History Characters / IMFAgents

'''[[center: [- [[Characters/MissionImpossibleFilmSeries Main Character Index]] -]]]'''

'''All {{spoiler}}s in Team Leader Jim's entry will be left [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked]] per site policy. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''
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[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Ethan Hunt]]
!!Ethan Matthew Hunt
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ethanhunt.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[{{Determinator}} "What's done is done when we say we're done."]]'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/TomCruise
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Creator/PatrickPoivey (first film), Yvan Attal (second film), Creator/JeanPhilippePuymartin (all subsequent films)
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible'' | ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' | ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPartOne Dead Reckoning Part One]]'' | ''Dead Reckoning Part Two''

->''"Hunt is uniquely trained and highly motivated - a specialist without equal - immune to any countermeasures. There is no secret he cannot extract, no security he cannot breach, no person he cannot become."''
-->--'''Alan Hunley'''

The IMF's most efficient field agent.
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* TenMinuteRetirement: In the third film. He was only training recruits and was about to marry Julia. Then the IMF asked him for OneLastJob to save one of his recruits who was kidnapped by Owen Davian. [[spoiler:Her death led him to stop Owen Davian and at the end he continued inside the IMF.]]
* TheAce: Ethan can use any weapon, operate any vehicle, and pull off any wild stunt needed to complete the mission. No obstacle is too big or too complicated to overcome and there is no danger too great he wouldn't put his own body through. He's incredibly calculative, creative, unpredictable, but above all else has a moral core of absolute iron that pushes his body through injury and fatigue, all to save as many lives as he can and catch the bad guys.
* AcePilot: Played with in ''Fallout''. He just learned how to fly but can fly like one.
* ActionHero: Uses his feet, fists and whatever it takes to save the day.
* AlwaysGetsHisMan: No matter what, Ethan never fails. Subverted in ''Rogue Nation'' in which he does fail, and ''Fallout'', in which he lets the baddie get away to save his team. Then it's zig-zagged as even if he failed to get his target now, he always has a backup plan or comes up with another one fast enough to ultimately nail the bad guys in the end anyway.
* AntiHero: His status as an IMF agent is under ''constant'' scrutiny, as though his record is exemplary, "StartXToStopX" being his go-to plan has his superiors tearing their hair out.
* BatmanGambit: His schemes often rely on Hunt's keen psychological knowledge of his rival.
* BettyAndVeronica: The Archie to Julia's Betty and Ilsa's Veronica.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: As his enemies find out, threatening his loved ones and friends is not a good idea.
* BigHeroicRun: Starting with the third entry, he does this at least one in every film and it's truly epic every time.
* BreakingOutTheBoss: In ''Fallout'', Ethan and his team have to [[spoiler: break Lane out of custody in order to find Lark and the missing plutonium.]]
* TheChessmaster: Hunt's success in the field comes directly from his uncanny ability to outmaneuver any opponent in his way with complex and daring gambits.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: Ethan will do whatever it takes to save EVERYONE and if there's even a chance one of his men or one bystander can't make it out he'll drop everything to save that one guy.
* CombatPragmatist: He does whatever it takes to win. In Mission: Impossible III he uses a car to kill Davian, in Ghost Protocol he drives a car down several stories to get to his mission. His fighting style also takes heavily from Kali, Muay Thai and Krav Maga, which all emphasize ruthlessness in combat as a defining principle.
* CulturedBadass: Shows appreciation for opera and also reads a lot.
* {{Determinator}}: As Hunley notes in ''Rogue Nation'', Hunt is "the manifestation of destiny itself". He never ever gives up no matter the circumstances and no matter how many times he has failed.
* FatalFlaw: He refuses point-blank to leave anyone behind, which apparently extends to those who do him a solid or push his 'mentor' button: this trait seems to stem from losing his team in ''Film/MissionImpossible'' and [[spoiler: his protege]] in ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII''. This is a downright foolhardy habit for an agent in perpetual danger, constantly having to put up with betrayal and shifting loyalties. Ilsa Faust and Solomon Lane (and before that, Owen Davian!) play him every which way as a result. This tendency of Hunt's is also what causes him to lose weapons grade plutonium to rogue agents in ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]'', when he lets the plutonium out of his sight to save one of his team members. Hunley however ends up seeing this flaw as Ethan's greatest strength, as he knows he'll do everything to not let him down, CIA director Sloane also ends up admitting as long as Ethan values one life as much as millions she doesn't have to.
