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| “ | Once again, we send off my War Rig to bring back gasoline from Gas Town and bullets from the Bullet Farm! Once again, I salute my Imperator Furiosa and I salute my half-life War Boys, who will ride with me eternal on the highways of Valhalla! I am your redeemer! It is by my hand you will rise from the ashes of this world! | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe's famous speech to his followers. |
| “ | Immortan Joe: No, put a bullet in her skull, stop the rig, return my treasures to me, and I myself will carry you to the gates of Valhalla. Nux: Am I awaited? Immortan Joe: You will ride eternal. Shiny and chrome. |
„ |
| ~ Immortan Joe to Nux; his most famous quote. |
Colonel Joseph "Joe" Moore, better known as the Immortan Joe, is the main antagonist of the 2015 post-apocalyptic action film Mad Max: Fury Road and the overarching antagonist of its 2024 prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
As the tyrannical and ruthless leader of the Cult of the V8, he is the most powerful of the warlords controlling the wastelands. The Immortan Joe rules the wasteland from his Citadel, keeping his citizenry in line through the use of the aquifer concealed under his fortress, encouraging them to worship him as a messiah. Old and diseased, Joe is now determined to ensure that his kingdom remains intact long after his death, and to that end, he keeps a harem of wives captive, hoping to produce a viable heir through their repeated rape. When his wives are freed by Joe's Imperator Furiosa, Joe and the War Boys set out to recapture them.
In Fury Road, he was portrayed by the late Hugh Keays-Byrne, who also played Toecutter in the first Mad Max film. In Furiosa, he was portrayed by Lachy Hulme in his first villainous role.
History[]
Past[]
Little is known of Joe's life prior to the apocalypse. However, when the conflict that led to the end of civilization began, Joe Moore was a Colonel in the Australian army, and already a veteran of the Oil Wars, he emerged a hero of the Water Wars. However, the heroism, whether real or simply good PR, ultimately did little to save the world from the global collapse of society, and Joe quickly found himself one of the last remaining highest-ranking officers remaining in the entire army, with other higher ups scattered across the continent or evacuated to safe zones.
Banking on his authority among his own men and his skills as a soldier, he formed a biker gang of fellow ex-soldiers in the hopes of restoring order to the world, among his ranks were such figures as the henchmen dubbed Major Kalashnikov (later known as the Bullet Farmer) and the strategist Deepdog. With each battle, the gang grew stronger by slaughtering the leaders of other gangs and taking their women, his idea of bringing back society taking a dark turn from then on.
Eventually, he and his gang entered the wasteland, and with the help of a nameless local guide (later known as The People Eater) discovered a massive aquifer hidden in the desert. The aquifer was already occupied, however, and Joe's attempts to exchange captive women for water ended in failure, so he instead took it by force, gradually taking over the rock fortress through superior tactics.
Now in charge of the single biggest supply of water in the wasteland, he renamed the aquifer as his Citadel, gaining substantial followers by supplying them with water in exchange for their loyalty and adulation. He expanded his power by claiming a derelict oil refinery and an abandoned lead mine some distance from the Citadel. Under the management of the People Eater and the Bullet Farmer, these two sites supplied him with the petrol and ammo he needed to enforce his growing empire.
Soon, the man once known as Joe Moore was being worshiped as a savior by the people of the wasteland, renamed "Immortan Joe" for his great age and seemingly impossible survival skills. His gang, now known as the "War Boys," was no longer composed of professional soldiers, but of fanatical worshipers raised from childhood to serve his every whim.
Joe indoctrinated his servants to obey without question and love him unceasingly, serving as their king, their father and their god. In return, he promised to deliver them to the warrior heaven of Valhalla, where they would ride the highways and feast with fellow heroes for all eternity. With many of the War Boys doomed to "half-life" by radiation sickness and other ailments, they were glad to sacrifice their lives to their beloved Immortan.
