TheMad Maxfranchise has some of the most iconic, leather-clad villains in movie history, but not all of them were as compelling as others, and only one can be considered the best. Throughout theMad Maxtimeline, villains like Lord Humungus, Dementus, and more have been terrorizing theworld ofMad Max. They’re incredibly important to the franchise, as they show the lows humanity has stooped to in the apocalypse, and they contrast the heroics of Max and Furiosa. Some of them accomplished those things better than others, though, and only one of them played the villain best.
While everyMad Maxvillain brought something unique to the franchise, they can still be compared. The franchise’s best villain will be one who serves as a good antagonist on their own, but also one who fits perfectly into the series best. TheMad Maxfranchise has such a distinct style and overarching theme, and some villains simply work better within that theme than others. Thus, the antagonists ofMad Maxwill be analyzed based on their importance to the story, how outright evil they actually are, and how well they fit intoMad Max’s particular blend of madness and survival.
Every Mad Max Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
George Miller has made five Mad Max movies in the post-apocalyptic franchise, but their quality can vary. The Mad Max movies ranked reveals the best.
Played By: Tina Turner
Aunty Entity, the main antagonist of the worstMad Maxmovie,Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, is also the franchise’s worst villain.While Entity is the least compelling villain in the series, it’s not necessarily her, or Tina Turner’s, fault. In fact, Entity is a fairly compelling character, and Turner is a fairly compelling actor. She clearly runs Bartertown well, aside from her mistreatment of Master Blaster, and she had enough ingenuity to use pig waste as an alternative fuel source. The main reason Aunty Entity is the worst villain inMad Maxis because she’s barely a villain.
Why Tina Turner Was Cast In Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome made the unusual, yet genius, choice of casting Rock ‘n’ Roll singer Tina Turner as the film’s antagonist Aunty Entity.
Aunty Entity certainly did some villainous things, like having her men attack Max, tricking Max into killing Blaster and finishing the job herself, and more.The thing is, nothing Aunty Entity did inBeyond Thunderdomewas especially cruel or loathsome. She’s easily one of the most benevolent leaders of a settlement in the entire franchise, and most of her actions could be excused as her trying to protect Bartertown. Aunty Entity is a far cry from the villainy and easy to hate charactersMad Maxis known for.
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Cast
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is the third film in George Miller’s sci-fi action series. This time, Max, after being exiled, joins a group of children to take down a strange town’s tyrannical queen. The film generally received positive reviews upon release and was followed up by Mad Max: Fury Road 30 years later in 2015.
Entity was also held back byBeyond Thunderdomeitself, and particularly its ending.Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdomeis widely considered the worst entry in the franchise, and characters are usually only as good as the story they’re part of. A great example of how the story failed Aunty Entity is when she simply spares Max and drives away. It was a very confusing moment, and while it makes sense for Entity to respect Max’s ingenuity and ability to survive, it wasn’t a great villain moment. In another movie, Aunty Entity would be a great character, but she wasn’t a greatMad Maxvillain.
Played By: Hugh Keays-Byrne
The originalMad Maxis quite different from the rest of the franchise, and so is its main villain, Toecutter. Unlike later entries in the series, the originalMad Maxdidn’t yet have its signature post-apocalyptic setting. For the most part, it served as a relatively normal revenge story, admittedly with some odd costume choices and an unusual police force. Because the originalMad Maxwas fairly normal, so too was Toecutter.For most ofMad Max, Toecutter is just a slightly deranged leader of a mostly normal biker gang. He’s just a bit too plain to really stand out in a franchise likeMad Max.
Mad Max: Toecutter’s Secret Fury Road Cameo (Not Immortan Joe)
Mad Max: Fury Road sees Toecutter actor Hugh Keays-Byrne star as Immortan Joe, but the original Mad Max villain has a secret second cameo, too.
The main reason Toecutter beat Aunty Entity as a more compelling villain is because he does quite a few more evil things, and he had a much bigger impact on Max. Toecutter and his gang killed Jessie, Max’s wife, and their young son, Sprog, by running them down in the street.That sent Max on a murder-filled revenge quest, and it’s because of Toecutter that he became the Road Warrior. Toecutter also gave Max his signature limp after having his men shoot him in the leg. Those crimes make Toecutter sufficiently sadistic amongMad Maxvillains.
Mad Max
Mad Max is a 1979 sci-fi action film from director and writer George Miller. Mel Gibson stars as Max a police officer in the future who goes after a gang of vicious motorcycle thugs. The film led to a long-running franchise including The Road Warrior, Beyond Thunderdome, Fury Road, and Furiosa.
Unfortunately, killing Max’s family wasn’t enough to cement Toecutter as an iconic villain, and he’s simply outperformed by other antagonists. Aside from those few moments, Toecutter didn’t really do anything memorable. Most of his scenes in the originalMad Maxsaw him arguing with his gang or engaging in random crimes. Toecutter didn’t have a grand plan, and he didn’t really have any goals beyond general chaos and mayhem. He also had one of the least climactic deaths in the franchise, one that was even outclassed in the same movie. All in all, Toecutter just wasn’t as good as otherMad Maxantagonists.
