Phelps revealing himself as the mole. James "Jim" Phelps (c. 1939 – March 15, 1996) was the main antagonist in the 1996 film Mission Impossible and its 1998 accompanying video game. He was the rogue director of the Impossible Mission Force who tries to orchestrate a conspiracy.
Brian De Palma's trend-setting Mission: Impossible movie, the first in the series, had a few audacious tricks up its sleeve. The most audacious was the decision to rework TV series stalwart and IMF chief Jim Phelps as the main bad guy, played here by the Oscar-winning Jon Voight.
When Hunt asks why "Kittridge" would do such a thing, Phelps uses his own reason: that he had believed he was becoming "a worthless piece of hardware not worth upgrading" due to the end of the Cold War.
After the heist in Langley, Ethan sees that the Bible he used in the safe house was stamped “PLACED BY THE GIDEONS IN THE DRAKE HOTEL CHICAGO”. This is where he figures out what really happened and that Jim Phelps is the turncoat.
The 1996 movie featured Jon Voight's Jim Phelps staging his own death during the film's opening mission. It was a deception designed to take his enemies focus off of him entirely before he returned. Rebecca Ferguson's Ilsa also died from a stab wound on a bridge, just like Jim Phelps pretended to.
After Ethan's plan succeeds, the IMF has his family framed for drug trafficking. After Hunt uses a payphone to alert the IMF of where he is (London), Phelps reveals himself to Ethan, claiming he survived getting shot. He then names IMF Director Kittridge as the mole.
When the real Phelps arrives and takes the money at gunpoint, Hunt dons a pair of video glasses that relays Phelps to Kittridge, blowing Phelps' cover as the mole. Phelps threatens to kill Ethan, but shoots Claire instead when she intervenes.
Why did Jim take the Bible in Mission: Impossible?
Why did Jim take the Gideon bible from the Drake hotel in Chicago and place it in the safe house in Prague? Jim either took it because he was using the Bible's verses to hide his anonymity. He didn't realize it would be stamped by the hotel he took it from.
Do Claire and Ethan sleep together in Mission: Impossible?
Did Ethan and Claire (Emmanuelle Beart) sleep together? Yes. ”There was a love scene on the train after they recruit” disavowed agents Luther and Krieger (Ving Rhames and Jean Reno), says De Palma, ”but it wasn't essential.”
Of course, Hunt didn't let that happen and went on his own mission to find out who was the IMF mole working with arms dealer Max (Vanessa Redgrave). Kittridge was on Hunt's tail throughout, but Ethan managed to evade capture long enough to discover the mole was Hunt's mentor Jim Phelps (Jon Voight).
Graves refused to reprise the role of Jim Phelps (played by Jon Voight) in the first 1996 theatrical film of Mission: Impossible, after the character was revealed to be a traitor and the villain of the film.
The former MI6 agent, Solomon Lane, was a threat to Ethan Hunt and the world in both Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, and Mission: Impossible – Fallout. Lane is the only antagonist to battle Ethan Hunt across two films, and even with his supposed death, it's impossible to know for sure.
Prior to his betrayal by Phelps, Ethan saw him as his father figure and respected him. However, after being betrayed, he lost all of his faith in Phelps and saw his as criminal who deserved to die. He would not learn the truth until 2014. Ethan is incredibly intelligent, and almost recklessly daring in his missions.
Musgrave was a corrupt, deceptive, and bitter man who turned traitor on the IMF and became a terrorist. He was second in command to Owen Davian, the films antagonist. Musgrave wanted to set up Theodore Brassel, Director of the IMF, and kill his colleague and former partner, Ethan Hunt.
It is implied/said that Ethan did suspect Jim when he saw him (On the train, Ethan says "before London, but after you took the Bible from the Drake hotel in Chicago", when Jim asks when Ethan figured it out.), but he presumably played along throughout the scene.
Why did Agent Carter not return to Mission: Impossible?
Why? It turns out that scheduling is to blame. This weekend, Mission: Impossible 5 director Christopher McQuarrie took to his Twitter account for a quick Q&A session with fans, and it was during this time that he addressed the reason Paula Patton is not returning to her part as Jane Carter.
The briefness of Luther's Ghost Protocol role had nothing to do with scheduling conflicts or creative differences but instead came down to what often is a sticking point for actors performing in big franchises: money.
Although it seems like they may be dating, Ethan Hunt and Ilsa Faust aren't actually in a relationship in Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One. This was confirmed by longtime Mission: Impossible director Christopher McQuarrie, who explained he simply didn't want them to be in a relationship.
Kittridge indicates that he believes Ethan is the mole due to his family mysteriously receiving $120,000 recently. Ethan escapes the restaurant after Kittridge suggests they leave quietly. Kittridge receiving a phone call from Ethan Hunt upon Hunt hearing of his mother's arrest.
11. Claire Phelps (Mission: Impossible I) Claire Phelps conspired with her husband to kill their friends and betray their government for not that much money. She then pretended to be on Ethan's side so he could steal her a list that would lead to many more deaths.
Of course, Hunt didn't let that happen and went on his own mission to find out who was the IMF mole working with arms dealer Max (Vanessa Redgrave). Kittridge was on Hunt's tail throughout, but Ethan managed to evade capture long enough to discover the mole was Hunt's mentor Jim Phelps (Jon Voight).
When she was twenty years old, she joined the Interpol. She later met IMF agent Jim Phelps and fell in love with him. They were married four years later and she left the Interpol, joining the IMF.
After Ethan finds Phelps surprisingly, he recounts surviving the shooting, naming Kittridge as the mole. Hunt realizes Phelps is the mole, having stolen a Bible with a Gideon stamp from Chicago's Drake Hotel during a previous assignment known to Hunt's team.