* AFatherToHisMen: Takes the well-being and [[NoOneGetsLeftBehind survival]] of his team members extremely seriously and is unwilling to throw any of them under the bus no matter the circumstances.
* GeniusBruiser: He's both highly skilled in combat (be it close quarters or gunplay) and a superb tactician.
* GuileHero: Ethan prefers to sneak in through some impossible-to-predict method and ambush his target rather than go through a straight-on fight, both because his targets are often heavily-guarded and to minimize exposure to civilians.
* HotTeacher: To Lindsey.
* HeroProtagonist: The lead hero of every film of the franchise.
* HeroicWillpower: He has unbreakable will, which is remarked on by many.
* HonorBeforeReason: Ethan shows this in Fallout, when he lets the baddies have the plutonium bombs just so he can save Luther.
* ImplacableMan: Ethan Hunt cannot be stopped. He cannot be evaded. Whatever you throw at him can, at best, only slow him down. Once he survives, and he ''[[HeroicWillpower will]]'' survive, he will find some way to get back at you when you least expect it.
* IndyPloy: While he works best planning ahead of time, he's more than capable with coming up with stratagems on the heat of the moment.
* InTheHood: He is depicted as this in ''Ghost Protocol''.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: He genuinely loved Julia and still does, but recognizes that staying married to him puts her at far too much risk. So he stays out of her life [[spoiler: and is content with her having found love again with a kind doctor. For her part, Julia herself [[AmicableExes displays no bitterness]] towards Ethan and even helps the team out in ''Fallout''.]]
* KansasCityShuffle: A frequent tactic of Ethan's involves relying on the villain's own wit and arrogance to make him ''think'' he knows what Ethan is up to and put up countermeasures, only for Hunt to reveal that was exactly what he planned all along.
-->'''Sean Ambrose:''' If you look at Hunt's operational history, and I have, he invariably favors misdirection over confrontation.
* TheLeader: Every time he recruits a team, he's always the leader. Though in the first half of the first film, he was at the orders of veteran agent Jim Phelps.
* LightningBruiser: He's strong and also very fast and agile, even using Capoeira moves in the second film, and he can run extremely fast.
* LoveTriangle: According to Luther, Ethan has only ever cared about two women - Julia and Ilsa. Ethan was married to Julia in ''Mission: Impossible III'' but she had to go into hiding in ''Ghost Protocol'' for her own safety. In ''Rogue Nation'' Ethan developed UnresolvedSexualTension with Ilsa but did not go with her because he was MarriedToTheJob. ''Fallout'' reveals that Ethan left the IMF to be with Julia between the events of ''III'' and ''Ghost Protocol'' but they eventually divorced because of Ethan's SamaritanSyndrome. Ethan and Julia still love each other but Ethan believes he ruined her life. Julia later remarried a kindhearted doctor and told Ethan that she harbored no will-will towards him and that what he did actually changed her life for the better. Ethan was finally able to move on from his guilt regarding Julia, and this meant Ilsa was PromotedToLoveInterest.
* MadeOfIron: This guy just can't die no matter what he does, whether is it hanging off a plane, jumping off a plane, getting onto a moving helicopter, going on a bike chase (three times) and having foot chases (many).
* ManipulativeBastard: A heroic version. He manipulates his rivals into doing exactly what he wants.
* MeaningfulName: His name "Ethan" means strong and firm, fitting his {{Determinator}} status and his admirable quality of staying firmly on the side of good no matter how far he's pushed or how many times he's accused of going rogue. His surname "Hunt" also means that he AlwaysGetsHisMan in the end.
* MrFanservice: He is played by Creator/TomCruise, so natch. He often appears in clothes that show off his physique or in nice suits.
** In the [[Film/MissionImpossible first film]], after he runs away from Kittridge, he spends the rest of the night in a tank top/wifebeater, that shows of his muscular physique.
** In ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleII Part II]]'', he is a LongHairedPrettyBoy. He is introduced rock climbing in a tank top, that very much emphasises his physique. He also appears shirtless couple of times and dresses in tight T-shirts while discussing ThePlan with Nyah.
** In ''Part III'', he gets a ShirtlessScene while putting on his LatexPerfection to impersonate Davian.
** In ''Ghost Protocol'', he [[PrisonsAreGymnasiums has noticeably bulked up in prison]], appears in a wifebeater in the beginning, gets a ShirtlessScene when he escapes from the hospital and when he puts on his disguise, the camera lingers on his abs for some time before he buttons up. Not to mention he is a LongHairedPrettyBoy again.
** In ''Rogue Nation'', he is held as a [[ShirtlessCaptives Shirtless Captive]] in the beginning.
* NervesOfSteel: And balls of titanium. This guy will hang off buildings by his fingertips and cling onto flying planes without a second thought.
