The characters of MacGyver (2016). See here for the characters that did appear in the original series.

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Phoenix Foundation

Team MacGyver

Angus "Mac" MacGyver

Portrayed by: Lucas Till

The titular character and Tropenamer for MacGyvering, covert agent for the United States goverment agency DXS, later renamed The Phoenix Foundation. A brilliant young man known for his Indy Ploys using anything laying around to get out of whatever mess he and his team get into.

Birthday Hater: Every since he learned that his father had abandoned the family on his tenth birthday.
Disappeared Dad: Hasn't seen or spoken to his father since he was nine. MacGyver Sr later turned out to be Oversight, Mac's boss's boss.
Doesn't Like Guns: True to his 1980s counterpart, he almost never uses a gun. Instead, he uses unarmed combat, his improvised gadgets and traps when required.
Elite School Means Elite Brain: In the original MacGyver series, the genius engineer jack-of-all trades who is good at everything and an Omniglot to boot, went to a fictitious university. But the reboot placed him at MIT and just as brilliant.
Experienced Protagonist: Like his 1980s counterpart, he served in the US Army as an explosive ordnance disposal tech.
Heroic BSoD: Went off for vacation after Nikki was gunned down before his eyes. Became worse when he found that Nikki was rogue, working alongside John Kendrick.
Iconic Item: Carries a Swiss Army Knife, which was used in his years with the Boy Scouts. He received the original one from his grandfather. After losing it on a mission, was given a new one by Jack.
Line-of-Sight Name: Has one. He was born in the cab of a truck on the side of the road across the street from a billboard advertising a steakhouse that served Angus beef.
MacGyvering: Like the original MacGyver, he resolves situations by using any everyday items he can find.
Missing Mom: Died before his tenth birthday.
My Greatest Failure: Once disarmed 126 bombs in a single day. Unfortunately, The Ghost had planted 127 bombs in his sector.
Omniglot: Can speak English and Italian. According to Wilt, he's good in Mandarin Chinese. His Turkish is rusty.
- "Murdoc + MacGyver + Murdoc" reveals he speaks fluent Spanish.
- In "Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice", he uses German in order to keep an infiltration op from being exposed. But it didn't work at the last minute he was spotted.
- In "Royalty + Marriage + Vivaah Sanskar + Zinc + Henna", he uses Dutch while masquerading as a Dutch prince.
Raised by Grandparents: By the time he was ten, his mother was dead and his father had abandoned him.
Trap Master: Some of his methods in fighting the bad guys requires the use of ambushes via improvised traps.

Riley Davis

Portrayed by: Tristin Mays

A young woman busted out of jail by Jack and Mac to replace Nikki Carpenter after betraying them, a brilliant hacker whose computer skills become a valuable asset for the Phoenix.

Ambiguously Brown: Bozer once called her "my caramel goddess." The episode "Scissors" shows her mom Diane is a light-skinned black woman.
Badass Longcoat: Riley begins wearing a leather trench coat all the time in season 5 (even in most casual settings).
Boxed Crook: Agreed to work with DXS, later Phoenix, to get her sentenced reduced. Eventually comes to consider the team like family to the point when offered a chance to quit and take a more mundane job turns it down.
Brainy Brunette
Dark and Troubled Past: Had a father, who unbeknownst to her, abused her mother. Not only that but she was actually in a Supermax prison, and was a hacker long before she got caught.
Disproportionate Retribution: She doesn't like Jack because not only did he date her mom, but he beat her abusive father when he went after her mother. Riley's father subsequently told her it was just because Jack was jealous. Jack never corrected her mistaken impression because he didn't think she'd believe him over her father.
Hell-Bent for Leather: Riley is almost always wearing leather. If not her leather jacket then leather pants. Starting in season 5 she begins wearing a leather trench coat all the time (even in more casual settings).
Ms. Fanservice: During Bozer's fantasy sequence at the beginning of "Ruler," where she's far more buxom than usual. However, in reality, her fashion sense still tends towards tight pants and cleavage-baring tops.
The Cracker: Riley's a known hacker before she was jailed.
Unkempt Beauty: at first. Later cleans up.
Took a Level in Badass: As Riley continues to work with Phoenix, she's able to hold out on her own in unarmed combat when she has no choice.

