An unwilling Asterix and Obelix have accompanied an even more unwilling Vitalstatistix on a visit to Lutetia with his wife, Impedimenta, to see her wealthy and uppity brother, Homeopathix, who has always looked down on Vitalstatistix. Over the course of the evening, Vitalstatistix gets very drunk and, tiring of Homeopathix's snobbery, bets him that he can cook him something he's never eaten before—a stew flavoured with Julius Caesar's laurel wreath. The equally drunk Obelix declares that he and Asterix will go to Rome on the chief's behalf to get the wreath, and Homeopathix decides to take him up on his boast.
Flash forward to the present; Asterix points out to Obelix that their usual tactic of marching in and beating up every Roman they see will not work with the crack troops guarding Caesar's palace. They notice a man leaving the palace; plying him with drink, they learn he is a slave, purchased from Typhus, Caesar's personal supplier. They decide to offer themselves as merchandise to Typhus, but when the other slaves on Typhus' stand dismiss them as cut rate junk, a fight breaks out, with Asterix and Obelix triumphant. An amused patrician offers to buy the two Gauls, who assume he is Caesar's major-domo (whom Typhus has been expecting at any minute) and that they are finally on their way to Caesar's palace.
However, the patrician, Osseus Humerus, has actually bought the Gauls as slaves for his own household, which includes his wife Fibula, his daughter Tibia, and his alcoholic son Gracchus Metatarsus; they quickly earn the enmity of Humerus' own major-domo, Goldendelicius, who is determined not to let these fragile Typhus trinkets replace him. Asterix and Obelix, however, are more interested in getting Humerus to return them to Typhus to be bought by Caesar, and try everything they can to get the sack. They throw everything in the kitchen into a disgusting stew, but this only succeeds in curing Metatarsus' hangover. They march through the house in the middle of the night banging pots and pans, but they only inspire the family to have a loud, drunken party.
Fortunately for the Gauls, Humerus has business at Caesar's palace the next day; as he is too hung over from the previous night's party to go himself, he sends the delighted Gauls in his place. However, Goldendelicius, ever more paranoid about being replaced as major-domo by Typhus' museum pieces, has gone ahead of them and reported them as assassins plotting to murder Caesar; reasoning that at least they'll be in the palace at last, Asterix plays along, and they are arrested and imprisoned. That night, they break out of their cell and search the palace for the laurel wreath in secret, knocking out every guard they pass as quietly as possible. The search turns up empty, and they return to their cell with plans to continue the next night.
The next day, the guards regain consciousness and find the palace in disarray but the Gauls still in their cell; suspecting them of wizardry, the panicked Romans schedule their trial for that very day, and the lawyer Nisiprius arrives to defend Asterix and Obelix. He notes their conviction is assured, and Asterix is intrigued to learn that this will mean being thrown to the lions in front of Caesar himself. As the trial's verdict is already known, Nisiprius plans to use it as a chance to show off his oratory skills, but when the prosecutor begins to give the same speech, Nisiprius tries to have the trial postponed. The judge and prosecutor are about to agree to the request when the impatient Asterix interrupts and makes an impassioned plea to the court that their crimes - wrecking Typhus' stand, getting into Humerus' house under false pretences to get closer to Caesar to assassinate him - cannot be overlooked, and the emotionally overwhelmed court sentences them to be thrown to the lions.
On the day their sentence is to be carried out, Asterix takes a swig of magic potion on the way to the arena so that he and Obelix can grab Caesar's laurels and then fight their way out. However, the jailer reveals that Caesar is away fighting the pirates, and so Asterix and Obelix refuse to go into the arena. The animals end up devouring each other, and the enraged crowd starts a riot, during which the Gauls escape.
