Summary
You can expect certain things in every Mission: Impossible movie, from breathtaking stunts to someone pulling a mask off their face to reveal their true identity. One of the most essential ingredients, though,is a great villain. Someone that audiences can root against while our heroes attempt to outwit them before their evil plan comes to fruition.
Unlike other franchise films such as Star Wars, which is anchored by a couple of iconic bad guys, there is a different villain in every Mission: Impossible until the last two movies. Each one brings something unique to the table, but some of them are much more sinister and memorable than others.
7Kurt Hendricks
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol iseasily one of the best movies in the entire series, but its villain is incredibly forgettable. Kurt Hendricks (also known as Cobalt) is a nuclear strategist who intends to steal launch codes to instigate a war between Russia and the United States of America.
While his plan is just as dastardly as any other Mission: Impossible villain, he doesn’t personally do anything interesting until the final fight sequence with Ethan Hunt in the giant parking garage. Hendricks is a hands-off kind of bad guy who would rather hire somebody else to do the dirty work than do it himself.
6Gabriel
Gabriel is the only main villain to appear in two Mission: Impossible movies as the main antagonist. In theory, he should be the biggest, baddest, and most ruthless character to ever stand against Ethan and his crew, but both of his appearances feel mildly disappointing with his lack of charisma or charm.
While Gabriel has his moments, like the fight on top of the train in Dead Reckoning and the plane chase in The Final Reckoning, he’s ultimately more of a puppet for the duology’s true mastermind - The Entity. It’s a shame that Mission: Impossible’s final human villain doesn’t get more opportunities to shine, but there are so many other characters to focus on that it’s hard to imagine where he would’ve had the time.
5Sean Ambrose
Mission: Impossible 2
Mission: Impossible 2 is often regarded as one of the weakest movies in the franchise, but its main villain, Sean Ambrose, is relentless in his pursuit of glory. The ex-IMF agent plans on creating a pandemic by releasing a deadly virus known as Chimera, which he will then sell the cure for to struggling countries for large amounts of money.
Sean Ambrose is strong, smart, and worst of all, terrifying. He’s almost like Ethan Hunt’s evil twin brother and knows every trick in the IMF playbook, which makes it hard to sneak anything past him. It’s fun watching the two spies play mental chess against each other, and the final confrontation between Ambrose and Hunt is still one of the best scenes in Mission: Impossible 2.
4Jim Phelps
Mission: Impossible
You know, it’s kind of alarming how many Mission: Impossible villains just turned out to be rogue agents. At the beginning of the original film, Ethan’s entire team is killed, including his mentor, Jim Phelps, and he must find a way to prove his innocence while being chased by the IMF. Ethan makes great progress with help from Jim’s wife, but when he suddenly reappears, it doesn’t take Ethan long tofigure out that Jim is behind everything.
It’s a really great twist that holds up pretty well. Jim seems like the kindest man when you meet him at the start of the movie, but the mask quickly slips off once Ethan catches on to his scheme. Once Jim kills his own wife, who helped Ethan throughout his journey, there is no chance of redemption for the man who was willing to do whatever it took to betray the IMF and everyone within it.
3Solomon Lane
Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation
While Sean Ambrose seemed to be just as smart as Ethan Hunt, Solomon Lane’s undeniable intelligence is his greatest weapon and helps him stay a few steps ahead of his opponent in nearly every situation. The former British intelligence operative is the leader of a deadly organization known as The Syndicate, a group of rogue agents who plan on starting a new world order.
Solomon Lane is cold-hearted and will do anything to ensure his plans succeed. His emotionless expression makes him hard to predict, and he always feels like he is a moment away from pulling out his weapon and randomly shooting somebody in the room. Though he’s not the main villain, Solomon also plays a small role in the events of Mission: Impossible - Fallout.
2Owen Davian
Mission: Impossible 3
Mission: Impossible 3 is one of the more divisive entries in the series, but the one thing most people can agree on is the excellent portrayal of Owen Davian by Philip Seymour Hoffman. His performance elevates the character to the next level, and while Davian isn’t as complex as other villains, Hoffman goes all-out to give him as much depth as possible.
Owen Davian is an arms dealer seeking out a mysterious item known only as the “Rabbit’s Foot” so he can sell it to terrorists on the black market. One of the best aspects of the character is how little we ultimately know about him. Unlike other villains, it’s difficult to gauge Davian’s motivations, which only adds to his threat level.
1August Walker
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
August Walker is the epitome of a Mission: Impossible villain - intelligent, strong, and willing to do anything to ensure his evil plan comes to fruition. To make things even better, August Walker pulls a classic Jim Phelps and isn’t revealed to be the bad guy until about halfway through Mission: Impossible - Fallout.
Walker works alongside Ethan, Luther, and the rest of the team as a supervisor, tasked with ensuring they follow their orders and don’t stray from a strict path laid out by the CIA. The man is so committed to his role as a mole that even after he is struck by lightning during a HALO jump, he just stands up shortly after and brushes himself off like nothing happened. He is a formidable opponent who was incredibly close to starting a nuclear war, and his presence is a key component to Fallout’s success.
