Meet The Weirdos Of Mad Max’s Wasteland

Mad Max is the central figure of the movies, but he’s always been surrounded with some of the oddest supporting characters put to film.

Mad Max is the central figure of the movies, but he’s always been surrounded with some of the oddest supporting characters put to film. From Toecutter to Lord Humungus to the odd couple of Master Blaster, these crazed maniacs have left us wanting more. The upcoming game features an all-new cast of characters, and thanks to input from movie director and Mad Max creator George Miller, they fit right in. Today’s your chance to learn more about some of the bizarre people you’ll encounter in the Wasteland. Some are friendly, and others are definitely not. Either way, they’re an interesting crew.

We learned about Mad Max earlier this week, and now it’s time for everyone else to get their moment in the sun. Considering the Wasteland’s unrelenting heat, that’s probably not what these guys are after. They all have their own motivations, however, which you’ll soon discover.

Chumbucket
We’ve written a lot about Chumbucket, for good reason: He’s essentially the voice of the game, as well as Max’s constant companion. As you know, Max is a man of few words, so having him ride solo wouldn’t make for the most scintillating monologues. That’s where Chum comes in. He points out interesting places and provides light-hearted (albeit weird) commentary on what’s going on. So what’s this guy’s deal, anyway?

Looking at Chum, you might get the impression that his survival in the Wasteland has been a matter of sheer luck. In actuality, he’s been able to make good use of his extraordinary talents, which in turn has kept him alive. “The only thing that you can trade with someone – there’s no monetary system at all – is with your skills,” says Odd Ahlgren, the game’s principle writer at Avalanche Studios. “Chumbucket has survived because of his godlike skills with engines. And everything in this world is driven by engines, so people will need him every now and then, so they don’t kill him. He has built a little bit of a reputation for himself, even though he’s a bit of a bizarre hermit at the beginning of this game. People know of him and he’s done a little bit of work for everyone in the past.”

Chumbucket has long been fascinated with the idea of building his Magnum Opus, the fastest, most powerful car in the Wasteland. His obsession has caused him plenty of trouble in the past, as Ahlgren points out. Before meeting Max, he was a blackfinger, a term used to describe those who have an innate understanding of how engines and other mechanical devices work. “They’re working in the engine bays in Gastown. There are other places, too. They repair all of the war vehicles for parties that go out and scout the Wasteland for goods and things like that. The thing is, even then Chum had begun planning for his Magnum Opus, which was like a feverish religious idea that came to him in a dream. He needed to build this car, this ultimate desert-survival vehicle. Incidentally, it’s the same vehicle that Max later will want. But he began this a long time ago. The thing is, he started pilfering from the engine bays, hiding stuff for his vehicle in his little bunk. He has a pseudo-religious/sexual relationship with engines. What he did with them in his little bunk, we don’t really want to know. But he was saving them up to build this car. But one day they found out and they threw him out of Gastown. It was just out of a playfulness from one of the characters who threw him out [that] made him survive, otherwise they would have just killed him. But they wanted to play a little bit with him before they killed him, and he managed to escape.”