List of The Adventures of Tintin characters

This is the list of fictional characters inThe Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonistHergé. The characters are listed alphabetically, 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 described 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 ofCharles Dickens.Hergé used the supporting characters to create arealisticworldin which to set his protagonists' adventures. To further the realism and continuity, characters recur throughout the series.
During theGerman occupation of BelgiumduringWorld 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.Colourful main characters, villainous antagonists, and heroic supporting cast were all introduced during this period.
The long-sufferingbutlerofMarlinspike Hall.
Nestor is theepitomeof a butler (or, in French,majordome) of French society. Noble, loyal, always the domestic servant, Nestor serves his masterCaptain Haddockand any house guests such asTintin,Professor Calculus, orBianca Castafiore.
Endaddine Akass is aguruand mainantagonistof the unfinished bookTintin and Alph-Art, the last ofThe Adventures of TintinbyHergé. An odd-looking man with a large nose, long hair, beard, moustache, and large spectacles, Endaddine Akass holds a conference on "health and magnetism" for crowds of followers includingBianca Castafiore. Tintin recognises his voice. He could be Dr. Müller or Max Bird, but more than likely he isRastapopoulosin disguise. His name, like many in the series, is based upon the Brusselspatoismarols.
In the two completed versions ofTintin and Alph-Artby Yves Rodier and a pseudonymous writer called Ramó Nash, Endaddine is indeed revealed to be Rastapopoulos. "You will never take me alive!" he says in the dramatic conclusion.
Colonel Alvarez is the politeaide-de-camptoGeneral Tapiocawho appears inTintin and the Picaros. He is the one who receivesCaptain HaddockandProfessor Calculuswhen they arrive inSan Theodorosand takes them to their apartment. When he is first introduced in the adventure, he seems to be friendly and good-natured, which impresses the Captain. However, it is then revealed that Alvarez is a part of the plot orchestrated byColonel Sponszto eliminate Tintin, the Captain, and the Professor, and Alvarez is enraged when his men fail. When General Tapioca is overthrown, Alvarez shifts over to Alcazar's side, even expressing disappointment that Tapioca will not be executed. He then assists Tintin and the Captain in rescuingThomson and Thompsonand also freeingBianca Castafioreand her entourage.
SheikhBab El Ehr is anArabinsurgentwho fights EmirBen Kalish Ezab, ruler of the fictional Arabian state ofKhemed; though overall he comes across as a villain rather than a noble fighter.
InLand of Black Gold, he is shown allied withDr. Müllerand his Skoil Petroleum Company and fighting a guerrilla war against Ben Kalish Ezab, the emir. 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 plays a major behind-the-scenes role inThe Red Sea Sharks, having used Mosquito fighter planes provided by Mr.Dawsonto carry out a successfulcoup d'étatand 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. At the close ofThe Red Sea Sharks, Bab El Ehr's regime is declared over.
His name is derived from the Brussels dialect wordbabbelaaror "tattler".
SeeAlonso Pérez and Ramón Bada,
(French:Barnabé)
Barnaby is the man hired by the antique dealers, theBird brothers, to acquire the three parchments from the three model ships of theUnicorn—the first of which he finds in theBrusselsPlace du Jeu de Balleold market inThe Secret of the Unicorn. When he failed his employers and Tintin purchased the ship instead, first he stole Tintin'sUnicorn, then ransacked Tintin's flat after he broke the mast and did not find the parchment. Later, hechloroformsIvan Ivanovitch Sakharineand 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.
In themotion capturefilmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Barnaby is anInterpolagent investigatingIvan Ivanovitch Sakharine. It was implied that he did not survive after being shot by Sakharine's accomplices.
(French:Basil Bazaroff)
Basil Bazarov (formerly Mazarov in an early edition) of the Korrupt Arms Company (Vicking Arms Company in the French edition)is a German arms dealer who appears inThe Broken Ear. He sells weapons to both sides of the conflict betweenSan Theodorosand neighbouring Nuevo-Rico. He also works with his associate Mr.Tricklerin an attempt to bring an end to their mutual enemy Tintin.
Hergé's Basil Bazarov was "characterised in every detail"by the real life GreekVickersarms dealerBasil Zaharoff, who profited by selling weapons to both sides of the conflict between Bolivia and neighbouring Paraguay during theWar of the Gran Chaco(inThe Broken Ear, Bazarov fuels the "War of the Gran Chapo").Sir Basil Zaharoff enjoyed a good reputation at the timeThe Broken Earappeared; he was made aGrand-officier de la Légion d'honneurand made member of theOrder of the British Empire.
(French:Les frères Loiseau)
The Bird brothers, Max and G. Bird (French:Maxime et G. Loiseau) are the main adversaries inThe Secret of the Unicorn. They are antique dealers who learn about a treasure left by the pirateRed Rackham, and are willing to kill in order to possess it.
In the original French, their names are Loiseau (French for "the bird"). Maxime is renamed Max in the English version. In theGolden Booksedition (American English), their name is spelled Byrd.
The Bird brothers, like Tintin, are looking for the three parchments fromSir Francis Haddockthat hold the secret ofRed 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 earlier stolen his wallet containing the parchments. 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 byThomson and Thompson. Max escapes, but is later caught while trying to flee the country.
InRed Rackham's Treasure, Max Bird is said to have escaped again and is spotted near theSirius, 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 conclude at the end of the adventure that he was discouraged because of their presence.
At one point of the early development of what becameTintin in Tibet, Hergé originally considered bringing back the Bird brothers in a story in which they frame Nestor for a crime he did not commit. However, Hergé dismissed the idea.
The Bird brothers have not been seen since, though they were depicted in sketches for the unfinishedTintin and Alph-Art, in which they are at the inauguration ofRamó Nash'sart exposition.
The Bird brothers appear inThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of The Unicorn (Video Game Console Version). In the game, they are appear only in Marlinspike.
Hans Boehm, who appears briefly inFlight 714 to Sydney, is one of the pilots andhijackersof that flight.Rastapopoulosplanned to eliminate him and the other conspirators.
Mr. Bohlwinkel is a financier from the fictitious South American countrySão Rico, who appears inThe 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 fallenmeteorite. Apart from financing the exploratory vesselPeary, he unsuccessfully attempts to sabotage the competing expedition's shipAurora, helmed by Captain Haddock. This includes depositing litdynamiteonto its deck (which Snowy puts out), instructing another ship under his control to ram theAuroraduring a storm, refusing to allow theAurorato refuel at a Golden Oil depot (only to have Haddock's old friendCaptain Chesterfuel theAuroraby siphoning oil being pumped into his tanks), and sending a fake S.O.S. to throw theAuroraoff course (Tintin contacting multiple shipping agencies to determine that the ship and company that sent the distress call do not exist).The Shooting Starends with a dismayed Bohlwinkel listening to a radio announcement that reveals that the police are onto him.
Bohlwinkel has physical traits reflecting astereotypicalJewinNazi propaganda. In the original edition ofThe Shooting Starpublished duringWorld War II, he was named Blumenstein, an American Jew from a bank in New York.For the later edition of the book, Hergé altered the financier's antecedents by relocating him to the fictitious South American country São Rico and changing his name to aBrabantiandialect word for "sweet shop":bollewinkel, also modifying the spelling of the new name. After the edition was published, Hergé subsequently learnt that Bohlwinkel is a Jewish surname.
Al Capone is a Chicago crime boss and the main villain inTintin in the CongoandTintin in America. InTintin in the Congo, he runs a criminal diamond smuggling operation, trying to gain control of the African diamond production. He orders thugs to face Tintin inTintin in America. Capone's main rival in Chicago isBobby 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.
The character is based on the real-lifeAl Caponeof Chicago. Al Capone was alive in 1931 when Hergé depicted him in his comics.He would be the last real-life individual to appear as a character in theAdventuresunder their real name.
Pietro is an Italian-American gangster inTintin in Americaand one of Al Capone's fellow gangsters.
Chiquito, or Rupac Inca Huaco, is a full-blooded PeruvianQuechuaand one of the last descendants of theIncas. He is first seen as the sidekick toGeneral AlcazarinThe Seven Crystal Ballsand is ultimately seen as a leading member of the Incas inPrisoners of the Sun.
He assistsGeneral Alcazarin his knife-throwing act, but this serves as a cover since Chiquito, unknown to the General, is out to punish theSanders-Hardiman expedition memberswho 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. The balls contain acoca-derived drug that plunges them into a deep sleep.
