| Thomson and Thompson | |
|---|---|
 Thomson (left) and Thompson (right), fromThe Secret of the Unicorn, byHergé, with slightly different moustaches | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Casterman (Belgium) |
| First appearance | Cigars of the Pharaoh (1934) The Adventures of Tintin |
| Created by | Hergé |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Thomson and Thompson |
| Partnerships | List of main characters |
| Supporting character of | Tintin |
Thomson and Thompson (French:Dupont et Dupond[dypɔ̃edypɔ̃])[1] are fictional characters inThe Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonistHergé. They are twodetectives who provide much of thecomic relief throughout the series. Hergé twice calls them "brothers" in the original French-language text. They are afflicted with chronicspoonerisms, are extremely clumsy, thoroughly clueless, frequently arresting the wrong person (usually someone important). In spite of this, they somehow are entrusted with delicate missions.
The detective with the flat, drooping walrus moustache is Thompson and introduces himself as "Thompson, with a 'P', as inpsychology" (or any such word in which the "P" is silent), while the detective with the flared, pointed moustache is Thomson, who often introduces himself as "Thomson, without a 'P', as inVenezuela."
Often, when one says something, the other adds "To be precise" (Je dirais même plus), but then repeats what the first said, only twisted around.[2][3]
Thomson and Thompson usually wearbowler hats and carry walking sticks, except when abroad: during these missions they insist on wearing the stereotypicalcostume of the country they are visiting, hoping to blend into the local population, but instead manage to dress in folkloric attire that actually makes them stand out.
The detectives were in part based on Hergé's father and uncle, identical twins who wore matching bowler hats while carrying matching walking sticks.[4]
InTintin in America there are characters similar to Thomson and Thompson: two policemen who collide with each other, and an incompetent detective called Mike MacAdam.[5]
InTintin in the Congo, Thomson and Thompson make only a brief one-panel appearance (although they did not appear in the original version). Their first contribution to the plot of a story comes inCigars of the Pharaoh (originally published in 1934), where they first appear when they come into conflict with Tintin on board a ship where he and Snowy are enjoying a holiday cruise. When this adventure was first published they were referred to as X33 and X33A (X33 et X33 bis in French).[6][4] Here they show an unusually high level of cunning and efficiency, going to great lengths to rescue Tintin from the firing squad (in disguises that fool even Tintin) and saving Snowy from sacrifice. In this and two other early stories —The Blue Lotus andThe Black Island — they spend most of their time, forced to follow official orders and faked evidence, in pursuit of Tintin himself for crimes he has not committed, the two noting inBlue Lotus that they never believed in Tintin's guilt even though they had to obey their orders. Except for their codenames, they remained nameless in the early adventures. It was not untilKing Ottokar's Sceptre, published in 1938, that Tintin mentions their definitive names when introducing them to Professor Alembick at the airport.
In his 1941 playTintin in India: The Mystery of the Blue Diamond co-written withJacques Van Melkebeke, Hergé named them as "Durant and Durand", although he later renamed them as "Dupont and Dupond".[7] WhenKing Ottokar's Sceptre was serialised inEagle for British readers in 1951, the characters were referred to as "Thomson and Thompson"; these names were later adopted by translators Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner in their translation of the series into English forMethuen Publishing.[8]
While the original version ofCigars of the Pharaoh was published in 1932, the rewritten and redrawn version was issued in 1955, and was not published in English until 1971. This resulted in some chronological confusion for English-speaking readers of theTintin series, which is why the text hints that Tintin already knows the pair, and is surprised at their unfriendly behaviour; however, in the original chronological sequence, this is indeed the first time they ever meet. In addition, Hergé retroactively added them to the 1946 colour version of the secondTintin story,Tintin in the Congo, in the background as Tintin embarks for what is nowthe Democratic Republic of the Congo.[9]
Thomson and Thompson were originally only side characters but later became more important. In the re-drawings of the earlier books, especiallyThe Black Island, the detectives gained their now-traditional mannerisms.
InLand of Black Gold, the detectives mistakenly swallow some mysterious pills used toadulterate fuel, that causes them to sprout immensely long beards and hair that change colour constantly and grow at a break-neck pace. The condition wears off by the end of this adventure, but it relapses inExplorers on the Moon, causing problems whenCaptain Haddock must continuously cut their hair, repeatedly switching back to re-cut floor length hair (and mustaches and beards) which all grow back in seconds. Frustrated at this, the captain exclaims "After all this, when they ask me what did I do on the rocket, I'll reply 'Me, you say? I was the barber!'"
In the 19 books followingCigars of the Pharaoh, Thomson and Thompson appear in 17 of them, not appearing inTintin in Tibet orFlight 714 to Sydney. In some of these books their role is minor – the duo's appearance inThe Shooting Star is confined to two panels; they appear briefly only at the beginning ofThe Broken Ear (before being tricked into closing the case in the belief that the stolen object has been returned when it was actually replaced by a fake); and are imprisoned and face execution on false charges inTintin and the Picaros. During their other appearances, they serve as the official investigators into whatever crimes Tintin is currently investigating. Their final appearance was inTintin and Alph-Art.
The detectives were in part based on Hergé's father Alexis and uncle Léon, identical twins who often took walks together wearing matching bowler hats while carrying matching walking sticks.[4] Another inspiration was a picture of two mustachioed, bowler-hatted, formally dressed detectives who were featured on the cover of theLe Miroir edition of 2 March 1919. They were shown escortingEmile Cottin, who had attackedGeorges Clemenceau—one detective was handcuffed to the man while the other was holding both umbrellas.[10]
They also make a brief cameo appearance in theAsterix bookAsterix in Belgium.
They make an appearance inL'ombra che sfidò Sherlock Holmes, an Italian comic spin-off ofMartin Mystère, edited bySergio Bonelli Editore.[11][12]
The name of the pop group theThompson Twins was based on Thomson and Thompson.
The detectives are regular characters in the 1991–1992 television seriesThe Adventures of Tintin,[13] as well as the 2011 motion-capture film adaptationThe Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. In the film,Simon Pegg andNick Frost portray Thomson and Thompson.[14]
In the original French,Dupond andDupont are stereotypically prevalent surnames (akin to "Smith") and pronounced identically (IPA:[dypɔ̃]). The different letters indicate their different moustache styles: D fordroit ("straight"), T fortroussée ("turned up"). Translators of the series in some languages have tried to find names for the pair that are common, and similar or identical in pronunciation. They thus become:
In some languages, the French forms are more directly adapted, using local orthographic ambiguities:
The original Dupond and Dupont are kept inSwedish,Danish,Norwegian,Hungarian,Turkish,Finnish,Indonesian,Italian,Basque,Catalan, the Casterman edition inSpanish, and the newerPortuguese editions.
When Thomson tacks on his famous "to be precise", most of the time he doesn't add anything but simply repeats what the other just said.
the two Yankee policemen who crash into each other while chasing Tintin (TA, 8, III, 2); and Mike MacAdam, the private detective who turns out to be a braggart, a coward and an incompetent (TA, pp. 45, 46, 58).