As such, the service of the War Boys was virtually guaranteed: War Boy patrols often stalked the wasteland, capturing vehicles and travelers alike and dragging them back to the Citadel to serve as Joe's slaves, and many others sought out glorious deaths in battles with Joe's enemies, killing themselves in dramatic suicide attacks.
However, though he enjoyed the power he held over his followers and the extravagant lifestyle it afforded him, Joe wanted to maintain that power long after his death, as he wanted a legacy. To that end, he captured a harem of beautiful women and tasked them with bearing his offspring, granting them luxuries beyond the reach of most wasteland citizens, including rare books and musical instruments.
Ultimately, this opulence was little more than window dressing for the life of sexual slavery the wives had to endure: kept imprisoned behind a bank vault door and fitted with chastity belts to prevent sexual infidelity of any kind, they were forced to endure Joe's constant sexual advances, with harsh punishments meted out to any who dared dissent. Those who failed to provide him with an heir after three pregnancies were demoted to providing milk for the heads of Joe's empire, spending the rest of their lives as human cows for the Citadel.
By this method, Joe successfully acquired three sons, Rictus Erectus, Corpus Colossus and Scabrous Scrotus. However, all were unsuitable heirs: Rictus was immensely strong but had the mind of a child and no instinct for leadership, Corpus was possessed of a brilliant mind, but his physical disabilities left him incapable of commanding respect among the War Boys, and Scabrous was a ravening monster, a marauding psychopath who'd almost certainly destroy Joe's empire if ever allowed to claim it. So the search for a healthy heir continued, Joe growing ever more desperate as his own illness became apparent.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga[]
The Horde of Dementus arrive at the Citadel, with Warlord Dementus offering equality to its citizens if they turn against their leaders, and appoint him their new leader. In response, on behalf of Immortan Joe, the People Eater asks that Dementus to pick out a War Boy; Dementus allows his toady, Smeg, to pick, which he does. Joe promises the war boy that Valhalla awaits, thus the war boy executes a kamikaze attack that causes an explosion, wiping out several members of the Horde. Joe boasts of his army's loyalty to him, unleashing a larger attack, killing more of the Horde, while also scooping up vehicles, which forces Dementus to order a retreat.
Immortan Joe believed his supremacy unchallenged, but Dementus manages to capture Gastown and threatens to blow up the supply of fuel for Joe's empire unless his demands are met. Forced into a negotiation, Joe - impressed by Dementus' cunning and realising best to keep enemies close - agrees to share a livable ration of food, water, and fuel to the Horde, as well as agreeing to appoint Dementus Lord Guardian of Gastown; Joe adds, however, the condition that Furiosa and the Organic Mechanic be yielded to him, to which Dementus acquiesced.
The young Furiosa is taken to the Treasure Vault, home of Immortan Joe's enslaved harem, to be kept until she comes of age, while the Organic Mechanic completes his first task of delivering a mutated stillborn from one of Joe's wives. One night, Rictus abducts Furiosa, having becoming fascinated by the young girl; she manages to flee, without anyone learning of it, mainly due to Joe's dim-witted son not wanting to get in trouble, and the fact that she fashions herself to look like a boy to work as a mechanic.
Over the years, Dementus' mental instability caused his rule of Gastown to degrade, as he hoards food and water for himself, while allowing the citizens to starve, which threatens to provoke an uprising from the citizens. Scrotus and the People Eater demand that they forcibly remove Dementus, but Immortan Joe opts to bide his time.
After construction of a great War Rig, a gas run was launched, but beneath the rig, Furiosa hid with a motorbike and supplies she planted for an escape. Furiosa's escape was compromised due to an attack of raiders, which forced her to help the Rig driver, Praetor Jack. She tried to leave anyway, but lacking a vehicle and being in the middle of the Fury Road, she agreed to continue the run with Jack. Possibly thanks to Jack's word, Immortan Joe appointed Furiosa as another Praetorian, evidently unaware she was the same girl who had escaped his harem due to time changing her appearance and her never revealing her name when she was a child.
