a fake sent by the sponsors of a rival expedition who tried in all sorts of underhand ways to destroy or delay the progress of the group led by Tintin, Haddock and Phostle.)
Tintin managed to reach the meteorite just before the rival party and claimed it. He took a piece of Phostlite back for study.
(When Hergé started to plan Tintin's moon adventure (Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon), he consulted Bernard Heuvelmans over the scientific aspects of the story. Heuvelmans even suggested a storyline which included Phostle, but this time as the villain ! He would steal the plans for Calculus' rocket and sell them in order to buy a diamond for the actress Rita Hayworth ! After drawing two pages of this story in which a radio interview with Calculus goes wrong because of his deafness, Hergé dropped this in favour of his own storyline.[2])
[edit] Puschov
- In French: fr:Wronzoff
Apparently of Russian origin and presumably a Jew given his huge beard, Puschov is the leader of the international gang of counterfeiters in The Black Island. He is also the master of Ranko, a gorilla inhabiting the gang's hideout on the Black Island whose nightly screams inspired legends of the island being occupied by a murderous beast.
[edit] Sanders-Hardiman Expedition Members
They are members of an expedition which brought an Incan mummy named Rascar Capac back to Europe in The Seven Crystal Balls. The members of the expedition are: Peter Clarkson (photographer), Professor Sanders-Hardiman, Professor Reedbuck, Mark Falconer, Professor Paul Cantouneau (who made an appearance in The Shooting Star), Doctor Midge (director of the Darwin Museum), and Professor Hercules Tarragon, who has the Rascar Capac mummy in his possession. They were cursed by the Incas as punishment for the theft of the mummy. They were put into comas and made to suffer nightmares by Chiquito. The Expedition's members were saved by Tintin who visited the Incas' temple to save Professor Calculus, who was also kidnapped by them.
[edit] Sophocles Sarcophagus
- In French: fr:Philémon Siclone
Sophocles Sarcophagus is an absent-minded 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. Later in the album, he goes mad and imagines himself to be the Pharaoh Rameses II; he is eventually committed to a sanitarium 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 which would culminate in Professor Calculus.
[edit] Bobby Smiles
- In French: fr:Bobby Smiles
Chicago boss of the rival gang fighting Al Capone. Smiles makes an appearance in Tintin in America and he and the reporter go after each other throughout much of the story. Smiles even manages to turn the American Indians against Tintin. He is eventually captured and sent to the police by Tintin.
In the animated series, Smiles works for Capone, rather than against him.
[edit] Ridgewell
Ridgewell first appeared in The Broken Ear and later in Tintin and the Picaros.
He was an English explorer who travelled into the South American rainforest occupied by the Arumbaya indians. 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 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 civilisation to the indians, 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 rather than the hole in the ground.
Ridgewell's influence on the Arumbayas resulted on him gaining an enemy in the local witch doctor. When Ridgewell was captured by an enemy tribe 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 Englishman did not use poisoned darts.
Ridgewell was also a ventriloquist and had a sense of humour, like when, in Tintin and the Picaros, he fired a dart into the cigar of General Alcazar with whom he was acquainted.
[edit] Tharkey
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 the Captain 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 save Tintin and Haddock, who are stranded on a cliff in a storm. However, he subsequently breaks his arm and must remain 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.
[edit] Professor Topolino
Topolino is a Swiss scientist who is an expert in ultrasonics. His only appearance was in The Calculus Affair.
Professor Calculus had consulted Topolino by mail on the development of an ultrasonic invention which was capable of shattering glass and china. Calculus was also working on a full scale model which could destroy metal, bricks, concrete and other stronger materials. Worried about the effects of such a weapon he arranged to meet with Topolino to talk about it.
What neither man knew was that Topolino's manservant Boris had intercepted their mail and warned the secret service of his native country Borduria. The head of the service, Colonel Sponsz, subsequently sent agents to kidnap Calculus.
Aware that Calculus was in danger, Tintin and Captain Haddock tracked him to Topolino's house where they met the owner bound and gagged in his own cellar. Topolino angrily accused Calculus of attacking him.
After talking things through with Haddock and Tintin, they concluded that the Calculus who had attacked him was an imposter. The intruder then pretended to be Professor Topolino and kidnapped Calculus when he arrived.
A minute after reaching this conclusion, Topolino's house was blown up by Bordurian agents. Luckily, everyone survived, and Haddock was able to drink down the contents of a bottle of wine Topolino had bought for his meeting with Calculus.
[edit] Igor Wagner
- In French: fr:Igor Wagner
The quiet pianist working for Bianca Castafiore. In The Castafiore Emerald he is discovered to be a gambler who bets by telephone on races in secret. He has a small moustache and dresses formally in black with black shoes. After the thievery of Castafiore's emeralds, his attempts to help more often than not incriminated himself, as his footprints were found near Castafiore's window, he was suspiciously rummaging in the attic, and later broke a step on the staircase. He also tries to sneak out of his hour-long training sessions (dictated by Castafiore). Being the long-time accompanist for Castafiore, his name is made up of a humorous reference to two very well known composers: Igor Stravinsky, and Richard Wagner.
[edit] Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto
- In French: Jean-Loup De La Batellerie and Walter Rizzotto
Two reporters 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 speculating that the captain and the diva are engaged. They later appear in Flight 714 and Tintin and the Picaros. Rizotto makes a small appearance in the redrawn version of The Black Island.
[edit] Wang Chen-Yee
- In French: fr:Wang Jen-Ghié
Chinese leader of the Sons of the Dragon brotherhood, dedicated to the fight against opium, which he says is causing so much havoc in his country. His only appearance was in The Blue Lotus. Wang Chen-Yee sent his son to secretly defend Tintin from the numerous assassination attempts by Mitsuhirato. His son was tragically made mad by the Rajaijah juice (see Cigars of the Pharaoh). Wang later adopted Chang, another friend, as his own second son. Wang Chen-Yee is also mentioned in the newspaper notice that prompts Tintin's rescue mission in Tintin in Tibet.
[edit] Mik Kanrokitoff
- In French: fr:Mik Ezdanitoff
Seemingly Russian writer for the magazine Space Week. Appears in Flight 714 and helps Tintin, Capt. Haddock and friends escape from the island after Allan and his cohorts set off a plastic esplosive charge that stirs up volcanism. Has hypnotic power by means of a small antenna and transmitter on the side of his head. Maintains a friendship with an unseen race of space aliens and it is their spaceship that enables Tintin and co. to escape the island.[3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Leloup biography at Dupuis website
- ^ Tintin The Complete Companion by Michael Farr, ISBN-10: 0719555221, ISBN-13: 978-0719555220
- ^ [1]
| The Adventures of Tintin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creation of Tintin · Books, films, and media · Ideology of Tintin | ||||
| Characters: | Supporting · Minor · Complete list | |||
| Miscellany: | Hergé · Marlinspike · Captain Haddock's exclamations | |||
