EveryMission: Impossiblemovie features a villain that seeks to unleash unimaginable evils on the world. EachMission: Impossiblevillain is terrifying in their own right; whether that’s a personal vendetta against Ethan Hunt, the IMF, or simply to show their power. The bestMission: Impossiblevillains are the ones that challenge Ethan Hunt, and make his life suffer just because they can.
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With some truly impossible evils featured in theMission: Impossiblefranchise, there has never been a better time to look back on the villains that have plagued the iconic characters in the IMF for years, and the hardships these heroes faced in bringing these global threats down, once and for all.
This article contains spoilers for Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One
9Sabine Moreau
InMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Sabine Moreau was more an assassin than a villain. This character was tasked with killing an IMF operative known as Trevor Hanaway, who had just received nuclear launch codes. Sabine was a great fighter and managed to kill Hanaway with ease due to her mystique and quick hand on the draw.
However, Sabine doesn’t seek to end the world, she just wants her place within it. She plans to use the nuclear launch codes to sell to the highest bidder and get her hands on a large sum of diamonds. Sabine is a threat to the IMF due to her experience in the field, but she is easily killed after being kicked out of the window of the tallest building in the world.
8John Musgrave
From the start ofMission: Impossible 3, it’s easy to believe that John Musgrave is a good friend of Ethan Hunt and his handler at the IMF. However, it is later revealed that Musgrave is just a pawn, a henchman for Davian that wants to take the power of the Rabbit’s Foot and betray his agency, his country, and his friend. Thanks to Musgrave, Davian was able to get access to Hunt and his wife.
However, as a villain, Musgrave falls flat outside of anything but a simple henchman. He lacks the combat ability to kill and be a threat in the field. As such, he is easilytaken down by a captured EthanHunt, and then later killed by his wife, who has never even held a gun before.
7Jim Phelps
The first antagonist in theMission: Impossiblefilm franchise is Jim Phelps, who just so happens to be the same character from the TV show years prior. The betrayal of Phelps from the IMF divided early fans ofMission: Impossible, and segregated them between fans of the TV show, and fans of the movies. Part of this divide comes from thevillainous role of Phelps, who despite his allegiance to IMF in his early years, has betrayed the agency, the people he worked with, and the country he worked for.
With a service to his country of over four decades, Phelps became disillusioned by war, and the capabilities of one’s government. Phelps seeks to sell government secrets and frame Ethan Hunt for it. However, this villain failed to see just how great the young agent would be and was later taken down in a gruesome death.
6Sean Ambrose
Mission Impossible 2saw the antagonist Sean Ambrose as the “Ying” to Ethan Hunt’s “yang”. Ambrose was very much like Ethan Hunt, and this rogue IMF agent proved what kind of evils Ethan could be capable of if he ever went down that path. However, Ambrose has a short temper and a lust for violence thatmakes him dangerous, not only to others but to himself, thus making him an easier target than other villains.
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Ambrose is a horrible person who will use anyone to get what he wants. His motivations are led by nothing but greed and arrogance, and he will kill anyone, no matter the number, as long as there is a paycheck involved.
5Kurt Hendricks
The main antagonist ofMission: Impossible – Ghost Protocolis Kurt Hendricks, codenamed “Cobalt”. This Swedish nuclear strategist was a genius, and that very intellect is what made him so dangerous. Hendricks framed Ethan Hunt for the destruction of the Kremlin, with many more unimaginable evils ready to begin in his wake after he retrieved nuclear launch codes. His main goal was to end the world through nuclear destruction, to usher in a new age of humanity’s evolution.
Hendricks was so diabolical and obsessed with his plan that he gave his life to it. Hendricks killed himself by jumping to his death in a parking lot, ensuring that he and the briefcase that could disarm the nuclear bomb that had been launched would be out of reach of Ethan Hunt. The fact that a lone manalmost started a nuclear Armageddonproves how dangerous Hendricks was.
4August Walker
In a shocking twist fromMission: Impossible – Fallout, the CIA agent, August Walker, turned out to be the nuclear fanatic, John Lark. August Walker is brutal in his methods, and cunning in his desires. Walker had the CIA in his pocket for a time and even managed to free his leader, Solomon Lane without much of a fight thanks to the manipulation of Ethan Hunt and the IMF. However, August Walker wasn’t very good at hiding his scent, and Ethan Hunt suspected him rather early into their time working together.
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Walker was brutal, the definition of evil and obsessiveness. His hulking size made him a brutal fighter, and when he “reloads his arms”, it’s best to not be in the same room. Walker was desperate to create a new world orderthanks to nuclear war, and tried to ensure Ethan Hunt would stay out of his way by threatening his ex-wife and keeping tabs on her as her “guardian angel”.
3Owen Davian
There has been perhaps no villain as terrifying as Owen Davian. Thisvillain fromMission Impossible 3was the definition of a sociopath, a man with no empathy. Davian could not be reasoned with or intimidated, and he sought only his power in this world. When Ethan Hunt kidnaps Davian, he refuses to answer any questions, and instead, calmly asks Ethan for his name, and asks if he has a girlfriend or a wife that he can hurt.
Davian’s words speak the truth, and in his escape, he wastes no time in kidnapping Ethan Hunt’s wife. Davian is a horrible man who didn’t seem to care for the nuclear devastation of the Rabbit’s Foot, but instead, just wanted to make Ethan Hunt suffer for crossing his path.
2Gabriel
The threat of Gabriel remains to be seen after the closing credits ofMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Oneproves that not even Ethan Hunt can kill this villain. Gabriel could well be the nemesis of Ethan Hunt, as even Ethan claims that Gabriel made him the way he is today. Gabriel has ties to Ethan, as he killed Marie, his first love.
Gabriel is not working to rule the world, but instead, works for The Entity, a rogue AI that has the capability of controlling global stock markets and militaries. Gabriel enjoys the suffering of others rather than their killing. The true extent of Gabirel’s villainy awaits to be seen inMission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two, but the fact that he killed Ilsa Faust, proves that he cannot be underestimated already.
1Solomon Lane
The former MI6 agent, Solomon Lane, was a threat to Ethan Hunt and the world in bothMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, andMission: Impossible – Fallout. Lane is the only antagonist to battle Ethan Hunt across two films, and even with his supposed death, it’s impossible to know for sure. Lane is a true sadist, an evil and cunning man who will do anything, and stop at nothing, to achieve his evil goals as the terrorist leader of the Syndicate.
Lane is the self-proclaimed nemesis of Ethan Hunt, and although he is presumed deceased, it seems inevitable that he willcome back in some way, shape, or formfor yet another go at challenging Ethan Hunt. His desire for nuclear war, and his plan to starve a third of the world’s population, prove just how diabolical his plans are for the world, and how desperate he is to see Ethan Hunt fail.
