Imperator Furiosa

Imperator Furiosa is a fictional character in the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max. Introduced in Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and portrayed by Charlize Theron, she serves as an officer in Immortan Joe's army but turns against him in order to free "The Five Wives", Joe's "breeders". During her journey, she meets Max Rockatansky. Despite initial hostility, the two become allies and team up to drive The Five Wives to a safe environment called the "Green Place".

The character returned in the prequel film Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), with Anya Taylor-Joy portraying her as an adult and Alyla Browne portraying her as a child. In the film, the warlord Dementus kidnaps Furiosa and executes her mother before selling her to Immortan Joe as a future breeder. Furiosa escapes and adopts a new identity as a mechanic, and later, soldier. At the end of the film, she avenges her mother by defeating and capturing Dementus, and is promoted to Imperator.

Furiosa was born in the "Green Place of Many Mothers", located in the Australian bush and one of the few locations in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Mad Max franchise where plants still grow. She was raised by her mother Mary Jabassa, a member of a matriarchal survivor civilization called the Vuvalini of Many Mothers. Like the rest of the Vulvalini at the time, Furiosa lived off the land and was always barefoot.

45 years after "the collapse," Furiosa was first seen picking peaches with her friend Valkyrie when they see the Roobillies allied with the warlord Dementus, who leads the Biker Horde. Furiosa advises Valkyrie to be invisible. She gets captured trying to sabotage their bikes, but blows her whistle to alert the Vuvalini. Although Mary pursues the kidnappers to Dementus's camp and rescues Furiosa, the Horde catches them and executes Mary in front of Furiosa. Before dying, Mary makes Furiosa promise to find her way home. To do so, Furiosa tattoos a star map on her left arm which she learned from the History Man.

Dementus keeps Furiosa as a captive. Having lost his family (including his own child) during the apocalypse, he hopes to raise Furiosa as his new daughter, nicknaming her "Little D" and taking her (in a cage) with him wherever he goes. However, Furiosa refuses to forgive Dementus and vows revenge. During a peace conference with Immortan Joe, a neighboring warlord, Dementus proudly introduces a redressed and long-haired Furiosa to Joe as his daughter. Furiosa reprimands Dementus in front of Joe, explaining that Dementus kidnapped her and killed her mother. Humiliated, Dementus trades Furiosa to Joe for economic concessions while also giving Joe his servant known as the Organic Mechanic.

Immortan Joe brings Furiosa to his fortress, the Citadel, where he imprisons her in a luxurious residence for his "wives," a group of sex slaves who have mostly avoided the genetic effects of post-apocalyptic radiation. He aims to use the "wives" to breed a healthy heir, as all of his sons were born with birth defects. Furiosa witnesses a woman fail a third time to produce a healthy heir by giving birth to a baby with a conjoined body as the Organic Mechanic tells the woman that she'll still be of use to Joe as a milker as Joe's son Rictus moves his hand through Furiosa's hair. Later that night, Furiosa works on a wig using her own hair as a precaution. When Rictus unlocks Furiosa's prison to sexually assault her, she escapes the residence, hides on a cliff side, and begins a new life, spending the next ten years under a new identity as a nonverbal, male-passing mechanic for Joe's private army, the War Boys. She started wearing full clothing while sporting bandaged feet.

As a mechanic years later, Furiosa helps build the "War Rig", a heavily armed and armoured tractor-trailer that transports water, human milk, and agricultural products from the Citadel to trade for petrol and ammunition produced by Joe's military allies. During one of Furiosa's attempts to escape the Citadel, her potential impresses the War Rig's commander, Praetorian Jack, who convinces her that she will need substantially more training and supplies to escape the Citadel properly. Jack agrees to mentor Furiosa and trains her to become a capable driver and soldier. She becomes Jack's right-hand woman and is promoted to Praetorian herself.

At the end of Furiosa's training, Furiosa and Jack resolve to run away together. However, before they can escape, Dementus declares war on Immortan Joe. He ambushes the War Rig during a supply run and captures Furiosa and Jack. While trying to escape the ambush, Furiosa nearly loses her left arm when it is smashed against the wheel of Dementus's monster truck. An enraged Dementus forces Furiosa to watch Jack's execution, fifteen years after forcing her to watch her mother's execution. He adds insult to injury by hanging her from his truck by her injured left arm. However, his sadism backfires when Furiosa severs her left arm to escape, losing her star map but saving her life.