Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One marks the 7th film in the action-packed franchise, but like Tom Cruise, Ethan Hunt shows no signs of slowing down. Though he is officially older than Jon Voight was in the first Mission: Impossible, Cruise continues to run, jump, and – yes – do his stunts like humanity depends on it. But Mission: Impossible doesn’t just live and die with Ethan alone. He always has a trusty team of IMF agents who defy the American government right alongside their fearless leader.
However, not all team members are created equal. Though there have been some consistent collaborators over the years, every movie typically has some lineup change for one reason or another. But between the long-standing characters that Ethan considers closer than family and the people who deserved more than the minimal screen time they get, these IMF members each stand out as the best of the best when joining Ethan on his impossible missions.
1. Luther Stickell
If there is anyone’s loyalty that will never be under suspicion, it is Ethan’s go-to Cyber-Ops specialist, Luther (Ving Rhames). The only member of Ethan’s team remaining from the first Mission: Impossible, Luther has been in the thick of it from the beginning. Ethan initially recruits the disavowed agent after he goes on the run following Mission: Impossible veteran Kittridge’s (Henry Czerny) suspicion that he went rogue. Luther supports Ethan in the most iconic of all scenes, the Langley break-in. Since then, Luther has always been on the revolving roster of IMF agents, even present for the fever dream feature that was Mission: Impossible II.
It just goes to show that no matter how out of the realm of reality Ethan’s adventures become, Luther will always show up. This is likely due to his calm nature, even in the face of almost insurmountable odds. Luther’s sense of humor only drops in the most recent entry of the series. In the face of the sentient AI program known as the Entity, Luther understands that sequestering himself is the only way a man of his talents can beat the coming force. No doubt he will be part of the squad when Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 2 premieres.
2. Benji Dunn
Benji (Simon Pegg) has become such a devoted and accepted part of the team that it is almost hard to imagine a time when he wasn’t part of the inner circle. The tech specialist first appears in Mission: Impossible III during Ethan’s mad dash for the Rabbit’s Foot. Though Benji lives for desk work during his introduction, he rises through the ranks rather quickly in later films. He eventually gets his field experience and joins Ethan in some of his more dangerous missions.
While Benji uses his sense of humor as his main form of communication, his true asset to the team is his heart. Even when the government compels him to turn against Ethan when it once again accuses him of going rogue, Benji never once loses faith. He always puts the team first, and as he states in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, the most important thing to him is his friends. He would die before giving them up, and hopefully, we won’t even see this franchise come to that. Benji is so endearing to audiences and the rest of the IMF team that if any harm came to him, that would surely be the end of the series.
3. Ilsa Faust
Has there ever been a member of the IMF more capable than Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson)? The former MI6 operative appears in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation as the most complex character of the series, even superseding Ethan. A double agent for The Syndicate, Ilsa’s allegiance changes depending on who she is up against. She was first promised by the British that she would be able to leave Solomon Lane (Sean Harris) as soon as she got them enough information, but the intelligence agency quickly betrays her and leaves her out in the cold.
She ultimately sides with Ethan and the IMF because they have been just as abused by the system as she has. Ethan is always left for dead or framed for crimes. Ilsa is a perfect foil for him, so much so that she should probably get her own franchise. Unfortunately for the character, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One failed to recognize just what a powerhouse she is and cut her potential short. Like most of the women in Ethan’s life, she is considered dispensable, and Ilsa’s death is a significant mark against the highly-rated movie. If the powers that be have any sense at all, they will find a way to bring back the most interesting Mission: Impossible character.
4. William Brandt
Contrary to many of Jeremy Renner’s best-known roles, his portrayal of William Brandt is not your typical action hero star. Though Brandt used to be a field agent, he shows up in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol in a purely analytical capacity. His role is usually to protect Ethan and his team from government oversight, and is quite good at his job. But when it comes to the IMF, improvising is usually necessary, and Brandt gets pulled back into the field. Not used to the nonstop action, Brandt is hesitant when it comes to big sequences such as jumping into a giant fan. But at his core, he understands what Ethan stands for and does his best to support him.
Brandt is much more comfortable on the political side, which is how he generally contributes to the team. When he isn’t questioning Benji’s methods, he stands up against those trying to dismantle the IMF. The government temporarily dissolves the IMF in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, but Brandt doesn’t think twice about trying to save Ethan and his team. He fights back against Hunley’s (Alec Baldwin) attempts to discredit them until finally pulling him into the fold as the new Secretary. Brandt’s contribution to the team may not always be in the field, but he is a valued and necessary part of it regardless.
5. Zhen Lei
Some of Ethan’s most valued members are sadly also some of the most short-lived. There is no reason why Mission: Impossible III should be stacked with impressive IMF team members, never to be seen again, but when they appear, they demonstrate their worth. Zhen is one of the few female characters that does not suffer because of her connection to Ethan. Unlike Julia (Michelle Monaghan), Ilsa, or even Claire (Emmanuelle Béart), Zhen makes it out unscathed, and she does so in style. Played by the incomparable Maggie Q, Zhen joins the protective detail assigned to rescue Lindsey Farris (Keri Russell) and Ethan’s race against the clock to save his wife.
This is particularly character-defining because Ethan’s actions are extremely off the books. Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman) has a personal vendetta against Ethan, which is why he takes Julia in the first place. Rescuing her in exchange for the Rabbit’s Foot goes against everything they should be working towards and essentially proves why spies shouldn’t have romantic ties to begin with. Still, Zhen joins Ethan and his team and even destroys the beautiful car she drives in to her dismay. Zhen would have been a prime IMF squad member to continue like Benji or Luther but for some reason, never makes it past her first film in the series.