* NeverHurtAnInnocent: A code he always follows. ''Fallout'' expands on this, when he deliberately blows his cover to save an innocent cop trying to arrest him.
* NiceGuy: For the most part Ethan is a friendly, unassuming and humble agent who is primarily focused on saving innocent lives.
* NoRespectGuy: A key plot element in ''Fallout''. Despite his portfolio of ''[[LiteralMetaphor literally]]'' [[WeDoTheImpossible doing the impossible]] over and over again, his superiors never fail to take an opportunity to throw him to the wolves and act almost ''disappointed'' when he survives anyway.
-->“How many times has Hunt’s government betrayed him? Disavowed him? Cast him aside? How long before a man like that has had enough?”
* NoSell: As to be expected, given he's played by Creator/TomCruise. Played with in Fallout where he takes time to reel after a punch from Lark.
* {{Omniglot}}: Ethan's known to speak English, French, Italian, Czech, Russian, and some Mandarin Chinese.
* PlotPoweredStamina: Ethan excels at long-distance sprinting, often running huge distances at full-speed while barely winded. Of course, he's played by Creator/TomCruise, so the running is to be expected.
* RatedMForManly: He's very macho.
* RefugeInAudacity: Every single one of his goddamn plans involve doing something incredible risky, insane, and suicidal. It's the only way he's able to outthink his opponents.
* RogueAgent: Basically OnceAnEpisode for him. Typically he's only labeled a rogue asset because someone else is pulling the strings and set him up (either as the fall guy or because everything went south while he was on assignment). The only time that wasn't the case was in ''II'', where he remains an avowed operative for the entire mission.
** In ''Fallout'' it looks as though this is going to happen but [[spoiler:in reality August Walker deliberately laid breadcrumbs to make the US distrust Ethan. This plot is uncovered before Ethan can be implicated so it manages to avert making Ethan rogue]].
* StartXToStopX: In '''''every''''' film, he eventually falls back on the exact same ridiculous plan; "Steal the horrifically dangerous MacGuffin, use it as bait to draw out the real enemy, then [[XanatosSpeedChess improvise]] the capture/elimination of said enemy in the process of retrieving it."
## The CIA NOC (Non-Official Cover) list. Failing to retrieve it would have annihilated the US intelligence community.
## The Chimera superflu and the Bellerophon universal flu cure. This nearly resulted in Australia getting hit with a plague outbreak.
## The Rabbit's Foot. Whatever the hell this was, it was so dangerous even the terrorist he delivered it to was unwilling to open the container to confirm its authenticity.
## ''Nuclear launch codes.'' This nearly resulted in WorldWarThree. It ''did'' result in a nuclear missile clipping the Transamerica pyramid.
## '''2.4 billion pounds sterling.''' Considering how the NebulousEvilOrganization was ''already'' carrying out high-profile assassinations and terror attacks, this would have resulted in the creation of a hybrid of Blackwater and ISIS.
## '''''Solomon Lane himself'''''. Not only did this nearly result in a third of the world's population at risk of being wiped out by nuclear fallout, but [[spoiler:Ethan himself taking the heat for the attack and Lane allowing himself to be killed by the bomb so as to not face comeuppance for his crimes.]]
** ...or as Agent Hunley put it;
--->The IMF's misadventures date back to my earliest days at the CIA; when the IMF broke into the CIA to steal a list of covert operatives. And now more recently, a Russian nuclear warhead clipped the Transamerica pyramid before plunging into the San Francisco Bay. This made possible by IMF agents who did willingly provide the launch codes to a known terrorist!
* TheStrategist: In all six movies, he serves as this for the IMF.
* SuccessThroughInsanity: Several characters have called him flat-out insane, but nobody questions that what he does is awesome.
* TookALevelInBadass: While already a skilled spy and cover agent in the first film, Ethan only showed marginal combat effectiveness early on. In later films, he's become a world-class hand-to-hand combatant.
* UndyingLoyalty: Both a strength ''and'' a flaw for him: There is ''nothing'' he won't do for his TrueCompanions, Luther and Benji. He goes through hell for them, and even gives seriously dangerous leeway to whatever villain he's dealing with if it gets his friends out of harm's way. For what it's worth, they reciprocate, and together, are skilled enough of a team to save the day either way.
* WhenHeSmiles: He has Tom Cruise's legendary winning smile. Sean Ambrose even notes that the hardest part of impersonating him was "grinning like an idiot every fifteen minutes".
* XanatosSpeedChess: In every movie of the franchise, the villain counterattacks in a manner that derails Hunt's original plan (at least partially), so Hunt always has to adjust his plan on the fly to succeed. And make no mistake, Hunt is the greatest Speed Chess player you will ever meet.
[[/folder]]