One night, at the home of Calculus's friendProfessor Tarragon, Chiquito breaks the final crystal ball in Tarragon's room after climbing down his chimney. He also seizes the jewellery ofRascar Capac, the Inca mummy whose tomb was violated by the expedition members. 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 inPrisoners of the Sunon thePachacamacand catches Tintin who has swum aboard and found Calculus. When Chiquito calls for assistance, Tintin takes the opportunity to jump back into the water, swimming back to safety 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 thestake, only to be interrupted by asolar eclipse. He eventually releases his control over the Sanders-Hardiman expedition members by order of thePrince of the Sun.
Paolo Colombani, is Skut's co-pilot andhijackerof that flight.Rastapopoulosplanned to eliminate him and the other conspirators.
Mr. J.M. Dawson is the corrupt British chief of police of theShanghai International SettlementinThe Blue Lotus.In revenge for Tintin's rebuking of his American friend, businessman Mr.Gibbons, Dawson hasSikhprison guards assault Tintin, but Tintin outwits them. Dawson then plots withMr. Mitsuhiratoand turns Tintin over to the Japanese, who have put a price on his head,calmly dismissing Tintin's protest that he is on neutral ground, as he did not have a passport to enter the Settlement to begin with. Dawson is ultimately forced to attend the ceremony in honour of Tintin.
Appearing in a more sinister role inThe Red Sea Sharks, Dawson sells weapons to bothGeneral AlcazarandGeneral Tapiocausing the pseudonym Mr. Debrett (French:M. Dubreuil), and is being patronised byRastapopoulos. He has Tintin and Captain Haddock denied entry toKhemedand plants a bomb on their return plane. Dawson's plan ultimately fails.
Although he does not reappear after this, Dawson is depicted in some sketches of the unfinishedTintin and Alph-Art, in which he is at the inauguration ofRamó Nash's art exposition.
In the animated series, Dawson's role is highly reduced. He speaks only briefly with first Mitsuhirato (by phone), and thenThomson and Thompson(in person). He does not appear to have anything more than an informal alliance with Mitsuhirato, as he only agrees to help arrest Tintin on trumped-up charges.
(French:Caporal Diaz)
Corporal Diaz was a colonel forGeneral Alcazaruntil Alcazar demoted him to corporal, replacing him with Tintin, after Diaz complained to the general thatSan Theodoroshad too many colonels and too few corporals (The Broken Ear). In revenge, Diaz engaged in repeated, unsuccessful assassination attempts against Alcazar. Diaz expired in the last attempt when the bomb he planted exploded prematurely.Alcazar had just arrested and sentenced Tintin to death due to faked evidence, and had just promoted Corporal Diaz back to colonel.
Thefakiris the loincloth-wearingasceticappearing inCigars of the Pharaohas a high-ranking member of anopiumsmuggling ring. He shoots darts soaked in the dangerous Rajaijah juice that drives people mad. Among his talents are hypnosis, the Indian rope trick, andescapology(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 for Tintin. When theBlue Lotuswas originally published in black-and-white, 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 sequelThe Blue Lotus, the fakir escapes from prison and again uses his darts to poison a Chinese man sent to warn Tintin againstMitsuhirato, another leader of the drug smugglers. In that title's original black-and-white version, the fakir can be seen escaping through the forest with hisblowpipeafter shooting the dart at the Chinese man. Not taking any chances, Tintin tells theMaharaja of Gaipajamahe will not leave until he knows the fakir is unable to do him any harm. The next day they receive atelegramfrom the police announcing the fakir had been recaptured.
Mr. W.R. Gibbons is an American steel trader inThe Blue Lotus. Gibbons is portrayed as an overweight, loud-mouthed, racist bigot.He is rude and abusive to a Chineserickshawdriver, prompting Tintin to intercede. Gibbons also physically assaults a Chinese waiter at the "Occidental Private Club". He reports Tintin to the Japanese authorities in retaliation only to be arrested as a liar when his information is found inaccurate. He is a friend of the Shanghai police chiefDawsonwho arranges for Gibbons to be released in return for expelling Tintin from the International Settlement into Japanese hands.
In the unfinished adventureTintin and Alph-Art, Haddock and Tintin visitBianca Castafioreat an island villa. There they meet a number of guests, including Mr. Gibbons; "He's in import-export", Castafiore says.
Not to be confused with another Gibbons, who is an American criminal worker affiliated with Al Capone and appears only inTintin in the Congo.
The gunrunner, who appears inCigars of the Pharaoh, is anarms traffickerwho rescues Tintin from a storm at sea, then turns him over to his enemies when Tintin discovers his weapons of contraband.After he and his men learn thatThomson and Thompsonare about to board his ship, he escapes.
He is based on the real life French gunrunnerHenry de Monfreid, a writer and adventurer whom Hergé initially admired. When Hergé learnt that Monfreid was providing guns for war, his attitude about him changed.
Huascar, inPrisoners of the Sun, is one of the last descendants of theIncas, 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 rescueProfessor Calculus. He listens in on their conversation with the chief of police and follows them through the streets ofCallao.
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 namedZorrinofrom 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 atalismanthat 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, see the talisman and 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 thestakeused to burn the westerners, but is thwarted by asolar eclipsethat leads to their release.
Prisoners of the Sun, originally published inTintinmagazine with additional panels 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 not to be confused with the more ruthlessChiquitowho bears a close resemblance to him.
Ivan is a character who appears inThe Black Island. He is a chauffeur and henchman of the villainous psychiatristDr. Müller, involved in counterfeit money trafficking. He is knocked out, tied and gagged by Tintin at the Black Island, but is later released byPuschovto plot against Tintin, then is finally taken into custody by the police.
Colonel Boris Jorgen is a sworn enemy of Tintin. They first meet inKing Ottokar's Sceptre, where he is known as Colonel Boris and is a relatively minor character, supposedly in the service ofKing Muskar XIIas hisaide-de-camp. In fact, Jorgen is one of a number ofSyldavianconspirators seeking to overthrow the king, in collaboration with the neighbouring republic ofBorduria. As such, the colonel is in direct contact with the Central Committee of the revolutionary Iron Guard movement. Tintin delivers a humiliating knockout punch to him shortly before the Bordurian plot is foiled.
Colonel Jorgen returns inDestination Moonand confronts Tintin again inExplorers on the Moon, having stowed away on the Moon rocket that Tintin and his friends are piloting.Frank Wolffwas told he would be a journalist; Jorgen reveals his true plan to steal the rocket 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 on a lower deck. He forces Wolff to help him maroon the others on the Moon, aware the rocket has oxygen for four people but there are seven on the ship. When the rocket does not launch, he accuses his engineer of letting himself be carried away by his scruples of conscience and prepares to shoot him, but is prevented from doing so by Tintin, who has severed the wires to the engine and holds Jorgen at gunpoint. Jorgen escapes custody during the return flight and attempts to kill the rocket crew. Wolff turns on Jorgen for this, and in the ensuing struggle, Jorgen is inadvertently shot, dying instantly. His body is subsequently ejected into space.
Jumbo is a henchman ofAllanwhile aboard theKaraboudjaninThe Crab with the Golden Claws. Allan asks him to watch for Tintin to return through a porthole window, while Tintin emerges instead from his hiding place under the bed. Allan returns to find him tied up with ropes.
Jumbo was a blackAfricanman in the original serialisations, but Hergé's American publishers objected to any depiction of the mixing of races. Hergé redrew Jumbo and another sailor asArabs(and gave Jumbo a shirt) but kept the accompanying text intact, which resulted in Haddock continuing to refer to the Arab man as a "Negro".
(French:Taupe-au-regard-perçant)
Big Chief Keen-eyed Mole is thesachemof theBlackfootNative Americans in the United Statesand is convinced by crime bossBobby Smilesthat Tintin is attempting to steal their land. He addresses Tintin as "paleface" and plans to execute him using a tomahawk. Tintin then flicksresinat the chief, who believes that it was done by other members of the tribe usingslingshots, and escapes while they all exchange blows. After coming around, Keen-eyed Mole realises that Tintin discovered the secret cave after Smiles speaks with him. He decides to leave the reporter in the hole, and is last seen being forced to leave by the military after an oil discovery in the area.
Dr. Krollspell is a Germandoctorand associate of Tintin's enemyRastapopoulosinFlight 714 to Sydney, but he later changes sides when it is in his best interest to turn from his employer. Krollspell is an ex-Naziscientist, probably based onJosef MengeleorAdolf Hitler's personal doctor,Theodor Morell. In an interview, Hergé himself suggested that Krollspell had worked in aconcentration camp—Flight 714 to Sydneyhaving been published some 20 years after thewar. The name "Krollspell" is Brussels dialect forkrulspeld, which means "hair curler".
