The Adventures of Tintin partially deaf physicist and a regular character alongside Tintin, Snowy, and Captain Haddock. He was introduced in "Red Rackham's Treasure", and based partially on Auguste Piccard, a Swiss physicist. The leading characters do not initially welcome his presence, but through his generous nature and his scientific ability, he develops a lasting bond with them. Eventually, by the end of "Land of Black Gold", he becomes a resident of Marlinspike Hall. Normally mild-mannered and dignified, Calculus occasionally loses his temper and acts in a spectacularly aggressive manner in response to actual or perceived insults, such as when Captain Haddock belittles his
Captain Haddock the time of their last completed and published adventure, "Tintin and the Picaros", Haddock had become such an important figure that he dominates much of the story. Captain (Archibald) Haddock's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, is hinted at being the illegitimate son of the French Sun King (Louis XIV), a possible reference to Hergé's own family history— Hergé liked to believe that his father was the illegitimate son of the Belgian king Leopold II. As Hergé was considering names for his new character, he asked his wife, Germaine, what she had cooked for dinner. She told him, “a sad English fish—haddock.”