Q142: Beneficial hoax

Where do we see someone who could be described as a trickster or hoaxer but not a villain per say? The hoaxer sort of help Tintin but neither finds that out.

Just album and a general description of the scene will do as an answer.

English is not my native tongue so I hope the question is correctly formulated. By the way, there is absolutely no avatars to be found in relation to this question.

Abdullah is the most obvious example of a trickster, and in "The Land of the Black Gold", his pranks come in handy during the final confrontation between Muller and Tintin - you'll recall Abdullah switches Muller's gun for one that shoots ink, preventing the villain from offing himself.

Then there's the demoted corporal in "The Broken Ear", who continually tries to blow up Alcazar, and never manages it. He's not particularly helpful to Tintin, but he might be considered a trickster character.

Carreidas in "Flight 714 to Sydney" is definitely a trickster in that he cheats continually at battleship. Not sure if he could be said to be beneficial to Tintin as such....

I'd even go so far as to say that Calculus himself takes on that role in "Picaros", with his little vial of pills that make alcohol taste horrible. Initially, Tintin doesn't know, but it comes in handy later on to get the Picaros sobered up.

Just my initial thoughts.

Very good tries Castafiole but not the one I had in mind. Tintin clearly sees what happens to Müllers face when he tries to commit suicide, so that's not it. The bomber in Broken Ear isn't very beneficial to Tintin so he's also wrong, though making him Tintin save Alcazar so the general thinks better of Tintin might be seen as beneficial. Unfortunately Carreidas is not the right guy either, nor Calculus.

I didn't believe this "weighty" problem needed a clue, but here goes:

It has to do with equipment that by mistake helps Tintin and exposes the hoaxer.

Aha! Thanks for the clues, labrador. I think the hoaxer you refer to is the weight-lifting "strongman" artiste in Tintin in America. Due to some sort of mix-up, the gangsters take his fake wooden dumbell weight and tie it to Tintin's ankles when they drop Tintin into Lake Michigan. Since this wooden prop floats, Tintin is spared a watery death. (He's then picked up by the fake police boat, and the wooden dumbell once more comes in handy, as he uses one end to bowl the crew of gangsters over.) The "strongman", however, is exposed as a fake in front of his audience, as he can't lift the genuine metal dumbell which has somehow been left in the place of his wooden one.

Absolutely right Balthazar, that was the hoaxer and the scene I was looking for. Over to you.