Mad Max and the Pale Horse of Death

Mad Max: Fury Road, an acclaimed action film released in the summer of 2015, is the fourth move in the Mad Max franchise. It’s set in a future desert wasteland in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, where resources like gasoline and water are hard to come by. Max, the movie’s lead character, is captured by the army of Immortan Joe and he is enslaved as a universal blood donor. The action begins when Imperator Furiosa, one of Joe’s lieutenants, is sent in an armored truck to collect gasoline from Gas Town, but she drives off-route to free Joe’s five “wives” who had hidden in the truck. Joe’s whole army is sent after Furiosa, and Max was taken along for the ride as a human “blood bag.”

The remainder of the movie consists of Max and Furiosa joining forces to escape the clutches of Joe and the other tyrannical rulers that were called upon to aid in the ongoing road battle. It’s a riveting flick that had many fans gripping the edges of their seats. The reason we bring it up now is because we caught wind of a fan theory that compares the characters of the movie to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, which ties right into our latest original series of silver and copper rounds.

The theory centers around the movie’s three main villain’s: Immortan Joe of the Citadel, the Bullet Farmer of the Bullet Farm, and the People Eater of Gas Town. These warlords control the land’s water, weapons, and gasoline respectively. This theory argues that these men were in fact the cause of the apocalypse, each representing a different horseman.

Immortan Joe is said to represent the White Horse of Conquest, as he pursues and enslaves people in his compound. His War Boys and other followers view him as a god-like being, despite his oppressive ways. This gives him a similar duality to that of the White Horse, who is sometimes interpreted as a righteous figure (some believe him to be Christ himself) and sometimes interpreted as an evil, false prophet.

The Bullet Farmer can easily be compared to the Red Horse of War because of his unchecked aggression and mindless pursuit of conflict and warfare. His reckless behavior leads to a nighttime skirmish in which he fires wildly with no regard to collateral damage.

The People Eater symbolizes the Black Horse of Famine, who is depicted riding in after War with scales to measure food rations. Though the People Eater is clearly a well fed guy, it becomes apparent that he aims to protect the luxuries of the rich at the expense of the poor. He embodies injustice and gluttony. Through a slightly different lens, his name paired with his industrial pursuits could be a metaphor of how excess wealth consumes people.

And the fourth horsemen? This theory names Max as the representation of the Pale Horse of Death. Throughout the film, Max has visions of the dead people he couldn’t save, which is compared to carrying the dead with him. He also resorts to violence and killing in self-defense during the epic road battle. By the end of the movie (SPOILER ALERT!), all three of the previous “horsemen” are killed. Only Max remains, symbolic of the fact that death is a necessary force of nature.

However, other fans argue that Max embodies life rather than death. As a survivor seeking redemption, he goes out of his way to help many of the characters. He also makes the conscious choice to spare a few adversaries. The fact that he is a universal blood donor literally makes him a fountain of life living in a bitter wasteland.

What are your thoughts on this fan theory? It might be time to rewatch this fan favorite movie to reexamine the roles of the characters!

For fans of the Four Horsemen lore, check out the White Horse of Conquest 1 oz Silver Round. It’s the first release in our new Provident original series, which is detailed here on our blog. The Red Horse of War will be released on July 1, 2017, the Black Horse of Famine will be released on October 1, 2017, and the Pale Horse of Death will be released on January 1, 2018.