Dr. Krollspell is the head of a psychiatric clinic in New Delhi (Cairo in the English version). He developed atruth serumthat Rastapopoulos intends to use on kidnapped millionaireLaszlo Carreidasin order to learn where Carreidas had left a large part of his personal fortune. However, when Rastapopoulos was injected with the serum by accident and "confessed" that he planned to eliminate Krollspell rather than pay him for his assistance, Krollspell joined forces with Tintin and his allies to try to escape from the island. Before the eruption of the volcano, Krollspell is taken away by the aliens along with Rastapopoulos and his gang. By the end of the adventure, a news programme announces that Krollspell was found near his clinic with no memory of how he got there.
Krollspell is depicted in some sketches of the unfinishedTintin and Alph-Art.
(French:Kronick et Himmerszeck)
Krônik and Klûmsi are ineptBordurianZEP Secret Police agents ostensibly assigned byColonel Sponszto ensure Tintin and Captain Haddock's safety and well-being during their visit to the Bordurian capital Szohôd inThe Calculus Affair. Their real objective is to prevent the two visitors from making indiscreet inquiries in their hunt forProfessor Calculus. Tintin and Haddock neutralise 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 ofThomson and Thompson.
(French:Maréchal Plekszy-Gladz)
Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch is the dictator of the fictional regime ofBorduria.Although he never appears as a character in the series, he is mentioned by name and glimpsed in statues and portraits inThe Calculus AffairandTintin and the Picaros. His English name is an allusion to his curved moustache, which also appears as a stylisedcircumflexmark in the Bordurian language (an example can be seen in his name). Bordurians are often heard swearing "by the whiskers of Kûrvi-Tasch". The original French name plays on the wordPlexiglas, the "artificial plasticity" of his character.
Kûrvi-Tasch's Bordurian government closely resembles theNazi regime. 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 calculatingspymasterfrom an unnamed power who masterminds the plot to hijack theSyldavianrocket programme inDestination MoonandExplorers on the Moon. He was the man who offered to helpFrank Wolffout of his gambling debts in exchange for information on the rocket programme: Miller is shown in one panel checking a list of personnel at the Centre and finds Wolff's name among them.
Miller is first seen on the plane to Syldavia inDestination Moon. He was seated in the row ahead of Tintin and Captain Haddock and was astonished to hear the Captain mention the name "Calculus", showing that he was already planning to take over the Moon programme that Calculus was working on. He discreetly followed Tintin and Haddock throughKlowairport but pulled back when he realised that they were being escorted by Zepo, the local secret police. 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 uncrewed 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 crewed rocket was to go to the Moon. Miller arranged forColonel Jorgen, an old enemy of Tintin's, to be smuggled aboard. 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 crewed rocket to the Moon was called "Ulysses" (after the Greek hero who also goes onan epic journeyand is himself a master of intrigue and deception).
Mitsuhirato is aJapanesedouble agentwho appears inThe Blue Lotus. He owns a women's clothing shop on the Street of Tranquility in Shanghai and appears friendly to Tintin, but Mitsuhirato also plots withDawsonand is involved in a drug trafficking cabal withRastapopouloswhile working for the Japanese government. Mitsuhirato is characterised as an evil, scheming person, exploiting political turmoil in China to his and his country's advantage. He is depicted as unscrupulous and militaristic, with stereotypically rectangular teeth.After his subsequent capture at the end ofThe Blue Lotus, he committed suicide byhara-kiri.
(French:Docteur Müller)
Dr. J. W. Müller is the evil German psychiatristwhose position and qualifications serve as a cover for more villainous activities, including mistreatment of patients,counterfeiting, and later criminalmercenary. Hergé considered Müller "aRastapopoulosfigure prepared to risk his own life."Müller frequently usesprofanitiessuch as "Kruzitürken" that are ofBavarianorigin, suggesting his background to be Bavarian or Austrian, but he could also be Swiss or South-Tirolian. As with Rastapopoulos, his true nationality is never revealed.
Müller's first appearance is inThe Black Islandwhere he is in league with British counterfeiters. He tries to send Tintin to his psychiatric clinic, but Tintin defeats him and Müller accidentally burns his own house. He and his henchmanIvanmanage to recover some of the counterfeit money and fly away to the Black Island. Once there, Tintin knocks out and gags Müller, but he is subsequently released by his employerPuschovand the other members of the counterfeit gang. Müller is ultimately taken into custody.
Dr. Müller also appears inLand of Black GoldandThe Red Sea Sharks. In both, he helps the rebelBab El Ehrin 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 anArab. InThe Red Sea Sharks, he had changed his name to Mull Pasha (French:Müll Pacha) (shown in the pile of newspaper clippings near the end of the adventure), a clear reference toGlubb Pasha, the idiosyncratic British commander of the Arab legion who operated out ofJordanduring the Second World War. Once Bab el Ehr is overthrown, Dr. Müller is also captured.
Dr. Müller is based on Dr.Georg Bell[de], aNazicounterfeiter of Scottish descent whom Hergé had learnt about from the February 1934 issue ofLe Crapouillot, a source of information for him at the time. Dr. Bell was linked to the Nazi party at its highest levels and was involved in a plot to destabilise Soviet Russia through counterfeiting Russian roubles.
Müsstler is the unseen powerful despot inKing Ottokar's Sceptre; aSyldavianpolitical agitator and leader of the "Iron Guard", cover for the ZZRK (Syldavian Central Revolutionary Committee). He plots the deposition of the Syldavian king and the annexation of the country byBorduria.
Hergé arrived at the character's name by combining the surnames of Italy'sNational FascistleaderBenito MussoliniandNazileaderAdolf Hitler. Müsstler's group, the Iron Guard, is named after aRomanian fascist group.Bordurian officers wear uniforms based on those of the GermanSS.Literary criticJean-Marie ApostolidèsofStanford Universityasserted that the inclusion of the Iron Guard evoked ColonelFrançois de La Rocque'sCroix-de-Feu,noting that the figure of Müsstler was "the Evil One without a face".
Omar Ben Salaad is a wealthyArabmerchant based in the fictional port city of Bagghar inFrench Morocco, who appears inThe Crab with the Golden Claws. A shopkeeper claims he is the wealthiest man in Bagghar. He is seen to own a palace with servants, horses, cars, huge amounts of land, and a plane.
Tintin, however, discovers him to be behind anopiumtrafficking ring, which uses tins of crab to smuggle the drug. When Tintin was captured early in the adventure, 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. 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.
Omar Ben Salaad's city Bagghar sounds likebagarre, the French word for "fight" or "brawl".
"Omar" is a commonArabicname, but Omar Salaad also sounds likehomard salade("lobster salad").
Omar Ben Salaad is portrayed byGad Elmalehin the motion capture filmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn; however, in the film he has no part in any conspiracy, merely owning a palace at whichBianca Castafioreperforms.
Pablo is a native ofSan Theodorosand lives in the capital Los Dopicos. His first appearance is inThe Broken Ear, in which oil oligarchMr. Tricklerhires him 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. In return for Tintin's mercy, Pablo assembles a gang of men, breaks into the prison, and frees Tintin and Snowy.  In the 1935 serialised version, Pablo's full name was given as Juan Paolino, the Terror of Los Dopicos and bestshooterin the country.
Pablo returned inTintin 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.
(French:Alonzo Perez et Ramon Bada)
Alonso Pérez and Ramón Bada are the chief antagonists inThe Broken Ear. They discover that a diamond is being concealed in a Native South Americanfetishand do anything to possess it. Pérez, an engineer, is the leader of the two. Bada, the follower, is aknife thrower, and uses more Spanish in his speech than Pérez. The two villains and Tintin follow the artifact through the Republic ofSan Theodoros, with all three being drafted into the Republic's army during the Gran Chapo War with Nuevo Rico over oil rights. While fighting with Tintin in hand-to-hand combat on an ocean liner, Ramón and Alonso fall into the sea, clutching each other's throats as each man believes he is strangling Tintin, and drown. They are last seen being taken toHellby smiling winged demons.
(French:Wronzoff)
Puschov is leader of the international gang of banknote counterfeiters inThe Black Island, handler ofRankothe gorilla and superior toDr. Müller. He is a cunning and deceptive figure, framing Tintin for the assault on the train, tricking Tintin when he "returns from the dead" (he falls on his knees and begs the "ghost" for mercy, only to trip him and acquire his gun). He wields Ranko against his pursuers. He is handcuffed by Tintin, but he manages to escape and release the other members of the counterfeit gang. He and his allies are ultimately taken into custody.
