“Who broke the world?” asks graffiti scrawled across the room where Immortan Joe locked up his “wives” in Mad Max: Fury Road. Fury Road and each of its three predecessors argue pretty persuasively that the answer is men like Immortan Joe: power hungry people whose actions lead to war and economic disaster.

But an interesting fan theory poses another culprit, one whose breaking made the world of Mad Max: Max Rockatansky, the heroic road warrior portrayed by Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy. According to this idea, the policeman Max’s mind broke down after the events of the first movie in 1979, and everything that’s happened since exists in his wild imagination.

Why Does Mad Max Prompt Fan Theories?

One of the most shocking moments in the Mad Max universe occurs midway through the first film: Toecutter runs down Max’s toddler son. The murder signals a shift in...