!Ethan's Original Team

[[folder:Team Leader Jim]]
!!Jim Phelps
[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/69337542_1bab_454a_b658_22c5732f3838.png]]
%%[[caption-width-right:270:some caption text]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JonVoight
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Creator/ClaudeGiraud
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

A veteran agent of the IMF and a mentor figure to Ethan Hunt.
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* AdaptationalVillainy: In the original TV series, he was the main protagonist. Here, he's the BigBad.
* AffablyEvil: He remains polite even when revealing himself as "Job" in the bullet train.
* AxCrazy: He is really a backstabbing psychopath.
* BatmanGambit: Jim's plans rely heavily on people reacting in a very certain way that is nigh-impossible to predict.
* BigBad: Of the first film. He betrays the IMF by allying with weapons dealer Max and steals the NOC List all because he feels worthless after the Cold War ended.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: Far from being AFatherToHisMen like he appears, Jim is a self-serving psychotic monster.
* BrokenPedestal: To Ethan. Jim is a respected and well-liked IMF agent, and a mentor to Ethan. His betrayal devastates Ethan.
* DecoyProtagonist: As part of his AdaptationalVillainy.
* DrivenToMadness: A possible factor behind his FaceHeelTurn.
* EvilIsPetty: As part of his FreudianExcuse.
* EvilOldFolks: He is pushing 60 and is physically fit to the point he can knock out the much younger Ethan with his elbow, stand outside a running bullet train and climb to a helicopter.
* FaceHeelTurn: He was a great IMF hero, only to become a two-bit cash-grabbing criminal presumably driven insane by disillusionment.
* FreudianExcuse: Following the Cold War found his new job a waste of his talents.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Jim becoming disillusioned with his career following the end of the Cold War drove him to have a psychotic break and betray his comrades.
* InNameOnly: He's anything, but the original television hero.
* KarmicDeath: The first person of the original team that he murdered was Jack. In the final battle, he dies when Ethan uses the last stick of Jack's explosive gum on the helicopter that Jim was trying to escape on.
* MayDecemberRomance: His wife Claire is 24 years his junior.
* TheMole: He is the traitor "Job" that Kittridge is looking for and the one that killed all of Ethan's crew and set him up.
* MotiveRant: When trying to frame Kittridge as the traitor, Jim gives a long winded speech about why Kittridge would betray them: awful marriage, lack of funds, and a general feeling of uselessness as a spy with the Cold War over. Ethan quickly figures out that not only is Jim the Mole, but that the whole speech was Jim ranting about his own motivations rather than Kittridge's.
* OhCrap: Two of them in the first movie's climax.
** Firstly, his face is only one of shock when Ethan puts on glasses that allow Kittridge to find out about Jim's survival and treachery.
** Secondly, all he can do is watch in abject horror when Ethan shows him the last stick of Jack's exploding gum that he will use on the latter's escape plan: aka, the helicopter that the two are on.
* PsychoForHire: For Max, as he started working for her after he is driven insane by the disillusionment with his work.
* SchrodingersCast: Main hero in the TV series, main villain in the movie.
* TheSociopath: He has no qualms over killing his own teammates and his wife Claire.
* VillainousBreakdown: He goes batshit crazy when Ethan puts on his glasses and reveals his survival to Kittridge to the point he kills Claire, showing how much really a sociopathic and psychotic nut job he is at heart.
-->'''Claire:''' Don't. Don't, Jim. \\
'''Jim:''' "Don't, Jim"?! ''[whips around and shoots her in anger]''
* WalkingSpoiler: His villainy is kept entirely under wraps until two-thirds into the movie.
* WhyWeAreBummedCommunismFell: His motivation. Jim considers himself a useless desk boy with little control due to the end of the Cold War, when he was at the height of his career, as a result, Jim [[GoMadFromTheRevelation goes insane]].
* WoundedGazelleGambit: He pretends having an injured arm from falling to the river when he tracks Ethan in London. In the bullet train, it's revealed to be in a perfect condition.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Claire]]
!!Claire Phelps
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1f55a2ba_9560_4a39_849f_712289a2b63d.jpeg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/EmmanuelleBeart
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Creator/EmmanuelleBeart
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

The young beautiful wife of Jim Phelps; acts as transport/getaway driver for the team.
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* FemmeFatale: She has some traits of it: a supposed innocent appearance, seducing Ethan, involvement in darker crimes...
* HoneyTrap: [[spoiler:And put in this role by her own husband, no less.]]
* InLoveWithTheMark: [[spoiler:A possible version; she tries to persuade Jim Phelps to leave Ethan alive. Later when she calls on Jim not to shoot him, Jim shoots her instead.]]
* LethalChef: Apparently makes terrible coffee for the team on every mission.
-->'''Ethan:''' Can we get a cappuccino machine in here? Because I don't know what you call this.\\
'''Jack:''' I call it 'cruel and unusual'.\\
'''Claire:''' Excuse me, I made that coffee.\\
'''Jack:''' ''Exactly.''
* MayDecemberRomance: She's noticeably younger than Jim. [[spoiler:This may have something to do with why Jim is quick to execute her when it looks like she's attracted to the younger Ethan.]]
* TheMole: [[spoiler:Betrays the IMF alongside her husband. She may or may not be responsible for personally killing Hannah with a car bomb as well.]]
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: With the deaths of Sarah and Hannah in the first film, she is the only female in Ethan's new team.
* YouHaveFailedMe: [[spoiler:Killed by her own husband Jim Phelps after her mistake blows his cover and reveals his survival and betrayal to Kittridge. Though his actual decision to kill her appears to have been motivated by her reluctance to let him kill Ethan, which he regards as betrayal in her affections.]]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sarah]]
!!Sarah Davies
->'''Played By:''' Kristin Scott-Thomas
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Kristin Scott-Thomas
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

