Asterix and Son

Asterix and Son
Original French title Le Fils d'Asterix
Story Albert Uderzo
Illustrations Albert Uderzo
French edition 1983
English translation 1983
Preceded by Asterix and the Black Gold
Followed by Asterix and the Magic Carpet

Asterix and Son is the twenty-seventh volume of the Asterix comic book series, created by René Goscinny (stories) and Albert Uderzo (illustrations).

Plot summary

A baby boy inexplicably appears at the porch of Asterix's house one morning. While taking care of him - a horrifying task for two single men - Asterix and Obelix along with Dogmatix, set out to discover who left the baby there and who are its parents, following a lead left with the baby's wrappings. Curiously, they find that the Romans seem to be very inquisitive about the child, too - and all in the interests of Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar's adopted son. Asterix finds out that some people suspect the baby is his illegitimate child, causing shock for him. As the Romans are using deceptive methods to try getting the baby, it is decided the baby needs protection from the Romans.

While in the village, the baby twice drinks a great deal of magic potion, after which he becomes a "terrible little monster" to every door in the neighborhood and every spy sent to capture him, including a legionnary disguised as a peddlar selling rattles, and a centurion disguised as a nursemaid. Finally, Brutus, who is keeping his presence secret from Caesar, takes matters into his own hands, attacking the village with his own legions and burning it to the ground, while he himself goes after the baby. He demands the baby from the Women, who think he still has superhuman strength, but it turns out the potion has worn off, and Brutus manages to kidnap him temporarily - with the help of the ever-present pirates -, but soon Asterix and Obelix catch up with him and give him a taste of why they are considered the terror of the Romans, while the Pirates leap overboard.

Just as the Gauls try to make Brutus reveal the truth, the unexpected arrivals by Caesar, and then Cleopatra resolve the child's mystery; he is none other than Ptolemy XV Caesarion (born 23 June 47 BC), the son of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Brutus had been attempting to kill the baby while Caesar was away on campaign so that he could guarantee his accession to the throne, so Cleopatra had the boy sent to the village to protect him on the grounds that the village was the one place she could guarantee the child's safety from Brutus's soldiers. Brutus is sent away by Caesar.

The story ends with the banquet on Cleopatra's royal barge where even Caesar joins in, having promised to rebuild the village in thanks for the Gauls' efforts to protect his son.

Notes

In other languages