How Obelix Fell into the Magic Potion When He Was a Little Boy
| Company type | Comic story |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comics |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Founder | René Goscinny |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Comic album |
How Obelix Ended Up in the Magic Potion as a Child (, "How Obelix Fell into the Druid's Cooking Pot When He Was Young") is an Asterix tale authored by René Goscinny, first appearing in the French periodical Pilote issue 291 (1965) with limited artwork. It was later fully illustrated and released as a comic album by Albert Uderzo in 1989.
Plot summary
Presented through Asterix's narration, the story depicts Obelix's childhood experiences of frequent bullying until Asterix persuades him to sample the magic potion that bestows extraordinary strength. During this event, Obelix accidentally falls into the cauldron, ingesting the entire potion and acquiring everlasting superhuman power.
Notes
- Obeliscoidix, Obelix's father, has a passion for collecting Roman helmets—a pastime that Obelix adopts in his adult years.
- Vitalstatistix is portrayed as a youthful and slimmer village chief, differing from his later portrayals, highlighting a generational contrast.
- A young Obelix is shown with a small wooden toy dog resembling Dogmatix.
- The 24-year interval between the original text and most illustrations leads to slight discrepancies with other Asterix narratives, particularly concerning the village chief.
- Prior to falling into the potion, Obelix is depicted as timid and non-confrontational due to bullying; afterward, he embraces combativeness, gaining self-assurance and characteristics evident in his adult persona. The story concludes with children of the village partaking in a feast where Cacofonix is silenced for the first time, and Obelix defends himself against mockery about his size.
Publication
- After being out of print in English for ten years, this book was reissued in October 2009 featuring a redesigned cover.
Adaptation
The initial episode of the 2025 Netflix miniseries Asterix and Obelix: The Big Fight draws loose inspiration from this narrative.
In other languages
- French:
- Croatian:
- Czech:
- Danish:
- Dutch:
- Finnish:
- Galician:
- German:
- Greek: Πώς ο Οβελίξ έπεσε στη χύτρα του Δρυΐδη όταν ήταν μικρός
- Italian:
- Norwegian:
- Polish:
- Portuguese:
- Serbian: Како је Обеликс упао у чаробни напитак
- Spanish:
- Turkish: