This list contains spoilers for the Mission: Impossible franchise.
A new Mission: Impossible film is hitting theaters this month ā the final one in the franchise, if weāre to believe Tom Cruise and the suits at Paramount ā and if youāre like us, youāre probably knee deep in a series rewatch right now.
The focus of the films, spectacular action set pieces aside, has been Cruiseās lead spy, Ethan Hunt. Fellow team agents have often come and gone, and supposedly impossible missions have varied time after time, but Ethan has remained. The only other constant has been a steady supply of villains ā men and women with big plans fueled by greed and/or malice, who think theyāll be the one to outwit, outsmart, and outrun Hunt. Fools.
It might seem counterintuitive ranking the Mission: Impossible villains under the banner of ābest,ā but every great hero needs an equally great villain. Numerous elements come into play when determining the best villain, but weāre zeroing in on the scale of their threat, the weight of the violence (both physical and emotional) they commit against Hunt and his team, and the palpable degree of villainous charisma they exhibit.
So cue up that classic Lalo Schifrin theme, here are the 10 Best Mission: Impossible Villains, Ranked!
10. A.I. The Entity (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
āA self-aware, self-learning, truth-eating digital parasite infesting all of cyberspaceā sounds like a pretty cool threat in any other high-octane thriller, but in the Mission: Impossible franchise itās only good enough to land at number ten. It underwhelms compared to its human counterparts, because letās be real ā zeroes and ones aināt got shit and madness and guns ā but its power and immense reach are undeniable. The Entity began ālifeā as a digital weapon designed by the U.S. government before going rogue and hopping through cyberspace with the giddiness of a puppy experiencing its first snowfall.
Most villainous act of villainy: While toying with and killing a submarine filled with Russian sailors is an act of murderous cruelty, itās the Entityās bigger, broader acts of deception that mark it as a true villain. Its early days of online manipulation saw it shifting public opinion and behavior through social media, and itās a brutal reminder of events in the real world. We live in a present where people with nefarious agendas are influencing easily shaped minds, and with the increased use of A.I. in our online dealings, itās not hard to imagine something like the Entity stepping in and really turning our daily lives into a nightmare.
9. John Musgrave (Mission: Impossible III)
Not every villain has direct blood on his hands, but that doesnāt mean theyāre any less dangerous. Musgrave is Huntās Operations Manager at the IMF, and itās suggested they may even be minor friends ā understandable as heās played by Billy Crudup, and who wouldnāt want to be friends with Billy Crudup. He brings Hunt in on a mission to rescue one of his proteges, Lindsey Farris, and when that goes wrong and Hunt is blamed for the fallout, itās Musgrave who helps the agent escape to pursue justice. See? A friend.
Surprise! Itās all a ruse, and Musgrave is actually a traitor working with a man named Owen Davian on some elaborate plan to retrieve a piece of tech nicknamed āthe rabbitās foot.ā Musgraveās a hero in his own mind, though, as heās hoping to use this as motivation for first strikes against enemy forces. He wants the U.S. and the IMF to play a more aggressive role in the fight against terrorism, and if that means supporting terrorists along the way, well, heās all for it.
Most villainous act of villainy: Musgrave might think his heart is in the right place here, but in addition to enabling a murderous terrorist in Davian, he crosses an equally big line by pulling Ethanās wife, Julia, into danger. Worse, he lets Davian shoot Julia in the head right in front of Hunt. Sure, sheās revealed to have been a minor henchwoman in a mask, but the emotional damage is real.
8. Kurt Hendricks (Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol)
While some villains act out of greed and others cause misery simply for the fun of it, Kurt Hendricks is a man who only wants the best for humanity. What is the best, you ask? Well, in Hendricksā mind, our species would benefit from something of a cleanse. From the great biblical flood to the atomic bombing of Japanese cities during World War II, immense disasters lead to rebuilding, recovery, and real improvementā¦ apparently.
Sounds logical, so Hendricks sets out to trigger just such a global debacle starting with a massive attack on the Kremlin in Moscow and leading to the acquisition of nuclear codes. He proves himself to be one of the greatest threats Ethan Hunt has faced to that point.
Except, and this is where casting comes into serious play, the film wants us to see him as a physical threat to Hunt ā but thatās nearly impossible. Michael Nyqvist was a fantastic actor, and he makes for a compelling villain through dialogue and intent. But a serious contender in a fight with Cruise? Itās difficult to buy, but that doesnāt stop director Brad Bird from letting him go toe to toe with the filmās star for a weirdly long fight. (To be fair, Chad Stahelski started it by letting Nyqvist seemingly hold his own for a bit with Keanu Reeves in John Wick.) So, while Hendricks is a grand threat on the world stage, he tumbles some in the ranking here as an unserious brawler against the highly trained and in far better shape Hunt.
Most villainous act of villainy: Like Musgrave above, Hendricks seriously thinks heās doing the world a favor by causing harm. His final act results in a nuclear missile being fired towards San Francisco, something that would have killed tens of thousands of people immediately before triggering the death of millions more. Thatās no small thing, and he would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadnāt been for those meddling IMF agents.