A co-worker of Ethan whom he respects greatly; specializes in undercover work.
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* DeepCoverAgent: Her specialty on the team; she gets deep undercover ahead of the crew to gain them access into the embassy for the mission.
* DisposableWoman: A non-romantic version, but she serves the same purpose--her death causes the hero angst, yet she's never mentioned again.
* ShipTease: Mutually flirts with Jack before and during the mission.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jack]]
!!Jack Harmon
->'''Played By:''' Creator/EmilioEstevez
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Serge Faliu
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

The tech savvy from the first film.
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* EyeScream: His eye is ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice by a running unstoppable lift. [[spoiler:Deliberately done by Jim Phelps]].
* ShipTease: Mutually flirts with Sarah before and during the mission.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He doesn't survive the mission but supplies Ethan with the exploding bubblegum, which gets Ethan out of not one, but two precarious predicaments in the film.
-->'''Jack:''' Just don't chew it.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Gets a considerable amount of screentime in the first 15 minutes due to his skills and name actor, but is the first team member to die.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hannah]]
!!Hannah Williams
->'''Played By:''' Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

A co-worker of Ethan who participates in the opening mission to retrieve the NOC list in Prague; does surveillance to keep tabs on the team's targets.
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* DisposableWoman: Like Sarah, she's killed off in the opening film. Though it's ambiguous whether it was [[spoiler:Claire]] or [[spoiler:Jim Phelps]] who done her in. Ethan chooses to believe that it was the latter.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Even among Ethan's team of [[MauveShirt Mauve Shirts]], she's perhaps the least fleshed out member before her death.
[[/folder]]

!Ethan's New Team
[[folder:Luther]]
!!Luther Stickell
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/luther_9.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"I get to keep the equipment after we're done."'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/VingRhames
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Jacques Martial (MI I and II), Creator/RichardDarbois (MI III), Saïd Amadis (MI IV and on)
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible'' | ''Film/MissionImpossibleII'' | ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]'' (cameo) | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPartOne Dead Reckoning Part One]]''

->''"What'd they used to call you? The Net Ranger? Phineas Phreak? '''The only man alive who actually hacked NATO Ghost Com.'''"''
-->-- '''Ethan Hunt'''

A hacker, former criminal, and disavowed [[spoiler:but later reinstated]] IMF agent. He is one of Ethan's most trusted men and most times he's recruited in his missions.
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* DeadpanSnarker: He has a dry wit he frequently deploys.
* DemotedToExtra: He sits out for ''Ghost Protocol'' and only appears in the last scene. ''Rogue Nation'' gives him a bigger part again, and is a central, plot-reliant character in ''Fallout''.
* {{Deuteragonist}}: To a lesser degree after the first film, but it's clear that he's still Ethan's oldest friend and ally. He's still the only character other than Ethan himself to appear in every movie in the series.
* ImpliedDeathThreat: To Brandt. He makes it clear that if Brandt screws Ethan over, he will make him pay.
* TheLancer: To Ethan sometimes. He shows some skepticism about the "Impossible Missions" that his comrade plans and warns him that a marriage and relationship do not work at all in this kind of job.
* ManlyTears: Sheds a few of these in ''Fallout'' when talking to Ilsa just before the big climax in Kashmir.
* NonActionGuy: Luther is a hacker and tech guy, not a field agent. In the first film he never directly enters into combat. Though from the second film on he develops into an ActionSurvivor.
* NumberTwo: For Ethan, of sorts.
* PlayfulHacker: He was the main hacker figure before the third film, after Benji's AscendedExtra appearance. Though that didn't stop Luther from helping his old friend Ethan when required.
* ReformedCriminal: Used to be on the wrong side of the law, now works for IMF.
* ScaryBlackMan: In ''Rogue Nation'', lets Brandt know with just a ''look'' that he'll have hell to pay if he betrays Benji and Ethan.
* TheSmartGuy: Probably the most intelligent IMF agent of the entire series.
* TokenGoodTeammate: In the original movie, barring Ethan himself he was the only member of Ethan's second team to not be a traitor.
* TrueCompanions: In the fifth movie, he makes evident his loyalty isn't to IMF, or the government, it's to ''Ethan Hunt'' and no one else. Considering Ethan [[spoiler: saves his life instead of protecting the plutonium cores]] in ''Fallout'', it's easy to see why.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Krieger]]
!!Franz Krieger
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/7bba3a22_10f1_48af_9445_1add370f7428.jpeg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JeanReno
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Creator/JeanReno
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

->''"Try any sleight of hand with my money and I'll cut your throat."''