Wilt Bozer

Portrayed by: Justin Hires

Mac's Best Friend from childhood and roommate, initially unaware of his friend's work as a covert agent. After learning the truth, he gets recruited for his impressive skills at making prosthetic disguises from his years of trying to break out into film-making. Later he receives some minor Took a Level in Badass over the course of the series being trained in covert ops and occasionally working in the field.

Dogged Nice Guy: Crazy about Riley, gives her all kinds of low-key support. He gets over her though.
Life of the Party: Life of the Frat Party, at least, thanks to his incredible skill at keg stands.
Mac: When Bozer walked in, he was a freshman. One minute and fifty-two seconds later, he was a god.
Locked Out of the Loop: Has no idea what his best friend really does for a living, until Murdoc taunts him with it while holding him prisoner in "Corkscrew." He takes it relatively well, despite initially being pissed about it.
Mr. Exposition: In "Magnifying Glass", he explains to the team about the Zodiac Killer.
Non-Action Guy: Bozer is just fine with staying in the lab and not going out into the field to get shot at.
Pursue the Dream Job: While everyone else gets mundane jobs after the Phoenix shuts down, Bozer pursues his lifelong dream and makes a critically acclaimed movie. He decides to rejoin the team though, because "Saving the world is a lot more fun than pretending to save the world."
Race Lift: He's a massively retooled version of a throwaway character named Milt Bozer in the classic series, one of those changes being from Caucasian to African-American.
Took a Level in Badass: Matty sends him to spy school in season 2, where learns the skills to make him a more effecive agent.

Desiree "Desi" Nguyen

Desiree Nguyen

Portrayed by: Levy Tran

Jack's chosen replacement when he leaves the Phoenix Foundation indefinitely as part of a classified assignment, joining the organization as repayment for a yet unexplained debt she owes him.

Action Girl: After Jack is Put on a Bus, she becomes the team's best melee combatant. She's usually the first to start fighting, and is often the last one standing after using only martial arts.
Defrosting Ice Queen: The Phoenix crew isn't the typical military outfit that Desi is used to; a large part of their strength comes from their Chronic Hero Syndrome and The Power of Friendship. It doesn't take too many episodes before she's willing to have a beer with the team after a successful operation.
Doesn't Like Guns: Downplayed. She explains that she will use a gun if necessary, but prefers to send bad guys to an interrogation room rather than a morgue.
Hero of Another Story: Desi's time with the Rangers and as a soldier with the US Army Female Engagement Team in Afghanistan.
Le Parkour: Showcases it by pulling a Wall Jump up some 12-foot-high cargo crates.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Given that she Doesn't Like Guns, the infrequent times where she draws are treated with an increased sense of danger, whereas Jack would use his gun pretty much all the time.
Safety in Indifference: Due to her military background, she's had to bury more than a few friends. She initially insists against making friends with her Phoenix colleagues, so she doesn't risk going through that again.
Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: While on military duty in Afghanistan, she went AWOL to rescue a local civilian from militants despite the American brass telling her they couldn't take the risk or spare the resources. She succeeded in the solo rescue mission, but got punished with a demotion for her trouble — and an email from the man she rescued, telling her that he and his family are still safe and prospering thanks to her.
Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Joins Phoenix as MacGyver's bodyguard after Jack is Put on a Bus. Although she rightfully claims she is not Jack in terms of personality, she is taking over the role of The Big Guy as badass marksman and close-quarters fighter.
Training from Hell: Desi gets subjected to intense infiltration training from an ex-cat burglar in "Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice" to break into a impregnable safe.
The Worf Effect: On her introduction, Desi was established as a master hand-to-hand combatant who could beat up any number of Mooks without breaking a sweat. Later episodes tend to have her struggle a lot more against even single opponents, either being defeated (as part of a You Can't Thwart Stage One style plot), or at least taking a few hard shots before finally putting a bad guy down.

Operations Manager

Matilda "Matty" Webber

Portrayed by: Meredith Eaton

Thornton's replacement as Director after being exposed as the government mole, a well-known figure in the intelligence community referred to by Jack as "Matty the Hun". Despite the team's fears, she proves to be stern but Reasonable Authority Figure and eventually Team Mom often doing her best to protect the team while remaining on mission.

