Tintin Forums

I've got a slightly different scenario than the moon rocket falling over, this time.

What would have happened to the aircraft had Carreidas managed to keep quiet, thus enabling Tintin to subdue Spalding? (Seeing the film United93 and the passenger fightback for the first time the other day got me thinking.)

Remember, only Colombani is in the cockpit at this point. Does Skut try to re-take the controls? I believe Hans Boehm was also armed and in the cabin at this point. Could they have overpowered him?

Let's see what we can come up with.

Nice idea for a thread, Ranko.

My first thoughts, after checking the scene in question, is that Spalding has two guns, so Tintin would be doing pretty well to overpower him without anyone getting shot. And Hans (who is actually in the cockpit at this point) would come through from the cockpit with his gun at the first sound of a scuffle. (He comes through from the cockpit with his gun to assist Spalding anyway a couple of frames later, so he's obviously ready.)

All that said, on the next page when they're locked in the kitchenette, Tintin says to Skut, "A few more seconds and i'd have fixed him..." Given that Tintin isn't normally boastful, we have to assume that he really did have some plan to "fix" Spalding and then Hans without anyone getting killed.

Tintin's hiding in what looks like a toilet or cubby-hole that leads off from the short passage through to the cockpit. Maybe there's a fire extingusher in there, with which he's planning to clunk Spalding hard on the head. But would Spalding squeeze the triggers before falling unconscious, either killing someone or putting a bullet through the pressurised cabin? Would Tintin or Haddock be able to pick up Spalding's guns and plug Hans in the hand before Hans could let off a fatal shot first? It all sounds very risky, and their enforced strategy of waiting till they get a better chance to escape later on probably serves them better. So maybe Carreidas does them all a favour in the long run.

But I shall give it some more thought and see if any better theories for how Tintin could safely overpower Spalding and Hans come to mind.

Thanks, Balthazar.
I did overlook the fact that Spalding has two guns which somewhat increases the chances of a bullet through the fuselage should a struggle ensue.

Maybe Tintin did have a plan to deal with Spalding.
Remember, he was on his guard as early as the the telephone booth incident in the Kemajoran terminal building where, although not spying on Spalding, he was convinced his "distant cousin" story was a lie.
And the wink Carreidas gave to Gino also made him think that "something fishy was going on" (Although not directly related to Spalding).
His original plan may have gone astary once he realised there were guns involved.
As Spalding moves towards the cockpit at the appointed moment, Tintin follows and may have been listening at the door.
Just as Skut is fooled into leaving the cockpit, Tintin has to make his escape and hide in the locker. Listening at the door may have been a bad idea though, as it appears to be directly in Carreidas' line of sight!

Mind you, had a shot pierced the fuselage, Colombani would have had about 10 minutes or so to get them to a low enough altitude to breathe unaided, or risk losing his cargo. There is also the risk that Carreidas gets sucked out as the pressure equalises. Rastapopoulos would not have been pleased!