Asterix and the Big Fight (also known as "The Battle of the Chieftains" - translated from French: Le Combat des Chefs) is a French comic book story, written by René Goscinny and illustrated by Albert Uderzo.[1] It is the seventh story in the Asterixcomic book series, and was originally published by Dargaud as a serial for Pilote magazine in 1964, before later being released as a comic album in 1966
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 Fight received positive reviews following its publication. In 2024, a trailer was released for an animated adaptation of the story, which will be screened on Netflix as a serial in 2025.
Plot summary
At the fortified garrison of Totorum in Amorica, Centurion Nebulus Nimbus, the camp's commander, expresses his frustration at being humiliated by the village of Gauls who continually resist Roman rule. His advisor, Felonius Caucus, suggests a solution to the situation by invoking an ancient Gaulish custom known as "The Big Fight" - single combat between 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 became Gallo-Romans. Ceramix balks at the idea, arguing that Vitalstatistix, 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 a menhir, causing him to suffer amnesia and insanity. 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 to Rome in 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 from amnesia that 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– Gaulish menhir delivery 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.
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 for boxerMuhammad 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 of Impedimenta made their first appearance in this story, though only in a brief scene; they were not named by the Asterix creators until a later story. The comic also features a cameo of the Marsupilami, a noted Belgian comics character.
Cultural References
In issue #260 of Pilote, Goscinny and Uderzo spoofed a small strip involving Vitalstatistix hosting a press conference announcing the story of Asterix and the Big Fight in upcoming issues. The entire conference parodied one held by French President Charles 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 the Ali shuffle.
A patient visiting Psychoanalytix parodies the posture and pose of Napoléon 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 linguist Maximilian Berlitz.
In a scene featuring the Gauls setting up an amusement park, one panel from this features a roller coaster, in which the French original had the ride called "Slavic Mountain" - a parody of the French words - French: montagnes ("mountain") and French: 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 chain W. H. Smith.
Animated Adaptation
In 2024, a teaser trailer was released for a 3D animated adaptation of Asterix and the Big Fight. The adaptation would be produced as a series, that would be aired on Netflix on April 30, 2025.[2][3][4]
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