Ranko is a gorilla who is used byPuschov, employer ofDr. Müller, to frighten inquisitive intruders away fromThe Black Island, where forgers are printing counterfeit banknotes off the Scottish coast. At first, Ranko seems very fierce and bloodthirsty, but he is easily controlled by Snowy's barking, which terrifies him. He develops an affection for Tintin after receiving first aid from him for a broken arm. After the events ofThe Black Island, a newspaper clipping reports Ranko will live in a Glasgow zoo.
Rascar Capac is theIncanmummyinThe Seven Crystal Balls. He is an ancient Incan monarch dug up by theSanders-Hardiman expedition members.Professor Tarragondisplays the mummy in his home. Whenlightningstrikes into the chimney, it sends afireballhurtling through the living room and into Rascar Capac, vaporizing him. That night, Tintin, Captain Haddock, andProfessor Calculusall have the same nightmare: Rascar Capac climbs into the room carrying acrystal balland smashes it onto the floor. The mummy is not seen again.
(French:Rackham le Rouge)
Red Rackham is the pirate who attacks theUnicorn, the ship captained bySir Francis Haddock(Captain Haddock's ancestor). 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 theUnicornand 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, Haddock frees himself and they engage insingle combatusing cutlasses. Rackham is killed in the duel and Sir Francis manages to destroy theUnicornand escape.
The character Red Rackham was based on the 17th century buccaneersJohn "Calico Jack" Rackham,Blackbeard, andMontbars the Exterminator.
In themotion capturefilmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, it is revealed that Red Rackham is the ancestor ofIvan Ivanovitch Sakharine. Red Rackham is portrayed byDaniel Craig(who also portrays Sakharine).
Bobby Smiles is a Chicago crime boss whose rival isAl Capone(Tintin in America). He begins by offering Tintin a salary to join him against his rival. After Tintin refuses, Smiles kidnaps him and orders his gangsters to drop him intoLake Michigan, where Tintin outwits them. Smiles flees to the fictional Redskin City, where he manages to convince the Native Americans to turn against Tintin. He is eventually arrested, delivered to Chicago police headquarters, and brought to justice.
In the animated series, Smiles works for Capone, rather than against him.
(French:Les Sondonésiens)
The Sondonesians are the fictional Southeast Asian people who appear inFlight 714 to Sydney. The name sounds similar to "Indonesians" and may also refer to the IndonesianSunda Islands.
Rastapopouloshires the Sondonesians as mercenaries to collaborate in his scheme to steal the fortune ofLaszlo 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'junksso that they will be eliminated.
WhenAllancorners 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" areextraterrestrialswho have been visiting the island for years, and a landing of theirs had occurred just the previous night, as signified by strange lights in the sky that frightened the Sondonesians. When the main characters meetMik Kanrokitoff, he explains that he has hypnotised 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 ulek(ground chili sauce with shrimp paste).
Spalding appears inFlight 714 to Sydney; he is the British secretary for millionaireLaszlo Carreidasand is one of thehijackersof that flight. Captain Haddock mistakes him for Carreidas when they first meet.Rastapopoulosplanned to eliminate him and the other conspirators. He is finally seen being abducted by the aliens and brought to an unknown fate.
In an interview with theSunday Timesin 1968, Hergé is quoted as saying that Spalding was "a British public school man, obviously the black sheep of his family". Spalding has a formal manner, stiff upper lip, and fashionable clothes.
Colonel Sponsz is themonocle-wearing military official and Chief of Police of theBorduriancapital Szohôd, as well as head of the ZEP Secret Police, which operates on behalf of the country's dictatorMarshal Kûrvi-Tasch. He first appears inThe Calculus Affair; he is the mastermind behind the kidnapping ofProfessor Calculusby ZEP to force Calculus to use his research on ultrasonic waves to create aweapon of mass destruction. He also arranges for Tintin and Captain Haddock, who are attempting to rescue Calculus, to be shadowed by ZEP agentsKrônik 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 hearBianca Castafioresing. 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 neighbouringSyldavia, and home.
Sponsz reappears inTintin and the Picaros. In this adventure, he has been assigned by Marshal Kûrvi-Tasch as a technical adviser toGeneral Tapioca, the new ruler ofSan Theodoros, and is tasked with reorganising the Secret Police there. In San Theodoros, he takes the Spanish spelling of his name, Esponja, and grows a beard. 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 arrestsThomson and Thompsonas well. Humiliated by Tintin inThe Calculus Affair, Colonel Sponsz aims for the entrapment and capture of Tintin and Captain Haddock, whom he knows will come to the rescue of Castafiore. He then usesPablo, Tintin's ally inThe Broken Earbut now adouble agentfor Tapioca in the camp ofGeneral Alcazarand thePicaros, to set up a second trap for Tintin, Haddock, Calculus, andGeneral Alcazar. Sponsz appears again in the end of the adventure, as he is captured by the Picaros along with General Tapioca and is exiled and sent back to Borduria as punishment for his crimes.
Hergé used his own brother, Paul Remi, as the model for Sponsz, although he was also influenced by the image of theAustrian AmericanfilmmakerErich von Stroheim.
Mr. and Mrs. Snowball are members of the secret Kih-Oskh organization, a gang of international opium-smugglers inCigars of the Pharaoh. They wear hooded garments and meet in a secret hiding-place of the organization. During the evening-party at the Major'scountry house, Mrs. Snowball faints, thinking she saw a ghost. But it is actuallySophocles Sarcophagus, wrapped in a white sheet. They are tied up, knocked unconscious, unmasked, and turned over to the authorities by the end of the adventure.
General Tapioca is the arch-rival ofGeneral Alcazar. Tapioca and Alcazar are both generals in their armies in thebanana republicofSan TheodorosduringThe Broken Ear.He and Alcazar depose each other and assumedictatorialleadership of the country with comedic frequency.
InThe Seven Crystal Balls, Tapioca has exiled Alcazar from San Theodoros, taking his role as the dictator of the country. ByThe Red Sea Sharks,Dawsonis selling planes to Tapioca and to Alcazar. At the end of the adventure, a newspaper clipping reports that Alcazar has again ousted Tapioca.
InTintin and the Picaros, Tapioca appears in person for the first time. He is now being helped byColonel SponszofBorduria, an old foe of Tintin and Captain Haddock, who was assigned byMarshal Kûrvi-Taschto San Theodoros and serve as Tapioca's technical adviser. General Tapioca's regime is overthrown by Alcazar with the help of Tintin and Captain Haddock. Although Tapioca approves of Alcazar's plan to execute him, he and Alcazar both submit to Tintin's petition to spare Tapioca and exile him to Borduria.
Allan Thompson, commonly Allan, is a British-American criminalhenchmanand merchant seaman,often involved in smuggling and other criminal activities. His complete name is Allan Thompson in the original French, but English translations leave out his surname to avoid confusion with the detectivesThomson and Thompson.
Originally, Allan was the treacherousfirst mateof Captain Haddock inThe Crab with the Golden Claws, keeping him drunk and running the ship to smuggle opium, Allan takes orders fromOmar Ben Salaad. He appears retroactively when Hergé redrew the earlier adventureCigars of the Pharaoh, as he was not in the original.The following year, Hergé featured him inThe Red Sea Sharksin league withRastapopoulos, where his ship is used in slave trading. InFlight 714 to Sydney, he is Rastapopoulos' main accomplice. He is shown savagely beaten after escaping theSondonesians, causing him to suffer a loss of his teeth (the original French version specifies that he lost his dentures, suggesting that he had no real teeth to begin with). He escapes a volcanic eruption and flees in a rubber raft with the other criminals, but he and his accomplices are hypnotised and compelled to board a spaceship, whisking them away to an unknown fate.
Also, he neither appeared inTintin and Alph-Art, nor was he supposed to appear, but in Rodier's version ofTintin and Alph-Art, Allan quit his life as a mariner and became a mailman in the mainland United States. At some point, Rastapopoulos attempted to reach out to Allan and offer him a job, but Allan refused to return to the criminal empire. In another completed version of that unfinished comic by a writer using the pseudonym Ramó Nash, Allan is again portrayed as an associate of Rastapopoulos.
