How does Furiosa lose her arm?

She’s finally getting her backstory explained in the Mad Max prequel of the same name — but how did Furiosa lose her arm?

Taking over from Charlize Theron’s Imperator, Anya Taylor-Joy’s take on Furisoa takes Mad Max fans back to her mysterious beginnings, exploring how she ever ended up in Immortan Joe’s Citadel in the first place.

As the fifth Mad Max movie, Furiosa takes us back in the George Miller franchise to a time before Mad Max: Fury Road, where our favorite rulebreaker appears to be missing an arm under unknown circumstances.

Given it’s exploring her backstory, you best believe fans finally get an answer for why. But how did Furiosa lose her arm? Warning — spoilers ahead.

How does Furiosa lose her arm?

Furiosa badly hurts her arm during a chase with Dementus, before having it completely severed when he chains her to a rig as punishment.

Warner Bros.

After Dementus and his cronies take over Gastown, they work out a deal with Immortan Joe to have a shipment delivered from the Citadel full of supplies every 10 days. As a result of the negotiations, Dementus gives over control of Furiosa to Joe.

Years later, Furiosa accompanies Praetorian Jack on war rig runs, with Dementus complaining about supplies and wanting to renegotiate. Jack’s group is attacked on a supply run, revealing Furiosa’s true identity after she and Jack are the only two left standing. In agreement with Immortan Joe, the two go after Dementus, who is now holding court at The Bullet Farm.

With Furiosa following behind in a separate car, the war rig’s crew all get slaughtered by Dementus’ gang. Jack and Furiosa are left to pursue him, with Furiosa acting as a sniper while Jack drives the rig into his hideout. The two think they’ve successfully killed him off and flee in the car with plans to escape. However, Dementus catches up with them.

While driving an impressive war motor, Furiosa reaches out of the window to shoot Dementus but gets her arm trapped between the two vehicles when Dementus crashes into them. He holds the pair to ransom when they are captured, tying Furiosa by her bad arm to his rig while forcing her to watch Jack be dragged by bikes and chased by the pack of dogs.

After hours of this, Dementus returns to talk to Furiosa only to find she has escaped — with her left forearm dangling on the chain she was tied to.

How does Furiosa’s arm work?

Furiosa’s arm is a prosthetic that she makes during the events of the prequel, and is based on a hydraulic system.

Warner Bros.

According to the Mad Max Costumes archive, Furiosa’s prosthetic hand only has four fingers, made from vice grip pliers, log tongs, and leather work gloves. The middle section of the forearm features clear tubes and waxed cord, connecting to the hand through three lines and three struts.

The arm’s pressure gauge sits in the cuff, which is wrapped in the same brown leather that we see used in the hand. All of this allegedly operates through a motor — like one that would be used on a small airplane — although we never explicitly see this in Furiosa or Fury Road.

Using supplies that the War Boys make and repair the rigs with, Furiosa is able to fashion herself a replacement arm a mere matter of days after escaping from Dementus. It’s also important to note that this is the same arm Furiosa was using to draw a map of the stars to find her way back home, as implied by her mother.

Why is Furiosa not a breeder?

Furiosa didn’t become a breeder after escaping from Rictus, later hiding herself among the rig workers as a boy until she was found out by Jack.

Warner Bros.

After Dementus hands Furiosa over to Immortan Joe in their trade agreements, she is sent to live with the Breeders, even going as far as to watch one give birth. Rictus comes and takes her in the middle of the night, bringing her to a secluded room full of dolls to get closer to her.

Revealing to him that she has cut her hair, she escapes, managing to hide from his clutches when Scotus questions why Rictus is patrolling the grounds. The screen cuts to black, picking back up when Furiosa is older, having successfully disguised herself as a mute rig worker.

However, Mad Max lore suggests that there is another reason why Furiosa wasn’t a Breeder — because she is infertile. This isn’t brought up at all in Furiosa, particularly given that she is so young when she is captured and taken to the Citadel.

Furiosa is in theaters now. Find out more about Furiosa’s filming locations, whether there’s a post-credits scene, and if Mad Max turns up for good measure.

Find even more amazing new movies and TV shows streaming this month, or dive into all the new true crime documentaries around right now. If that’s not enough, find out what’s in store this year for K-dramas coming to Netflix.