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Context Recap / ASterixAndTheBanquet

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2%%English-language quality swaps done here: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1648933823047123100&page=1
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4[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_asterix5.png]]
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7After two journeys abroad, the fifth ''Asterix'' book has our heroes go on a grand tour of their homeland.
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9Inspector General Overanxius visits the Roman camp of Compendium on Caesar's behalf, determined to subdue the Gauls of Asterix's village. One resounding defeat on the battlefield later, he decides that since they can't be subdued, they should be isolated from the world, and has a giant wall built around the village. Asterix declares that not only will he escape, but also make a tour through all of Gaul, collecting [[RegionalSpeciality special foods]] from different spots as evidence; if he succeeds, Overanxius will take down the wall. Accompanied by Obelix, who carries a large yellow shopping bag for the food, and with the rest of the village attacking the wall south of the village as a diversion, Asterix makes his break through the wall north of the village. He and Obelix think little of the Roman soldier on horseback they see riding in the distance as they make their way to Rotomagus (Rouen today).
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11However, the Roman soldier was a messenger, and the Roman garrison at Rotomagus is expecting the two villagers, who hide in the river and commandeer a pleasure boat being used by a Roman couple to the first stop on their shopping trip, Lutetia, where they buy a ham[[note]] Jambon de Paris, more precisely.[[/note]] from a pork butcher (and are promptly followed by a small black and white dog). The appearance of a Roman patrol forces them to flee and buy a used chariot from an ancient version of HonestJohnsDealership; when it inevitably breaks down, they knock out the Roman driver of a breakdown chariot before he can turn them over to the authorities, and make their way to Camaracum (now called Cambrai) to buy a bag of humbugs.[[note]] That is, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bêtise_de_Cambrai Bêtises de Cambrai.]][[/note]] With help from the shopkeeper, they bash in the Roman patrol waiting for them and go back on the road in the stolen breakdown chariot, where legionary Spongefingus, whose chariot has broken down, mistakes them for the genuine article and unwittingly helps them get past a roadblock. Once he has outlived his usefulness, the Gauls literally cut him loose and head for Durocortorum (known as Rheims today) to buy amphoras of the local wine.[[note]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Champagne Champagne,]] naturally.[[/note]] Spongefingus catches up with them, but Asterix pops the cork on one of the amphoras of wine straight into the legionary's jaw, and they are on their way again.
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13Cutting through the forest, the duo smell roast boar, and come to the house of Unpatriotix, a treacherous Gaul who invites them in, feeds them, and then sneaks off to sell them out to the Romans while they nap. However, Obelix goes out in search of more boars, so that only Asterix is there when the Romans arrive; a panicked Unpatriotix is unable to pack and escape before Obelix returns and shakes Asterix' whereabouts out of him: the nearby town of Divodorum (Metz today). Obelix gets himself arrested by knocking out a legionary and bringing his unconscious body to the jail, and soon, he and a magic potion-strengthened Asterix have broken out and hijacked a Roman postal service cart (sporting the then-modern logo of La Poste, France's postal service) to Lugdunum (today known as Lyon).
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15Prefect Poisonus Fungus orders his men to stop the two Armoricans when they arrive at Lugdunum, but one of his slaves is a member of the local resistance, and the leader, Jellibabix, ushers Asterix and Obelix down a side road when they find themselves seemingly surrounded by Roman patrols. He leaves them with friends and heads to the prefect's palace, ostensibly to lead him to the two outlaws. However, Lugdunum's streets are a giant maze that only locals can navigate without getting utterly lost, and one quick sprint later, Jellibabix has left the Roman patrol following him unable to find each other or their way out; even the prefect gets lost when a well-meaning legionary picks up the stones he tried to use to mark his route. Jellibabix gives Asterix and Obelix a gift of sausages and meatballs[[note]] More precisely, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucisson_de_Lyon saucisson de Lyon]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenelle quenelles]].[[/note]] and a chariot, and they move on.
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17Their next stop is Nicae (Nice as it is now known), where, after dealing with uncommonly long traffic jams as seemingly the entire population of northern Gaul descends on the Gaulish Riviera for the beginning of the summer holidays, they buy an amphora of salad[[note]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salade_niçoise Salade niçoise,]] to be exact.[[/note]] and begin heading toward their next destination when a Roman patrol spots them. They commandeer the boat of a holidaymaker and row up the coast to Massilia (today called Marseilles), leaving the unfortunate holidaymaker to carry his boat back to Nicae on foot. They stop at an inn to buy fish stew;[[note]] Specifically, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouillabaisse Bouillabaisse.]][[/note]] the innkeeper, Drinklikafix, is delighted to meet them and he and his regular patrons offer to help them by holding up the Roman patrol hot on their tail with a game of boules.
