Character information
Name(s):	Thompson and Thomson
Rank:	Detective
Hair:	Black
Nationality:	Unknown
Occupation:	Detectives
Affiliation:	Interpol Scotland Yard
Status:	Alive
Behind the scenes
Portrayed By:	Franky François André Marié Paul Frees Peter Hawkins Guy Piérauld Hubert Deschamps Paul Rieger John Stocker Dan Hennessey Simon Pegg Nick Frost
First Appearance:	Tintin in the Congo (colour)
Last Appearance:	Tintin and Alph-Art

Thomson and Thompson (French: Dupont et Dupond), also known as "The Thompson Twins," are a pair of inept Scotland Yard detectives first appearing in Cigars of the Pharaoh. Though very alike in appearance, there is controversy as to whether they are related or not. Snowy himself is seems to be inclined towards the former, he mentions offhand in Destination Moon that "This is it!...Sensational appearance of the Thomson twins!" ^[1] They are distinguishable by their moustaches. Thompson's moustache is straight while Thomson's turns up. They believe almost anything and determine upon first glance. In the episode The Land of Black Gold the detectives mistakenly take a substance called "Formula 14," believing it to be aspirin. This chemical causes their hair to grow rapidly and change color.

The Detectives in the plotEdit

Of the 19 books following the Cigars of the Pharaoh, not including the unfinished Tintin and Alph-Art and the cartooning of Tintin and the Lake of Sharks, they appear in 17. The only two books they do not appear in are Tintin in Tibet and Flight 714. Although their appearances may vary in importance depending on the album, they always add humor to the story and sometimes are involved in subplots, eventually achieving success by sheer luck or with Tintin's intervention.

WorkEdit

Members of Scotland Yard and Interpol, Thomson and Thompson lead more or less discrete and efficient investigations. They are hardly brilliant. They test the limits of discretion, dressing up in folkloric costumes in order to "blend in," which inevitably only leads to them sticking out more. They also pile up an incredible number of falls, slips and accidents. The epitome of stupidity, they followed their own footprints in the desert. Their total disorganization is also reflected in their language. They are experts in pleonasms and have to their credit sayings such as "I would say even more," "our lips are sealed," and "it is my opinion and I share it." Their motto, as mentioned, is "Mum's the word," which is immediately corrected to be "Dumb's the word." Also, Thomson always states "to be precise," and then either restates the statement his twin said or says the sentence mixed-up, such as instead of "He's given us the slip. Got away, with the handcuffs too. What a cheek," he says "To be precise, he's given us away. Slipped us the handcuffs, too. What a sneak."

CostumesEdit

Main article see: List of Thompson and Thomson's Costumes

The duo are also renown for their use of disguises in their detective work. They are usually used in an attempt to blend in with crown in foreign locations or different settings. However, the pair ends up in the most ridiculous of costumes.

NamesEdit

In the original French, their names are Dupont and Dupond. The translations for some languages​​ are listed below.

• Uys and Buys in Afrikaans
• Tik and Tak in Arabic (تيك و تاك)
• Johnson and Rohnson in Bengali
• Dupont e Dupont in Brazilian Portuguese.
• 杜邦 and 杜帮 in Chinese
• Kadlec and Tkadlec in Czech
• Dupond og Dupont in Danish

  

• Jansen and Janssen in Dutch
• Thomson and Thompson in English
• Schultze und Schulze in German
• Clodius and Claudius in Latin
• دوپونت و دوپونط in Persian
• Tajniak and Jawniak in Polish
• Дюпон и Дюпонн in Russian
• Dupont i Dupond in Catalan
• Hernández and Fernández in Spanish and Galician and Asturian
• Skapti and Skafti in Icelandic
• Johns and Jones or Parry-Williams and Williams-Parry in Welsh
• Tomson and Tompson in Serbian
• Zigue e Zague in older Portuguese editions.
• Dupond ve Dupont in Turkish
• Dupond och Dupont in Swedish
• デュポン＆デュボン in Japanese
• Dupond and Dupont in Indonesian
• Dupond og Dupont in Norwegian

Popular cultureEdit

The detectives had a brief appearance in Asterix in Belgium, in 1979, the last album of Uderzo & Goscinny together. In the cartoon, they appear dressed in traditional Belgian, and announce the arrival of Julius Caesar. It is a clear reference to the beloved characters and a tribute of the creators of Asterix to Herge, in respect to fame and honor of Belgian comics. Specifically, they appear on page 31.

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ http://www.tintinologist.org/guides/characters/t.html