Allan is portrayed byDaniel Maysin the motion capture filmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
(French:Chicklet)
Mr. R.W. Trickler is an unscrupulous American businessman inThe Broken Earwho represents General American Oil in the South American republic ofSan 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 associateBasil Bazarovto both countries.
Trickler tries unsuccessfully to bribe Tintin into convincingGeneral Alcazarto 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. At the end of the adventure, it turns out the Gran Chapo region has no trace of oil.
He appears anonymously inThe Calculus Affair(page 47), staying in hotel Zsnorr; presumably he is inarms traffic.
In the unfinished adventureTintin and Alph-Art, Haddock and Tintin visitBianca Castafioreat an island villa. There they meet a number of guests, including Mr. Trickler; "Director of an important oil company", Castafiore says.
(French:Abdallah)
Abdullah is the spoiled, mischievous young prince of the fictionalArabianstate ofKhemed, whose father isBen Kalish Ezab, theEmir. He first appears inLand of Black Gold, then inThe Red Sea Sharkswhen the Emir entrusts his son to Tintin's care. Prince Abdullah is based on the young KingFaisal II of Iraq.
Abdullah is a serial practical joker whose favourite victim is the short-temperedCaptain Haddock(whom he persistently misnames as "Blistering Barnacles"). He is doted upon by his father. Abdullah has a tendency to dislike people and promise punishments from his father to everyone who annoys him, even as he is playing pranks on them. Despite his continued persecution of Haddock, he also becomes extremely fond of the Captain in his own way, finding the latter's tantrums and general behaviour hilarious.
(French:Général Alcazar)
General Alcazar is a friend of Tintin and is the occasional dictator of the fictionalbanana republicofSan Theodoros. He is involved in a never-ending struggle for power with his arch-rivalGeneral Tapioca.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 inThe Broken Ear, where he makes Tintin his aide-de-camp, before ordering Tintin's arrest after being persuaded by Mr.Trickler.By the time ofThe Seven Crystal Balls, Alcazar has lost power, becoming a cabaret act in Europe: a skilled knife thrower under the stage name Ramón Zarate. InThe Red Sea Sharks, Alcazar is discovered to be buying weapons fromDawsonin an illegal arms deal. Finally, inTintin and the Picaros, Alcazar has returned to his country and is finding it difficult to lead thePicaroson a guerrilla operation in the tropical forest while 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 friends: Alcazar drives a tourist bus through the carnival, infiltrates the palace, confronts Tapioca, and carries out a coup d'état. Alcazar is once again in charge of San Theodoros, but it is suggested his rule is no different from Tapioca's.
Peggy Alcazar is the wife ofGeneral AlcazarinTintin and the Picaros. Appearing first in hair curlers and later with a high ponytail, she dominates General Alcazar and makes him do the housework.
(French:Professeur Nestor Halambique)
Professor Hector Alembick is asigillographer: an expert onsealsused to authenticate state documents. He appears as a bespectacled, chain-smoking academic inKing Ottokar's Sceptrewhen Tintin meets him when returning a briefcase the professor had left on a park bench. Professor Alembick tells Tintin of his desire to visitSyldaviato research an ancient seal belonging to the Syldavian monarch King Ottokar IV. Tintin offers to be 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, such as no longer requiring cigarettes or eyeglasses, lead Tintin to suspect that something is amiss. At the end of the adventure, Tintin discovers that Professor Hector Alembick had indeed been kidnapped and impersonated by his twin brother Alfred.
Professor Alembick's name is a pun onalembic, an alchemicalstill.
The Arumbayas are an indigenous people living in the South Americanrainforestalong the fictional river Coliflor. They first appear inThe Broken Earwhere, investigating the theft of an Arumbayafetishwith a broken ear, Tintin and Snowy venture into theSan Theodorosjungle. The British explorerRidgewelllives with them. Despite a reputation for ferocity, the Arumbayas prove to be relatively civil when Tintin encounters them. They casually explain that their bad reputation may be due to the actions of their neighbours, the Rumbabas, who behead anyone who passes their way. The Arumbayas also appear inTintin and the Picaros.
Mr. Baxter is the director general of the Sprodj Atomic Research Centre, appearing inDestination MoonandExplorers on the Moon. He is humble, refusing to go to the Moon in Captain Haddock's place when it is offered to him, and he works well withProfessor Calculus, whom he supports completely. He 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.
Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab is theemirof the fictionalArabianstate ofKhemed. His son is the spoiled princeAbdullah. After first appearing inLand of Black Gold, the Emir reappears inThe Red Sea Sharkswhen he has been temporarily overthrown by his rival,SheikhBab El Ehr. Ben Kalish Ezab then appears inTintin and Alph-Art, announcing during a television interview that he will build a museum of art in Wadesdah.
Ben Kalish Ezab is depicted as kind and jovial to his friends and vicious and cruel to his enemies. On one occasion,Dr. Müllerattempted suicide rather than be handed over to him. More than anything else, he dotes on his son Abdullah.
Kalish Ezab is a wordplay; in Brussels dialect,kalisjensapmeans "liquorice juice".
(French:Van Damme)
Bill, a ship's cook, is the cook on board theAuroraduringThe Shooting Star. He then returned as cook on board theSiriusduringRed Rackham's Treasureand was the first character seen in that adventure, meeting a friend at a pub before sailing. His indiscreet talk of treasure 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 andProfessor Calculus, the former who stole a chicken and the latter who stole a box of biscuits.
Blessed Lightning is aTibetanBuddhist monkwith psychic powers. He occasionally goes into a trance, floats into the air, and is able to see events from the future. InTintin in Tibet, he foresees Snowy's journey to bring the monks a distress message from Tintin, leading to Tintin's rescue.
(French:Isidore Boullu)
Mr. Arthur Bolt is astonemasonwho appears inThe Castafiore Emerald, hired by Captain Haddock to fix the broken step inMarlinspike Hall, but who repeatedly fails to arrive and instead offers a continuous sequence of excuses. Later, Mr. Bolt is one of the people who send the Captain a telegram when his engagement to marryBianca Castafioreis erroneously announced. He is also a member of the band that plays outside Marlinspike as part of the "celebrations". At the end of the adventure, Mr. Bolt finally arrives to fix the broken step, but it is immediately broken again. By the time ofTintin and the Picaros, Mr. Bolt appears to have finally fixed the step.
Laszlo Carreidas, a wealthy aircraft manufacturertycoon, becomes embroiled in the adventureFlight 714 to Sydney. While Tintin and his friends are travelling in Indonesia on their way to Sydney, Captain Haddock mistakes Carreidas sitting in theJakartaairport for atramp. Meanwhile, the criminal mastermindRastapopouloskidnaps Carreidas to take his Swiss fortune. He is drugged byDr. Krollspellto reveal his Swiss bank account number, rescued then bound by Tintin and Captain Haddock and marched as a hostage, and hypnotised byMik Kanrokitoffto think that he still wears his hat. Kanrokitoff hypnotises him again and leaves him with the others in the motorboat, and later, Carreidas is on the flight to Sydney with Tintin and his friends.
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 ofBattleshipswith the help of closed-circuit television. An aircraft industrialist, Laszlo Carreidas naturally travels in a prototypesupersonic business jet, theCarreidas 160. Despite the caution he appears to take with his money, refusing to pay any ransom and keeping 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, and appearing more concerned about the loss of a rare hat ("a pre-warBross & Clackwell") than the loss of his prototype aeroplane.
Carreidas' name is a pun:carré d'asmeans "four aces" in French. Accordingly, the logo on the tail of his business jet consists of four aces. Hergé based Carreidas onMarcel 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).
Carreidas is depicted in some sketches of the unfinishedTintin and Alph-Art, in which he is seen at the inauguration ofRamó Nash's art exposition.
Captain Chester, an old friend of Captain Haddock, is a gruff merchant skipper with red hair and a bushy red moustache. He first appears inThe Shooting Starin 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 theSirius, 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 theSiriusto Haddock when he and Tintin set off to findRed Rackham's Treasure. Chester is briefly mentioned inThe Seven Crystal Balls—Tintin and Haddock attempt to visit him while he is docked at a port—but he departs before they arrive. He is one of the people to send Haddock a telegram inThe Castafiore Emerald.
Coco is aCongoleseboy who is Tintin's assistant inTintin in the Congo. He speaks in an old-fashioned pidgin dialect. Fiercely loyal, he is the one person whom Tintin can fully rely on during his travels there.
