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"Asterix, the
hero of these adventures . A shrewd, cunning little
warrior; all perilous missions are immediately entrusted
to him. Asterix gets his superhuman strength from the
magic potion brewed by the druid Getafix..."
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In the front of every Asterix
book, Asterix is described as a hero. But is he one? He certainly
doesn't look like it - he's tiny, not a muscle on him. Uderzo's
original drawings depicted him as a traditional hero type
- large and strong, but Goscinny came up with the idea of
making him an anti-hero - who relied not on muscles but intelligence.
Asterix isn't all that he is made out to be
- for many, he would not be everyone's favourite character.
He is the straight man to Obelix's comic. To really get our
head around this, let us first look at his personality, at
a first glance a description would be this... A caring, brave
warrior who likes his food at the best of times.. He is ready
to face dangers (except when the dangers are woman) and will
do anything for the liberty of his village. The fate of the
village has rested on his tiny shoulders more than once.
Nothing bad there, but could this "(except
when the dangers are woman)" be an insecurity. In Asterix
and the Actress just look at his face when his mother
brings all those ladies for tea - he just doesn't want to
be there.
Asterix is superficial, always optimistic
and happy. He isn't the one who makes us laugh at his antics.
On his own he is boring - he just doesn't act like a real
person. To me he appears overconfident, too happy, artificial.
Now I'm not knocking Asterix, he is the face
of the books, quite literally. Probably one of the best well
known in all the characters, if not the most popular.
His best moment? Standing on top of that pedestal,
with a 1st wreath in hand at the Olympic Games.
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