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19As Asterix and Obelix head for Tolosa (today called Toulouse), darkness falls, and they rest for the night... only to discover, when dawn breaks, that they have spent the night in the middle of a Roman camp! Deciding that "hitching" a lift with the Romans to Tolosa will speed things up a bit, they turn themselves over to the camp centurion, who, after several failed attempts to put them in chains, takes them to see Prefect Adipus in a cart. When he returns with the prefect, the Armoricans have bashed in his legionaries and left with the cart and some local sausage.[[note]] Namely, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saucisse_de_Toulouse Saucisse de Toulouse.]][[/note]] The enraged Romans put a 50,000 sestertii price on Asterix and Obelix' heads, attracting the attention of collaborator Uptotrix in Aginum (today called Agen); he promises the local Roman commander that he will give the two outlaws drugged food and deliver them into the commander's hands. When our heroes arrive, Uptotrix meets them and takes them to his inn, where he first gives them a bag of local prunes[[note]] Pruneaux d'Agen, as they are now known.[[/note]] and then starts serving roast boars to each of them; Obelix begins eating immediately, but a suspicious Asterix forces Uptotrix to eat some of the other boar, and he drops to the floor, fast asleep (Obelix is unaffected; on the contrary, he describes the boar as "a real eye-opener"!).
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21Leaving the cart behind and continuing on the horses, Asterix and Obelix are forced to stop for the night when Obelix' horse collapses under the weight of his rider and the shopping bag; while they sleep, two bandits steal the shopping bag... and, as they are of similar build to Asterix and Obelix, they are arrested by the first Roman patrol they encounter. They are put on display in the main square in Burdigala (called Bordeaux today) as an example to the locals... only for the real Asterix and Obelix to arrive, reclaim their shopping bag, and bash in the Romans (with help from the locals) before heading on their way with some white wine and oysters.[[note]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_wine Bordeaux wine]] and oysters being a delicacy even then.[[/note]]
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23They find a ship in the harbour, captained by Seniorservix of Gesocribatum (now called Le Conquet), unloading a cargo of menhirs; Obelix helps them unload in exchange for passage for the two Armoricans back to Gesocribatum (a journey that includes an encounter with Redbeard and his band of pirates, who, in this volume only, include Redbeard's son Erix), where they are smuggled ashore in bags. However, a miscommunication causes them to exit the bags right in front of a Roman patrol, and they are forced to thump their way out of the city and back to their village.
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25Overanxius is summoned to the village to see the food Asterix and Obelix have brought back with them, but there is one specialty missing: the village's own specialty, which Asterix happily serves to Overanxius... the uppercut. (Obelix, meanwhile, finally notices the small black and white dog that has been following them since they left Lutetia, and takes an immediate liking to him.) The book ends with the usual celebratory feast, which here includes delicacies from all over Gaul in addition to roast boar.
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27!!Tropes
28* AbnormalAmmo: Asterix shoots a wine cork at Spongefingus.
29* AnachronismStew: The entire premise is a mashup of ancient Gaul with modern French regional peculiarities. Most obvious is the itinerary itself, which treats Gaul as synonymous with modern France. In reality, several towns visited are part of modern France but not Roman Gaul (e.g., Camaracum/Cambrai and Durocortorum/Reims would have been part of Gallia Belgica), while parts of Gaul were not part of France (e.g. northern Italy). The towns visited are all portrayed according to their modern stereotypes within France - the regional foods (champagne, humbugs...), the local cultures (see below), the events (summer holidays on the French Riviera), the characters (Brigitte Bardot on the Promenade des Bretons/Anglais)...
30** An angler complains about outboard motors (referring to Obelix pushing a sailboat).
31** There are billboards along the highways.
32** The Roman post coach bears the symbol of the modern ''La Poste''.
33** There is a Gaulish Riviera. In the original, the street in Nicae is called Promenade des Bretons, referring to Nice’s Promenade des Anglais.
34* ArmorIsUseless: When Gauls fight legionaries, all their armor ever does is rattle. Overanxious does not wear any at all, despite being a prefect and leading from the front.