Bait-and-Switch Tyrant: Jack initially refers to her as "Matty the Hun", drumming her up to be a classic Mean Boss. After a rough introduction to the team, it soon becomes clear that she just takes her job — apprehending top-tier terrorists and criminals — with the seriousness it should demand. And she's very good at it.
Berserk Button: Making a crack at her diminutive size is enough to drive her ballistic.
Hidden Depths: She got married when she was working with the CIA alongside Jack. Unfortunately, the years her husband spent on an undercover op in Croatia resulted in him having another family.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Averted at first. She has a problem with Mac's skills in solving cases for the PF. She agrees to retain him if he can challenge her to change her mind in convincing her that his skills are essential.
Rescue Romance: How she met her future husband. She was the Damsel in Distress.
It's All My Fault: It brought Matty to tears when Jill was killed by Murdoc, and Matty held herself responsible for convincing Jill to join the Phoenix Foundation in the first place after Jill turned her down twice right out of college.
The Napoleon: She is a dwarf, but she is incredibly domineering.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: When sending the team Coach to Ghana to retrieve a file called "Dragonfly" and Jack begs Maddie to NOT fly him Coach, Maddie says simply "Please" to him. Jack immediately becomes sombre and quiet and just says okay, and soon after tells the rest of the team that whatever Dragonfly is, Maddie is genuinely scared of it getting out.

Oversight

Oversight aka James MacGyver (Portrayed by Martin Milner and Tate Donovan)

The oft-mentioned but never seen head of the Phoenix Foundation whose identity is never hinted at or mentioned except as "Oversight'. That is until the season 2 finale where he's revealed to be none other then James MacGyver, Mac's long-lost father who left home when he was young.

Generation Xerox: Inverted. As it turns out, Mac's dad wasn't some Mad Scientist but a DXS agent who used his mind and talent for MacGyvering to complete missions. He even had a partner who acted as the brawn to his brain just like Jack.
Hidden in Plain Sight: Mac's Disappeared Dad has secretly been his boss' boss for years.
It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Platonic example and the reason he initially gives for abandoning Mac as a child. He felt that with each mission he made more and more enemies who would do anything to hurt him. Mac calls him out on this as James could've easily have taken his son with him; the elder Mac eventually admits it's because he was broken after the death of his wife and it James himself was a danger to Mac.

Russ Taylor

Portrayed by Henry Ian Cusick

Former head of the mercenary firm Spearhead Operations, he recruits Team MacGyver for a mission 18-months after Phoenix is shut-down. Following the mission, Russ reveals a pattern of crime, terror plots, and other events that he believes to be the work of a single organization and decides to use the Phoenix to stop them.

Crimefighting with Cash: He got Phoenix restarted by purchasing it.
Hidden Depths: Russ likes archaeology and he founded Spearhead Operations based on the tales of his grandfather.
It's Personal: He gets involved in "Thief + Painting + Auction + Viro-486 + Justice" since one of his trained MI6 agents got killed by a rogue German diplomat.
Private Military Contractors: Started one when he left MI:6 before he found out that the company became corrupt from the inside.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Is willing to listen to the team when they need to make judgements on the scene.

Former Members

Jack Dalton

Portrayed by: George Eads

Mac's partner, work best friend, foil, and True Companion who acted as the "Brawn" to his "Brains", a Texas-born former Delta Force soldier whose childishness and immaturity hides a dangerous and effective operative. After a terrorist he hunted for 12 years is revealed to be alive, he leaves to join a classified task force charged with taking him down once and for all with the promise to be back. A promise he sadly fails to keep when the terrorist kills him two years later...