7. August Walker (Mission: Impossible – Fallout)
Hunt and his IMF team have been betrayed by double agents and traitors on numerous occasions, but most of them are greedy middle-aged men in suits who donāt pose an immediate physical threat to our intrepid hero. August Walker is something different entirely. He towers over Hunt and is jacked from his mustache on down. Henry Cavillās portrayal ensures that heās already menacing even while pretending to be on Huntās side, but once the truth comes out, the gloves come off.
Walker is revealed to be working in cahoots with the brilliant Solomon Lane, and together they frame Hunt and once again pull the love of his life, Julia, into harmās way. His motivation for it all is a bit over the top and dramatic ā he wants the old world to implode and give rise to something better ā but what else would you expect from a man who seems to cock his arms like guns during fist fights.
Most villainous act of villainy: Walker and Lane are planning to detonate nuclear bombs, and while the latter stays behind to die in his greatest act of terror, Walker is on a chopper heading to safety. Hunt, of course, catches up to him in pursuit of the detonator thatās needed to stop the countdown. While Walker could have easily escaped by giving up the detonator, his desire to cause suffering ā especially Huntās suffering if Julia were to die ā leads him to a one-on-one fight to the death with the agent. Itās a decision built on rage and self-righteous justification, and it rightfully ends in his painful demise.
6. Paris (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One)
When it comes to villains in the Mission: Impossible universe, few can touch Pom Klementieffās Paris on style and charisma points. A henchwoman to Gabriel, she lets her gleefully murderous skillset do most of her talking, and itās a refreshing change of pace from baddies who seem compelled to share their life stories before pulling a trigger.
Her costume and face makeup see her stand apart from the crowd, but donāt let her doll-like appearance fool you. Paris is a merciless fighter who refuses to quit despite the odds, as evidenced by a shootout and car chase in Rome that sees her literally plowing through obstacles both human and otherwise in her pursuit of Hunt.
Most villainous act of villainy: While Paris makes mincemeat out of numerous threats, she ultimately succumbs to Hunt during an alleyway brawl. He spares her life, though, and after being punished by Gabriel ā he basically tries to kill her ā she chooses to betray both him and her villainous tendencies by saving Huntās life. Maybe Iām stretching the definition here, but it takes a real badass to turn your back on villainy with the discovery of unexpected morals and a change of heart.
5. Gabriel (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning)
The mysterious Gabriel arrives in the penultimate entry of the franchise, and heās a man with deadly skills and an alliance with the Entity. He also comes with a backstory suggesting an integral role in Ethan Huntās life. It seems Gabriel killed a woman named Marie thirty years ago, someone Hunt was apparently fond of, and itās that murder that landed Hunt at the IMF ā where he went on to save thousands of lives. Hundreds of thousands, even. So maybe Gabriel is a hero? I kid, I kid.
Heās obviously a villain, and he may even be something of a seer (?), but while his late-to-the-party franchise arrival unavoidably undercuts his dramatic weight, the characterās casting lifts Gabriel right back up again. Esai Morales brings real charm and a calm menace to the character, and itās immediately made clear that heās not someone to be trifled with. You believe both his physical abilities and deadly intentions, and Moralesā added dramatic weight makes him a real threat to Hunt. He also earns a bump in the rankings by gifting viewers with the best, most unforgettable villain death in the entire franchise.
Most villainous act of villainy: Gabrielās killed a lot of people, and he even destroyed a rolling Agatha Christie landmark, so itās clear heās a bad guy. His most vicious act, though, comes as a bookend to having āfridgedā Marie three decades earlier. Gabriel threatens to do it again by killing either Ilsa or Grace ā Huntās current love interest or the woman who just landed in his lap mere hours ago ā and while the film wants to trick viewers into thinking itās going to be the latter, itās Ilsa who dies by Gabrielās blade instead. McQuarrie and Cruise are obviously the real villains here for introducing this tired trope of a womanās death being responsible for a manās life, but itās ultimately Gabriel who thrusts the knife into Ilsaās gut. It could have been Grace who died. Hell, it should have been Benji. Instead, Gabriel extinguishes the franchiseās brightest flame this side of Hunt himself. Jāaccuse!
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4. Jim Phelps (Mission: Impossible)
Jim Phelps wasnāt the only friend/fellow agent to betray Hunt over the years, but he was the first ā and arguably the most shocking. The character, as played by Peter Graves, was the IMFās lead agent for the bulk of the television seriesā seven-season run from 1966 to 1973. He was unquestionably a good guy, so there was no reason to suspect that his presence in the first Mission: Impossible film would be anything different ā well, Jon Voight in the role was probably a clue.
Audiences expected Phelps to essentially hand the reins over to Tom Cruiseās Ethan Hunt, but while he did just that, he did so with a major act of betrayal. As he tells Hunt once his ruse is discovered, the end of the Cold War threatens to end the need for the IMF ā this is as naive a statement as ever uttered in the entirety of the franchise ā and he was worried about becoming a relic barely scraping by on sixty-two thousand dollars a year.
