Max outmaneuvered Wez and his roving motorcycle gang in the first scene of the 1981 sequel to breakout hit and cult classic Mad Max.
Max Max 2: The Road Warrior followed former cop Max Rockatansky as he fought to survive in post-apocalyptic Australia, where fuel was a scarce and hotly contested commodity. After a global war depleted the Earth of its natural resources, the Australian Outback descended into an uncivilized, disordered wasteland where every man is out for himself. Formerly a cop charged with upholding some semblance of order, Max turned away from law and order, instead pursuing vigilante justice. Mad Max, "Mad" Max’s wife and son were killed by Toecutter’s (Hugh Keays-Byrne) gang, after which Max seeks revenge on Toecutter and the rest of his wife’s killers. Max began The Road Warrior as a subdued, jaded lone wolf. It’s unclear when or where Max picked up Dog, but Dog was shown to be incredibly loyal to and protective of Max throughout the film and, in a final act of loyalty, when Dog sacrificed himself to save Max.
Dog was a risky gambit; the inclusion of a loyal pet coded for a tragic ending could have been interpreted by audiences as a tacky gimmick — a way to tug at the viewer’s heart in between car wrecks and explosions. However, The Road Warrior used Dog subtly enough that he never felt overly symbolic. Nor did the movie ever dip to the saccharine levels that so many other movies that employ dogs as characters do, striking the right balance between genuine emotion and gritty reality.
What Happened To Dog In Mad Max 2
Dog’s shocking and tragic death — killed by a marauder while protecting a defenseless Max — further illustrated Max’s evolution from the first movie to The Road Warrior. At the end of Mad Max, Max got revenge on his family's killers and drove deeper into the desolate Australian Outback. In The Road Warrior, however, Dog’s demise prompted Max, with the help of Gyro Captain (Bruce Spence), to return to the oil refinery, where Max resolved to help Papagallo, the Feral Child, and the rest of the Great Northern Tribe. Instead of retreating from society after the loss of an important companion, Max turned back toward society, sacrificing his safety as Dog sacrificed his life.
Max’s kinship with Dog also opened the door for Max’s sweet, paternal relationship with the Feral Child. Before Dog died, Max cast the Feral Child out of Max’s car despite the Feral Child’s apparent wish to accompany Max out of the refinery. After Dog’s death, when Max returned to the refinery, he allowed the Feral Child to him in the oil tanker in almost precisely the same position Dog occupied in the movie’s first scene.
Dog's role in Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior could have seemed incongruous with the gritty, action-packed plot of the movie. Indeed, had the film focused too much on Dog's role, it would've had the effect of removing the viewer from the dark tone of the film. Instead, director George Miller was careful not to overuse Dog or to make his overt purpose to elevate Max out of his grief. Dog was a good and loyal companion, and his death felt like a clear and plausible turning point for Max.