A helicopter pilot and disavowed IMF agent who participates in the mission to recover the NOC list.
----
* AcePilot: He pilots a helicopter in the first film's climax, as part of [[spoiler:Jim]]'s escape plan, even going so far as to fly it into the '''Channel Tunnel''' when things go pear-shaped.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler:He is deep down a psychotic and homicidal PsychoForHire, having stabbed Sarah to death. He comes within an inch of doing the same to Ethan in the air ducts after getting the NOC list, and later takes sadistic glee in trying to slice him to pieces with a helicopter rotor.]]
* BaitTheDog: While he never seems like he's on the up and up, Krieger's intro in the film is fairly disarming and affable. When the heist gets underway, however, Ethan has to physically stop him from stabbing an innocent security guard to death.
* TheBigGuy: Krieger's brought into Ethan's new team because of his physical abilities. During the heist, Krieger lowers Ethan into the room with only some pulleys and his own strength.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Intially appears to be an ally of Ethan, but is really TheDragon for Jim and a deranged PsychoForHire.]]
* TheDragon: [[spoiler:He was hired by Jim and Claire to kill Ethan's original team and Golitsyn, and retrieve the NOC List. He is hired back again by Claire to help Ethan's new team and then to help Jim in the bullet train]].
* TheMole: Former IMF agent who got disavowed and wanted revenge.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:It would have been easier to just drive off the helicopter until the tunnel met its end than trying to chop Ethan with the rotor in a very narrow tunnel. It gave Ethan a chance to blow up the chopper with the bomb gum.]]
* PsychoForHire: [[spoiler: For Jim Phelps, as he takes part in killing Ethan's original team and he's sadistic and homicidal.]]
* SlasherSmile: [[spoiler:Sports one when he tries to kill Ethan with his helicopter.]]
* TheSociopath: [[spoiler:He shows no genuine empathy over the lives he takes.]]
* WeaksauceWeakness: Despite being the most homicidal character in the film, a rat and his allergies nearly do the team in at Langley.
[[/folder]]

!Kittridge's Team
[[folder:Barnes]]
!!Frank Barnes
->'''Played By:''' Dale Dye
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

Eugene Kittridge's main assistant.
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* CoolOldGuy: He is around 60 years old and he still gets into action following Kittridge's orders. He is much more reasonable and less emotional than Kittridge.
* NumberTwo: The second in command of Kittridge's team and his main assistant.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Golitsyn]]
!!Alexander Golitsyn
->'''Played By:''' Marcel Iureș
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossible''

An IMF agent assigned by Kittridge to steal a decoy NOC list as part of an effort to draw Job out of hiding.
----
* RedHerring: He was deliberately posed as such by Kittridge as TheMole so he could track down the real traitor "Job".
* StarterVillain: He was the main target in the film's first act as a treacherous spy who wanted to give the NOC List to Max. Averted by the fact he was not a villain at all but an agent of the IMF.
[[/folder]]

!Chimera Mission Team
[[folder:Billy]]
!!Billy Baird
->'''Played By:''' John Polson
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Jacques Bouanich
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleII Mission: Impossible II]]''

A tech savvy and pilot.
----
* AcePilot: Billy is very good at flying helicopters, which is why he is recruited by Hunt.
* ComicRelief: He is the pre-Benji of the film franchise. Shame he didn't appear again.
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: To Krieger from the first film. Both were chosen alongside Luther to help Ethan and both fulfill similar roles as field agents for the team. Billy, however, isn't nearly as antagonistic as Krieger [[spoiler:and doesn't betray the team]]. Billy and Krieger are both helicopter pilots and the ones who lower Ethan in their respective movie's infiltration scenes; Billy's goes off without a hitch while Krieger's allergies and violence nearly compromise the mission.
* FunnyForeigner: He's very Australian and very funny.
* PutOnABus: Like most other agents, as usual.
[[/folder]]

!Rabbit's Foot Mission Team
[[folder:Zhen]]
!!Zhen Lei
->'''Played By:''' [[Creator/MaggieQ Maggie Q]]
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Audrey Fleurot
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleIII Mission Impossible III]]''

->'''Declan Gormey:''' Delta, do you copy?\\
'''Zhen:''' All I do is copy.\\
'''Declan:''' That's funny. Get moving now.\\
'''Zhen:''' I'm already on the way.
----
* ActionGirl: Like most Maggie Q characters.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Isn't in any other films.[[note]]She was intended to return in ''Ghost Protocol'', but Creator/MaggieQ wasn't available.[[/note]]
* MsFanservice: When she dresses up in the Vatican, [[LegFocus the camera focuses on her legs]] as she leaves her Lamborghini.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: She's the only woman in Ethan's team in the third film.
* PutOnABus: Like most of the other movies' main cast.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Declan]]
!!Declan Gormley
->'''Played By:''' [[Creator/JonathanRhysMeyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers]]
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' David Krüger
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleIII Mission: Impossible III]]''

->''"Now we've pissed off every Italian in Rome, go to do what you have to do."''
----
* AcePilot: Has excellent skills in flying, as he shows he can narrowly miss windmills on purpose.
* CunningLinguist: He can speak Italian and he used it for faking a traffic jam anger situation.
* ImprobablePilotingSkills: Pilots a plane through a freaking windmill while being chased by Davian's henchmen. It applies to his driving as well.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: Courtesy of being played by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
* PutOnABus: Only appears in part three and disappears without a hoot.
[[/folder]]

