Who is Furiosa’s equivalent of the Doof Warrior?

How can you top something that is already ridiculous, joyfully, and emphatically over-the-top? That’s the big existential question George Miller faced in making it Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagathe powerful prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road. The first film is maximalist in a way, with screaming, bald, white-painted War Boys gleefully chrome-plating their teeth before throwing themselves to their deaths, and chase after chase involving gigantic War Rigs and almost infinite smaller vehicles covered in skulls, chains , creepy dolls and anything else the designers could graft on.

But nothing in the film is more over-the-top than the Doof Warrior, the fan-favorite hard rocker who bungie-hops around a giant stack of speakers, wearing red long johns and the face of his deceased mother, while wielding a fire-breathing guitar. as he plays sick licks to inspire Immortan Joe’s hyped collection of Valhalla-minded dummies to go even harder in battle. Recently a group of Polygon staffers were discussing Furiosaand someone asked, “Who is the Deaf Warrior equivalent in this movie?”

The most obvious answer is that there isn’t one. At least there isn’t someone who is ridiculous in the same way and on the same level. But one of the best things about it Furiosa is that Miller isn’t just trying to copy himself, so for example he doesn’t throw a flame-breathing fanfare into his new film to up the ante on something that was already perfect. But in terms of who FuriosaThe film’s breakout character could be one that could inspire fan art and fan engagement once more people see the film, well, we have different opinions on that. Witness us!

Praetorian Jac

Jack is in some ways the exact opposite of the Doof Warrior: quiet where DW is flashy, content to disappear into the crowd rather than live for the spectacle, and a much more stylish dresser. (Red PJs are So pre-apocalypse.) But I think he might be the character that pushes the envelope in the fandom because, like the Doof Warrior, he stands out as radically different from everyone else. There’s just so little room in the Mad Maxiverse for people who do their jobs without constantly shouting about it and trying to make every success seem bigger and more commendable than it really is.

And his connection to Furiosa seems designed to leave a mark on viewers – perhaps even a bigger mark than on Furiosa herself. She’s so vengeful that she doesn’t have much room for other people in her life, but she makes room for Praetorian Jack, perhaps because he’s polite enough not to take up more space than she’s willing to give. There isn’t much room for tenderness or compassion in the Wasteland either, as Dementus tells us. The fact that Praetorian Jack also manages to bring that to the franchise makes him memorable, even as one of the most demanding characters in the series. —Tasja Robinson

The Squidward Boss

Image: Warner Bros./Everett Collection

The only thing the Wastelanders of the Mad Max franchise respects more than power and violence is branding. Surviving the Fury Road is all about choosing a theme, putting together a cool costume, and giving you a crazy name that people are too scared not to call you. And the person who does it all best Furiosa is the Octoboss.

Dementus’ former ally, who ultimately makes it clear that he is out for his own gain, meets all the criteria for one of the Wasteland’s great weirdos. He has a great helmet, pitch black and probably impossible to see out of, with towering horns that certainly affect his balance, and a team of loyal riders who will die at his command. But just as importantly, he also knows how to go out like a badass. Sure, he gets torn apart at the end of his ill-fated attempt at conquest, but God, what a beautiful tentacled mess he leaves behind! As an added bonus, his octopus costume also gives us one of the film’s most stunning visual moments, and one of the clearest indications that Miller is going for something much more painterly and strange than the look he was trying to appear in. Furieweg. —Austen Goslin

Smeg

Photo: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Entertainment

Okay, to be fair, no one is going to fixate on Smeg, the crazy, crooked hype man from Dementus. Smeg’s entire existence seems to be built around standing next to the warlord and repeating the frontal emotion of his statements in exaggerated mimicry, cringing deeply to show sympathy and shaking his fists to show triumph. Like a more versatile, albeit stupid Anger translator.

No, I don’t expect to see much of Smeg at Comic-Con — maybe a couples Halloween costume featuring Dementus and his most prominent pendant. But there’s something compelling in the idea of ​​a Wasteland jester, clinking pitifully through the dust. —Susana Polo

War boy

Image: Warner Bros./YouTube

Quaden Bayles’ War Pup has one job: he runs the Bommyknocker, the device attached to the back of the War Rig. Immortan Joe’s mechanics are very proud of the Bommyknocker, and when it hits the road for the first time, War Pup is excited to finally use this ultimate weapon on the Fury Road – which is relatable, because I finally just finished that whole sequence I spent so much time excitedly seeing what the Bummyknocker could do! But in the Wasteland we’re all punchlines. Right when it’s time to finally use the Bommyknocker, War Pup takes a bullet in the brain, and he never gets to see just how awesome metal it is in action.

To me, War Pup is most similar to the Doof Warrior in that he has a very specific function that the audience enjoys watching, but he also seems much more interesting than the limited role he has in the Wasteland. Maybe we’ll eventually learn more about him in some form or another, but in the meantime, the actor playing him has a story that lives up to the hype. Bayles went viral in 2020 after a bullying incident, in which he was bullied for his achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. When Bayles’ story was noticed by the Australian news media, Miller reached out to give him a small role in Three thousand years of longing – and liked him enough to continue working with him Furiosa. Witness him! —Joshua Rivera