Ranking Mission Impossible villains sounds like an adventure in and of itself, straight from a spy’s “how-to” manual! Based on the original 1966 American television series, Mission: Impossible offers a delicious array of complex characters, both heroes and villains. Villains have their title for a reason and are vital for any story, adding additional shading to the plotline.
Let’s take a closer look at ranking all Mission Impossible villains from the worst to the best and explore a bit of their interesting backstories.
#1: Mission Impossible Villain Lead: Max Mitsopolis
The shadowy figure behind every episode, although Max is the mastermind, she only encounters Ethan Hunt once, thus lowering her ranking. Max first appeared as an international arms dealer in the original Mission: Impossible in 1966. Poised, elegant, but deadly, Max’s underworld dealings continue to haunt Ethan.
In Mission: Impossible – Fallout, Ethan learns that Alanna Mitsopolis is Max’s daughter and carries on her mother’s legacy in arms dealing across Europe. While posing as a wealthy philanthropist, Alanna works behind the scenes and, at times, is a double agent. We will examine Alanna later, but all roads lead back to her mother.
Although Max does pose a threat to Ethan, the main protagonist, she is not a direct threat compared to other villains. Ranking all Mission Impossible villains gives us pause as we consider their motives, appearances in individual films, and involvement with the heroes/heroines. Max is a villain who is out mainly for herself.
#2: Sean Ambrose
According to a Yahoo article, Sean Ambrose is one of the most uninspiring villains of the entire Mission Impossible franchise. The catalog of Mission Impossible villains includes several notable persons compared to Ambrose.
Ambrose sought to be rich by selling a rare virus, and he used to be an IMF (Impossible Missions Force) agent. This arrogant villain is at peak physical condition and demonstrates keen intelligence, yet his ruthlessness, combined with indifference, makes him less compelling. Ambrose meets his fate in less than noble means, and his impact perishes with him.
#3: Hugh Stamp
Critized for his lackluster name by some critics, Hugh Stamp is best friends with the dissipated Ambrose and is also a master of disguise. Stamp appears in Mission: Impossible II and takes on a clever disguise as the hero Ethan Hunt. However, the plan turns against the villains and Ambrose ultimately tortures and kills Stamp near the film’s end.
In an odd twist, Stamp saves Hunt and thus cuts short his career alongside Ambrose. His impact upon the other characters – primarily Ambrose and Ethan – is as dramatic as it is brief. Yet, the depth of his impact, however brief, elevates him among the cast of Mission Impossible villains.
#4: Marius Wistrom
Described as a “good villain,” Marius’s only flaw in Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is his lack of actual screen time. Marius works as a freelance assassin (what a day job, eh?) and is involved in stealing a nuclear code in the hopes of bombing San Francisco. As a villain, Marius gives a solid performance.
He participates in a thrilling chase and goes out in a proverbial “blaze of glory” by throwing himself off the top of a high building. If the mission had succeeded, a major US city would have been reduced to ashes, as well as the nuclear fallout. Marius proves himself to be capable and quick-thinking, especially when the chips are down.
#5 Mission Impossible Villains We Can’t See: The Entity and The Syndicate
These two organizations go hand in hand. Mission Impossible villains all stem from The Syndicate, a global organization created to combat IMF, British Intelligence MI6, and the American CIA. The network remains committed to terror, espionage, and all manner of unconventional warfare in its struggle for domination.
Ethan Hunt, portrayed by Tom Cruise, must foil The Syndicate’s plans and outwit its agents. These agents do not fight under a particular flag, for a particular country, or for one particular cause; however, the group’s origins root in a proposed British government project. Suffice it to say, the project was rejected by the Prime Minister, and the covert organization began in secret.
Perhaps the greatest of all the Mission: Impossible villains leads The Syndicate, and we will talk about him soon. Now, The Entity is a malevolent form of AI, designed to gather intelligence and hack into intricate computer systems and databases. Ethan Hunt must confront another great member of the Mission Impossible villains who is charged with carrying out The Entity’s will.
#6: Gabriel
With no surname, this elusive figure simply goes by his given name. Gabriel is notably gifted, handsome, and charismatic. He seeks to carry out The Entity’s plan – a sort of human embodiment of a machine and its frightening potential. Out of all the Mission Impossible villains, Gabriel does not seek to control The Entity but views it, rather, as a spiritual force, and approaches it with curiosity.
He appears in two films as the antagonist: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and Final Reckoning. He is one of the Mission Impossible villains who does not die after a long fight sequence, leaving him able to appear again and continue his role as messenger of The Entity.
#7: Mission Impossible Villains We Love to Hate: White Widow
As we near the revelation of the greatest of the Mission Impossible villains, we come to Alanna Mitsopolis. Alanna, daughter of Max Mitsopolis, seems to be in the height of her powers of physical beauty, ability, and attraction. Surprisingly, she delivers Solomon Lane to MI6 agents, but her betrayal is less about justice than her quest for power and achievement. Alanna forms a quasi-romantic relationship with Ethan Hunt as he operates under the name “John Lark.”
The White Widow never learns Ethan’s true name, leaving the nature of their relationship in question. She works on the arms deal with “The Apostles,” a core group within The Syndicate, but ultimately abandons the mission. Out of all of the Mission Impossible villains, Alanna shines in her mysteriousness and jet-setting, Old World charm. She even serves a contact for a jewel theif running amok in Venice, Italy, and travels aboard the famed Orient Express train.
#8: Solomon Lane
Noted among film critics as the greatest of all villains within the franchise, Mr. Lane haunts the plotline of Mission: Impossible and appears in two major films: Rogue Nation and Fallout. He embodies the characteristics one expects in an archvillain: cold, calculating, and determined. Solomon once served as an MI6 agent and later went on to lead The Syndicate, involving himself in countless plots and attacks, both failed and successful. He understands the mindset of Ethan Hunt and has vowed to destroy everything Ethan stands for and believes in.
In a dream, Ethan imagines he is marrying another agent named Julia, but the priest presiding over their wedding is none other than Solomon. The two arch-nemesis parrying each other move as if in an elaborate, but brutal, game of chess. With the help of a rogue CIA agent named August Walker, Solomon seeks to eliminate a significant portion of the world’s population. In a thrilling ending, Solomon fails to kill Ethan and his associates, and then faces the humiliation of capture.
The mastermind is delivered to MI6 agents at the hands of the White Widow. Solomon is never heard from again, even in later episodes, leaving fans to wonder if he was executed. The chilling hardness of Solomon remains even as the good prevails.
