Mad Max 2 followed by "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome" in 1985 and "" in 2015. Traumatised by the death of his family, Max Rockatansky roams the desert wilderness of a post-apocalyptic Australia in a scarred, black supercharged V-8 Pursuit Special. Scavenging for food and petrol, Max's only companions are an Australian Cattle Dog and a sawed-off shotgun with scarce ammunition. After driving off a gang led by the unhinged biker warrior Wez, and taking petrol from one of their wrecked vehicles, Max finds a nearby gyrocopter and decides to collect its fuel. The gyrocopter is boobytrapped, but Max overpowers the pilot hiding nearby,
Mad Max: Fury Road before". These elements contrast this film with the male-centered hero in the previous Mad Max films. According to Mandalita De Barco of NPR, Theron's character, "Furiosa has a shaved head and a fierce leather outfit. And with a mechanical arm she jerry-rigged from salvaged tools, Furiosa is a sharpshooting powerhouse who can also handle an 18-wheel war rig charging through the desert." She is "a female road warrior." Throughout the film, Furiosa "is a character exactly equal to Max." Director Miller describes Furiosa and Max as "protagonist/antagonist". Kyle Smith of the "New York Post" said that the title character, Mad