Played By: Kjell Nilsson
Lord Humungus, the main villain ofMad Max 2: The Road Warrior, is the quintessentialMad Maxvillain.From his hockey mask and leather girdle to the biker gang he commanded, everything about Humungus told audiences that he was a product of the Wasteland, and a particularly messed-up one at that. Humungus was sadistic, brutal, cruel, and incredibly deadly, and his very appearance alone conveyed that. Even with such effective clothing, though, his mask left an air of mystery about him, and the mystery of how his face was burnt is one of the most enduring questions inMad Max.
Mad Max: Why The Road Warrior Cut Lord Humungus’ Backstory
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior’s Lord Humungus originally had a backstory connected to the original Mad Max, so why did the director cut this twist?
Aside from his appearance, there are a few things about Lord Humungus that make him a very compelling villain. Even though he’s clearly capable of taking down his enemies physically, he was also a master of rhetoric and manipulation.If it hadn’t been for Max, Humungus likely would have taken over the oil refinery through trickery alone, which made him twice as threatening.
Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior
The Road Warrior, aka Mad Max 2, picks up after the original 1976 film and continues following Max’s (Mel Gibson) journey through a post-apocalyptic Australia. This time, Max helps a group of locals escape bandits to protect their wealth of gasoline. George Miller again directs the Mad Max sequel and is often considered the fan-favorite of the original trilogy.
The main thing holding Humungus back from being a better villain is how little he actually does inThe Road Warrior. Humungus is only in a handful of scenes throughout the film, and his most notable actions include killing Pappagallo and leading the gang.In most of the action scenes inThe Road Warrior, Wez upstages Humungus, and is arguably a bigger problem for Max and the tribe. He also could have had a much more significant effect on the emotional story of the movie, ifHumungus' missing backstoryas Goose from the originalMad Maxhadn’t been cut.
Played By: Chris Hemsworth
The first and only villain Max didn’t fight himself is one of the best antagonistsMad Maxhas ever seen.Dementus was the main villain ofFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga, and though he never interacted with Max, he left an undeniable mark on the franchise. A big reason Dementus is so compelling as a villain is because he’s essentially Lord Humungus turned up to 11. Like Humungus, Dementus is a physically imposing person with a fittingly dramatic wardrobe, and he commands a similarly intimidating gang of bikers. Where Dementus really stands alone, however, is in his madness.
Who Is Dementus? Chris Hemsworth’s Furiosa Villain & Mad Max History Explained
Chris Hemsworth plays Dementus in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, but who is this warlord and how does he connect with Fury Road’s Immortan Joe?
Dementus is so many things at the same time. In one scene, he’s a sympathetic man, grieving the loss of his family and his life before the apocalypse, and there’s something hauntingly relatable to his fascination with Furiosa. In the next scene, he’s a ruthless warlord whose only motivations seem to be chaos and sadism.On top of his conflicting nature, Dementus has some stellar lines that Chris Hemsworth delivered perfectly, and they make him endlessly entertaining to watch. Dementus is easily one of the most insaneMad Maxvillains, which is really saying something for the franchise.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
Another extremely interesting part of Dementus is his role in Furiosa’s story. For almost her entire life, Dementus was a constant source of pain, abuse, and tragedy.Dementus killed her mother and her lover,Praetorian Jack, enslaved Furiosa for years as a child, and forced her to cut off her own arm. Dementus is so brilliantly dark and cruel that he easily earns a spot as the second-best villain inMad Max. He even made a case for being the best in the franchise, but Dementus was beaten by one other villain.
Though it came close, Immortan Joe is the best villain in all ofMad Max. Immortan Joe delivers everything one could want out of aMad Maxvillain, and then some.From his iconic design with his respirator and white hair to his unique gang of War Boys and his command over the Citadel, Immortan Joe is just the cream of the crop as far as antagonists go. Immortan Joe really combines some of the best parts of every otherMad Maxvillain into one nearly perfect antagonist forMad Max: Fury Road.
Immortan Joe & The War Boys In Mad Max Explained
Immortan Joe is one of the most iconic villains in the Mad Max franchise, and here are the origins of the antagonist as well as his loyal War Boys.
Immortan Joe is as ingenius as Aunty Entity: he ran the Citadel incredibly effectively, and he found a substitute for water through Mother’s Milk.He’s as important as Toecutter: he was the only villain to appear in twoMad Maxmovies, and he directly changed both Max and Furiosa in fundamental ways. He’s as physically imposing as Humungus, and his War Boy followers are even more intimidating. He’s also as insane as Dementus: he risked the entire Citadel just to chase down all of his wives. Though he was a combination of the best of the villains before and after him, Immortan Joe also set himself apart.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Road is a post-apocalyptic film set in a desolate desert landscape where society has collapsed. Released in 2015, the story follows two rebels, Max Rockatansky and Imperator Furiosa, as they attempt to survive and bring balance to a world torn by chaos and strife.
All the villains inMad Maxmade themselves easy to hate in different ways, but Immortan Joe was more vile than anyone else. From his treatment of his wives and children to his hoarding of water and his cult-like control over the War Boys, there are so many reasons to hate him. His sheer lack of likability made him the perfect antagonist, one that anyone would feel good about rooting against. Immortan Joe is the best villain inMad Maxand a perfect symbol for the horrors of the Wasteland.
Mad Max is an Australian post-apocalyptic franchise created by George Miller and Byron Kennedy. The first three films star Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a former police officer who seeks revenge after his family is murdered. Tom Hardy took over the role for 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road, which was followed by Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga starring Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa.