One day, Praetor Jack and Praetor Furiosa undertake a run to the Bullet Farm, which appeared to be abandoned; however, they see one of Dementus' dogs eating human remains, which made them realise that the Horde had captured the Farm. They are divided by the entrance portcullis, with their squadron of War Boys killed by emerging shooters, leaving Jack to face the majority of the forces alone; Furiosa enters on foot, sniping numerous targets that pursue Jack's rig. Furiosa almost hits Dementus, but he launched a rocket at the ridge beneath her, causing it to collapse. However, she survives, and joins Jack as they had agreed to escape to the Green Place together.
Dementus and a detachment of his Horde chase Jack and Furiosa across the desert; despite their efforts, their vehicle is flipped, and they are left helpless. Dementus has Furiosa's left arm tied to the back of his monster truck vehicle, while having his riders drive in a circle, as Jack is tied to the back of two bikes. After hours of his men driving in a circle, Dementus finally halts them out of boredom, deciding to punish Furiosa next; however, he found that she had escaped, by breaking off her own arm.
Furiosa managed to return to the Citadel, breaking into a War Council to reveal that Dementus had seized the Bullet Farm, and the excess smoke from Gastown was only a harmless distraction, so that the Cult of V8 would be sent to it, leaving the Citadel undefended. While most of the Council disregard her warnings, Immortan Joe believed her and adjusts his strategy accordingly - make it appear that they are storming Gastown, but remain at the Citadel to wait for the Horde from a position of strength.
The 40 Day Wasteland War commenced, with losses on both sides, yet mainly Dementus' own forces. Furiosa recovers from her injury, and manufactures a bionic arm out of scrapped car parts. On the last day of the War, Dementus had lost all of his men from battle or desertion, leaving him with only his lieutenants and minion, Smeg; Furiosa inspects the battlefield, interrogating Scrotus to learn the direction that Dementus fled.
Even though Furiosa defeated and captured Dementus, she didn't reveal this, as she kept her tormentor imprisoned in a hidden alcove of the Citadel in the hope of satisfying her desire to avenge both her dead mother and Jack respectively; nevertheless, due to her years of strength and talent as a warrior, as well as providing the intelligence that undermined Dementus' entire strategy, Immortan Joe considered her his finest and most loyal, promoting her to Imperator - henceforth trusted her to continue working for him during the subsequent years.
Mad Max: Fury Road[]
Immortan Joe and his War Boys on the hunt.
At the beginning of the film, Max Rockatansky is captured by one of the Immortan Joe's patrols and brought back to the Citadel as a slave. As is the policy with most male slaves of compatible blood type, Max is used as an unwilling donor for an ailing War Boy, in this case, Nux.
Soon after, Joe himself sends off his War Rig to collect the owed tribute of petrol from Gastown and bullets from the Bullet Far, with Imperator Furiosa behind the Rig's wheel. Unbeknownst to the War Boys, Furiosa is using this opportunity to smuggle Joe's wives to freedom, keeping the entire harem concealed in a hidden compartment within the rig.
Unfortunately, Furiosa's deception does not go unnoticed for long: as soon as the rig leaves the road to Gastown, Corpus Colossus alerts his father to the unexpected change in course, prompting a suspicious Joe to investigate the vault where he normally keeps his wives.
Upon finding it empty except for the shotgun-toting Miss Giddy, he pauses just long enough to disarm and interrogate her before sounding the alarm. As a result, Immortan Joe's entire army is mobilized against the fleeing War Rig with Joe himself in the lead aboard the Gigahorse, along with reinforcements led by the People Eater and the Bullet Farmer. Even the sickly Nux joins the war party on a pursuit vehicle, dragging Max into the conflict as well.
