Highlights
- Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga introduces new characters like Dementus and explores Immortan Joe’s softer side.
- The People Eater’s expanded role and unsettling scenes in the saga shed more light on his character.
- Character highlights like Praetorian Jack and Mary Jabassa add depth and sacrifice to the post-apocalyptic world.
The Mad Max movies started with relatively grounded characters. Sure, there was Toecutter and his gang of bandits in the original but they weren’t too far gone. From there, the villains and heroes of the series became wilder and wilder to the point where that is a big highlight in these movies besides all of the wild stunts fans love to see.
The same is true for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga as it introduces new characters like Dementus and returns old ones like Furiosa who is the star of the show. Is she the best character, though? Here’s a ranking of some of the character highlights with spoilers in full effect.
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
8 The People Eater
A New Look For A Returning Classic
The People Eater was part of Immortan Joe’s crew in Mad Max: Fury Road. He stood out because of his weird nose job and his giant foot. He did not have a huge role in the movie, though, unlike in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
George Miller seemingly rewrote his character to give The People Eater more of an involved role as Immortan Joe’s strategist during the Forty-Day War. Also, his odd nipple fetish was given more light in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga in some very disturbing scenes.
7 Immortan Joe
A Kinder But Still Twisted Role
Immortan Joe was the big bad of Mad Max: Fury Road and he was a good villain. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga softens him up a bit to show a kinder side—and he’s also smarter. During the confrontation between Dementus and him in the throne room, Immortan Joe can clearly tell Furiosa is not Dementus’ child.
He can see the fear in her eyes so he offers to save Furiosa. Of course, this was done so that she could one day become his child bride sans wedding which is creepy. It’s a subtle creepiness though woven into a sweet moment and it was a highlight for his character in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga overall.
6 The History Man
How Many Have There Been?
Some of the names like Immortan Joe are cool actual names. Then there are characters like The People Eater and The History Man, the Gandalf-looking elder in Dementus’ posse. It’s not known if The History Man came from a time before the post-apocalypse or if he was raised to keep the secrets of the old world from his elders.
Either way, his design is cool as his entire body is covered in tattoos about the world’s history. His determination to keep history alive is commendable given how poorly he is treated as an old man in a cage, rotting his days away for a wildly unkind man like Dementus.
5 The Octoboss
The Most Hideo Kojima Villain In The Movie
The Octoboss is part of Dementus’ crew, the Biker Horde. He has tentacle-like horns and a cape to match. This cape is what eventually does The Octoboss in though, as he gets sucked into a turbine. It’s like they say in The Incredibles movie: capes, of any sort, are dangerous.
Bad costume ideas aside, The Octoboss looks and sounds like a character from a Hideo Kojima game which may not be a coincidence since Kojima and Miller are working together on Death Stranding 2.
4 Mary Jabassa
A Loving Mother Gives It Her All
Mary Jabassa is Furiosa’s mom and she isn’t seen very much in the movie. Given her runtime in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, she makes every second count. As soon as she hears about her daughter’s kidnapping, Mary Jabassa speeds away with one of her colleagues.
Day and night she tracks Furiosa down, sniping down villains in her tracks. Even when she is about to be caught, she sacrifices herself so that Furiosa and The Green Place can live on and that’s the noblest deed any mother can do.
3 Praetorian Jack
The Only Good Man In The Apocalypse
Praetorian Jack is Furiosa’s mentor, the one who taught her to drive the War Rigs for The Citadel. War Rig drivers have the distinct black grease paint on their foreheads as a marking of their rank which really isn’t discussed in the movie.
Praetorian Jack is pretty much the only standup male in the movie who gives Furiosa a chance even though it could have got him killed. Sadly, his devotion and love do lead to his death, and like Mary Jabassa’s, it’s a worthy sacrifice in Praetorian Jack’s mind.
2 Furiosa
Fueled By Revenge And Love
Furiosa has to rank high on the list as the star of the film. She was such a standout in Mad Max: Fury Road that it seemingly inspired George Miller to make a prequel, which he has never done in this franchise before. It’s also the first Max-less entry and his absence doesn’t make the movie suffer.
Getting to see all of the hardships Furiosa went through in the film is harrowing. From losing her home to losing her mom to losing her arm, it’s a miracle Furiosa didn’t become jaded and hateful. The events of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga inspired Furiosa to take Immortan Joe’s brides away to return to The Green Place which is the plot of Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa is still a standout badass femme fatale in movies.
1 Dementus
A Goofy Good Time
A good female hero is only as good as her opposing villain. In this case, it’s Dementus and Chris Hemsworth is giving it his all as a villain. It’s great to see MCU actors like him and Chris Evans take on villainous roles like in Knives Out or The Gray Man for Evans.
Dementus is an odd character from his teddy bear strapped to his crotch to his oddly dyed hairdo for part of the film, not to mention his nipple torture which puts anything The People Eater does to shame. The only downside to Dementus is that he disappears for large portions of the movie, otherwise, every second he’s on the screen is gold.
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