35* BadassBoast: Asterix claims they'll not only break though the Roman's attempt to fence them in, they'll go all around Gaul and bring back regional specialties to prove it.
36* TheBet: After the Romans try to isolate the Gaulish village, Asterix makes a bet with Overanxius that the latter will go back to Rome and raise the siege if Asterix and Obelix succeed in making a tour through all of Gaul.
37* {{Bowdlerise}}: In the British album release, Obelix mishears the town name Divodorum and responds that he doesn't care that Unpatriotix has "ordered rum". In some releases such as the Young Telegraph print it's "ordered a drum" instead.
38* BlueAndOrangeMorality: Obelix wonders whether the Romans are not attacking anymore because the Gauls have hurt their feelings.
39* ChubbyChaser: After all those people calling him fat, Obelix meets Hydrophobia of Nicaea who appreciates "a Gaul who isn't skinny".
40* CityInABottle: The Romans intend for the Gaul village to become this, building a huge wall to isolate them from the rest of the world. It is what prompts Asterix and Obelix to go on their quest.
41* LesCollaborateurs: Although Unpatriotix of Divodorum is an opportunist who needs the money he would get for selling out Asterix and Obelix, Uptotrix of Aginum is firmly in league with the Romans, and makes advance plans to drug their food and deliver them to the local commander. However, the drugs don't work on Obelix, and Asterix forces the collaborator to eat some of his boar after becoming suspicious.
42** Averted with Jellibabix of Lugdunum. He offers to lead the Romans to the Gauls but in fact leads them into [[TheMaze a trap]].
43* ContinuityNod:
44** As Asterix makes the wager with Overanxius, Obelix asks him to give their regards to Caius Fatuous, the unscrupulous gladiator trainer from ''Recap/AsterixTheGladiator'', upon his return to Rome.
45** Also in ''Gladiator'', Asterix tried to stop Obelix from knocking on doors because he cannot help smashing them. He still hasn't learned.
46** When Asterix and Obelix arrive in Lutetia and find the roads ensnared in one giant traffic jam, they note that things haven't been sorted out since their last visit in ''Recap/AsterixAndTheGoldenSickle''.
47* DisproportionateRetribution: Drinklikeafix threatens the Romans with riots and revolution if they disturb the pétanque game.
48* EarlyInstalmentWeirdness: A gaul named Fulliautomatix appears, but he looks nothing like the blacksmith of later volumes. Fulliautomatix’ usual job of stopping Cacofonix from singing is given to yet two other Gauls.
49* HeroStoleMyBike: Asterix and Obelix hijack several boats and carts on their way around Gaul; while most of the vehicles belong to the Romans, the rowboat they commandeer to get from Nicae to Massilia has been hired by a fellow Gaul, who then has to ''carry the boat over land'' back to Nicae (nearly 100 miles!).
50* TheHighwayman: Asterix and Obelix become victims of two of them while they are sleeping.
51* HistoricalInJoke: A native of Massilia (Marseilles) threatens a Roman patrol not to disturb their bowling game or else there will be blood on the streets, riots, ''revolution'' - "we're thinking of writing a song about that".[[note]]Referring to ''La Marseillaise'', song of UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and national anthem of France.[[/note]]
52* HollywoodHealing: Surprisingly averted. When the stockade is finished, the Romans still bear the wounds from their battle with the Gauls.
53* HonestJohnsDealership: A used chariot dealer sells Asterix and Obelix a spanking-new ride with a strong black stallion... only problem is, the chariot falls apart within a few minutes, and the strong black stallion turns out to be a sickly white horse painted black, its paint washing off when it starts to rain.
54* HugeRiderTinyMount: Obelix becomes this when he and Asterix ditch their chariot and ride on the horses themselves in order to make more progress. And since Obelix insists on also carrying the bag, it doesn't take long for his horse to collapse of exhaustion.
55* IWantMyMommy: The last thing we see before cutting to the legionaries recovering from their latest pounding is the Centurion whimpering "Mummy!"
56* LiterallyMinded: When Overanxious tells a legionary to keep an eye on the Gauls, the legionary replies that his other eye is still too swollen to open.
57* TheMaze: The streets of Lugdunum are this (which is weaponized by LaResistance). Rotamagus isn’t much better and the locals are ''horrible'' at giving directions.
