10 Defining Rules Of Iconic Characters (That Came Later Than You Think)

Even those coming freshly to the character in his biggest hit Fury Road won't take long to get up to speed on Max Rockastansky, his world and his rules. He spells it out pretty clearly at the start: "I exist in this wasteland. A man reduced to a single instinct: Survive."

Solely dedicated to his own survival in the post-apocalyptic wilderness, Max will do whatever surviving takes and that means only ever looking out for number one, actively refusing to form any personal connections. And, sure, the story of Fury Road requires him to work with Furiosa and the wives, but by the end the status quo is restored and Max returns to the wasteland and his commitment to the life of a solo survivalist.

Things were very different in George Miller's original 1979 Mad Max when our hero took time out from his work as a cop to spend some quality vacation time with his saxophonist wife and ice cream-loving son.

The movie is certainly dystopian, but not exactly a wasteland. Society and its institutions haven't completely collapsed and, far from being solely dedicated to his own survival, Max still looks to instill law and order and have a family life at the same time.

Even toward the end after his personal connections are severed when his family is murdered, Max is more fuelled by revenge and justice against the motorbike gang that committed the atrocity than he is trying to survive them.

The post-apocalyptic survivor-wanderer we know as Mad Max wasn't really established until the sequel, The Road Warrior, which was far more widely seen and so became the template for the character's code going forward.