Supporting Characters in the Spotlight

All of them are passing figures who, for a few pages, push Tintin into the background and steal a few panels for themselves. This bundle of energy that is Tintin must then step aside and watch things unfold. Let’s take a closer look at those who, without warning, steal the spotlight!

Sometimes, knowledge takes the lead. In The Shooting Star, Professor Phostle heads the scientific expedition sent to study the meteorite that has fallen in the Arctic. Behind his reputation as a rigorous scientist lies a delightfully offbeat character. Distracted, eccentric, capable of offering caramels in the middle of a discussion about the end of the world, Phostle often seems elsewhere… yet never loses sight of what truly matters. A true heir to the whimsical scientists of early comics, he leaves Tintin puzzled (even alarmed) when faced with what appears to be nothing less than the end of the world. How can one not appreciate the good-natured young reporter, cheeks flushed, in these early adventures?

But in Tintin’s adventures, knowledge alone is not always enough. One must also act and, if possible, know how to fly. That certainly helps for a pilot. In The Crab with the Golden Claws and especially in The Red Sea Sharks, Piotr Szut first appears as a rather unsettling figure: an Estonian mercenary pilot, and one-eyed at that, hardly reassuring for someone at the controls of an aircraft.

And yet, at a crucial moment, it is he who takes contro, both literally and figuratively. Szut changes sides. Yesterday’s bandit becomes a valuable ally, then a dependable companion. Where Tintin cannot proceed without transport, Szut, though not much of a talker, keeps the adventure moving forward. He later reappears in Jakarta, piloting Laszlo Carreidas’s private jet (Flight 714 to Sydney), proving that even the most discreet supporting characters can carve out their own path.

But in some situations, neither knowledge nor action is enough. One must also know how to talk and talk well. In Cigars of the Pharaoh, Senhor Oliveira da Figueira stands out as a character apart. With his carefully styled curled moustache and prosperous figure, this exceptional salesman bursts onto the scene as if already performing.

Behind the showman lies a cunning rogue, capable of turning any situation around through sheer force of persuasion. In Land of Black Gold, where Tintin would search for a solution, Oliveira invents one on the spot, improvising with our hero, as well as with his nephew Alvaro from Portugal, and somehow, it all works perfectly! He will also cross paths with the formidable Doctor Müller… a story we shall revisit in a future article.

But sometimes, an adventure goes off track… simply because of someone’s personality. In Flight 714 to Sydney, billionaire Laszlo Carreidas appears as a walking contradiction. Head of a vast industrial empire, immensely wealthy, he nevertheless looks anything but the part. Worn hat, crumpled coat, glasses slipping down his nose, Carreidas is an obsessive miser, deeply suspicious, almost paranoid, and incapable of shaking hands for fear of germs.

Faced with him, Tintin must above all… wait. From their very first meeting at Jakarta airport, Carreidas imposes his habits: he distrusts everyone, refuses handshakes, and argues over the smallest expense.

But it is once captured that the billionaire truly reveals his singular nature. Under the effects of truth serum, he engages in a bizarre competition with Rastapopoulos to determine which of them is the worse man. Petty childhood thefts, cheating, underhanded tricks, Carreidas confesses everything with a seriousness that quickly turns absurd, even grotesque!

Meanwhile, Tintin escapes and organizes the counterattack… but almost in the background. On this remote island, it is neither the heroes nor the villains who hold our attention, but this unpredictable billionaire, capable all on his own of diverting the course of the story.

These characters sometimes appear only briefly, just a few pages, a few scenes, sometimes only a handful of lines. And yet, that is more than enough. For in Tintin’s world, supporting characters are never truly secondary.