Obelix

Obelix
Publication information
Publisher	Dargaud
First appearance	Asterix the Gaul (1959)
Created by	René Goscinny Albert Uderzo
In-story information
Abilities	Superhuman strength provided by magical potion

Obelix (Obélix in French) is a cartoon character and protagonist in the French comic book series Asterix. He works as a menhir sculptor and deliveryman, and is Asterix's best friend. Obelix is noted for his fatness, the menhirs he carries around on his back and his superhuman strength. He fell into a cauldron of the Gauls' magic potion when he was a baby, causing him to be the only Gaul in Asterix's village who is in a permanent state of superhuman strength. Because of this already enormous strength, Obelix is not allowed to drink the magic potion ever again, a ban he regards as being tremendously unfair. Other characteristics are his simplemindedness, his love and care for his dog Dogmatix, his anger when someone refers to him as being "fat", his enthusiasm for hunting and eating wild boars and beating up Romans. His catchphrase is: "Ils sont fous ces romains", which translates into "These Romans are crazy!", although he considers nearly every other nationality to be just as strange.

The character was portrayed by actor Gérard Depardieu in every Asterix live-action movie.

He is a large man who does not see himself as fat, preferring to call himself "well covered" or having a chest that has "slipped a bit". From Asterix and the Banquet onwards—previously he had simply expressed ignorance of being fat, such as when he merely commented that he wished he had known he was too fat to pose as a lion in Asterix the Gladiator—Obelix is so in denial over this matter that he usually does not even notice when other people refer to him as "that fat one", and often shows total confusion over which fat person people are referring to. When he does understand the allusions are made on his behalf he flies into a rage and starts beating up the person who said it. Sometimes, when he is in a bad mood, just hearing the word "fat"—even if it is not in reference to him—can quickly enrage him. Being called fat, or being hinted as being fat, is one of the main causes of conflicts between Asterix and Obelix which leads to more developing conflicts in which they must work together, once escalating to the point that Obelix actually gave Asterix amnesia when he hit him too hard during an argument (Asterix and the Actress). Although they usually simply insult each other verbally they inevitably make up swiftly. Sometimes, Obelix can be so paranoic over the allusion of the word Fat that he can even break the fourth wall with the mere mention of this. Visibly in Asterix and the Black Gold, when the narrator points out that their (Asterix and Obelix's) vessel was pulled like a "Big and fat fish", Obelix became clearly offended and yelled "WHO IS FAT!?" (The official English translation was "the enemy's fat is in the fire", prompting Obelix to yell "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, THE ENEMY'S FAT?").

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