One of the most refreshing aspects of Mad Max: Fury Road is that the film really wasn't about Max at all. He is a side character in his own movie.
Keeping Max on the sidelines was a risky move, but it worked — thanks to a powerful performance from Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa. She is the real star of Fury Road: from the moment she appears on screen, her quest for redemption drives the film forward.
But this is Fury Road we're talking about. Backstory and dialogue aren't the film's focus. As a result, we know surprisingly little about Furiosa's past and how she came to be one of Immortan Joe's top warriors.
It's for this reason that a prequel comic focused entirely on Furiosa sounds like a perfect idea. How did Furiosa lose her arm? How was she kidnapped by Immortan Joe? How did she rise to such a high rank?
These are all questions that surround the character, but none of them are answered here. That's because the "Furiosa" in the title is a little misleading. This prequel story is more focused on Immortan Joe's wives and their struggles.
In case the film didn't make it abundantly clear, living in a dome as one of Immortan Joe's "breeders" – existing only to give Joe strong male heirs – isn't so great. While he does provide them with water, clean air and even an education, he also beats them and sexually abuses them. To him, they aren't people, but merely things — things that exist to serve his goals and desires.
This comic drives the point home even harder than the film does. Eventually, Furiosa is assigned to protect the girls. She mostly broods in the corner of the room as the girls taunt and mock her. Slowly but surely, a relationship forms between Furiosa and Joe's wives, and they hatch the plan that makes up the film.
Furiosa #1 definitely works as a Fury Road prequel comic. It sets up the film's story perfectly and expands on its core themes, as the wives struggle with the idea of raising Joe's children and the price of freedom. But it doesn't tell us more about Furiosa — which is what you'd expect from a comic bearing her name.
We don't get to see her become Immortan Joe's top warrior. We don't discover how she lost her arm — even when she is directly asked by one of the wives. All we learn is that Furiosa once served as a wife to Immortan Joe himself and that she somehow escaped.
The point isn't elaborated on — and true to Furiosa's character, she isn't much of a talker. It's all a bit frustrating, to be honest. She is a great, strong, badass character, yet we don't get to see any of that here. Instead, we only get glimpses at the moments leading up to the movie, rather than the decades of hardship Furiosa must have endured prior to the start of the film.
If you can't get enough Fury Road, this issue is worth a read. If you want more Furiosa, however, you might come away disappointed.
Story
★★★☆☆
Art
★★★☆☆
Overall
★★★☆☆
More Comic Book Reviews:
Mortal Kombat #22
Batman: Arkham Knight #17
Batman #41
Mad Max: Fury Road: Nux & Immortan Joe #1
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