Asterix and the Big Fight

For the film, seeAsterix and the Big Fight (film).

Asterix and the Big Fight(also known as"The Battle of the Chieftains"- translated fromFrench:Le Combat des Chefs) is a French comic book story, written byRené Goscinnyand illustrated byAlbert Uderzo.It is the seventh story in theAsterixcomic book series,and was originally published byDargaudas a serial forPilotemagazine in 1964, before later being released as a comic album in 1966

Asterix and the Big Fight (Le Combat des Chefs)
Cover of the English edition
Date	1966
Main characters	AsterixandObelix
Series	Asterix
Creative team
Writers	René Goscinny
Artists	Albert Uderzo
Original publication
Published in	Pilotemagazine
Issues	261–302
Date of publication	1964
Language	French
Translation
Translator	Anthea BellandDerek Hockridge
Chronology
Preceded by	Asterix and Cleopatra
Followed by	Asterix in Britain

The story focuses on Asterix and Obelix attempting to get their village's druid cured of several conditions following an accident, all while their chief, Vitalstatistix, prepares to do battle with a rival chief allied to the Romans.

Asterix and the Big Fightreceived positive reviews following its publication. In 2024, a trailer was released for an animated adaptation of the story, which will be screened onNetflixas a serial in 2025.

Plot summary

At the fortified garrison of Totorum inAmorica,Centurion Nebulus Nimbus, the camp's commander, expresses his frustration at being humiliated by the village ofGaulswho continually resistRomanrule. His advisor, Felonius Caucus, suggests a solution to the situation by invoking an ancient Gaulish custom known as "The Big Fight" -single combatbetween two Gaullish chiefs, in which the loser forfeits their entire tribe to the winner. The pair travel to Linoleum to request the aid of its chief, Cassius Ceramix, who is loyal to Rome after his tribe were conquered and becameGallo-Romans.Ceramix balks at the idea, arguing thatVitalstatistix,chief of the rebels, would win with the potion of superhuman strength that his tribe uses against the Romans.

Caucus decides to ease Ceramix's concern by suggesting the Romans get rid of the village's druid,Getafix.However, Asterix and Obelix come across the effort to kidnap him, and quickly move to prevent this. But in scattering the soldiers, Obelix accidentally strikes Getafix with amenhir,causing him to sufferamnesiaandinsanity.After Ceramix is made to issue his challenge against Vitalstatistix, Nimbus sends a spy into the village to investigate Getafix's situation, and is delighted to learn he cannot make the magic potion in his condition. After several attempts to cure him, Vitalstatistix suggests to Asterix about securing the aid of the druid Psychoanalytix, who specializes in mental disorders. Brought back to the village, Psychoanalytix examines Getafix, but when he asks how his condition came to be, Obelix foolishly demonstrates on him with a menhir, causing him to suffer the same afflictions.

Unable to contend with the problem, as the two druids make crazy potions together, Asterix decides to prepare Vitalstatistix for the upcoming fight. At the same time, Nimbus oversees Ceramix's training but becomes concerned he and Linoleum will rebel against the Romans if he wins, leading Caucus to suggest they should send him toRomein chains after his victory. As the fight is about to begin, Getafix accidentally makes a potion which cures him. When Asterix is sent into the village by Vitalstatistix to find Obelix, he is relieved to find him cured, though panics when Obelix strikes him with a menhir, thinking it would cure him despite not noticing his recovery. After Getafix is found to have been unharmed by Obelix's actions, he soon brews up the magic potion for the village, suspecting a double-cross by the Romans upon hearing about the fight with Ceramix

As the potion is distributed amongst his fellow villagers, Asterix gives Vitalstatistix the good news, who defeats Ceramix with a single blow after running him ragged by evading his attacks. The Romans soon attack the Gauls rather than accept Ceramix's loss, only to be defeated with ease, forcing Nimbus to annoyingly call a retreat. After the fight, Ceramix is found to have been accidentally struck by a menhir Obelix brought with him, and now suffers fromamnesiathat leads him to become courteous. Vitalstatistix declines his right to take over Ceramix's tribe, and sends him home in honour, with Linoleum returning to its Gaulish ways. Psychoanalytix also returns to his business, where, even with amnesia, he continues to be a success despite some side effects to his treatments. For Vitalstatistix, his village holds a banquet to celebrate his victory and Getafix's recovery.

Characters

• Asterix– Gaulish warrior, and the main protagonist of the story.
• Obelix– Gaulishmenhirdelivery man and warrior, and a close friend of Asterix.
• Dogmatix– Obelix's pet dog, who is loyal to him and Asterix.
• Getafix– Gaulish druid of the village, responsible for the superhuman magic potion they use.
• Vitalstatistix– Chief of the Gaulish village.
• Nebulus Nimbus – Commander of the camp of Totorum.
• Felonius Caucus – Nimbus' advisor, who is both cunning and shrewd.
• Cassius Ceramix – Chief of the town of Linoleum. The name is a parody of Cassius Clay, the former name forboxerMuhammad Ali.In the French original, the character is known as Aplusbégalix, a play on the common maths equation "A plus B equals X".
• Psychoanalytix – Druid who specialises in treating mental disorders.

The character ofImpedimentamade their first appearance in this story, though only in a brief scene; they were not named by theAsterixcreators until a later story. The comic also features a cameo of theMarsupilami,a notedBelgian comicscharacter.

Cultural References

• In issue #260 ofPilote,Goscinny and Uderzo spoofed a small strip involving Vitalstatistix hosting a press conference announcing the story ofAsterix and the Big Fightin upcoming issues. The entire conference parodied one held by French PresidentCharles de Gaulle.
• The scenes of Vitalstatistix's fight with Ceramix features the character parodying both Muhammad Ali's boxing style, 'rope-a-dope', and his victory celebration, known as theAli shuffle.
• A patient visiting Psychoanalytix parodies the posture and pose ofNapoléon Bonaparte.
• The story features a line spoken by a Gallo-Roman stating Ceramix is "inspecting Professor Berlix's school for modern languages". The name Professor Berlix is a parody of the real-life linguistMaximilian Berlitz.
• In a scene featuring the Gauls setting up an amusement park, one panel from this features aroller coaster,in which the French original had the ride called "Slavic Mountain" - a parody of the French words -French:montagnes( "mountain" ) andFrench:russes( "Russian" ) - which combined together are the French translation of "roller coaster". In the immediate panel afterwards, a stall is set up called "W. H. Smix", which is a parody of the retail chainW. H. Smith.

Animated Adaptation

In 2024, a teaser trailer was released for a 3D animated adaptation ofAsterix and the Big Fight.The adaptation would be produced as a series, that would be aired onNetflixin 2025.

Reception

OnGoodreads,it has a score of 4.14 out of 5.

External links

• Official website
• On archive.org