Adaptational Badass: In the original series, Jack Dalton was a bumbling Loveable Rogue that Mac had to bail out of trouble constantly. Here he's a badass One-Man Army. And he drives a Shelby Cobra.
Bus Crash: After being Put on a Bus in the middle of season 3, the season 5 episode "Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO3 + GTO" opens at Jack's funeral, as he had been killed by the terrorist that his team was hunting. The only thing MacGyver and company can do is avenge him.
Cool Car: He has a Shelby Cobra roadster.
Dark and Troubled Past: He mentions in Season 3 that he got PTSD due to his time in Delta Force and briefly with the CIA that his ex-girlfriend left him.
Elites Are More Glamorous: Used to be Delta Force before he worked with the CIA, followed by DXS and then with Phoenix.
Experienced Protagonist: Jack used to be Delta Force and a CIA agent before he was recruited to work for DXS.
Expy: Shaping to be one for DiNozzo from NCIS for using pop culture, regardless if it's casual talk or when he's in danger.
Fan Boy: Of Bruce Willis, to the point of having his complete works on DVD, as well as Star Wars.
Friendly Sniper: Back when he was still with Delta Force.
Guns Akimbo: In the 2nd season, he carries two Heckler and Koch P30.
Hidden Depths: In "Jet Engine + Pickup Truck", Jack has great knowledge about oil wells and drilling. He grew up in a company town near Amarillo and his grandfather was involved in an oil company.
In Name Only: Jack is nothing at all like the original version.
Omniglot: In "Ruler", Jack is known to be fluent in Dutch and French. He says it's classified when pressed on when he learned to understand them.
- In "Mac + Fallout + Jack", it's suggested that Jack is familiar with Bahasa Indonesia, since he greeted an Indonesian-speaking arms dealer in Indonesian.
The Big Guy: In charge of fighting since Mac doesn't want to and Riley's a hacker.
Put on a Bus: At the end of "Father + Bride + Betrayal", he leaves on an open ended assignment to hunt down a terrorist.
True Companions: His old squad from his Delta days. When he finds out that one of them is in trouble, he immediately drops everything to get the gang back together and fly down to Honduras to save him. The only one who doesn't come is the paraplegic, who still does his best to help out by running Mission Control from his wheelchair.

Samantha Cage

Portrayed by: Isabel Lucas

Former SAS and later with the CIA, Samantha approaches the Phoenix when she finds intel that a thought dead American soldier she worked with is alive. After they rescued him against the Agency's instructions, she's kicked out and is recruited by Matty for her impressive interrogation skills becoming the team's profiler. After being shot by Murdoc in Season 2, Cage takes a leave of absence for physical therapy and then goes to Australia to stay with her sister.

Action Girl: An ex-SASR operative turned CIA agent turned PF black ops agent.
Elites Are More Glamorous: Used to be the Australian SAS's 4th Sabre Squadron before the CIA offered her a job.
It's Personal: She disobeyed direct orders when she heads to Turkey to rescue one of her SEAL friends who was suppose to be dead but is later to be taken prisoner for years.
Living Lie Detector: She can tell when someone is lying based on their mannerisms.
Omniglot: Speaks Arabic, English and Turkish. In "Duct Tape + Jack", she speaks Spanish.
Put on a Bus: In "Bullet + Pen", Cage takes a couple bullets in the stomach, courtesy of Murdoc. Although she survives, her hospital recovery segues directly into spending time with her sister in Australia.

Leanna Martin

Portrayed by: Reign Edwards

A fellow classmate at "spy school" that was part of part of Bozer's class when he was sent for certification and training as a covert operative where the two form a romantic relationship. After a couple of missions with them, she's recruited by the Phoenix Foundation between season 2 and 3 until they're shut down for 18-months and her relationship with Bozer ends... Afterwards she returns to the CIA for a deep cover mission where is unfortunately KIA while on the assignment.

Action Girl: Takes the slack in the 3rd season after Samantha leaves PF.
Bus Crash: After being away from the Phoenix team for some time, the middle of season 5 reveals that she was killed during a CIA operation.
Omniglot: Leanna speaks English and Russian in "Improvise".

Jill Morgan

Portrayed by: Kate Bond

A lab tech introduced in season 2 who occasionally worked as an assistant for Matty while on missions. Though she doesn't hang out with them outside of work, the team is appreciative of her skills even if Jack can't remember her name. Unfortunately, the third season opener ends with her murder by Murdoc's hand which motivates Mac to remain in the states and rejoin the Phoenix.

Butt-Monkey: See Running Gag for details.
Dropped a Bridge on Her: Season 3 debut- Jill finds Murdoc hiding in her backseat and he pounced, crashing the vehicle into a tree. Jill didn't survive his attack. The Phoenix team is extremely disheartened afterward.
Running Gag: The main cast tends to not call her by "Jill", confusing it with another name.

Patricia Thornton

For more info about her, see Chrysalis.

Allies

Civilians

Dawn

Protrayed by: Amy Smart

A con woman who catches the attention of the team when she comes about a collection of old and current CIA covers she uses for identtity theft, one of which happened to belong to Jack.

Boxed Crook: Gets a job making more convincing cover identities for the CIA as part of a deal to avoid jail time.