!Hendricks Mission Team
[[folder:Carter]]
!!Jane Carter
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/janecater.jpg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:300:some caption text]]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/PaulaPatton
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Laura Blanc
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]''
----
%%* ActionGirl
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: There's no explanation for her absence in ''Rogue Nation'', despite clearly accepting Ethan's offer to join his team.[[note]]Patton wasn't available to return.[[/note]]
* CombatStilettos: Averted. She takes them off before bull rushing Sabine.
* DesignatedGirlFight: With Sabine Moreau. [[ItsPersonal Justified as Sabine killed Trevor]].
* MsFanservice: When she dresses up in the missions. She has the legs and the cleavage. It became useful for her HoneyTrap with the lecherous tycoon Brij Nath.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Jane is accused of this after killing Trevor's assassin, but to be fair, she presented a certain danger at the time.
* TheSmurfettePrinciple: The only female member of the team in the fourth film.
* TwoferTokenMinority: She's the only person of color on the team in the fourth film.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: By the fifth and sixth films, it is unknown what happened to her.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Brandt]]
!!William Brandt
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/williambrandt.png]]
[-[[caption-width-right:300:'''Alan Hunley:''' I'm not interested in playing games, Brandt.\\
'''Brandt:''' And I'm not interested in seeing my friends get killed either.]]-]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JeremyRenner
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Jérôme Pauwels
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]''

->'''Brandt:''' 22 minutes to door knock.\\
'''Ethan Hunt:''' The countdown is not helping.\\
'''Brandt:''' I'm just saying.

One of Ethan's new recruits. An assistant to the IMF Secretary and a former field agent with a dark past.
----
* TheAtoner: See MyGreatestFailure below.
* BadassBureaucrat: He was first introduced as an assistant to the IMF Secretary. Then you learn he wasn't all the time in his desk and has great combat skills.[[note]]He was actually first created so there'd be a character who could take over the lead role in the franchise if Tom Cruise left.[[/note]]
* CaptainObvious: In ''Rogue Nation'', he keeps pointing out the self-evident, though as a warning more than anything.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: He's not in ''Fallout'' at all, and isn't even mentioned.[[note]]The crew assumed Jeremy Renner would be busy with ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'' and so never wrote him in, though he ended up not being involved in that one either.[[/note]]
* TheCynic: Constantly doubts the mission will succeed and usually goes to the worse case scenario.
* DeadpanSnarker: He's very sardonic.
* MissionControl: Fulfills this purpose for some time in ''Rogue Nation''.
* MyGreatestFailure: He feels guilty for failing at protecting Julia. [[spoiler:Though this was deliberately made up by Ethan for Julia's safety and keep her out from his dangerous IMF missions]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: By the events of ''Fallout'' he's no longer working with Ethan actively, but he's never referenced or mentioned in any way.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Benji]]
!!Benjamin "Benji" Dunn
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/benjidunn.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[JoinTheArmyTheySaid "Join the IMF, see the world! On a monitor. In a closet..."]]'']]
->'''Played By:''' Creator/SimonPegg
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Cédric Dumond
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleRogueNation Rogue Nation]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleFallout Fallout]]'' | ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleDeadReckoningPartOne Dead Reckoning Part One]]''

->''"I am a field agent, I know the risks. More than that, I am your friend, no matter what I tell the polygraph every week. Now you called me because you needed my help, and you still do. So I am staying. And that is all we are going to say about that."''

A tech savvy of the IMF and new recruit to Ethan's most recent team.
----
* ActionSurvivor: In ''Ghost Protocol''. By ''Rogue Nation'' he still has shades of this with his panicking and despair in action but he's a lot more badass, and by the time of ''Fallout'' he's fully graduated too a combat-ready member of the team.
* AscendedExtra: [[SmallRoleBigImpact His role in the third film was small and only had a little crucial moment in stopping Davian]]. But in the fourth and fifth films he had passed a field test where he is now into action, taking various levels in badass.
* BadassBookworm: Between ''Ghost Protocol'' and ''Rogue Nation'', Benji earns his badassery in battle.
* BreakoutCharacter: He was introduced late into the third film and only had a supporting role. By ''Ghost Protocol'' and ''Rogue Nation'' he's become one of the primary cast.
* DeadpanSnarker: Loves making sarcastic comments.
* DistressedDude: [[spoiler: Is captured by the Syndicate and held ransom in exchange for the unencrypted Red Box and its mysterious contents during the final third of ''Rogue Nation''. GuileHero that he is, Ethan manages to bluff the Syndicate into letting his friend go.]]
* GuileHero: He's officially become this almost as much as Ethan by ''Fallout'', successfully disguising himself as both [[spoiler:Solomon Lane]] and [[spoiler:[[ItMakesSenseInContext Wolf Blitzer]]]] to trick the bad guys into giving up information the team needs.
* IconicSequelCharacter: He only came to the franchise in the third film, but since then he's been on every installment and with a [[AscendedExtra steadily increasing amount of plot importance and screentime]].
* OnlyKnownByHisNickname: Is called by his nickname basically all the time. Even Hunley, the CIA director, refers to him as "Benji Dunn" instead of "Benjamin Dunn".
* PlayfulHacker: That's his main ability. He had substituted Luther in the fourth film as the tech savvy.
* PluckyComicRelief: When you need a couple of good laughs in the film, Benji is your man. Of course, he's played masterfully by Simon Pegg.
* TheSmartGuy: Very good with technology.
* TookALevelInBadass: He started as a technician working behind a desk, but by ''Rogue Nation'', he's a fully operational field agent.
* TrueCompanions: The above quotes describe his loyalty to Ethan Hunt very well. He knows he’s putting his life on the line, he knows he’s in over his head, but he will do it anyway because Ethan is his friend. The sentiment is returned by Ethan, [[spoiler:who did everything in his power, up to and including drugging the British Prime Minister and the head of UsefulNotes/{{MI6}}, to save Benji after he’s kidnapped by the Syndicate.]] Indeed, he’s the second most frequent member of Ethan’s team after Luther.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Hanaway]]
!!Trevor Hanaway
->'''Played By:''' Creator/JoshHolloway
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Arnaud Arbessier
->'''Appearances:''' ''[[Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol Ghost Protocol]]''