(French:Boucherie Sanzot)
Cutts the butcher runs the local butcher's shop whose phone number of 431 is frequently mistaken for 421 toMarlinspike 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 inThe Calculus Affairby offeringProfessor Calculusa lift to the village just in time to save him from aBorduriankidnapping 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 andBianca Castafioreon their "engagement" inThe Castafiore Emerald. He had one last reference at the start ofTintin and Alph-Art, where a call for him was made.
In the original French, the name of the butcher's shopBoucherie Sanzotis a pun. Sanzot sounds likesans os, which means "without bones". The English translation uses Cutts to make a different pun.Cutts also appeared in a French TV ad for cooking oil with Professor Calculus in 1979.
Lieutenant Delcourt is a French officer of theMéharistes(desert camel corps), who appears inThe Crab with the Golden Claws. He is in command of the outpost of Afghar, in the Sahara desert. He assists Tintin and Captain Haddock on their way to find the missing freighterKaraboudjan.
(French:Jean-Loup de la Battellerie et Walter Rizotto)
Christopher Willoughby-Drupe and Marco Rizotto are a writer and photographer working for the magazineParis Flash. They first appear inThe Castafiore Emeraldwhere, to the fury of Captain Haddock and the amusement ofBianca Castafiore, they write a sensational article for their magazine announcing that the Captain and the Diva are engaged. They later appear briefly inTintin and the Picaros. They make acameo appearancein the redrawn version ofThe 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 (page 61).
Hergé created the pair after being interviewed forParis Matchand finding the resulting piece dubious.
Professor Euclide is an absent-minded professor appearing inThe Broken Earwho 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.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 forProfessor Calculus.
Senhor Oliveira da Figueira (or Oliveira de Figueira) is the friendly Portuguese salesman who can sell even the most trivial of items. He and Tintin first meet inCigars of the Pharaoh.Tintin and Snowy have been cast adrift in theRed Seawhen they are picked up by adhow; Figueira is a passenger. He quickly talks Tintin into buying a variety of superfluous objects. He later appears inLand of Black Gold, where he plays a valuable role in helping Tintin infiltrateDr. Müller's headquarters, taking Tintin there disguised as his nephew while keeping the guards distracted with an elaborate story. InThe Red Sea Sharks, he hides Tintin and Captain Haddock in his house so they can speak to the Emir. He gets a brief mention inThe Castafiore Emerald, when he sends good wishes to Captain Haddock following news claiming that he andBianca Castafioreare engaged.
OliveiradeFigueira is the form used by Hergé in the later appearances of this character. He is named OliveiradaFigueira (lit. "Olive-tree of the Fig-tree") in his initial appearances. ForThe Red Sea SharksHergé changed his name to Oliveira de Figueira. (Both spellings are correct in Portuguese: "de" means "of", while "da" means "of the".)
(French:Mme Pinson)
Mrs. Finch is Tintin's landlady at26 Labrador Road[fr], where Tintin lived before joining Captain Haddock atMarlinspike Hall. A simple soul, she was badly frightened whenBunji Kurakiof the Yokohama police force was kidnapped from the street outside Tintin's flat duringThe Crab with the Golden Claws.
The address 26 Labrador Road (French:26, rue du Labrador) is also the real-life address of theMusée Hergé.
Henri Fourcart is director of Fourcart Gallery that hosts the Alph-Art exhibition of artistRamó NashinTintin and Alph-Art. When he is introduced to Captain Haddock, he recognises him as the friend of the famous Tintin and requests to meet him. He is killed in a car accident under suspicious circumstances before the meeting can take place.
The Grand Abbot is head of an order ofTibetanBuddhist monksinTintin in Tibet, who rescues Tintin and Captain Haddock from the mountains after they succumb to an avalanche. At first discouraging Tintin from his quest, he later presents Tintin with akhatascarf in honour of the bravery he has shown for his friendChang Chong-Chen.
(French:Chevalier François de Hadoque)
Sir Francis Haddock is an ancestor of Captain Haddock. He is aknightand aShip-of-the-Line Captainin theRoyal Navy, commanding theUnicornunder theUnion Jackin 1676. In the original French version, he is Chevalier François de Hadoque of theFrench Royal Navy, commanding laLicornefor KingLouis XIV. He was rewarded by the king with the estate ofMarlinspike Hall(Moulinsart) in 1685. Sir Francis was forced toscuttletheUnicornwhen it was taken by pirate captainRed Rackham. After theUnicornsank, Sir Francis lived for two years among the natives of the nearby tropical island. Upon returning home, Sir Francis concealed a treasure stolen from Red Rackham in the cellars of Marlinspike Hall, hiding clues to its location in three model ships of theUnicornthat he gave to his three sons.
He is mentioned obliquely inFlight 714 to Sydneyby the Captain, who says "one of my ancestors went in for naval warfare."
There are hints that Sir Francis Haddock is an illegitimate son of theFrench 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 kingLeopold II.
Sir Francis Haddock is portrayed byAndy Serkis(who also portrays Captain Haddock) in themotion capturefilmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
This character may have been inspired by Admiral SirRichard Haddock.
Irma is the maid ofBianca Castafiore. Irma first appears inThe Calculus Affairbefore appearing inThe 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: whenThomson and Thompsonaccuse Irma of stealing Castafiore's emerald, she becomes angry and assaults them with a walking stick. InTintin and the Picaros, she is arrested and put in jail along with Castafiore andIgor Wagner. She also appears inTintin and Alph-Artas a background character and is the person who informs Castafiore of Tintin and Captain Haddock's arrival toEndaddine Akass's villa.
(French:Mik Ezdanitoff)
Mik Kanrokitoff (Russian: Михаил КанрокитовMikhail Kanrokitov) is a Russian writer for the magazineSpace Week. His name is Ezdanitoff in the original version, another example of Hergé's Bruxellois wordplay;is dat niet tofinDutchmeans "isn't that nice".
His fortuitous appearance inFlight 714 to Sydneyhelps Tintin, Captain Haddock, and their friends escape from an Indonesian island afterRastapopoulosand his cohorts set off an explosive charge, stirring up the island's volcano. Kanrokitoff wears a small antenna and transmitter that enables him to communicatetelepathicallywith other people and even subject them to mass-hypnosis. He maintains close touch with an unseen race ofextraterrestrialsand it is their spaceship that enables Tintin and the others to escape the island.
Although he was never seen by Tintin and his friends after this, Kanrokitoff is depicted in some sketches of the unfinishedTintin and Alph-Art, in which he is at the inauguration ofRamó Nash's art exposition, apparently recognizing Tintin.
This character was inspired by French ufologistJacques Bergier.
Bunji Kuraki is aJapanesedetective of the Yokohama police force appearing inThe 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.
(French:Maharadjah de Rawhajpoutalah)
TheMaharajaof Gaipajama is the monarch of a fictional princely state of India. He is kind and immediately trusting of Tintin, whom he meets inCigars of the Pharaoh. The Maharaja explains that his family have long been fighting a criminalopium-smuggling gang.The Blue Lotusopens in the Maharaja's palace, where Tintin has been his guest.
Gaipajama is a nonsensical mix of twoHindiwords: Gai (cow) andpajama.The original French name is Rawajpoutalah.
(French:Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli dé Milano)
Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano is the expert Italian driver of aLancia AureliaGT inThe Calculus Affair. He eagerly helps Tintin and Captain Haddock pursueSyldavianagents who kidnappedProfessor Calculusin the adventure's car chase. While speeding through a built-up area in the FrenchHaute Savoieon market day, he was stopped by a gendarme who wanted to record his name. The flabbergasted gendarme meekly let him off with "Don't do it again." When they finally stopped the Syldavian car and did not find Calculus inside, Cartoffoli 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 the best in the world.
King Muskar XII is the monarch ofSyldavia. He appears inKing Ottokar's Sceptre. A keen motorist who drives his own car and keeps his own gun for protection, he is married to an unnamedqueen consort. Because the Crown's sceptre once saved the life of King Ottokar IV in 1360, every year onSaint Vladimir's Day, 15 July, the current king must show the people that he has the sceptre; otherwise he will be forced toabdicate.