Sleeping rough on the streets of Rome, they are nearly attacked by a group of thieves; impressed by Obelix's strength in rebuffing their attempted theft, they decide to recruit the two Gauls into their gang, and the next night they are ordered to rob a young drunk. The drunk turns out to be Humerus' son Metatarsus, who is ecstatic to see them again. After thrashing the bandits to save Metatarsus from harm, Asterix and Obelix learn that he has been celebrating with Goldendelicius, who was made Caesar's personal slave after denouncing the Gauls as assassins, and will be holding Caesar's laurel wreath over his head during his triumphal procession after his victory over the pirates.
Metatarsus directs the Gauls to Goldendelicius in exchange for the recipe for their accidental hangover cure. Asterix and Obelix corner the still drunk Goldendelicius and force him to give them the laurel wreath in exchange for a parsley wreath. No-one notices the difference during the triumph... except perhaps for Caesar himself, who feels strangely like a piece of fish.
Back in the village, Homeopathix is finally sitting down to the stew flavoured with Caesar's laurels as Vitalstatistix enjoys his victory. However, the unimpressed Homeopathix begins criticising the cut of meat used in the stew, and the chief's anger finally boils over as he punches his brother-in-law sky high. The dazed Homeopathix lands in front of the bound Cacofonix, who wonders if Homeopathix was also punished for trying to sing, while the concluding narration notes that the Gauls' hangover cure led to a surge in drinking among the Romans, and ended up causing the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Tropes
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Asterix and Obelix refuse to enter the arena since Caesar’s not there, and any attempt to force them in fails, the jailer begs them to enter the arena since he fears the audience will riot. Asterix reluctantly agrees, but by then it’s already too late.
- The Alcoholic: Metatarsus, the son of Humerus, is a hard-drinking party boy who is always shown either drunk or hungover (except briefly after taking the hangover cure), much to the annoyance of his father.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: The whole plot starts because a drunk Vitalstatistix offers his brother-in-law a stew flavoured with Julius Caesar's laurel wreath. And a possibly drunker Obelix gets enthused at the idea.
- Ass Shove: Vitalstatistix is about to tell Homeopathix where to put menhirs when Impedimenta wisely stops him.
- Audience Murmurs: After the delator steals Nisiprius’ opening line, the crowd goes “Rhubarbrhubarbrhubarbrhubarb…”
- Been There, Shaped History: The end narration suggests that Asterix’ hangover cure lead to more orgies and eventually to the fall of Rome.
- Character Focus: Even by the usual standards of the "Asterix and Obelix go on a journey" albums, this album keeps the main duo front and centre from start to finish. The only other series regulars to even get a look-in outside the final panel (never mind the final page) are Chief Vitalstatistix and Impedimenta, who only appear in the Lutetia flashback and the final banquet. Even Dogmatix is absent until the very end.
- Continuity Nod:
- Traffic in Lutetia is as bad as ever (e.g. Asterix and the Golden Sickle, Asterix and the Banquet)
- As in Asterix and the Cauldron, Asterix and Obelix demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of economics. When Humerus offers to buy them from Typhus, he asks Asterix to name his price; he suggests five sestertii. The British slave on Typhus' stand intervenes, saying the sale will crash the slave market, and suggests a more suitable price of... ten sestertii. (The almost apoplectic Typhus, meanwhile, cannot get a word in edgewise.)
- Courtroom Antics: The trial of Asterix and Obelix ends with Asterix himself standing up and holding an impassioned plea to get himself and Obelix sentenced to the circus. His speech moves the entire courtroom to tears, and both their lawyer and the delator congratulate the Gauls afterwards.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Slavery is treated matter-of-factly by slaves and slave-owners alike. This is Truth in Television for Ancient Rome, since slaves were ubiquitous and not merely employed in menial jobs. Highly trained slaves were valuable and had a reasonable chance to get their freedom and even move up in society.
- An example is the British slave insisting that Asterix and Obelix should be sold for a higher price so as not to devalue the whole stock. It's justified since a master who pays a high price for a slave can be expected to treat him well.
- Drunk Rolling: At one point, the thief Habeascorpus and his band of cutthroats attempt this on a couple of seemingly unsuspecting victims. Unfortunately for them, their targets a) aren't drunk, only asleep, and b) are Asterix and Obelix. However, after he and his thugs have all been knocked flat, he invites them to join his gang (which they pretend to go along with, as they need somewhere to hide out).
