Review: Asterix at the Olympic Games

Asterix at the Olympic Games by René Goscinny
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Olympic games are about to set aflame in Greece. And the Romans are hard at practice; them being the only non Grecians allowed to compete. Of course, things do not go as planned as everyone's favorite Gaul village gets wind of the event. They then decide to compete in it themselves, just for kicks, since they are, as per Caeser, 'part of Rome' and technically Romans.



A technicality which leaves the Roman contingent of athletes weeping. Who can blame them? A bunch of athletes who've trained their whole lives to participate in the events, or a group of magic potion chugging Invincible Gauls. Who do you think will the golden wreath? Three guesses and the first two don't count. The whole procession of them set out for a jolly good time. God save the Romans and Greeks.

Side note, when you're a pirate and your regular vocation is being scuttled by a bunch of overpowered Gauls, you probably have a defcon level for such encounter. The sheer resignation in that face!



Asterix, Obelix, Getafix, Dogmatix, Vitalstatistix all travel to Greece and spend time sightseeing in the wonders of the jewel of the ancient world. All (but the romans) are in merry at the inevitable sweepstakes that the Olympics is going to be.

But wait, the only reason the Gauls are near invincible, is because of the druidic potion, which is technically considered artificial stimulants and hence banned. The Gauls have to content without the potion, which puts a dampener on the group. But Asterix still decides to compete, determined to win at least one laurel. Will he succeed? Or will the Romans finally get some payback?

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The main highlight of this story, other than ancient Greece, is the writers finally acknowledging how much of a Deus ex Magica, the potion is.

Captured by Romans? Drink a potion.
Surrounded by bandits? Drink a potion.
Need to build a pyramid? Drink a potion.
Face off against an army? Drink a potion.
Confronted by berserker Vikings? Drink a potion.

Even if it the basic premise of the whole series, sometimes the troupe can get old. So, it was refreshing to watch the gang try and solve their problems without the McGuffin. As one would expect, depowered Asterix's performance using his wits and cunning, is more reasonable than just taking the gold in all the events. Hoping to see more such stories in the later volumes.

For a decent story, and acknowledging their own contrivances, a cautious 4 out of 5

As always, slim pickings for the Hurricane of puns this week.
○ Gluteus Maximus
○ Gaius Veriambitius
○ Geriartix
○ Diabetes
○ Thermos
○ Kudos
○ Pugnatius


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