6. Jane Carter
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is one of those entries that sticks in the mind because of the lengths that Tom Cruise will go to with his death-defying stunts. The fourth Mission: Impossible film features one such endeavor, as Ethan scales one of the tallest buildings in the world. But it also stands out because of the emotional resonance with side characters that only stick around for one film. Jane Carter (Paula Patton) is a breath of fresh air because she is largely unaware of Ethan’s reputation. After pulling him out of deep cover in a Russian prison, Jane is the one that introduces Ethan to the issue at hand.
In a story beat that Ethan can certainly identify with, Jane has been shaken by the loss of a fellow agent, Trevor Hanaway (Josh Holloway). Killed by the notorious French assassin, Sabine (Léa Seydoux), Jane’s interest in the nuclear launch codes does have to do with her obligation to the job, but is largely colored by losing someone close to her. She is out for blood, which is a decidedly different motivation than many of the members of the IMF. As capable as many of the other agents, she is yet another addition to the team that disappears without a word.
7. Julia Meade
Julia may not be an official employee of the IMF, but she might as well have honorary status at this point. Ethan certainly never chooses for his ex-wife to join him on missions, but she somehow always does. Mission: Impossible III was her first foray into the spy game and that was mostly against her will. But she helps Ethan with her knowledge of medical practice to shock an explosive from his brain. Her appearance in Mission: Impossible — Fallout is much more purposeful. After realizing that Solomon Lane has orchestrated a nuclear bomb to detonate in a village where Julia has been working with her new husband, Erik (Wes Bentley), Julia opts to stay and help.
Knowing that there is no way to evacuate from the blast radius in time, Julia wants to do her utmost to help, even if it isn’t in her realm of expertise. She assists Luther in disarming an explosive and is instrumental in stopping another strike from the Syndicate. Julia quickly goes back to her husband after saving the day, but that doesn’t stop her from possessing the attributes that every IMF agent has. She never stopped caring about Ethan and has the nerves of steel required to get the job done. If Ethan’s job wasn’t constantly putting her in danger, there is a real chance that it could have worked out between them.
8. Lindsey Farris
A precursor to her spy work in The Americans, Keri Russell’s role as Lindsey Farris in Mission: Impossible III is far too short. Established as a protégé of Ethan’s before the events of the film, Lindsey gives it all she’s got in the short time she’s onscreen. Her investigation of a ruthless arms dealer, Owen Davian, gets her captured, and Ethan arrives too late to save her. In the involved breakout sequence, she demonstrates just how much she learned under Ethan’s watch. Unfortunately, it is all for naught when it turns out Davian had an explosive implanted in her brain. The triumphant moment of rescuing her from Davian’s clutches is cut brutally short, and she dies in Ethan’s arms.
There was never any romance between the two, only a mentor and student relationship. Their dynamic makes her end even more devastating after thinking they have succeeded in their mission. Lindsey’s death provides stakes for Ethan’s quest for the rest of the film, and sets up how dangerous having a bomb in your brain is. Had there been a way to keep Lindsey with the IMF team, she would have been an admirable asset.
9. Alan Hunley
For the Secretary of the IMF, Hunley gets involved in field operations more than one would think. While he is at first introduced as an antagonist of sorts, trying to dismantle the agency he doesn’t understand, he becomes part of the team after he enters the fold. In Mission: Impossible — Fallout, Hunley gets his hands dirty and pulls off a good twist before his ultimate demise. Though he appears in the movies as an overseer of the IMF program, his final moments cement him as one of the IMF crew in good standing. He aids Ethan in revealing the identity of John Lark, the writer of a manifesto that encourages suffering around the world because he believes it will culminate in peace. Or so the manifesto says.
With the help of Hunley, the IMF reveals that John Lark is actually August Walker (Henry Cavill) who is a double agent for the Syndicate. Walker is particularly insidious because he turns many CIA agents against their own country. Hunley helps reveal him as a traitor, even though he sacrifices himself to do it. With his last breath, he urges Ethan to pursue Walker and put an end to the anarchy that he created.
10. Paris
Like some on this list, Paris (Pom Klementieff) isn’t technically an officially sworn-in member of the IMF, but she will likely be in the future. In Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, the antagonist outshines members of Ethan’s team. Unlike Hayley Atwell’s Grace, who shows no character development and only selfishness, Paris is capable of change and has the skills to translate to the IMF team. First associated with Gabriel (Esai Morales) and his mad crusade to help a sentient AI destroy the world, Paris’ destiny was always to defect. The AI predicts that she will betray Gabriel, so he attempts to kill her. Paris says very little throughout the film, but her actions are bigger than words.
Gabriel’s betrayal pushes her closer to Ethan, who had earlier shown her an act of kindness by sparing her life. She repays him in kind in the final moments of the film, pulling him up into the train car before he falls to his death. This selfless act shows that she is already IMF material. As she lies presumably bleeding out from a wound sustained while fighting Gabriel, Paris gives Ethan everything he needs to stop his adversary. Paris is no longer tied to the Entity, and her allegiance has changed. The final moments of the film hint at Paris’ future. She doesn’t die from her wound and is being tended to by one of the government agents. With Ilsa presumably dead, the thing the IMF needs is another capable and talented agent on their side.