Joe's first attempts at reclaiming the Rig are unsuccessful: though a number of his pursuit vehicles are able to reach Furiosa ahead of the rest of the army, most of them are wiped out in a dust storm, while Nux loses his chance to capture the rig when Max escapes and overpowers him.
Furiosa (now in a tentative partnership with Max) further stymies Joe's attempts to catch up with the rig by leading them into the canyons and allowing the Rock Rider motorcycle gang to block the path with explosives. This time, however, Joe is able to bypass the obstacle by commandeering Rictus Erectus's personal vehicle, the Bigfoot. With Rictus and a small party of War Boys in tow, he assaults the Rig head on, only declining a chance to shoot Furiosa when his favorite wife, the heavily-pregnant Angharad, shields her.
After Nux once again tries and fails to gain Joe's approval in a botched attempt at capturing the rig (succeeding only in tripping himself up and losing one of Joe's prized revolvers (ruger Vaquero) in the process), he resorts to harpooning the Rig's steering wheel in an attempt to reel Furiosa in.
Angharad is able to detach the harpoon chain with a pair of bolt cutters, but in the ensuing chaos, she tumbles off the War Rig and directly into the path of the oncoming Bigfoot. Though Joe swerves to avoid her, he succeeds only in crashing the car and mortally wounding his most valuable possession.
That evening, with the Rig well out of reach and the Bullet Farmer pursuing it through the marshland, Angharad dies of her injuries. Apparently undismayed, Immortan Joe has the Organic Mechanic perform an emergency C-section in an attempt to save the baby, only to find that the baby is already dead. To Joe's further disappointment, the dead child was exactly the heir he had been hoping for, being male, disease-free, and perfect in every way.
With the Bullet Farmer dead and Nux having been persuaded to join Furiosa, the Rig is apparently out of Joe's reach, allowing the narrative to temporarily leave him behind. However, around this time, deleted scenes feature him torturing Miss Giddy almost to death, before ordering his War Boys to spread out across the wastes in search of Furiosa, leaving the mortally-wounded Giddy behind along with Angharad's corpse, to be devoured by crows.
After their plans to seek out the Green Place fail, Max and Furiosa hit upon a more audacious plan to claim Immortan Joe's own Citadel. Seeing the rig making its way back across the wasteland, Joe immediately realizes their plan, knowing that the Citadel has been left undefended, he orders an frantic pursuit.
The death of Immortan Joe.
During the ensuing clash between Joe's convoy and the War Rig, most of the War Boys are killed, the People Eater is shot dead by Joe while being used as a human shield by Max, another of the wives is recaptured, and Furiosa is severely wounded. Despite her injuries, she manages to align the War Ring with Joe's Gigahorse and clamber aboard. As they head the pass, Nux look in horror when he switches side with Joe. Lowering the window to shoot Furiosa, Joe is stymied one last time when Toast, the recaptured wife, tries to disarm him. Enraged, he viciously pistol-whips Toast across the face nearly giving her a scar, only for Furiosa to seize the opportunity to pounce: hooking a chain to Joe's skull mask, she flings the other end of the chain under one of the Gigahorse's tires, ripping off his mask and taking most of Joe's face with it, killing him instantly.
In a final insult, his corpse is brought back to the Citadel on the hood of the Gigahorse to displayed before his stunned followers, ending both his pretensions of immortality and his kingdom. The dispossessed and starved outsiders rip Immortan Joe's body apart, taking pieces of his armour, mask, and his medals as trophies to revel in the warlord's demise.
Appearance[]
Immediately distinguished by his skull-like gas mask and long white hair, Immortan Joe is never seen in public without his armor and medals of office. Made of bulletproof plastic, his body armor offers him substantial protection in wartime, and also makes him seem more impressive to observers thanks to the muscles sculpted into the breastplate. Joe continues the trend of impressing his followers through the collection of medals and trophies covering his armor, along with two rare silver revolvers (colt anaconda & Ruger Vaquero) and an ornate scepter.