- Elite Mooks: The legionaries guarding Caesar's palace, according to Asterix, one reason he tells Obelix they cannot simply march into the palace, bash every Roman they see, grab the laurel wreath, and leave again. However, at night, fought one at a time, the palace guards prove no match for Obelix.
- Fed to the Beast: Asterix and Obelix get themselves sentenced to be thrown to the lions in the hope of getting Caesar's laurel wreath directly from the great man's head. Obelix has an attack of stage fright the night before their "appearance", and asks the jailer if he can have some of the oil the gladiators wear to smarten himself up a bit. The jailer suggests mustard might be more appropriate. However, they back out once they learn Caesar isn't in the Circus, beat down the guards that try to force them... and learn the beasts have fed on themselves, with only one lion standing. The crowd then riots.
- Fire-Breathing Diner: The Gauls’ cooking makes people literally spit fire.
- Foreign Queasine:
- Homeopathix’ Roman style dinner includes beaver tails in strawberry sauce and cow’s hoof mould.
- Continuing the series' tendency to mock British cooking, Humerus says the Gauls' cooking could hardly be any worse than that of their previous cook, the Briton Autodidax. Of course, when Asterix and Obelix simply throw everything in the entire kitchen into a single cauldron (including soap), they decide that perhaps Gaulish cooking isn't what its reputation usually suggests...
- Forgot About His Powers: In Asterix the Gladiator, Asterix and Obelix between them beat up a cohort of elite soldiers in the circus. Here, Asterix claims that the elite palace guards are too dangerous to fight. Justified, since the comic would otherwise be pretty short. Also somewhat justified since, on Caesar's orders, the soliders in Gladiator were not allowed to use weapons.
- Hangover Sensitivity: As with most Asterix books, when characters get really drunk, they wake up with heightened sensitivity to light and sound. When Humerus first brings Asterix and Obelix back to his house, Metatarsus has been trying to sleep off a hangover, and clutches his head in agony when his father bellows Goldendelicius' name. The next morning, after the entire family have had a spontaneous late-night party, Humerus is the one who begs Goldendelicius to shut the door of his bedroom to keep the light out.
- Hideous Hangover Cure: While trying to get thrown out of the Roman family they've become slaves to, Asterix and Obelix wind up creating one out of a (live and unplucked) chicken, carbolic soap, jam, black peppercorns, salt, kidneys, figs, honey, black pudding, pomegranate seeds, eggs and red peppers.
- How We Got Here: The story starts with Asterix and Obelix already in Rome, and clearly not in a good mood. Then a flashback shows what lead to them being there.
- I Can Explain: Goldendelicius's reaction after Asterix's woke him up at the tavern; and, terrified, the slave understands that he and Obelix are still alive and well.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: As Homeopathix begins bragging about his business and dismissing Gaul beyond Lutetia as only fit for boars, Vitalstatistix asks Obelix for a second goblet of wine. He asks for more wine when Impedimenta unfavourably compares the food back in the village to the luxurious dishes Homeopathix is serving them for dinner.
- In Medias Res: The story starts with our heroes already in Rome before explaining how they got there; the panels actually "stop and rewind" to tell us how the story really began.
- Jerkass:
- Homeopathix, Impedimenta's Nouveau Riche and snobbish brother is rude, haughty and dismissive of anything outside of Lutetia.
- While trying to be bought as slaves by Caesar's intendant on Typhus' slave stand, Asterix and Obelix encounter a haughty and obnoxious greek slave who rudely dismisses them as cheap junk. His obnoxiousness causes Asterix to snap and knock him out.
- Kangaroo Court: The whole trial of Asterix and Obelix is just a façade; even their lawyer already knows from the start they will be found guilty and sentenced to the circus. And since Asterix and Obelix want to be sent to the circus since Caesar will be there, they happily play along. In fact, Asterix gets sick of both lawyers using the trial as an excuse to practice their oratory skills and takes over on behalf of the prosecutor so that the trial will finally end and they can get to the circus.