->''"It was my op. I put him in the field. And [Sabine] left him just alive enough for me to see him die."''
-->-- Regarding one of her deceased comrades (And also her secret lover), '''Trevor Hanaway'''

A skilled IMF agent who's in charge of the mission to steal the nuclear launch codes in Budapest but is killed by Sabine Moreau. Also Jane Carter's love interest.
----
* AgentsDating: He and Agent Jane Carter are lovers, and Jane goes on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against Moreau for killing him.
* BadassNormal: Manages to kill three bad guys before dying.
* DyingDeclarationOfLove: His last words before he died is him telling Agent Carter that he should've told her earlier that he loves her.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: Managed to shoot two mooks while falling down to the ground very accurately, then later shoots one more mook after doing a rolling dive.
* TheLostLenore: To Agent Jane Carter.
* MauveShirt: Has a decent amount of characterization and badass moments before being offed.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He only has a role in the opening scene and later a brief flashback scene regarding the same event, but his failure to obtain the nuclear launch codes drives the plot. Also, his death heavily affects Agent Carter's performance during the mission in Dubai.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: He's killed in less than two minutes after the film begins.
* TheWorfEffect: He's at least as good as Ethan Hunt in the field, capable of taking control of the mission, making quick decisions, and kicking asses along the way. He's then suddenly killed by Sabine Moreau to establish her as a dangerous foe.
[[/folder]]

!Ethan's Protégés
[[folder:Farris]]
!!Lindsey Farris
->'''Played By:''' Creator/KeriRussell
->'''Dubbed in French By:''' Chloé Bertier
->'''Appearances:''' ''Film/MissionImpossibleIII''

->''"Miss Farris, you know how many recruits I've trained. I'm proud to say that you are the first that I've recommended for active field duty. Congratulations."''
-->-- '''Ethan Matthew Hunt'''

A young apprentice of Ethan Hunt that was kidnapped by Davian's men.
----
* ActionGirl: She is Ethan's favorite IMF pupil and had been personally trained by him, so she begins fulfilling this trope the moment she is broken free.
* BadassInDistress: The movie opens with her being rescued from her kidnappers
* DiesWideOpen: [[spoiler:Played to a disturbing effect rather than a tragic one. The implanted chip in her head detonates fatally damaging a series of nerves in her brain and her eyes shoot into two different directions when she dies]].
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Killed very suddenly just when one thought she might be useful on Ethan's Team.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: Ethan says they were so.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Her kidnap forced Ethan to do one final mission before retirement. [[spoiler:Then she suddenly died from an implanted chip inside her head, forcing him to go back to the IMF]].
[[/folder]]

!London Substation
[[folder:Record Shop Girl]]
!!Record Shop Girl
->'''Played by:''' Creator/HermioneCorfield
->'''Appearances:''' Rogue Nation

->''"It really is you. I've heard stories. They can't all be true."''
----
* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Suddenly killed by Solomon Lane after the mission sequence.
* KillTheCutie: Very quickly ends up on the receiving end of this trope.
* TheKnightsWhoSaySquee: Is pretty amazed to realize the man she's talking to is LivingLegend Ethan Hunt, and that the tales of his exploits are real.
* PlotTriggeringDeath: Sure, it comes after the famous plane sequence but her death is what shows us Lane's brutality and his plans.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Sort of, as her death shows Lane's first appearance.
[[/folder]]
----

[[/folder]]

'''All {{spoiler}}s in Team Leader Jim's entry will be left [[Administrivia/SpoilersOff unmarked]] per site policy. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned.'''

Any good spy agency needs good agents, and IMF has it all.