Under his armor, Joe is old, overweight, and diseased. His skin is pale and covered in tumors and open sores, indicating he may be suffering from cancer or another illness caused by exposure to nuclear fallout. He also appears to be suffering from respiratory problems, requiring a bladder of purified air attached to his gas mask in order to breathe properly. Joe covers himself from head to toe in white powder to ease his pain, giving him a ghostly pallor which is mimicked by War Boys (makeup design was inspired by Indian holy men). At times, he has difficulty walking unassisted, requiring the aid of his son Rictus in order to make it as far as the Citadel balcony, ironic, considering the War Boys' policy of "If you can't stand up, you can't do war.".
Personality[]
Joe displays many traits typical of cult leaders and dictators. He is a tremendous and sensational public speaker, delivering lofty speeches to elicit fealty from his subjects. He regularly demonstrates his control over The Citadel's resources, constantly reaffirming his dominion over the population. He commands a horde of fanatical warriors who worship him and follow him without question, even going so far as to sacrifice their lives for his every whim. In turn, he offers them the promise of eternal life with him in Valhalla. While the majority of his forces are indoctrinated into being utterly obedient, certain higher rank underlings aren't brainwashed; examples like the People Eater and the Bullet Farmer are able to voice dissent, which Joe often chooses to ignore, yet he is never angered at their objections, which implies a level of respect that he holds for the most valuable members of the cult.
Despite his oppressive and totalitarian nature, Joe does seem to have an altruistic and compassionate side. He may sincerely believe that he is doing right by society within The Citadel by rationing the water, growing and distributing crops, capturing "blood bags" (enslaved individuals used as blood donors) for medical use, and by implementing a "breeding program". While showing a degree of favouritism to his birth-defected sons, he still expects them to serve to the best of their abilities, as well as expecting their total obedience. When an individual displays exceptional talent, he appears to hold them in genuinely higher regard and respect, such as Imperator Furiosa before her defection, and the Organic Mechanic, as the latter uses jovial and even derisive language when delivering Joe's stillborn children, but the warlord never chastises or punishes him for it.
He has immense confidence in the strength of his forces, as he uses their loyalty to him as a greater weapon against his enemies. He is also boastful, although does seem to have the capacity for rational thinking when facing a more persistent enemy force; in the prequel Furiosa, he is initially dismissive of Dementus and the Horde, but after they successfully capture Gastown, he calmly agreed to allowing Dementus to maintain rule of Gastown, and even allowed a smaller but generous percentage of his resources to the Horde, since he recognised the willpower and cunning of Dementus, and chose a peaceful solution as it was the option of least potential of loss and the most beneficial for the short-term at least. Joe held a level of patience on some issues, as he allowed Dementus to remain ruling Gastown for over a decade, just to wait for his betrayal or failure, without concern as he usually considered problems on a long term scale.
He has a great affection for his wives but treats them as objects rather than people, referring to them as his "treasures". In the Mad Max: Fury Road comic, he considers the wives ungrateful for what he apparently sincerely considers to be extremely generous and charitable. He seems to think his keeping the wives prisoner as sex slaves is truly what's best for them and thinks of them as spoiled when they verbally rebel.
Joe's sexual tendencies are covered much more in the comics and are suggested to be unusual. In the presence of his wives, he refers to himself as "daddy", asking Cheedo to sit on his lap like a child and seemingly taking pleasure in the age gap between him and his wives. Toast also remarks that during one of her rapes he had penetrated her anally rather than vaginally. This suggests that while Joe does place obtaining a healthy heir as a high priority, he still to a degree uses sex with the wives just for pleasure.
It is also hinted at in the comic that he may have a closeted attraction to men. The wives mock him by saying he would rather sleep with a War Boy than with them, and the History Man narrating the comic shares this sentiment. In support of this claim, Joe has in the comics been seen encouraging War Boy's to refer to him as "daddy", a parallel with how he talks to his wives. He is for example seen in his own origin comic telling the War Boys "daddy loves you".
