Thomson and Thompson

Thomson and Thompson
Thompson (left) and Thomson (right), from Cigars of the Pharaoh, by Hergé
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: Dupond et Dupont) are fictional characters in The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. They are two incompetent detectives who provide much of the comic relief throughout the series. While the two are apparently unrelated as they have different (albeit similar looking) surnames, they look like identical twins whose only discernible difference is the shape of their moustaches. They are afflicted with chronic spoonerisms, are extremely clumsy, thoroughly clueless, and usually bent on arresting the wrong character. In spite of this, they somehow get entrusted with delicate missions.

The detective with the flat, droopy walrus moustache is Thompson and introduces himself as "Thompson, with a 'P', as in psychology", "Philadelphia", or any other "P" word in which the initial "P" is combined with another letter, losing the initial "P" sound or else rendering it completely silent, while the detective with the flared, pointy moustache is Thomson, who often introduces himself as "Thomson, without a 'P', as in Venezuela."

Thomson and Thompson usually wear bowler hats and carry walking sticks, except when abroad: during these missions they insist on wearing the stereotypical costume of the country they are visiting so that they blend into the local population, but instead manage to dress in folkloric attire that actually makes them stand apart.

The detectives were in part based on Hergé's father and uncle, identical twins who wore matching bowler hats while carrying matching walking sticks.

Thomson and Thompson first appeared in a Tintin adventure in 1932, in Cigars of the Pharaoh, when they came into conflict with Tintin on board a ship where he and Snowy were enjoying a holiday cruise. When this adventure was first published they were referred to as X33 and X33bis (or X33 and X33b). Here they showed an unusually high level of cunning and efficiency, going to great lengths to rescue Tintin from the firing squad and save Snowy from sacrifice in disguises that fooled even Tintin. In this and two other early stories The Blue Lotus and The Black Island, they spent most of their time pursuing Tintin himself for crimes he had not committed, forced to follow official orders and faked evidence, the two noting in Blue Lotus that they never believed in Tintin's guilt even if they had to obey their orders.