Asterix and the Secret Weapon
| Company type | Comic book / Graphic novel |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comics, Publishing |
| Founded | 1991 |
| Founder | Albert Uderzo |
| Products | Comic book series: Asterix |
| Website | www |
Asterix and the Secret Weapon represents the twenty-ninth installment in the Asterix comic book series and is the fifth volume created solely by Albert Uderzo. This edition offers a satirical examination of themes such as feminism, gender equality, and confidential military strategies.
Plot summary
The village women hire a female bard named Bravura, dissatisfied with the education provided by Cacofonix. Feeling insulted, Cacofonix withdraws into the forest. While Bravura’s powerful vocal performances captivate the women, they irritate the men. She motivates Impedimenta and other women to challenge their husbands' dominance, resulting in Impedimenta assuming leadership as men avoid confronting their wives.
At the same time, Julius Caesar sends his agent Manlius Claphamomnibus on a covert mission to transport a "secret weapon" across the sea. Bravura’s reforms create unrest within the village. Asterix, uneasy with these changes, declines Bravura’s proposal to marry him and share control, accusing her of seeking power. After he instinctively strikes her during a kiss, Impedimenta expels him; Getafix and other men join Vitalstatistix in retreating to the forest.
Claphamomnibus unveils the secret weapon: female legionnaires whom Gaulish men hesitate to confront due to concerns over honor. Asterix alerts the village women; Bravura attempts negotiations but is dismissed and insulted by Claphamomnibus. Asterix then implements a strategy involving Cacofonix’s disruptive singing, which scares away animals and delays Roman scouts.
When Roman female soldiers attack, they discover Bravura has transformed the village into a shopping mall offering apparel and beauty treatments. Meanwhile, village men defeat surrounding Roman troops. Ultimately, Cacofonix’s singing repels the female legionaries. Julius Caesar becomes a subject of ridicule in Rome, and Bravura leaves for Lutetia, having reconciled with Asterix.
Commentary
- The original French title is La Rose et le Glaive (The Rose and the Sword). The term glaive can denote both a Roman gladius and a long spear; however, the cover depicts a sword. This title may reference the 1953 film "The Sword and the Rose" and potentially Paul Verhoeven's medieval movie "Flesh & Blood" (1985), also known as "The Rose and the Sword."
- The name of the Roman official Manlius Claphamomnibus is a play on the English legal expression "the man on the Clapham omnibus," which refers to an average reasonable person used as a standard in legal judgments.
- Cacofonix manages to overpower Fulliautomatix for only the second time since Asterix and the Magic Carpet, marking a rare instance where the Bard delivers physical retaliation.
- This album incorporates narrative elements and visual jokes from previous volumes, such as:
- Obelix returning to school from Asterix and the Class Act
- The Bard sweeping away old music sheets from Asterix and the Goths
- Female legionnaires defeating Gauls as seen in Asterix as you've never seen him
- Animals fleeing due to Bard's singing from Asterix and the Normans
- Cacofonix's voice causing rain similar to Asterix and the Magic Carpet
- Conflicts among village children from Asterix in Corsica
- An outsider instigating an election from Asterix and Caesar's Gift
- This is only the second story where Asterix experiences exile, following Asterix and the Cauldron.
- In Dutch, "The Secret Weapon" translates as "Het Geheime Wapen," which is actually used as the Dutch title for Asterix and the Falling Sky.
- Upon leaving, Cacofonix quotes Nero's famous final words, "Qualis artifex pereo" ("What an artist dies with me"), uttered 118 years before Nero's suicide.
In other languages
- Ancient Greek: Μεταξύ ρόδου και ξίφους
- Catalan: La rosa i l'espasa
- Cretan Greek: Σπαθί και τριαντάφυλλο
- Croatian: Ruža i mač
- Czech: Růže a meč
- Danish: Rosen og Svaerdet
- Dutch: De roos en het zwaard
- Finnish: Ruusu ja Miekka (also in the Karelian dialect as Kallija tyttölöi)
- French: La Rose et le Glaive
- Ghent dialect: De Ruuze en het Zweerd
- German: Asterix und Maestria
- Greek: Ρόδο και ξίφος
- Italian: La Rosa e il Gladio
- Indonesian: "Mawar dan Pedang Bermata Dua"
- Norwegian: Damenes Inntogsmarsj ("The Women Marching In")
- Portuguese: A Rosa e o Gládio
- Polish: Róża i miecz
- Pontic Greek: Σπαθιά και τριαντάφυλλα
- Serbian: Ружа и мач/Ruža i mač
- Spanish: Astérix, la rosa y la espada
- Swedish: Rosen och svärdet