Explanation: No joke on this one, just a manga panel of a lesser-known real-life badass. Marcus Claudius Marcellus was a Roman politician and general. Early in his career, during a battle with the Gauls, he, as the commander of a Roman army, slew the king of the enemy army in single combat during battle. This is exceptionally rare in almost any war, but especially for the Romans - they regarded this as Spolia opima, a rare honor only achieved a handful of times in the history of the Roman Kingdom, Republic, and Empire. Dedicating the spoils to Jupiter, Marcellus would remain a prominent figure into the Second Punic War.
An ally of Quintus Fabius Maximus, who would later be recognized as a savior of the republic against near-certain destruction, Marcellus was known as “the sword of Rome” for his aggressive and daring actions. Nevertheless, he obeyed Fabius’s strategy of wearing down Hannibal and not offering battle on Hannibal’s terms - Marcellus, in fact, would arraign his army in favorable terrain, in sight of Hannibal, and then mock Hannibal, daring him to fight his army like a man, or else settle things in personal combat. Despite this aggressive stance, he never took any of Hannibal’s bait trying to lure him into a trap.
Marcellus was in command during the Siege of Syracuse, during which he faced against the machines of the great Greek engineer Archimedes. Finding conventional methods, such as assaults with siege towers or ladders, useless against Archimedes’ brilliance, he settled in for a long siege. At least, until a windfall of intel (namely, discovering the weakness of a gatehouse) allowed a small Roman force handpicked by him personally to overpower the night watch, open the gates, and flood into the city.
Marcellus gave orders specifically to find and spare Archimedes in the chaos that followed, as Marcellus regarded him highly as a “titan of mathematics” despite the losses he had inflicted on Roman forces. Unfortunately, the Roman soldier who found him disobeyed these direct orders, killing Archimedes in a fit of rage. Marcellus deeply mourned the loss of the great inventor, even paying his respects and restitution to his family as though Archimedes was killed unjustly in peacetime - an exceptional measure of apology for the Romans, who traditionally regarded cities in wartime which did not surrender as being subject to any violence the soldiery wished to inflict upon them.
General Marcellus would meet his end by an ambush of wily Hannibal - but not in open battle. During a scouting mission with a small force of ~200 horsemen, Marcellus would be overwhelmed by a sudden wave of Numidian cavalry, and he and his men killed while attempting to fight their way free. Hannibal reportedly visited his body before funeral rites were performed to pay his respects.
How much do I have to sacrifice to Phoebus to make sure that I will be dramatically back-lit like that during important moments?
The low, low price of one (1) Gallic monarch
What is the manga called?
Ad Astra: Scipio and Hannibal. Some inaccuracies, but I believe they’re intentional for the purposes of a smoother storytelling narrative, as the author puts an absolutely adoring amount of detail into the history of the Second Punic War. Highly recommend.
How badass can you be?
Yes