CIA

Nikki Carpenter

Portrayed by: Tracy Spiridakos

Mac's girlfriend at the beginning of the series before betraying and shooting him in the pilot, revealing herself to be a mole for a terrorist organization... Except not really. It turns out she was a triple agent for the CIA who used The Phoenix Foundation, formerly DXS and her betrayal as her cover.

Death Faked for You: Arranged to be killed by John Kendrick in "The Rising" so that she can secure the WMD Mac found undetected.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon:
- As of "Screwdriver," ultimately a Subverted Trope.
Glory Hound: The reason why she went rogue. She wanted to be the hero like Mac.
The Mole: Works for an unknown organization that wanted to acquire a WMD in "The Rising".
- Only subverted as it turns out she was a deep cover agent all along.
Voice with an Internet Connection: Nikki helps Jack and Mac by staying in comms and plans their routes from safety.
Walking Spoiler: It's best to read the spoiled entries once you're done with the first episode.

Sarah Adler

Portrayed by: Amy Acker

A CIA officer and Jack's ex-girlfriend who makes an appearance in Season 1 needing to be bailed out of a mission gone bad. Later she returns to help identify the government mole leaking classified intelligence.

Action Girl: As expected of someone who's from the CIA.
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Gets one brief mention in season 2 but otherwise completely disappears from the series.
The One That Got Away: Despite it being years since they broke up, Jack still carries a torch for her but is a gentlemen enough to not make any moves on now that she's engaged/married.

Criminals, Terrorists, & Other Enemies

Independent Elements

Chrysalis

Chrysalis (Real Name: Patricia Thornton)

Portrayed by: Sandrine Holt

Director of Operations for the first half of Season 1, initially she's presented a strict and professional who also cares for Mac and his team. In truth, she is a true mole for a terrorist organization that had been selling secrets for years, a revelation that brings about her downfall.

Adaptational Villainy: From so much of a Reasonable Authority Figure that the bad guys had to make him Brainwashed and Crazy to make him try to betray his country (and even then, it was a one-episode Easily Forgiven deal) to The Mole and an Arc Villain.
Asskicking Leads to Leadership: In "Wire Cutter," she shows that years behind a desk have not dulled her skills, as she goes on a one-woman rampage to acquire vital intelligence for the team and avenge a fallen comrade.
Jack: I thought having a corner office made you soft.
Badass in a Nice Suit: She both dresses and kicks ass with style.
Big Bad: For the first half of Season 1.
Gender-Blender Name: A female name counterpart to Pete Thornton.
Mole in Charge: In charge of PF on behalf of a criminal/terrorist organization.
Reasonable Authority Figure: Gave Mac time off after he witnessed Nikki's death. Later subverted as it turns out she didn't want him finding out Nikki was a deep cover agent trying to prove Patricia was a mole.
The Reveal: Patty is actually a criminal mastermind who goes by the codename Chrysalis (a gender-flipped spin on a character from the original series, who was a butterfly enthusiast that went by the name "Papillion", French for "butterfly".)

Murdoc

Portrayed by: David Dastmalchian

Originally known only by the CIA as "Suspect 218", a proficient Professional Killer who is eventually revealed to be the revival series' version of Murdoc and who would become Mac's personal nemesis. After MacGyver becomes the first and so far only person to survive him unscathed, Murdoc becomes obsessed with him and his schemes often revolve around hurting him and the Phoenix.

