Immortan Joe

The ruler of the wasteland, wearing a clear plastic carapace over oozing sores, his long white hair flaring around a skeleton-smile mask that hides a breathing apparatus.

Immortan Joe is a fictional character in the Australian post-apocalyptic action film series Mad Max, first appearing as the main antagonist of the 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road, and also serving as a major character in Fury Road's companion comic book series of the same name and its 2024 prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. In the radioactive, post-apocalyptic wasteland of the series, Immortan Joe is a powerful warlord; his cult and army of fanatical "War Boys" revere him as a god of Norse mythology, who will lead them to Valhalla.

He dominates the regional economy through his control over the Citadel, one of the only remaining sources of fresh water in the wasteland. However, Joe is also incredibly sick due to radiation. His desire to breed a genetically healthy heir to his kingdom leads him to acquire and mistreat a harem of sex slaves, a candidate for whom, Imperator Furiosa, becomes his trusted military lieutenant on taking down the Warlord Dementus in Furiosa, before turning against him to free Joe's remaining slaves from the Citadel, thus triggering the events of Fury Road.

Quick Facts

First

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Last

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Spouse

The Splendid Angharad
Toast the Knowing
Capable
The Dag
Cheedo the Fragile
Other unnamed wives

Full name

Joe Moore

Portrayed by

Hugh Keays-Byrne (2015), Lachy Hulme (2024)

Creator

George Miller
Brendan McCarthy
Nico Lathouris

Lore & Background

In Fury Road, Immortan Joe is the "ruler of the wasteland... He wears a clear, plastic carapace — chest armor — over oozing sores, his long, white hair flaring around a skeleton-smile mask he uses to hide a breathing apparatus." Several versions of his carapace, which display medals made from car and mobile phone parts and some actual military insignia (such as the U.S. Navy officer cap insignia), were created at Artisan Armours in the United Kingdom.

The cornerstone of Joe's power is the War Boys, an army of young men who have contracted cancer and other fatal diseases from the radioactivity of the Wasteland. To rally these men to his banner, Joe invents an automobile-centered religion with himself as its head. He encourages the already-dying War Boys to seek a glorious death in battle, promising valiant soldiers a place in Valhalla. He also allows them to live in his rock fortress, the Citadel, while his regular citizens live in squalid tunnels.

To quickly move his War Boys across the Wasteland, he maintains a large collection of pre-apocalyptic vehicles, which he calls the "House of Holy Motors"; his mechanics creatively repurpose the vehicles into fighting machines, including the "War Rig," a heavily armed and armoured supply tanker that ferries trade goods through the lawless wasteland. Although the War Boys obey Joe without question and believe him to be immortal, Joe is slowly dying, and none of his three sons are ideal successors: Rictus Erectus is physically imposing but slow-witted and needs an oxygen tank to breathe; Scabrous Scrotus is deformed and psychologically unstable; and Corpus Colossus, though highly intelligent, is afflicted with Osteogenesis imperfecta.

As a result, Joe urgently purchases, kidnaps, and steals genetically healthy women in the hopes of breeding a healthy heir before he dies.

Reader's Guide

Immortan Joe's power is built on control of the Citadel's aquifer, one of the only remaining sources of fresh water in the wasteland. He dominates the regional economy through this control. His army of War Boys, young men dying from radiation-induced cancer and other fatal diseases, are indoctrinated with an automobile-centered religion promising Valhalla for a glorious death in battle. Joe maintains a large collection of pre-apocalyptic vehicles called the "House of Holy Motors," creatively repurposed into fighting machines like the War Rig.

His three sons—Rictus Erectus, Scabrous Scrotus, and Corpus Colossus—are all unfit to succeed him, driving Joe to kidnap and purchase genetically healthy women to breed a healthy heir. In Fury Road, Joe pursues Furiosa and his five escaped wives across the wasteland, leading to Angharad's death when she falls under his monster truck. Joe overtakes the War Rig in his personal vehicle, the Gigahorse, but Furiosa kills him, and Max presents his corpse to the people of the Citadel, who celebrate his death.

Did You Know?

Immortan Joe was originally Colonel Joe Moore, a highly celebrated soldier in the Australian Army who fought in the water and oil wars that helped bring on a global apocalypse.
In Fury Road, Joe was portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne, who previously portrayed the Toecutter in the original Mad Max.
In Furiosa, Immortan Joe was portrayed by Lachy Hulme because Hugh Keays-Byrne died in 2020.
Joe's policy is to discard his wives after three failed attempts at breeding a healthy heir.