The Mad Max saga has featured a number of peculiar and brutal villains, and very strange names.
The villains of Mad Max are not like those of other movies, they are villains who can only exist in that devastated and resourceless world, where you have to go to the extreme to survive and where having power is one of the most important things.
The first film was released in 1979 and showed a world that still retained a bit of normality and elements that we can recognize, but that was already transforming into a place full of dangers, shortages and violence.
In the first film, starring Mel Gibson, gangs of bikers begin to appear looking for gas so they can move around using terror and stealing everything they could to survive, killing anyone who stood in their way. By the second, which arrived in 1981, the planet was already unrecognizable and a flamboyant villain appeared, with a Bodybuilder look, a mask that covered his face and a flashy and aggressive name.
Fury Road and Furiosa, with Anya Taylor-Joy, continue along the same path, with very strange villains, with deformities caused by nuclear war and with decorative outfits that sought to intimidate, but also give them an appearance like gods that had to be followed to have some water and food.
Who is Immortan Joe?
Immortan Joe is the villain who appears in Mad Max: Fury Road, where he is played by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who appeared in the first Mad Max film from 1979, but with a completely different villain.
Immortan Joe is the leader of a citadel that has water, food and many resources, which is what gives him power and protection, he is also surrounded by War Boys, who are young people who are trained to serve him from childhood and who grow up become warriors who will do anything for him, thinking that this is how they will reach Nirvana.
Immortan Joe, which is a name that plays on the idea that he is immortal, uses elements of different religions and beliefs to build his character, in addition to wearing an outfit designed to protect him and help him survive, since he is not completely healthy and does not breathe well without that suit. To continue his lineage, he has a harem of women whose sole purpose in life is to give him healthy heirs, and among them are the 5 women that Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron, helps escape on Fury Road.
According to the comics, Immortan was originally Joe Moore, a decorated soldier who fought in the wars for water and oil, which led to the destruction of the world.
Who are Rictus and Scrotus? Mad Max: Fury Road
Nathan Jones plays Rictus, one of Immortan Joe’s sons, who is also one of the leaders of his army. Rictus has a look that connects with the villain of Mad Max: The Road Warrior, which is the sequel to the original film (The Hummungus) and, as immortan, he is also not completely healthy, although he is strong and imposing.
Rictus has a brother named Scrotus, played by Josh Helman in Furiosa. The two serve in their father’s army and do the dirty work for him, seeking out his enemies, hunting them down, and leading attacks to maintain order and Immortan’s power.
The names of the two brothers are phallic elements that refer to the obsession with having sons, as a way to expand their empire and to ensure their legacy and the loyalty of their followers, but also to toxic masculinity and women as a means to continue expanding their power.
Who is Dementus?
Furiosa, the Fury Road prequel with Anya Taylor-Joy, introduces a new villain who shows that Immortan Joe isn’t the sole leader or the only threat to The Wasteland.
Dementus is played by Chris Hemsworth, an Australian actor who is perfect to appear in this film saga that was born and develops in Australia, who plays a biker with a tragic past, who becomes the leader of a gang that is desperate for resources, which is what leads him to Furiosa and to want to find the place he comes from.
As Immortan, Dementus presents himself as a messianic figure who can save his people, and that eventually leads him to confront Immortan Joe and try to get part of his empire. Dementus is also a Warlord and is willing to fight and sacrifice as many men as necessary to reach the top.
Who is Toecutter?
Toecutter was played by Hugh Keays-Byrne, the same actor who plays Immortan Joe, in the first Mad Max movie, though the connection between the characters doesn’t go beyond having the same actor.
Toecutter is not a soldier or a war leader, but he is a disturbed, violent and sadistic motorcyclist, who travels the Australian territory accompanied by a gang of criminals, who dedicate themselves to robbing, raping and killing people in order to obtain resources and gasoline.
Toecutter is the one who destroys Max’s family and leads him to become a lonely and vengeful man. His men could connect with Dementus and his horde, who ride motorcycles and scour the Wasteland in search of food, water, and fuel.
Who is The Humungus?
The Humungus is the villain who appears in the sequel to Mad Max: The Road Warrior, and is a very similar character to Immortan Joe. He is a man who seems to be affected by nuclear war, so he wears a mask that covers his face.
Hummungus was played by Kjell Nilson and is one of the first Warlords to appear, he has his followers like Immortan has, and his motorcycles, vehicles, and trucks to attack the communities of survivors that span the territory.
This character has his own Rictus, not his son, but a violent psychopath, with a red mohawk, named Wez, played by Vernon Wells, who wants to kill Max after trying to attack him, and failing, on the road.
Who is Aunty Entity?
Aunty Entity is the villain in the third film of the original saga, called Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. This villain is actually the queen of an advanced, resource-rich and even electric city in the Wasteland, called Bartertown, and is played by Tina Turner.
Aunty Entity wants to use Max to deal with one of her enemies, called the Master Blaster (which is actually made up of two characters, The Master, played by Angelo Rossitto, and The Blaster, played by Paul Larsson. Master is the brains and Blaster is the muscles), but Max decides not to help and tries to overthrow so that the townspeople can have more power, justice, and resources.