Arch-Enemy: To Mac.
Blue-and-Orange Morality: He does have a moral code. He likens himself to a surgeon cutting tumors out of a cancer-ridden patient (the patient being modern society, and the tumors being people bad for it). Occasionally he'll perform an assassination for free if he thinks the world will be better off without the target in it.
Consulting a Convicted Killer: Since he gets captured in his first appearance, most of his episodes in the first season involve this. Then he escapes.
Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He has a son, whom he has gone to great lengths to provide for and shelter from the reality of what he does for a living. All it takes to ensure his cooperation is Webber threatening to tell his son the truth about his father. He is also reluctant to kill the mother of his child, even after Amber kidnaps Cassian to extort money from him.
Final Boss: He and Eric Andrews(General Ma) serve as this for the Codex arc.
Former Regime Personnel: Wanted to join the US Army, but they refused to take him because he was a psycho who wanted to join the military for the opportunity to kill people. So he joined the military of an unspecified country that was less careful about psych screenings. After said country ceased to exist, he went into murder for hire.
I Have Many Names: Murdoc isn't his actual name, it's just the alias he's most fond of. If his mentor is to be believed, his original given name was Dennis.
In Love with the Mark: Inverted, if one believes that Murdoc was actually telling the truth. A woman he was contracted to kill fell in love with him while he was still in the prep stages of the assassination, so he delayed the kill and settled down with her. A year or so later, she gave birth to his son. Minutes after she did so, as Murdoc looked at his lover and their child, he decided that the time was right to go back to work, so he smothered her to death.
- Most of this story is later shown to be fictitious - his wife is still alive, and is in fact a killer for hire who, in her own way, is just as psycho as he is. They actually met while trying to kill the same target - since they couldn't figure out whose bullet did the job, they split the fee. And a bottle of vodka.
Invincible Villain: After escaping at the end of Season 1, he pretty much does nothing but win.
Joker Immunity: Subverted, as he's more competent at avoiding lethal scenarios this time.
The Kingslayer: He and Eric Andrews kills Leland and tries to take the position from him.
Klingon Promotion: Attempts this alongside with General Ma to claim their title as head of Codex.
Lack of Empathy: Or so he claims.
Made of Iron: Electrocuted and suffered two nasty falls in his introductory episode. None of that stopped him for more than a minute or so.
Multiple-Choice Past: Once tells Mac a story about how he almost died from anaphylactic shock after eating a single peanut at a baseball game as a kid. At the end of the episode he reveals that he'd eaten an entire bag of peanuts while Mac was out and about that episode, and took no harm. He'd told Mac the story just to mess with him. The original story he told about his son's mother was also fake.
"Not So Different" Remark: Tries this spiel on Mac, saying they both have the same goal: building a better world by eliminating threats. But whereas Mac locks people up, Murdoc simply kills them. Mac, naturally, doesn't buy it.
Put on a Bus: Does not appear in season 4, presumably because after getting locked up (again) towards the end of season 3, the Phoenix actually managed to get him to stay behind bars this time.
- The Bus Came Back: And then he escapes again in season 5.
Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Do not turn on him, or he will kill you.
Running Gag: He keeps getting interrupted in the middle of The Young and the Restless while in lockup.
Would Hit a Girl:
- Threatened to take out Riley and Patricia.
- Shot at Sam, who wore a ballistic vest. The first time.
- Killed Jill.
Worthy Opponent: After personally experiencing Mac's ingenuity (I.E. zapped by his electrified handrails and knocked out a window by wine bottle rockets), Murdoc graciously admits his sincere-respect for Mac by telling him that he would consider it an "honor" to be the one to "put him into the ground."

The Ghost

The Ghost (Real Name: Conor Brenan)

Portrayed by: Sean Cameron Michael

An infamous bomb maker among EOD techs who first came to Mac's attention when one of his bombs killed his instructor in Afghanistan. Over the years, the two have come into conflict with Mac's skills being the only thing preventing him from succeeding in a number of his skills.

Bavarian Fire Drill: Often gets into position to plant bombs by disguising himself as someone sent to look for bombs.
Chronic Evidence Retention Syndrome: Watches people trying to disarm his bombs on webcam and then keeps the videos as trophies.
The Dreaded: He's notorious in the law enforcement/military/intelligence community because he's very good at making bombs and has ways to block any countermeasures meant to disarm them.
Foil: To Mac in his role as a former EOD specialist. The Ghost is one of the best bombmakers in the world, and Mac is the one of the best bomb disposal experts. Mac wants to bring him to justice. The Ghost wants to blow up his rival.
The Ghost: Ironically, yes. He has never been seen on screen in person before. The closest was a surveillance recording of him walking by Mac & Bozer's house in disguise. He is later revealed to be an Irish man named Connor, a former bomber for the PIRA.
Hero Killer: His bombs killed off several EOD specialists and Mac was nearly killed in one.
Mentor Occupational Hazard: Was the cause of this for Mac's teacher from EOD school.
My Greatest Failure: A marital dispute that broke out when his wife caught him making bombs in their home caused him to improperly mix some chemicals, causing the bomb to go off early, killing his wife.
Rule of Three: Killed in his third appearance.

