WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Mission: Impossible — Fallout, in theaters now.


The villains of the Mission: Impossible franchise traditionally have been one-dimensional. Since the head of the Impossible Missions Force, Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), turned on Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew in the 1996 original, the films have largely focused on enemies seeking to sell weapons on the black market.

That changed in 2015 with Rogue Nation, when writer/director Christopher McQuarrie introduced the Syndicate, comprised of rogue agents from across the globe that weren't as selfish. Sure, they were intent on anarchy, but there was a larger purpose. McQuarrie brings back the organization in Fallout, but this time, we learn more about its "higher calling."

Now evolved into the Apostles, the group becomes Mission: Impossible's most complex antagonists to date.

The Apostles' vision is summed up by the line, "There cannot be peace, without first ... a great suffering. The greater the suffering, the greater the pace." Spoken by leader Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), it signifies the serious threat the group poses to the world.

Although Lane was apprehended at the end of Rogue Nation, the Syndicate still had agents for Hunt to pursue. Despite now working as freelance contractors, they're grouped together like a cult. Organized religion, governments and even humanitarian bodies are targeted because the Apostles believe systemic order is what's holding back society, helping to propagate corruption. The Apostles may be for hire, but Hunt finally understands the method to their madness, as they want to destroy traditional institutions and allow chaos birth to a new era of peace.

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What makes the Apostles so formidable is they're embedded everywhere, as seen with CIA agent August Walker (Henry Cavill). As Hunt keeps telling his squad, they can't trust anyone, not even the IMF. They eventually discover the Apostles want to detonate nuclear bombs in Kashmir, with the fallout strategically placed to poison water supplies in Pakistan, India and China, killing one-third of Earth's population. As brutal as the Apostles are, they're also cerebral and calculating, from Walker right up to Lane.

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They're more substance than style, and what makes Fallout so intriguing is they're not the only seedy terrorist cell Hunt has to deal with. He faces off against the White Widow (Vanessa Kirby) and her group as he tries to find John Lark (Walker's true identity) and the plutonium needed for the bombs.

They rope him in as part of a deal to free Solomon in exchange for the plutonium, and Hunt temporarily finds himself criminal. As he rolls with the White Widow, he still doesn't know which side they're on.

Sean Harris as Solomon Lane in Mission Impossible

"The end you've always feared is coming," Lane tells Hunt as he ends up placing the bombs where Julia (Hunt's ex-wife, played by Michelle Monaghan) is based in Karachi. The Apostles cover all bases and remain one step ahead of Hunt, able to respond to his every move.

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Well, almost every move, because in the finale, the Apostles didn't count on Hunt's teammates -- Benji (Simon Pegg), Luther (Ving Rhames), Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson) and even Julia -- coming to his aid. That said, the Apostles know Hunt inside and out, and by shaping them like this, McQuarrie pushed Cruise's hero to his limit, as he finally realizes what it's like to meet his match. However, Hunt isn't finished with the Apostles just yet, and he may need to enlist more help to finally end their crusade.


In theaters nationwide, director Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout stars Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt, joined by returning actors Rebecca Ferguson as Ilsa Faust, Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell and Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn, with Henry Cavill, Angela Bassett, Vanessa Kirby, Michelle Monaghan, Alec Baldwin, Sean Harris, Sian Brooke and Frederick Schmidt.