Ethan Hunt

Ethan Hunt
Ethan Hunt, as portrayed by Tom Cruise, in Mission: Impossible III.
First appearance	Mission: Impossible
Last appearance	Mission: Impossible III
Portrayed by	Tom Cruise
Information
Gender	Male
Occupation	Unknown, possibly Retired
Title	None
Spouse(s)	Julia Hunt

Ethan Matthew Hunt (portrayed by actor Tom Cruise) is the central fictional character from the Mission: Impossible film series. Little is known of Hunt's upbringing. In the first movie, it was mentioned that his parents owned a farm in the state of Wisconsin, and that his father died of illness, after which time an uncle named Donald moved in to help with the farm. Both Hunt's mother and uncle were taken into police custody and charged with smuggling narcotics as part of a C.I.A. strategy to flush Hunt out of hiding in Europe while he was suspected of treason. In the third film it was mentioned that both his parents were deceased.

Mission: Impossible

In Mission: Impossible, Hunt acts as the I.M.F. point man for an established and experienced field team, and is later framed for their deaths during a mission in Prague. Framed for their murders and disavowed by the Force, Hunt goes rogue and embarks on a mission to uncover those who killed his teammates. He establishes a rogue team of other disavowed agents including computer expert Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames, who later befriends Ethan and becomes the only supporting character to appear in all three films in the Mission Impossible series.

Mission: Impossible II

In Mission: Impossible II of the series, Hunt is given the task of retrieving a deadly virus from a rogue I.M.F. agent, Sean Ambrose (Dougray Scott), attempting to infiltrate his inner circle through Ambrose's former girlfriend, Nyah Nordoff-Hall, an accomplished thief. During their mission Hunt and Nordoff-Hall engage in an affair that complicates the mission.

Mission: Impossible III

Hunt, now a training officer for I.M.F., plans a quiet life with his fiancée Julia, before he is called back into service to rescue a former student captured during a mission in Germany. Following her death, he is forced to once again go rogue in an attempt to track down the ruthless arms dealer (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) who has contacts with individuals within the I.M.F.

Other media

Aside from the three Mission: Impossible films, Ethan Hunt has appeared in other media such as comic books and video games such as the 2003 video game Mission: Impossible Operation Surma.

Character development

The character of Ethan Hunt evolves throughout the series. In the first movie, Hunt is a master of disguises, stealth, espionage tactics and according to his profile he has been taught capoeira (Brazilian martial arts). He shows limited fighting ability, kicking a CIA employee while stealing the NOC list but later he is knocked out in a confrontation by the older but more experienced Jim Phelps. As the series progresses, however, Hunt abandons many of his stealth tactics in favor of force: he uses various kicks, holds, and flips during attacks on terrorist personnel during the next two movies. In Mission Impossible II we see him using techniques inspired by capoeira, which fits with his profile from the first movie. In the third installment, while still using some capoeira, he also utilizes techniques from the [[Keysi fighting method]], and in a training scene with Lynsey Ferris (portrayed by actress Keri Russel, we see him teaching her Philippine eskrima. (His weapon of choice remains the Beretta 92FS 9mm semi-automatic handgun, which he uses in all three films.) Finally, Hunt's personality is subdued in the first movie, but becomes more extravagant and extroverted during the next two.