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Top Ten Asterix Characters

Asterix is a Franco-Belgian comic book series that is famous for its iconic characters. It is set in 50 BC and it is all about these Gauls who successfully fend off Roman attacks. The Gaulish village consists of numerous interesting personalities, but there are other side characters outside the village that are also quite memorable. As this is a comedy series first and foremost, I focused on humor the most when ranking these characters, so without further ado here are ten best Asterix characters with some honorable mentions.

10. The Pirates

Coming in at number ten are these poor fellows who for the most part were the butt of the jokes, though the series creators did at least give them a couple of victories here and there. Always appearing out of nowhere and either getting their ships destroyed or stuff taken, the pirates definitely rank among the funniest and most memorable Asterix running gags.

9. Fulliautomatix and Unhygienix

Not the best developed or most complex villagers, these two guys are still an essential part of the Gaulish gang. Unhygienix is the village fishmonger while Fulliautomatix is the village smith. The latter often calls out the former for selling stale fish, which results in the two fighting and throwing fish at each other. The hijinks between the two is always amusing and playful.

8. Cacofonix

Cacofonix is the village bard and by far the most undervalued and underappreciated man in the entire village. Not only do the other villagers despise his singing, but he even ends up tied up at the tree during the banquet on every book’s last panel. Thus, he is an essential sidekick and a running gag in his own right. My theory is that he’s actually a talented singer, but he was just born in the wrong time of buffoons too ignorant to notice true art.

7. Geriatrix

Probably the character who was the latest to be included to the main roster, Geriatrix nonetheless quickly established himself as an indispensable Asterix creation. This is after all a guy who is always acting young and vibrant and he even has the hottest girl in the village for a wife. He’s not only an admirably inspirational figure, but a hilarious man in his own right. His xenophobic remarks were particularly funny.

6. Vitalstatistix and Impedimenta

I am cheating here a bit by pairing these two, but they are after all an inseparable, iconic spousal duo throughout the series’ run. Vitalstatistix is the village chief and he is so spoiled that he basically has servants carry him on the shield all the time. He’s such a funny creation, but he wouldn’t be complete without his wife Impedimenta. She’s most certainly the strongest female presence in the entire series, but she also deeply cares for her husband in spite of their consistent and hilarious bickering with each other.

5. Julius Caesar

Probably the deepest and best developed Asterix character is surprisingly Julius Caesar himself. He is a hilarious guy who always talks in third person and a lot of the humor is mined from his speech as well as his annoyances with the Gauls. He is funny, yes, but the later volumes actually established him as a more complex character who’s not really a villain at all. He even saved the Gauls at one time while genuinely developing a mutual respect for them. He’s very intriguing.

4. Getafix

The village druid is awesome. The man most responsible for the Gaulish village successfully fending off Roman attacks, his magic potion is the most essential fantastical element in this comics series and one that made it quite unique. Getafix can be fun and funny at times, but he is above all else the wisest and most reasonable member of this brutish tribe, and thus an indispensable one. I just wished that he got more stories for himself overall.

3. Dogmatix

Yes, Dogmatix gets this very high placement, but for many great reasons. This adorable small dog didn’t appear in the very first volume, but when he was introduced, he was so popular with the readers that Uderzo and Goscinny made him a main character from then on. It is easy to see why everybody loved him so much. He got to help the two Gauls quite often actually as he’s a competent little doggie. Dogmatix crying at trees being cut down means that he cares for ecology hilariously so. But it is his endearing relationship with Obelix that made him a true star.

2. Asterix

Asterix is the hero of the series and its main character, but he doesn’t get the top spot from me because he just isn’t the funniest guy out there. Still though, his cunning nature made him a tough opponent to the Romans who always feared him. He’s an instantly iconic comics creation – his moustache, his diminutive height and his clothing are all memorable. Asterix always carries the sword, but rarely uses it, instead focusing on the magic potion, his courage and his strength of mind to carry him through life’s problems. His friendship with Obelix is beautiful and the two are truly inseparable while his bachelorhood is his funniest running gag. He’s a more serious part of this duo, but an essential one nonetheless.

1. Obelix

And the most obvious number one has to be Obelix, by far the funniest character in this comedy series. There are so many different running gags that this character is famous for. One is his obesity. He always gets angry when someone calls him fat to hilarious results. He also has this very amusing menhir-obsession as he carries one on his shoulder all the time and he even started a menhir business at one point in time. He fell into the magic potion when he was a child, which gave him eternal superhuman strength. That means that he isn’t allowed to drink the potion, which amusingly makes him annoyed every time. His favorite cuisine are wild boars and he has the habit of finding other nations strange with his famous line being – “These Romans are crazy!” There is so much that is very funny about him, but Obelix is also deeply caring and more wonderfully childlike than really stupid. His relationship with Asterix is powerful as the two rank among the most iconic duos in comics/animation history. Obelix truly is the heart of the Asterix series.

Honorable Mentions:

Cleopatra – Not appearing all that often, Cleopatra was still a memorable presence, particularly in her first story where her nose proved to be the best running gag.

Prolix – This fake prophet only got one volume for himself, but he was so well developed there and so complex that he definitely deserves an honorable mention.

Brutus – A real historical figure, Brutus is one of the most important Roman characters in the series, though his roles are usually quite minor.

Vercingetorix – This Gaulish chieftain received one crucial and very dark story and he is one of the most important historical figures that the series tackled.

Ekonomikrisis – A Phoenician merchant who appears in a couple of volumes, this guy is one of the most memorable foreigners that the duo met on their journeys.