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Anything I say? What a wonderful philosophy you have. Take him away!

– Toecutter

"Toecutter" was a leader of his own merciless motorcycle gang that terrorised the outback. He was portrayed by Hugh Keays-Byrne and appears as the main antagonist in Mad Max.

Biography

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Not much is known about Toecutter's past, however it can be assumed that he was close to the Nightrider, who was potentially serving as his second in command. Even after the Nightrider's incarceration and death, Toecutter remains faithful to him and his legacy of banditry and anarchy. He is also close to Johnny the Boy, he constantly forces Johnny over the edge and makes him kill people on occasion, including Jim Goose, Toecutter makes Johnny throw a match in a gasoline doused car with Goose lying helpless in it.

Seeking vengeance for the death of Nightrider, and a perceived loss of pride, Toecutter instigated the stalking and killing of Goose, then tracked down Max's wife, Jessie and their son, Sprog, and ran them both down in cold blood. With nightmares of the deaths of his best friend, and young familiy haunting him, Max slow-boils into a consuming rage and begins violently and systematically eliminating Toecutter's gang one by one. Toecutter finally tried to escape alone, by motorcycle, only to be tail-gated along the highway and finally crushed under the wheels of an oncoming semi auto.

Personality

Toecutter is a ruthless leader, capable of both savagery and strategy. While not as calculating as Bubba Zanetti, it is clear that Toecutter can employ tact while dealing with situations. He became angry at Johnny the Boy's lack of finesse while demonstrating his eagerness to attack "the bronze", choosing instead to carry out his revenge in a more subtle and psychological manner. Toecutter also appears to have a sense of etiquette and courtesy, or at least the semblance of one, while dealing with other people. This is evident when he dismisses the train manager, signalling his cohorts to not harm him.

Toecutter is seemingly quite college-educated as taking both comparative-religion classes, irreligious-philosophy classes, and mathematics as well. The symbol of his gang is a Phi symbol, which has artistic and philosophical overtones, and represents an irrational number in mathematics, art, and architecture alike. The philosophical meanings of the symbol was aimed at describing creationism, and the belief that God architects everything on earth and in heaven as perfect, even though Adam and Eve also ironically turned God's earth and creation into a violent and corrupt apocalypse all the way to the days of Noah. This twisted philosophy represents Toecutter's sense of righteousness and entitlement, as a supposed 'natural alpha male in the grand scale of all creation'. The small statue on his helmet is the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, who has similar philosophical characteristics to those represented by the Phi symbol. ϕ . This is what the Toecutter is referring to on the beach where he muses about the MFP taking their pride. To him, the law is an artificial interference in the natural order.

Trivia

  • Hugh Keays Byrne, who portrays Toecutter, reprises his role as a main Mad Max villain, Immortan Joe, in the 2015 film - Mad Max: Fury Road.
  • A natural result of a motorcycle performing a donut and then a burnout through it is a mark on the road that looks like a Phi symbol. So it is very possible that the writers of the film noticed that similarity in their conceptualisation of the gang.
  • Toecutter is slang for a criminal that preys on other criminals.

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