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-campBoris (Colonel Jorgen), were ready to stop him. Upon hearing of the plot, the monarch was fair-minded enough to investigate 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 enemyBorduria. Muskar then orders his ministers and generals to prevent the invasion. The revolutionary party in the adventure, called the Iron Guard, may have been inspired by the Fascist paramilitary groups widespread in Europebetween the wars. The abdication crisis was very similar to that of theAnschlussin 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 were inspired by various Eastern European andBalkanstates.Many of these states were monarchies ruled byCarol IIof Romania,Zog Iof Albania,Alexander I of Yugoslavia, andBoris III of Bulgaria. The king's costumes may have been inspired by the portrait of Spanish KingAlfonso XIIIand the Romanian princeAlexandru Ioan Cuza. The king bears a striking resemblance toZog of Albania, a man who also carried a gun and confronted violent conspiracies. 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 post-war stories set in Syldavia: he does not appear at the launching of the Moon rocket inDestination Moonand Tintin does not call on him for help when his friendProfessor Calculusis kidnapped by Bordurian and later Syldavian agents inThe Calculus Affair. The post-war Syldavia may no longer be a monarchy; the laterAdventuresset after World War II come at a time when the Balkan royal models for the fictional Syldavia had been overthrown and their rulers exiled.
Ramó Nash is an artist and the creator of Alph-Art that Captain Haddock purchases at theFourcartGallery inTintin and Alph-Art. Tintin learns that Nash is under the control ofEndaddine Akassto fabricate paintings of the masters in an art forgery ring.
In the unofficial completed version ofTintin and Alph-Artby Yves Rodier, Nash is of Jamaican nationality. He saves the lives of Tintin and Captain Haddock by defeating Akass.
(French:Docteur Rotule)
Dr. Patella is a ginger beardedosteopathicdoctor who appears briefly inDestination MoonandExplorers on the Moon. His modelskeletonis arrested byThomson 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 toBianca Castafiorewas announced inThe Castafiore Emerald.
In 2000, on one episode of the French-language version ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire?, 73 percent of the voting audience correctly identified Dr. Patella (French:Docteur Rotule) as the doctor who treated Captain Haddock inExplorers 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 Dr. 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 readTintinin their youth.
The name Patella (and Rotule) has a medical origin. It means "kneecap".
SheikhPatrash Pasha is anArabsheikh appearing inCigars of the Pharaohand a big fan ofThe 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 anAdventures of Tintinbook that Pasha owns. The book title shown to Tintin has changed over the years; it was originallyTintin in America, it becameTintin in the Congoat one point, and eventually settled onDestination Moon—the most recently published title at the time but, confusingly, takes place after the events inCigars of the Pharaoh.InThe Red Sea Sharks, when EmirBen Kalish Ezabwas overthrown byBab El Ehr, the Emir temporarily took refuge with Patrash Pasha's tribesmen, who remained loyal.
Professor Philippulus, or Philippulus the Prophet as he calls himself, is anastronomerwho appears inThe 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 while claiming to be aprophettasked with announcing the end of the world. The madman also decides that Tintin is a spawn of theDevilafter he tried to calm him, and takes to harassing him at his home. Philippulus later escapes amental asylumand makes it to the expedition shipAurora, 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 amegaphoneto shout supposedly heavenly instructions for him; Philippulus relents and is taken back to the asylum.
Philippulus represents the dilemmas some face over religious belief and scientific research. In his case, the conflict took a toll on his mind when theend of the worldappeared to be imminent.
(French:Professeur Hippolyte Calys)
Professor Decimus Phostle is an astronomer,observatorydirector, and expedition leader inThe Shooting Star. Tintin consults him about a large bright star he saw inUrsa 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 themeteorhas 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 inDestination MoonandExplorers on the Moonas a villain, but that early draft byBernard Heuvelmanswas abandoned by Hergé.InHergé's Adventures of Tintin(made from 1957 to 1964), he was replaced byProfessor Calculus.
The Picaros are a band ofguerillasin the country ofSan Theodoros, supposedly under the control ofGeneral AlcazarinTintin and the Picaros. Alcazar has returned to his country and is attempting to command the Picaros to mount a guerrilla operation over of his arch-rivalGeneral 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.
The Prince of the Sun is the reigning monarch over a lost, Sun-worshippingIncancivilisation inPrisoners of the Sun. When Tintin's party invades his temple, the Prince plans to burn them at thestake, but change his mind when asolar eclipseoccurs just before the sacrifice. Convinced that the Sun God favours Tintin, the Prince releases him and provides him with generous gifts of gold and jewels. In return, Tintin and his friends promise never to reveal the location of the Temple of the Sun.
Ridgewell is a British explorer who travelled into the South Americanrainforestoccupied by theArumbayas. He first appears inThe Broken Earand appears later inTintin and the Picaros.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 civilisation to the Native South Americans, such as introducing them to the game ofgolf. However, the players do not appear to have mastered it well—on one occasion hitting Tintin rather than the hole in the ground.
Ridgewell's influence on the Arumbayas resulted in him gaining an enemy in the localwitch doctor. When Ridgewell was captured by an enemy nation called the Rumbabas (Bibarosin the original version), 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, Ridgewell did not use poisoned darts.
Ridgewell is also aventriloquistand has a sense of humour, shown on occasions such as inTintin and the Picaroswhen he fired a dart into the cigar ofGeneral Alcazar. 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 explorerPercy Fawcettwho disappeared in the Amazon in 1925 under similar circumstances.
Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine lives inBrusselsand is a collector of models of ships, among which, one is theUnicorn. He appears inThe Secret of the Unicorn, in the old market. Noticing another model of theUnicorn, he and another manBarnabytry 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'sUnicornis later stolen and he suspects Sakharine of the theft. Visiting Sakharine, he discovers the otherUnicornmodel. Sakharine is later attacked by Barnaby who steals the parchment from the model ship. It is one of three parchments that lead to a treasure. TheBird brothersare 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 they werepickpocketedbyAristides Silkand recovers them.
At the end ofRed Rackham's Treasure, Mr. Sakharine can be seen attending the exhibition held atMarlinspike Hall, together with his landlady, showing off the various items recovered from the actual ship itself. He appears to have offered Captain Haddock hisUnicornmodel, which is shown in the display with the other two.
In the unfinishedTintinadventureTintin and Alph-Art, the surviving drafts of the story suggest that Haddock and Tintin notice Sakharine at a meeting hosted bymysticEndaddine Akass.
In the film adaptationThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, Sakharine is reimagined as the main antagonist. The film portrays him as the descendant of the pirateRed Rackham, seeking vengeance on behalf of his ancestor againstSir Francis Haddock, who killed Rackham. Sakharine is portrayed byDaniel Craig(who also portrays Red Rackham) in the motion capture film.
(French:Les membres de l’expédition Sanders-Hardtmut)
The Sanders-Hardiman expedition members brought the IncanmummyRascar Capacback to Europe inThe Seven Crystal Balls. The members of the expedition are: Professor Sanders-Hardiman (French:Professeur Sanders-Hardtmut, head of the expedition), Professor Reedbuck (French:Professeur Laubépin), Peter Clarkson (French:Clairmont, expedition photographer), Mark Falconer (French:Marc Charlet), Professor Paul Cantonneau (who also made an appearance inThe Shooting Star), Dr. Midge (French:Docteur Hornet, director of theDarwinMuseum), andProfessor Hercules Tarragon(French:Professeur Hippolyte Bergamotte, who has the Rascar Capac mummy in his possession). They were hospitalised while 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 saveProfessor Calculus, who had been kidnapped by them. He persuaded thePrince of the Sunto 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. The Prince of the Sun releases his control over the Sanders-Hardiman expedition members and they awaken from their curse.
(French:Philémon Siclone)
Sophocles Sarcophagus is anabsent-minded professorandEgyptologistin search of the tomb of thePharaohKih-Oskh, whom Tintin meets on a cruise ship at the beginning ofCigars of the Pharaoh. He is a bit of an eccentric: rowing a boat while unaware that it is not even in the water, saying goodbye to Snowy as if he was a little boy, and bumping into things and people. He is distracted, dressesEdwardian, and has an unusual beard.He is the first of a number of eccentric scholars that would culminate in the characterProfessor Calculus.
Sophocles leads Tintin to the tomb hidden under the sand, but disappears soon after finding it. He, Tintin, and Snowy end up floating in sarcophagi in the middle of theRed Sea. Sophocles is then picked up by a ship captained byAllan, 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.
WhenCigars of the Pharaohwas 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 unexplained. Tintin finds Sophocles in the Indian jungle completely by chance in a string of absurd coincidences,painting the symbol of Kih-Oskh on palm trees. Tintin even speculates that the scholar is a member of the gang of drug smugglers that he finds himself pitted against. Sophocles is now completely mad because he has been given poison called Rajaijah, imagining himself to bePharaohRamesses II. He is eventually committed to a sanatorium in India for treatment. InThe Blue Lotus, an antidote for Rajaijah was developed, but it was never revealed whether Sarcophagus was cured.
