Who Is The Warrior Woman In Mad Max? The Road Warrior Character Explained

The Warrior Woman in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior is one of the more mysterious and interesting characters in the film, and she has some unique connections to later Mad Max movies. The Road Warrior is often considered a highlight of the entire franchise: it has some of the best action, one of the best main villains in Mad Max, and a simple yet incredibly effective plot to tie it all together. That simplicity, however, meant that some of The Road Warrior‘s concepts and characters weren’t entirely fleshed out. One such character is the Warrior Woman, played by Virginia Hey.

Since Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) had the least lines of any Mad Max movie in The Road Warrior, the Warrior Woman actually got several chances to speak and show audiences who she was. Despite her various speaking lines, however, she remains a bit of a mystery. Her name wasn’t even spoken in The Road Warrior, and the only evidence of her backstory in the film is a scar on her cheek. Even though the information about the Warrior Woman is rather sparse, parts of her story and character can still be parsed from Mad Max 2.

The Unnamed “Warrior Woman” Is A Member Of Pappagallo’s Tribe In Mad Max 2

The Warrior Woman Is One Of Pappagallo’s Enforcers & Protectors

The Warrior Woman was one of the members of Pappagallo’s tribe that had settled in the oil refinery in The Road Warrior. She seems to have been both a protector of the tribe and a sort of enforcer, as she quickly trained a bow and arrow on Max as he brought Nathan back to the refinery. The Warrior Woman also proved to be an extremely effective fighter, as she fended off Humungus and Wez’s attack and seemed to have a scar on her face from a long-ago battle.

Outside of conflict, she was also a staunch believer that Pappagallo’s tribe could get to the northern paradise, and she was the first to declare that she’d stay with him no matter what. The Warrior Woman was also initially distrustful of Max, and even called him “mercenary trash.” After Max brought the rig for the oil tanker back successfully, however, the Warrior Woman changed her tune and grew to respect him. Unfortunately, their relationship never went beyond mutual respect, as the Warrior Woman was shot by one of Lord Humungus’ men and died while defending Max and the rig.

The Warrior Woman Connects To Mad Max: Fury Road’s Use Of Norse Mythology

Fury Road Contains Various Norse Mythology References Like Valhalla & Valkyries

While the Warrior Woman died at the end of Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior, her legacy in the franchise didn’t. George Miller, the mastermind and director of all the Mad Max movies, started using folklore and legends with The Road Warrior after seeing how different cultures viewed Max as one of their legendary heroes (via National Film and Sound Archive of Australia). With that in mind, it seems fairly clear that the Warrior Woman was inspired by some of the same myths Miller was inspired by, like the Amazonian warrior women of Greek mythology and the valkyries of Norse mythology.

It’s the Warrior Woman’s connection to the valkyries that connects her to Mad Max: Fury Road, a film that extensively references Norse mythology. For example, Immortan Joe and his War Boys believed in the idea of Valhalla, an afterlife for warriors who died in battle that was plucked directly from Norse mythology. There’s even a character in Fury Road, Furiosa’s sister, who is named Valkyrie, which is another direct connection to Nordic myths. The Warrior Woman from Mad Max 2 may have been an early hint that George Miller wanted to include Nordic mythology much more than he did, though he hasn’t outright confirmed it.

How The Warrior Woman Is Different From Furiosa

The Warrior Woman Is Strong, But Furiosa Is The Main Character

The Warrior Woman seems very similar to Furiosa, as they were both strong women who acted as protectors and defenders and they both seemed to excel at road war, but that’s where their similarities end. For all the Warrior Woman’s strength, she was just a side character in The Road Warrior. Furiosa, on the other hand, had a much more active role in both Fury Road and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and she even surpassed Max as the main protagonist. The Warrior Woman was the first strong female character in Mad Max, but Furiosa was the franchise’s ultimate strong female character.

The differences between Furiosa and the Warrior Woman also highlight a trend in Mad Max: with each new installment, the franchise’s female characters grow stronger and more important. In the original Mad Max, for example, Jessie Rockatansky’s main roles in the film were to be Max’s wife, the mother of his child, and to die. Then, the Warrior Woman became the franchise’s first female fighter, Aunty Entity became the first female main villain, and Furiosa became the first female protagonist. The franchise has given women better roles with each new movie, and it all started with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and the Warrior Woman.

The Road Warrior, aka Mad Max 2, picks up after the original 1976 film and continues following Max’s (Mel Gibson) journey through a post-apocalyptic Australia. This time, Max helps a group of locals escape bandits to protect their wealth of gasoline. George Miller again directs the Mad Max sequel and is often considered the fan-favorite of the original trilogy.

Director

George Miller

Release Date

December 24, 1981

Studio(s)

Kennedy Miller Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Roadshow Film Distributors

Writers

George Miller , Terry Hayes , Brian Hannant

Cast

Mel Gibson , Bruce Spence , Michael Preston , Vernon Wells

Runtime

96 Minutes

Budget

$2.9 Million

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