The End... Or Is It?: Tells Mac that he made a special bomb just for the purpose of beating him. With his death at his daughter's hands, nobody knows where it is.
Western Terrorists: Has seen action in the Troubles with the PIRA.
Wire Dilemma: He is a genius at this. One of his favorite tricks is setting up multiple bombs that are interlinked so that they all blow if they're disarmed in the wrong order - and the bomb that's the easiest to find the hard way is generally the one you have to disarm last, which means that you can't get to the others.
Worthy Opponent: Sees Mac as one, as trying to outwit him made him a better bombmaker.

Nicholas Helman

Nicholas Helem

Portrayed by: Michael Des Barres

An assassin, the assassin, who worked for decades as one of the best but arguably his biggest contribution to the profession was taking a youngsociopath named Dennis and transforming him into Murdoc. Today, though he hunts his former protege after the later accidentally killed Helman's wife in a botched attempt on his teacher's life.

Evil Old Folks: A expertly-trained, veteran assassin who leaves a body count every time he appears regardless if they're his target or not.
The Lost Lenore: According to Murdoc, Helman was a top-rate assassin before falling in love with a woman and deciding to retire. This did not sit well with Murdoc and others in their professional and the student was sent to put Helman down. As Mac correctly guesses, Murdoc missed, killed the woman instead, and has been hunting him ever since.
Mythology Gag: Nicholas Helman, the mentor of Murdoc, is played by Michael Des Barres, also known as the original series' Murdoc.
Old Master: Assuming he's the same age as his actor, Helman is in his 70s making him old enough to be a Badass Great-Grandpa; not only is he a "silver fox" according to Desi but the idea of him being alive scares the Phoenix team and terrifies Murdoc.

Jonah Walsh

Protrayed by:

A former DXS agent, one of the best and at one point the long-time friend and partner of James MacGyver before going to the other side. James has spent the past 20 years hunting him which is made difficult as Walsh, like Jack Dalton with Angus MacGyver, knows the elder Mac better than anyone.

Evil Former Friend: Jonah was at one time James MacGyver's best friend, comrade-in-arms, and was in many ways acted the same role as Jack Dalton did for Mac. Then he turned criminal is one of the most wanted men on the planet and whom James has been hunting for
The Unreveal: Why he turned is never explained and what led to seemingly to hate James enough to threaten his son to work for him. According to James, one day he just went bad with no explanation or warning and never looked back.
Whatever Happened to the Mouse?: After being established as a big threat for season 3, Walsh disappears from the show completely. Made more noticeable as an early episode established he had completed his project of creating a Psycho Super Serum he intended to sell on the black market. He does not even get the honor being involved in James' death and is replaced by Elliot Mason as his Arch-Nemesis.

Elliot Mason

Protrayed by: Peter Weller

A former FBI agent and Counterintelligence operative with a long decorative and legendary career, as well as James MacGyver's greatest nemesis. His vendetta against Phoenix is fueled by the death of his son who died as part of an operation to ensue the safety of an intelligence asset: James' son Angus.

Even Evil Has Standards: Refers Codex's Motive Rant as a TED Talks from hell given their plans to destroy civilization.
Fallen Hero: Used to be a known FBI agent.
It's Personal: Holds a personal vendetta against James MacGyver.
My Greatest Failure: In "Banh Bao + Sterno + Drill + Burner + Mason", he mentions that he was approached by Chinese nationals willing to defect to America, but the FBI had a problem with a pro-Beijing mole. Mason couldn't get to the POI's parents when the bureau told them to be double agents instead, their lives being in danger.
Sadistic Choice: His primary methods involve these.
We Will Meet Again: Vows this to Mac after escaping near the end of the Season 3 finale.

Tiberius Kovac

Tiberius Kovac (Real Name: Anya Vitez)

A long-thought dead terrorist that a Delta Force team Jack was a part of took out after a 12 year search, only to resurface years later. In Jack + Kinematics + Safe Cracker + MgKNO 3 + GTO its revealed she is an Interpol agent who has been using a fake terrorist identity for years as a means of profit. She finally is taken down by the Phoenix Foundation who hunt Kovacs down in revenge for Jack's death.

Hero Killer: (S)He lays a trap when Jack gets too close to figuring out the truth, setting a bomb that kills and to fake Kovac's death again.
Invented Individual: The reason that Tiberius Kovac has never been seen in person or caught is because he doesn't even exist. The identity was created by a (female) Interpol agent as a cover for her profiting from the terror attacks she carried out.

