Pappagallo's Gang

A desperate community of survivors fighting for fuel and a future in the burning wasteland.

Pappagallo's Gang is a group of settlers barricaded in an oil refinery in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Mad Max 2. Led by the idealistic Pappagallo, they are besieged daily by a motorised gang led by Lord Humungus. Unlike the marauders who loot, rape, and kill, these settlers are trying to defend their fuel supply and escape to a fabled northern paradise. Their plan involves using a semi-truck to haul away their tanker full of oil, a scheme that draws in the hardened drifter Max Rockatansky.

Quick Facts

Leader: Pappagallo
Affiliation: Settlers
First appearance: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)

Lore & Background

Pappagallo's Gang consists of settlers who have fortified themselves inside an oil refinery compound. Their leader, Pappagallo, is described as an idealistic man who "carries the weight of his predicament with swaggering dignity." The group includes a variety of individuals: Warrior Woman, who initially distrusts Max; Zetta; the Captain's Girl, a beautiful young settler; the Mechanic, who is paraplegic; Curmudgeon, an elderly settler who wears a military helmet and decorations; an unnamed settler who wields a bow and arrow and initially wants to accept Humungus's offer of safe passage; Nathan, who leaves the compound to look for a truck and dies shortly after Max brings him back; an unnamed quiet settler; the Mechanic's Assistant; and the Feral Kid, an eight-year-old boy who speaks only in growls and grunts and defends himself with a sharpened metal blade or shuriken-like object.

The settlers are divided over whether or not they can trust Lord Humungus when he offers to spare their lives in exchange for their fuel supply. Pappagallo entreats Max to accompany the settlers north, but Max initially refuses, opting instead to collect his fuel and leave. After Max is injured and his dog killed, he is rescued by the Gyro Captain and returned to the compound. Despite his injuries, Max insists on driving the repaired truck during the escape.

The settlers ultimately flee their compound in a caravan of smaller vehicles after rigging the refinery to explode, while the tanker truck serves as a diversion—it is actually leaking sand, a trick by Max to make the marauders think it was full of fuel.

Reader's Guide

Pappagallo's Gang is a faction of survivors dedicated to escaping the wasteland with their fuel. Their primary goal is to defend their oil refinery from Lord Humungus's marauders and transport their oil north. The gang consists of settlers who follow Pappagallo, an idealistic leader. They are known for their desperate plan involving a semi-truck and a tanker full of oil, which ultimately serves as a diversion. In the broader conflict of the wasteland, they act as a target for Lord Humungus's gang, who want their fuel. The settlers' escape is made possible by Max's driving and the Gyro Captain's assistance, with the tanker truck leaking sand to fool the marauders.