- Lethal Chef: This is the Gauls’ strategy to get away from Humerus. It doesn't work.
- MacGuffin Title: The second part deals with what Asterix and Obelix are sent to get.
- Made a Slave: Inverted, Asterix and Obelix are trying to become slaves in Caesar's palace, so as to get access to Caesar's laurels. (Truth in Television: You could sell yourself into slavery e.g. to support your family.)
- Malicious Misnaming: Homeopathix does not even bother remember Vitalstatistix's name and calls him "Whatshisname". Hilariously, a drunk Obelix starts to call Vitalstatistix "Whatshisname" as well.
- Nice Girl: Tapioca, Homeopathix's wife, is apparently nicer than her contemptuous husband. When the men start to argue, she carefully tries to redirect the conversation to the topic of shopping, but in vain.
- Nouveau Riche: Homeopathix, Impedimenta's brother, who's very rich but rude, snobbish and disdainful toward Gaulish provinces, saying that Lutetia is the only place where you can live, the rest of Gaul is only good for boars.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Homeopathix, the wealthier brother of Impedimenta, barely even makes the effort to remember Vitalstatistix's name. In the final banquet, when Vitalstatistix makes good on his promise to cook a stew with Caesar's laurels, Homeopathix, far from being impressed, criticises the meat for not being a choice cut or well cooked.
- Performance Anxiety: Obelix isn’t scared of lions but of the audience at the circus. The animal tamer isn’t surprised since, for obvious reasons, people in Obelix’s position are always beginners.
- Pet the Dog: As much of an obnoxious jackass as he is, Homeopatix really does love his sister and is happy to have her visit.
- Protagonist-Centered Morality: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome with the sole purpose of stealing Caesar's laurel wreath. And not even for some noble goal, but just so Vitalstatistix can win a bet he made while drunk. Yet they're not really portrayed as being in the wrong.
- Punny Name: The lawyer, Titus Nisiprius, is named for the legal phrase "nisi prius" (translation: "unless first"). "The court of nisi prius" means the court of original jurisdiction for a case (generally one which has been appealed to a higher court).
- Punch-Clock Villain: Roman civilians with a few exceptions (e.g. Habeascorpus) are nice, ordinary people and even the antagonistic soldiers are merely doing their job of protecting Caesar.
- Rage Breaking Point: At the final banquet, Vitalstatistix is looking forward to finally getting one over on his snobbish brother-in-law Homeopathix by serving him something that, in spite of his wealth, he has never eaten before: a stew flavoured with the laurels from Caesar's wreath. Homeopathix agrees that he's never eaten anything like it - the meat is not top quality and has been overcooked. After having spent the entire book limiting his anger to drunken verbal outbursts, Vitalstatistix finally snaps and knocks Homeopathix flying with a Megaton Punch.
- Running Gag:
- The narration keeps referring to both Rome and Lutetia as "the greatest city in the universe."
- In the original French, the drunken Obelix and Vitalstatistix make the verbal slip of saying "Farpaitement" ("Ferpectly") instead of "Parfaitement" ("Perfectly") during the dinner with Homeopathix; the word recurs throughout the rest of the book when either Obelix is drunk or Asterix is feeling especially bitter. In English, the word is translated as one of two internal spoonerisms, depending on context: "Zigackly" (for "Exactly") and "Ferpectly true" (for "Perfectly true").
- Asterix and Obelix seem to be completely unable to get a good night's sleep while in Rome, to Obelix's ever-increasing anger. On their first night as Humerus' slaves, they are kept awake by the family having a loud party (though they only had themselves to blame for this); when imprisoned in Caesar's palace, they are woken by the guards barging into their cell (and as they have spent the night searching the palace, they have had hardly any sleep); when sleeping in a doorway in Rome, they are almost robbed by bandits.