He notably never appeared intimidated, no matter how great the challenge or threat. The closest he gets to fear is in regards to his wives, or more specifically, his unborn children, as his obsession with healthy heirs is perhaps his greatest weakness, other than occasional overconfidence and rage.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Charisma: A masterful and proficient orator and a celebrated military leader, Immortan Joe was able to use his personal charm to pose as a messiah to the people of the Wasteland, attracting hundreds of devoted followers and servants in the process. Thanks to Joe's indoctrination, the War Boys will do anything for him.
- Cunning: Joe possesses a keen intellect, having already used it to build his own private kingdom from the post-apocalyptic ruins of the world and secure the resources necessary to fuel it. He is also savvy enough to guess at Furiosa's next course of action from the first clues available, immediately recognising her journey off-road as an escape attempt by the wives, and later realising that Max and Furiosa intend to take the Citadel for themselves.
- Driving Skills: A skilled driver, Joe proves himself capable of outmaneuvering and keeping pace with the war rig, not only behind the wheel of his Gigahorse, but also while driving Rictus Erectus' own vehicle.
- Marksmanship: Joe is an excellent shooter, capable of firing his revolver (single action) one-handed while driving and retaining enough accuracy to land direct hits; had Max not been using the People Eater as a human shield, Joe would have easily killed him.
- Stamina: Despite his obesity, health, and breathing issues, he was able to sprint short distances and maintain strength to push a shotgun barrel away from him. He was also able to remain awake for days during the pursuit to recover his Five Wives, only resting briefly, yet still without sleep, and engaging in high octane battle near the end.
Vehicle[]
The Gigahorse: A gargantuan monster truck made from two sandwiched 1959 Cadillac Coup Devilles that serves as the vehicular throne for Joe.
Quotes[]
| “ | Immortan Joe: Who's that? Dementus: That... is my daughter, Little D. Little Dementus. Immortan Joe: She looks nothing like you. |
„ |
| ~ Meeting of warlords that deviated to discussing the young girl, Furiosa or "Little D" |
| “ | No, there is only my way | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe dismissing his son Scrotus's desire for immediate battle |
| “ | Do not, my friends, become addicted to water, or it will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence! | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe admonishing the crowd for rioting over water. |
| “ | Ugh! Mediocre! | „ |
| ~ Joe expressing his disappointment over Nux's failed attempt to kill Furiosa, much to the latter's great dismay. |
| “ | Get it out! GET IT OUT! | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe telling Organic Mechnaic to get the baby out. |
| “ | I want them back! THEY'RE MY PROPERTY! | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe's breakdown |
| “ | They are heading for the canyon! They're going back to the Citadel! They know it's undefended! | „ |
| ~ Immortan Joe realizes that Max and Furiosa are leading his captive wives back to the Citadel, also his last words. |
Trivia[]
- The scepter carried by Joe in the film is actually a personal artifact belonging to his actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, a memento of his mother-in-law.
- Despite the colt anaconda being a double action revolver he fires it single action by chocking the hammer, he could just pull the trigger as it chocks automatically.
- The design of Immortan Joe changed over many years of movie's development. However, the only remaining characteristic present in all designs is his breathing apparatus also functioning as a menacing mask.
- One of the trailers showed Immortan Joe slamming his hand down on the bonnet.
- Immortan Joe was Hugh Keays-Byrnes' final role before his passing in 2020.
- With his appearance in Furiosa, Immortan Joe is the first Mad Max main antagonist to appear in more than one movie.
External Links[]
- Immortan Joe on the Pure Evil Wiki
- Immortan Joe on the Wikipedia
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 Villains
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Toecutter's Gang Lord Humungus' Marauders Bartertown Cult of the V8 Biker Horde Pole Cats Roadkill Others | ||
