What Sickness Does Immortan Joe Have In the Mad Max Movies?

Despite a plethora of insanely colorful characters in the Mad Max saga, from Max himself (Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy), to Aunty Entity (Tina Turner), it is Immortan Joe, portrayed brilliantly by Hugh Keayes-Byrne in Mad Max: Fury Road and Lachy Hulme in Furiosa, that has captured the attention of scores and scores of fans. His voice, eyes, and intimidating stature mean we can’t ever take our eyes off him. However, despite these qualities, perhaps his aesthetic is what’s best to explain why this is, as it also creates a mystery of: what sickness does Immortan Joe have? From the tumors on his back, his deathly pale skin, and withered hair, as well as the disabilities running through his children, everything about Immortan Joe cuts a figure pretending to be larger than life, when they are really just a pale husk.

Considering the Radiated ‘Mad Max’ Wasteland, Immortan Joe Most Likely Has Cancer

Whilst it is never confirmed within the films, the most likely explanation would be that Immortan Joe has a form of cancer, which would also explain the breathing apparatus that doubles as an epic mask that can open for highly emotive moments. With the radiated wasteland, as well as the tumors we saw on War Boy Nux (Nicholas Hoult), cancer is clearly a high risk throughout the world of Mad Max. However, cancer is not the only effect the radiation of the nuclear holocaust has had on Immortan Joe or his DNA. All of his sons, Rictus Erectus (Nathan Jones), Scabrous Scrotus (Josh Helman), and Corpus Colossus (Quentin Kenihan) have some kind of disease or impairment. Rictus is huge and strong but dim-witted; Scrotus has a skin disease, and Corpus Colossus physically disabled. However, what these familial deficiencies do for the portrayal of these characters is infinitely more interesting than the disabilities/diseases themselves.

The Mystery of Immortan Joe’s Sickness is Part of What Makes the Character so Fascinating

What’s so great about Immortan Joe’s sickness is that we don’t know what it is. The mystery, as usual, creates something greater than the truth ever could. From the treatment we see him given for his ailments, such as the white dust the War Boys then use on themselves to imitate Joe, the illusion Immortan Joe creates to hide his own mortality is fascinating. It reflects the god-like image he presents to his followers, along with his control over the water supply of the Citadel. It also makes it clear that Furiosa’s (Charlize Theron and Anya Taylor-Joy) greatest strength in both films, Fury Road and Furiosa, is being able to see the man behind the illusion of a god. Even at the end of Fury Road, all that needs to happen is Furiosa showing Joe’s corpse, and the Citadel immediately surrenders. When an empire is built on an ego so brittle, Furiosa shows how easily it can fall.

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Overall, Immortan Joe is a character that perfectly fits within the Mad Max saga, whilst also adding something unique to the universe. We’ll most likely never know what his sickness is specifically. But the fact it is shoved into our faces, along with the impairments of his sons and War Boys, without it ever being disclosed, shows the illusion Immortan Joe is desperate to create, reflecting many dictators throughout our own history and to this day. It might be that we will never see another Mad Max film, with Mad Max: The Wasteland being reported by Forbes as only an idea currently. If that is the case, at least we have a multitude of fascinating films, characters, and themes to look back on, specifically Immortan Joe and his mystery sickness.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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