(French:Aristide Filoselle)
Aristides Silk is apickpocketwho becomes a pivotal character inThe Secret of the Unicorn, inadvertently collecting the parchments leading toRed Rackham's Treasure. Silk claims he is not a thief, but admits he is akleptomaniac. 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 beginning of the adventure, moving away fromThomson and Thompsonjust before they discover that their wallets have been stolen. He later steals Tintin's wallet containing the parchments ofSir Francis Haddockthat hold the location of Red Rackham's treasure. He is among the invited guests at the end of that adventure in the Maritime Gallery atMarlinspike Hall.
Aristides Silk is portrayed byToby Jonesin the motion capture filmThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.
(French:Piotr Szut)
Piotr Skut, aneyepatch-wearingEstonianpilot, appears in two albums:The Red Sea SharksandFlight 714 to Sydney. InThe Red Sea Sharks, Skut flies one of theDeHavilland Mosquitoesused by SheikhBab El Ehrto seize power inKhemed, and his squad strafes the boat Tintin and Haddock are using to cross theRed Sea. Tintin shoots down Skut's plane with anassault riflein self-defence, but later rescues Skut from the waters onto a hastily assembledlife 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.Ramonaand steers theRamonato outmaneuver torpedoes while Tintin calls for help, which arrives just in time to save the boat from asubmarine's attack.
InFlight 714 to Sydney, Skut has become asupersonic business jetpilot of theCarreidas 160, the prototype jet for millionaireLaszlo Carreidas. The aircraft is thenhijackedby his own crew, who were under the pay of criminal mastermindRastapopoulos. Skut aids Tintin and Haddock in rescuing the other captured passengers and, after an adventure involvingextraterrestrials, returns with them to civilisation.
NeitherPiotr,Skut, norSzut(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, his last name is changed to entail a rudely dismissive or slightly offensive term befitting the language in question.
The Skut character is based onRemi Milk[et], an Estonian pilot who escaped to Sweden from Estonia in an Arado floatplane.
Hergéand otherStudios Hergémembers were not above drawing themselves and other characters into the action of some of theAdventuresascameo appearances. The creator admiredAlfred Hitchcockandhis frequent cameo appearances in his own films, starting with a cameo in the second frame ofThe Broken Ear(page 1, frame 2) as a museum visitor.Hergé,Edgar P. Jacobs, andJacques Van Melkebekeappear inTintin in the Congo(page 1, frame 1) as a man in a brown jacket, a dark-haired man in a grey suit, and a fair-haired man with glasses; in the same panel, also making a cameo appearance, areThomson and Thompson. Edgar P. Jacobs appears inCigars of the Pharaoh(on the cover and on page 8, frame 1) as a mummy marked "E. P. Jacobini". Hergé and Jacobs appear inKing Ottokar's Sceptre(page 38, last frame) as men to the left in red and green dress uniforms, and later in the same book, Hergé, his wifeGermaine, Jacobs, and Van Melkebeke appear (page 59, last frame) as a man on the right in a green uniform accompanying a woman in mauve, a monocled man on the right with black hair and breastplate, and a fair-haired man in evening wear on the left near the window. Hergé appears inThe Calculus Affair(page 13, last frame) as a man standing by the tent smoking, equipped with a sketch pad and pen, while Jacobs who is dressed like Tintin can be seen standing near the gate with the bicycle. "Jacobini" makes another appearance as the star of the operaFaust, appearing in costume asMephistopheles(page 53, frame 6) and then as the name on the poster in Bianca Castafiore's dressing room (page 54, frame 13). Another appearance for Van Melkebeke is inThe Secret of the Unicorn(page 2, frame 14) where he is examining a book at the market when a man calls out that his suitcase is being stolen. Edgar P. Jacobs and Jacques Van Melkebeke appear inThe Seven Crystal Balls, the first (page 16, frame 4) as a man in brown suit and black bow-tie in the middle box on the left, and the other (page 57, frame 2) as a man standing behind General Alcazar. Hergé (the back of his head) cameos as a technician inDestination Moon(page 18, frame 2 & 7) at Baxter's meeting while Jacobs turns up later as a fat technician (page 40, frame 8). The concluding frame ofThe Red Sea Sharks(page 62, last frame) sees Hergé cameo as a rain-coated adjudicator in the middle of the drive while Edgar Pierre Jacobs can be seen in bow tie and spectacles, seated beside the wireless.Studios Hergé memberBob de Moordoes not appear.
Other cameos in theAdventuresincludeAuguste Piccard, whom the characterProfessor Calculusis based on (appearing inThe Shooting Star, page 21, frame 2, as the scientist on the far right) andQuick & Flupke, characters in a separate Hergé series (appearing inTintin in the Congo, page 1, frame 1, as two boys in the group, and also appearing inThe Shooting Star, page 20, frame 8, as two boys running ahead of Thomson and Thompson, who are also making a cameo appearance in that book).
(French:Professeur Hippolyte Bergamotte)
Professor Hercules Tarragon hosts a mysterious evening for Tintin and his friends inThe Seven Crystal Balls. He was one of theSanders-Hardiman expedition membersand displays the mummy ofRascar Capacin his home. He had previously been a classmate ofProfessor Calculusand this connection enables Calculus, Tintin and Captain Haddock to visit him at home one evening while he is under heavy guard during a summer rainstorm.
Professor Tarragon is a large, strong, and ebullient character, whom Calculus formally called "Hercules". Tarragon seems fearless until afireballbursts through his chimney and vaporises the mummy; he then becomes very shaken and fears that an ancient prophecy is coming true. That same night, he is the last to be attacked by means of the crystal balls.
Tharkey is aSherpaguidewho helps Tintin locate the ill-fated Patna-Kathmandu flight carryingChang Chong-CheninTintin 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 from an avalanche and must return to the plains after partly convalescing at a Buddhist monastery while Tintin and the Captain continue their search for Chang.
Tharkey was based onAng Tharkay, aNepalesemountain climber and explorer who acted assherpaand latersirdarfor many Himalayan expeditions. He was "beyond question the outstanding sherpa of his era" and he introducedTenzing Norgayto the world of mountaineering.
Alfredo Topolino is aSwissexpert inultrasonicsresiding inNyon, Switzerland, who appears inThe Calculus Affair. An acquaintance ofProfessor Calculus, he survives first an assault on his doorstep then the destruction of his house byBordurianagents interested in Calculus's work. His manservant Boris works for the secret service of that country. His last name means "little mouse" in Italian.
Martine Vandezande is the attractive assistant ofHenri Fourcartat his art gallery inTintin and Alph-Art. She wears large glasses and is a follower ofEndaddine Akass. Tintin realizes "this girl seems sincere" after he inadvertently causes her to cry when evidence he uncovered leads him to accuse her as being part of the plot.  Due to alistening devicesomeone has hidden in her necklace, she is made an unwitting informer of Akass and his henchmen.
Igor Wagner is the quiet pianist working forBianca Castafiore. He is driving with his employer when she first encounters Tintin inKing Ottokar's Sceptre. He does not contribute to a plotline untilThe 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 practice sessions (dictated by Castafiore) and, instead of practising, is caught using a playback tape recorder. He was imprisoned along with Castafiore andIrmainTintin and the Picaros, before being freed by Tintin.
His name is made up of a humorous reference to two well-known composers:Igor StravinskyandRichard Wagner.
(French:Wang Jen-Ghié)
Wang Chen-Yee is the Chinese leader of theSons of the Dragonbrotherhood featured inThe Blue Lotus. He serves as Tintin's host during his stay in China, and later adoptsChang Chong-Chen.
Frank Wolff is the rocket engineer who assistsProfessor Calculusduring theSyldavianexpedition to the Moon (Destination MoonandExplorers 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 learnt of his formercompulsive gamblingand heavy debt. After refusing to allow the enemy agentColonel Jorgento shoot the rest of the rocket crew, his struggle for Jorgen's gun resulted in the agent's accidental death. 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 bythrowing himself into spaceleaving a note of apology. Even the cynical Captain Haddock, who had, until the last moment, still suspected Wolff of treachery, was moved by his selfless act.
Zorrino is an indigenousPeruvianboy who makes a living by selling oranges in the mountain town of Jauja. InPrisoners of the Sun, he leads Tintin and Captain Haddock on the trail of their kidnapped friendProfessor Calculusto theIncancivilisation in the mountains. At the end of the adventure, Zorrino is invited to stay in the Inca city and follow their way of life, an invitation which he accepts.