Tear Jerker / Asterix

• Asterix and the Cauldron is far more serious and morose in tone than other comics in the series. In it, Asterix is banished from the village because he failed to protect a cauldron filled with gold. The whole scene is played completely straight and even those attending it are moved to tears by Asterx's resolve to never come back unless he brings back the gold. Luckily, Obelix is quick to call out the villagers for exiling their best warrior so quickly because of a small mistake and runs after Asterix. The scene mixes with a Heartwarming Moment when Obelix proclaims that he exiles himself so he can go with him, and both guys end up crying rivers twice because of the situation.
  • There's one scene near the end where the prospect of never returning to the village dawns on the duo and they cry again.
  • Even the defeat of the villain is taken seriously and with little to no humor (other than the pirates finally getting some gold).
• The scene where Asterix, Obelix, and Getafix return to the village in Asterix Conquers America. The entire place is in ruins and devoid of life, and Obelix is running around desperately calling out to his friends.
  Obelix: Oh- oh no! Vitalstatistix! Unhygienix! Where are you? Ca-can't you hear me!?
• The comic takes place before 44 BC. Anyone familiar with even the slightest bit of Roman history will be very aware of what the future has in store for the comic's Reasonable Authority Figure, Caesar.
  • Asterix and Son. If you know Egyptian history, you know that the kid ultimately met a sticky end at the hands of his own kinsman Octavian.
• The Time Skip sequence of Asterix and Obelix's Birthday: The Golden Book, set in 1 BC, shows the village palisade run down and names Petibonum as the local commerce center, frequented by the villagers, with Asterix, Obelix and many others still alive, if aged. The implication is clear: at some point, somehow, the Romans forced the Gauls to surrender.
  • A different interpretation is that there was no hostile final conquest, just a slow and quiet assimilation as the mlitary camps were converted into settlements, expanded, and ultimately encroached the village. Caesar's plan in The Mansion of the Gods would have come ultimately true and he'd get the last laugh from beyond the grave.
• Asterix in Belgium: In the last panel, a rabbit sadly walks away from the banquet. It was Uderzo's homage to Goscinny (who nicknamed his wife "rabbit"), who passed away during the making of the album.
  • 43 years later, in Asterix and the Griffin, an owl walks away from the banquet while crying. It was a similar homage from the new authors to Uderzo (who loved to draw owls), as the album was the first to be released since he passed away.

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