Most villainous act of villainy: The betrayal itself is already brutal as Phelps turns his back on friends and agents whoāve risked their lives together over the years, but itās the specifics of his traitorous act that hits hardest. In his effort to frame someone else for his crime, Phelps kills off three members of his team during an operation and then fakes his own death. What could have been a simple theft, instead becomes an act of cruelty making his betrayal sting even more.
3. Sean Ambrose (Mission: Impossible II)
āThat was always the hardest part of having to portray you,ā says ex-IMF agent Sean Ambrose to a beaten and angered Ethan Hunt, āgrinning like an idiot every fifteen minutes.ā That line alone makes Ambrose a top villain as itās a terrific zing at both Hunt and Cruise himself. Heās equally dismissive of women as evidenced by his comment that theyāre like monkeys when it comes to the men in their lives, that they āwonāt let go of one branch until they get a grip on the next.ā Say what you will about his greedy desires, but Ambrose (Dougray Scott) understands the assignment when it comes to being a charismatic villain.
That greed has led him to steal a deadly plague with plans to unleash it on whole populations if his demands arenāt met. While cash money is his primary motivator, though, Ambrose also seems fueled by a splash of jealousy towards Hunt. That makes their faceoffs all the more entertaining whether theyāre jousting on motorcycles or sharing beatdowns in the sand as only the great John Woo can capture it.
Most villainous act of villainy: The film opens with Ambrose masquerading as Hunt in order to acquire the Chimera plague, but rather than just kill one man, Ambrose and his team crash an entire passenger jet filled with innocent civilians. Acts of terror would claim higher body counts in later films, but this puts faces to the dead in a far more direct way making it more personal and affecting.
2. Solomon Lane (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation)
Whether due to low pay or poor benefits, the world is seemingly overflowing with ex-government employees ready and willing to betray their nations and jump on the train to villain town. Solomon Lane is one such agent, but he goes a step or three further by helping create an organization called The Syndicate thatās built entirely on those bitter, trigger happy ex-agents. They want to sow chaos and reap financial rewards, and theyāve been doing it for years.
Lane is introduced killing a young, unarmed female agent right in front of Hunt, and itās soon revealed that heās responsible for thousands of deaths over the years through events made to look like accidents or the work of wholly unrelated perpetrators. Laneās history of manipulating trust and the worldās various systems makes him one of the most dangerous villains in the franchise. Heās ahead of Hunt at every step, and his mantra ā āThe greater the suffering, the greater the peace.ā ā marks him as a man willing to do anything to accomplish his goals.
While many actors go big playing villains, Sean Harris takes the opposite approach and makes Lane a weasel of a man who you just want to see get beaten senseless. Itās an unusually bold choice that leaves him without a darkly appealing persona or personality ā heās just a very bad man who couldnāt care less about you or your loved ones.
Most villainous act of villainy: As the rare villain to be an active threat across more than one film, Lane inflicts plenty of pain, suffering, and stress on Hunt and his team. The bulk of his evil acts were committed before Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation even begins, but his cruelest and most personal action unfolds during the followup, Fallout. Along with August Walker, Lane manages to activate two nuclear bombs threatening not only the water supply for billions of people, but also the life of Huntās greatest love, Julia. Seeing her in harmās way is the kind of gut punch that Hunt felt only once before, and itās clear just how sorry he is that his choices have once again brought her so close to dying.
1. Owen Davian (Mission: Impossible III)
Thereās a lot of competition when it comes to selecting the best villain in the Mission: Impossible franchise, but there was never any doubt whoād land at the top of the heap. Davian doesnāt care about much beyond his own wants and needs, and the film reflects that by never revealing exactly what his end goal is ā we know he wants the so-called rabbitās foot, but what it is and what it does are never made clear. We just know that Davian will cut through anyone and anything to get it, and that makes him an exceptionally dangerous man.
J.J. Abramsā Mission: Impossible III is unfairly maligned, but even those underwhelmed by the film itself canāt help but applaud Philip Seymour Hallās frighteningly effective and highly entertaining portrayal of Davian. His blistering stares, his lightning quick shifts from dead silence to raging outbursts, and his deceptively calm way of threatening everything that Hunt holds dear all work to make him a villain who commands the screen and even steals every scene from Cruise himself.
There may not be a big, global threat at play here, but Davian is the man who arguably gets closer than any other villain to actually killing Hunt. He injects the agentās head with an explosive device that gets within seconds of churning Huntās brain tissue into ground beef, and he even gets some serious licks in while brawling. You wouldnāt think a Cruise versus Hoffman fight would convince, but the latterās pure ferocity paired with Huntās incapacitation due to the pain in his head makes for a viciously compelling bout.
Most villainous act of villainy: Davian is a mean bastard who, while still in restraints, coldly threatens to murder Huntās fiance Julia. āIām gonna make her bleed and cry and call out your nameā, he says, and itās one of the few times where Huntās legendary control tips into real fear and emotion. Davian later comes close to doing just that after abducting Julia, tying her up, and appearing to shoot her in the head. Huntās pain is palpable, and itās enough to damage his heart to the point that heād go on to never let someone that close again. Davian has literally halted Huntās ability to connect with someone on a deeply personal level, and itās the kind of attack that bullets and bombs just canāt compete with.