General Ma

General Ma (Real Name: Eric Andrews)

Dr. Silas Mercer

Codex

General

A international conspiracy, whose reach and and history reaches far, and the central villain of season 4.

Ancient Conspiracy: The season finale has Leland reveal that their group, in one form or another, reach all the way back to The Renaissance.
Create Your Own Villain: A number of the organization's recruits started out as scientists who were sick of being forced by governments to build new more destructive weapons instead of ways to help the world.
Decapitated Army: Following the death of Titan, their Evil Plan being foiled, and governments at large made aware of their existence, Season 5 reveals they went underground. Then its further revealed they're in the midst of a full-blown Enemy Civil War.
Greater-Scope Villain: In-Universe as their influence and moles in certain positions kept the Phoenix from operating for over a year. It would have gone much longer if Russel hadn't interfered.
Nebulous Evil Organisation: An international terrorist organization with deep pockets and moles in almost every level of governments and private buissnesses.
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Their goals are all about saving humanity and the Earth, but not necessarily in that order as they feel humans (due to overpopulation) are dooming the planet. As a result they have little issue with causing wide-scale destruction and death For the Greater Good.

Leland

Protrayed by: Tobin Bell

The true leader of Codex whose vision leads the group in the pursuit of their objectives.

Bad Boss: Blows up a warehouse full of his own men just to try to kill three people.
Dropped a Bridge on Him: After escaping custody in the season 4 finale, he's murdered as the opening shot of an Enemy Civil War.
For Your Own Good: Tries to kill Mac and Scarlett because he believes they make Gwen less focused on the mission.
The Man Behind the Man: While Titan is the face of Codex, he is one of its leaders that rules from the shadows.

Titan

Titan/Gwendolyn Hayes

Portrayed by: Jeri Ryan

The codename for one of the leaders of Codex and the architect of their current plan to set off a series of global disasters to reduce the world's population to help the Earth. She's revealed to be Gwendolyn Hayes, the sister of Ellen Hayes aka the long dead wife of James MacGyver and their son Angus.

A God Am I: Compares scientists in general to gods, and doesn't care about anyone else.
The Corrupter: While Codex has always been doing questionable things, she's the one that gave them the idea to end the world.
Create Your Own Villain: The CIA ultimately pushed her over the edge by trying to kill her and successfully killing her sister.
Decapitated Army: It is revealed in season 5 that with her death, Codex is disorganized even with Leland as it's leader.
Love Redeems: Familial love. Her faith in Codex is broken when her superior goes out of his way to kill her last surviving relative to ensure the success of the mission, causing a Heel–Face Turn and Heroic Sacrifice.
Luke, I Am Your Father: Mac's aunt, who he had never heard of, much less met, before the night she tried to recruit him into Codex.
Redemption Equals Death: Sacrifices herself to stop Codex's nuke going off in the season 4 finale.
We Can Rule Together: Tries to convince Mac to join Codex both through revealing their relation,
Well-Intentioned Extremist: Believes that humanity will kill itself in decades to come, so they cause disasters to prevent that.

The Merchant

Portrayed by: James Callis

Codex's money man who helps them to secure financial support through illegal gambling operations and match fixing.

Awesomeness by Analysis: He may be "crazy bananapants" but he's highly intelligent, working out that he's in a fake prison when he realises that the birdsong he's hearing from "outside" is on a loop. He then turns the tables on his captors, giving them information that alerts Codex to rescue him.
Even Evil Has Standards: Despises animal cruelty and seems legitimately horrified at the idea of using a weapon to test it on a rabbit.
Evil Brit: Desi refers to him as "the Downton Abbey reject."
Faux Affably Evil: He was horrified at the idea of testing a weapon on an innocent rabbit and often chastises his bodyguard for her poor manners. He also has zero compulsion about blackmailing and murdering innocent people.
Four Eyes, Zero Soul: He wears glasses and works for an international terrorist organization, though since they're Well-Intentioned Extremist and seems to be a true believer
Nebulous Evil Organisation: Works for the shadow terrorist organization "Codex".
"Not So Different" Remark: While trying to corrupt Mac, he tells him he used also used to be an idealist and that Mac will become like him. Otherwise, he comes off as The Sociopath (although he objects to that term).
The Merchant: I was just like you.

Characters / MacGyver (2016)

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