58* MeaningfulName: The two treacherous Gauls that try to sell Asterix and Obelix out to the Romans are named, appropiately, Unpatriotix and Uptotrix.
59** The breakdown-chariot is operated by Nervus Illnus.
60* MistakenIdentity: Two robbers come across the sleeping Asterix and Obelix, and steal their bag containing all the items they collected so far. Unfortunately for them, since the robbers' physical stature matches that of Asterix and Obelix (a short guy and a tall fat guy) and since they now have the bag, the Romans mistake them for Asterix and Obelix and promptly arrest them.
61* NationalStereotypes: Well, regional stereotype. Each of the different towns visited is presented according to modern French regional stereotypes. The Massilians are a walking ClicheStorm (FunetikAksent, lazy, tend to exaggerate, play pétanque, hold non-southerners to be a bit odd, etc.). In Rotomagus (Rouen, in today's Normandy), the locals are portrayed as infuriatingly impossible to get a straight answer from; the reply of "Maybe. Then again, maybe not" (in French: "pt'êt ben que oui, pt'êt ben que non") is a staple stereotype of Normans. The other cities visited portray modern foods, features or events associated with the place, such as the ham ('jambon de Paris') in Lutecia/Paris, the sun-holiday tourists in Nicaea/Nice, or the Resistance in Lugdunum/Lyon.
62* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Ulna talks her husband into letting Asterix and Obelix on their boat, only to have her romantic cruise ruined.
63* OneSteveLimit: Averted; the owner of the Massilian inn where Asterix and Obelix stop is named César (the French equivalent of "Caesar"), leading to a surprised reaction from the two heroes upon hearing another patron call his name.
64* LaResistance: Although there are Gauls in almost every city our heroes visit who help them score points against the Romans, Lugdunum stands out as having a whole network of resistance fighters doing what they can to undermine the Roman presence in the city; they even have at least one man on the inside, a slave at the prefect's palace whose comings and goings are completely ignored by the Romans.
65* RunningGag:
66** Dogmatix, who is not yet given a name here, serves as a literal RunningGag; from his first apperance in Lutetia, he keeps following Asterix and Obelix wherever they go, but they never notice him untill the very end of the story.
67** Various people talk about a little man and a fat man and Obelix takes offense.
68** Across the comics: Obelix still has not learned the difference between knocking on doors and knocking them down.
69* ShoutOut:
70** The original French title (''Le Tour de Gaule'') and the central plot are allusions to the UsefulNotes/TourDeFrance, with Obelix's bag referencing the yellow jersey worn by the leader.
71** The locals Asterix and Obelix meet in Massilia are homages to the 1930s Creator/MarcelPagnol stage play-film trilogy ''Marius'', ''Fanny'', and ''César''. The patrons are all drawn as caricatures of actors common to the three films; innkeeper Drinklikafix is drawn to look like Raimu (stage name of Jules Muraire), the actor who played César Ollivier (a Marseille innkeeper in the plays and films), which is why he is initially addressed as "César" by the patrons; said patrons are caricatures of actors Robert Vattier, Fernand Charpin, and Paul Dullac, who respectively played Albert Brun, Honoré Panisse, and Félix Escartifique. The scene of the regulars playing cards is framed to look like a similar scene from ''Marius'', while their boules game visually references ''Fanny''.
72* SymbolSwearing: Prefect Poisonus Fungus of Lugdunum unleashes a storm of this when a legionary tells him he's been picking up the stones he was dropping to mark his route through the city streets, thereby making him as lost as the other legionaries.
73* TamperingWithFoodAndDrink: At one point, a fellow Gaul betrays Asterix and Obelix by putting a sedative in the wild boar he serves them and then sells them out to the Romans. However, Asterix realizes something is up and forces his host [[HoistByHisOwnPetard to eat the boar instead]], confirming Asterix' suspicions when the host promptly falls asleep. Obelix does eat his boar, but somehow [[NoSell the sedative doesn't work]].
74* TravelingAtTheSpeedOfPlot: Spongefingus manages to reach Curocortorum shortly after the Gauls, despite having only a broken chariot and no horses.
75* UnwantedAssistance: The prefect drops pebbles behind him so he won't lose himself in TheMaze that is Lugdunum. A legionary notices his boss is spilling pebbles everywhere and helpfully picks them up.
76* VacationEpisode: Asterix and Obelix travel to various cities in Gaul, aka France.

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