- Obelix gets seriously drunk every time he's offered wine (three times). As he already had a bad experience with alcohol in Asterix in Britain, it explains why Obelix rather gets Drunk on Milk in later albums.
- Sarcasm-Blind: When Asterix suggests to simply massacre the palace guards, take the wreath and bash their way back out, Obelix takes him at his word. Somewhat justified since in most comics of the series that strategy would have worked.
- Shout-Out:
- The vain, muscular Greek slave on Typhus' stand whom Asterix eventually punches outnote adopts the poses of a variety of classical statues, including Auguste Rodin's The Thinker
, the Apollon of Olympia, Laocoön and His Sons (in the course of imitating which he entangles Asterix in a rope), and the Diskobolus of Myron. - The Briton slave protests that Asterix is gouging prices by letting himself and Obelix get sold for a mere five sestertii. Or as he puts it:Britons never, never, never shall be cut-price slaves!
- The animal keeper in the arena who has had to watch the animals eat each other as Asterix and Obelix refuse to go into the arena is a caricature of French actor and circus owner Jean Richard (whose other claims to fame include a 23-year stint on French television as Jules Maigret).
- The vain, muscular Greek slave on Typhus' stand whom Asterix eventually punches outnote adopts the poses of a variety of classical statues, including Auguste Rodin's The Thinker
- Simple Solution Won't Work: While in Rome to look for Caesar's laurel wreath, Asterix has to hold Obelix back when he wants to just go into the palace and beat up the guards until they find the wreath: as Asterix repeatedly points out, Caesar's palace guards are far better trained and equipped than the rank and file legionaries they fight back home and thus could actually pose a threat to them even with the magic potion. What follows is a series of zany plots to get into the palace, none of which work.
- Slave Market: Asterix and Obelix attempt to sell themselves as slaves at the House of Typhus in order to get into Caesar's palace. They're given directions by a man being led away in chains, who says he just came from the market.
- Spit Take: Asterix spits out his food when Vitalstatistix announces that they're going to cook a stew with Caesar's laurel wreath as an ingredient.
- Springtime for Hitler: After becoming slaves, Asterix and Obelix find out that the Roman family that bought them aren't close to Caesar, and do everything they can to be abandoned, only for their antics to please the family instead. For instance, the "meal" mentioned under Hideous Hangover Cure was improvised by Asterix and Obelix as an attempt to cook something absolutely unedible.
- Stiff Upper Lip: One of the slaves on Typhus' stand (and the only one to be friendly toward Asterix and Obelix) is a Briton, who has the usual stoic expression seen on Britons in the Asterix series, and seems completely unruffled by the fight that leaves Typhus' other slaves bruised and unconscious.
- Tally Marks on the Prison Wall: While Asterix and Obelix are in the Palace dungeon, various forms of graffiti are seen on the walls, including a stone filled with tally marks.
- Theme Naming: In the English version, Humerus and his wife and children are all named for bones in the human skeleton; even Humerus' first name, Osseus, is a pun on "osseous", meaning "turned into bone".
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Civilian Romans are portrayed very sympathetically here.
- Unaffected by Spice: The Gauls’ cooking makes normal people spit fire (literally). Obelix finds it “insipid”.
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: Considered to be the most adult-orientated of all Asterix adventures, with examples of unusually graphic violence, themes such as debauchery and slavery, and Dogmatix (popular with younger fans) reduced to a small cameo at the end. Even the font is changed to one more cursive than usual (on initial printings, anyway — later versions use the usual one).
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: According to the ending narration, the existence of the Hideous Hangover Cure will eventually cause the Roman Empire to fall due to its citizens cheerfully falling to boozing.
- Vacation Episode: Asterix and Obelix travel to Rome, with a brief flashback in Lutetia. We never even see the Gaulish village until the customary victory feast on the final page.
- Verbal Tic: As is typical for Britons in the Asterix series, the Briton on Typhus' stand regularly peppers his speech with "I say" and "Eh, what?" and similar stereotypically British phrases as if they were punctuation marks.
