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Ridgewell is a British explorer who traveled into the South American rainforest occupied by the Arumbaya Native South American nation.

History[]

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 aspects of Western civilization to the Native South Americans, such as introducing them to the game of golf. However, the players do not appear to have mastered it, one occasion hitting Tintin's ear hole (another Broken Ear) rather than the hole in the ground. Ridgewell's influence on the Arumbayas resulted in him gaining an enemy in the local witch doctor. When Ridgewell was captured by an enemy nation called the Rumbabas, the witch doctor kept this from the other Arumbayas, hoping to be rid of his rival. When one Arumbaya expressed concern for Ridgewell the witch doctor threatened to turn him and his family into frogs. But Ridgewell got away and fired a dart into the witch doctor's bottom as punishment. Fortunately, unlike the Arumbayas, the British man did not use poisoned darts. Ridgewell was also a skilled ventriloquist and had a good sense of humor, shown on occasions such as when, in Tintin and the Picaros, he fired a dart into the cigar of General Alcazar, with whom he was acquainted. In that adventure, he re-established ties with Tintin and was shown to lament changes in the behavior of the Arumbayas, namely the spread of alcoholism.

Trivia[]

  • In the 1991 TV series, he is first seen with a rufous red headband around his head. But he does not wear it in the Broken Ear story and only in Tintin and the Picaros.
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