With Furiosa coming to theaters soon, it’s a great time to look back at the previous Mad Max film, especially as there are still many mysteries about that film’s characters and world. One such mystery is why the warboys spray their mouths during the various Mad Max: Fury Road chase sequences.
As Fury Road is not an exposition-heavy movie, a lot of its world-building is done visually, meaning the chrome-spraying of the warboys isn’t exactly explained.
Based on what we can glean from the film though, the color of the spray may hold the key to understanding this ritual.
Spoiler Warning: This article includes spoilers for Mad Max: Fury Road, so proceed with caution.
The Significance of Chrome in the World of Mad Max
George Miller’s Mad Max is an iconic movie franchise that has become hugely influential in the realm of post-apocalyptic fiction. Its Australian Wasteland setting has influenced lots of other media, including manga like Fist of the North Star.
In the world of Mad Max, vehicles play a big role in the culture of the Wasteland natives, especially as these are required to traverse and survive post-apocalyptic Australia.
As chrome plating is tied closely with making vehicles stylish, it’s no surprise that the warboys of the Citadel in Fury Road glorify chrome, to the point that the more chrome something has, the better it is.
Even though chrome is a big deal among the warboys, most vehicles shown in the movie aren’t exactly chromed-out. This might imply how chrome is a prized resource that’s fit only for certain events or items.
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Two Likely Reasons Why the Mad Max Warboys Spray Their Mouths with Chrome
One of Fury Road’s most iconic scenes is when Nux (played by Nicholas Hoult) rides into the storm, sprays his mouth with chrome, and yells “Witness!”.
Nux isn’t the only one to do this as this has become a ritual for the warboys before they go on a suicidal charge.
So, why do they do this? Well, given the importance that they place in chrome, their belief seems to be that they can reach the afterlife in Valhalla when they go on an attack while having chrome on them to make themselves more glorious.
Again, the movie does not explicitly mention this, but this is a likely reason for the ritual given the snippets about the world the film presents.
On a more realistic level, huffing any sort of paint can get someone high, albeit with plenty of harmful side effects.
Thus, spraying chrome on their mouths can be to get them high for a charge, and possibly accept their death given how dangerous it is to inhale paint fumes.
These explanations are the most likely reasons based on Fury Road, but there’s a chance that the warboys’ culture will be explored more in the upcoming Furiosa movie.
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Will the Warboys’ History be Explored in Furiosa?
After much anticipation from fans, George Miller’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is finally coming to theaters on May 24, and it will explore the origins of Furiosa.
Given that Furiosa was a lieutenant of Immortan Joe, it’s likely that the movie will show the warboys, potentially even fleshing out their origins as well.
Of course, it won’t be a surprise if that won’t be touched upon much. After all, it isn’t exactly Miller’s style to dump lots of details about the world in exposition-heavy dialogue.
Do you have other theories about the warboys and their chrome-spraying? Let us know in the comments.
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