|
| “ | Gabriel: It's been a long time, Ethan. Ethan Hunt: You should've killed me when you had the chance. |
„ |
| ~ Gabriel to Ethan. |
| “ | His fate is written. Shall we write yours too? | „ |
| ~ Gabriel's most famous quote. |
Gabriel is the main antagonist of the 2023 spy action film Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning and its upcoming 2025 sequel Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning.
A mysterious terrorist mastermind, he serves as the liaison of the cryptic artificial intelligence known as the Entity who seeks to recover the key to its secret. He is also an old adversary of IMF agent Ethan Hunt and had a role to play in how the latter became the heroic secret agent he is today.
He is portrayed by Esai Morales, who also played Paco Moreno in Bad Boys, Amancio Malvado in From Dusk Till Dawn, Hugo Vega in Never Back Down: No Surrender, Ripper in Freejack, Deathstroke in Titans and Camino Del Rio in Ozark.
History[]
Past[]
At some point prior to Ethan Hunt joining the IMF, Gabriel was responsible for killing a woman named Marie, whom Ethan was involved with - thus earning Ethan's enmity in the process. Although he was believed dead, Gabriel in fact survived and stayed in the shadows for an unknown period of time.
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning[]
Gabriel would eventually come into contact with The Entity, who selected him to carry out its will by recovering the two keys to one of its secrets and terminating Ethan Hunt. Because the Entity had deemed Ethan a threat to it, it specifically chose Gabriel to be its messenger because of his history with Ethan.
With one half of the key lying in the possession of the White Widow, and the other in Hunt's hands after Ilsa Faust gave it to him, Gabriel made his first move to obtain it by entering the airport where a buyer for Hunt's key was expecting to receive it. Gabriel's right-hand woman Paris killed the buyer only for him to not have the key, as it had been swiped from Hunt by Grace, a pickpocket employed by the White Widow to recover the other half of it.
Gabriel and Paris then pursued Grace to Rome to retrieve her half of the key from her there. Gabriel sent Paris with a team of henchmen to recover the key half from Ethan and Grace, but the two were able to evade them before separating, with Grace heading on her way to deliver the key half to the White Widow. This did little to stymy Gabriel's attempts to recover it, however, as the Entity simply made contact with the White Widow to arrange a party where the two halves of the key could be auctioned off. Gabriel was then sent by the Entity to attend the party and recover both halves of the key. At the party, Gabriel encountered both Grace and Ethan, as well as Ilsa.
After all of them were brought before the White Widow, Gabriel revealed that it mattered not who the White Widow chose to give the key to, as by the Entity's calculations Gabriel would still obtain the key on the Orient Express as long as he killed either Ilsa or Grace. Ethan then attacked Gabriel and the White Widow's guards in order to give Ilsa and Grace a chance to escape, but Gabriel and Paris were soon in pursuit of them. After evading the White Widow's goons, Ethan went after Gabriel to help Ilsa and Grace, only for the Entity to hack into his comm with Benji and, mimicking Benji's voice, give Ethan fake instructions to lead him into an ambush from Paris and one other goon. As Ethan fought Paris and the goon in a narrow alleyway, Gabriel confronted Grace on board a bridge and overpowered her. Before he could kill her, however, Ilsa showed up and fought Gabriel next. After fighting off both Paris and the goon, Ethan raced to the bridge to assist Ilsa and Grace but was too late, as Gabriel had already killed Ilsa by the time he got there.
Gabriel was later able to sneak on board the Orient Express by hiding in a large suitcase with an oxygen mask on. After Paris boarded the train and met up with him, the two went to retrieve the key from the exchange that was to take place on the train between the White Widow and her buyer, US government official Eugene Kittridge. Along the way, the two met with CIA director Denlinger, who revealed his role in creating the Entity by infecting the Sevastapol submarine with an early prototype with it. After stating his plans to seize control of the Entity and use it to transform the US into a new super-state, Denlinger attempted to form an alliance with Gabriel but Gabriel refused, guessing that Denlinger would betray them at some point and choosing to kill him instead. Gabriel then stabbed Paris, believing she would also betray him since she had been spared by Ethan earlier.
After Ethan and Grace got the other half of the key from the White Widow, Gabriel showed up before them and took the completed key from them. Ethan chased Gabriel to the roof of the train, where the two had a fierce fight. Ethan was able to pin Gabriel down and contemplated killing him to avenge Ilsa and Marie's deaths, but before he could do so US intelligence agents Jasper Briggs and Degas showed up and demanded Ethan surrender. When Ethan tried to tell the two agents that Gabriel's the one they want to arrest, but Biggs foolishly still only wants Ethan himself and didn't care about Gabriel, who then took the chance to jump off the train and onto a truck the Entity had prepared for him, before activating bombs he had placed on a bridge to derail the train. However, when he reached into his pocket, Gabriel realized that Ethan had pickpocketed the key from him during their fight, causing him to angrily shout Ethan's name. Having Gabriel completely outsmarted.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning[]
Personality[]
| “ | It's not the killing he enjoys, it's the suffering it causes. And he knows the best way to get to me is through all of you. | „ |
| ~ Ethan Hunt describing Gabriel to his team. |
Gabriel is calm, ruthless, and pragmatic. He is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goals and will not hesitate to kill anyone in his way should the need arise. Ethan describes him as someone who enjoys causing suffering and at the very least, Gabriel seems adept at weaponizing it against his enemies by inflicting personal tragedies on them in order to disorient them, as shown with his killing of Ilsa. Gabriel's willingness to kill even extends to his own subordinates, whom he views as expendable and is perfectly willing to dispose of should he believe they have a chance of betraying him or posing a hindrance to his plans.
Gabriel's reasons for serving the Entity are unknown. Ethan speculates that Gabriel may be working with it because he wants to see the suffering it will bring, while at other points Gabriel is referred to as a "fanatic" who seems to regard the Entity as some sort of greater power. Regardless of his motives for acting as the Entity's arm, Gabriel follows its calculations without question and curiously seems to be one of the few people after the key who isn't interested in gaining control over the Entity (besides Ethan and the IMF, who wish to destroy it so its power can never be abused).
Quotes[]
| “ | Gabriel: She left Abu Dhabi with a certain key. Chief Inspector: There was no key. Gabriel: It was an unusual sort. One that you could mistake for a pendant. The kind that you'd be tempted to hang on a chain around Amelia's neck. Chief Inspector: Amelia? Gabriel: Your wife. Mother of your lovely daughter Serena. Chief Inspector: You're not Interpol. Gabriel: I am if I wish to be. I can be anything, and I know everything. I know this wouldn't be the first time you've helped yourself to stolen goods. A Cartier bracelet. You were cleared of suspicion, but we both know you gave it to your mistress, Valeria. On August 21st. Her 29th birthday. Chief Inspector: Who are you? Gabriel: I'm going to have to search you, just to be sure. |
„ |
| ~ Gabriel at the police headquarters in Rome, talking to the Chief Inspector, also his first words. |
| “ | Your secretary's no longer with us. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel maims the Chief Inspector's hand. |
| “ | Gabriel: It's important you understand that you are not unique. Thirty years ago. Her name was Marie, the first of many women who trusted our mutual friend. Women who all have something he wants. Women who are all in over their heads, or so he tells them. Sound familiar? Grace: What happened to Marie? Gabriel: Same thing that happens to all the women he uses as well as anyone else who touches that key. He doesn't care whether people live or die, he cares only about his objective. And right now, the only thing standing in his way is you. Grace: Why should I believe you? Gabriel: You shouldn't. You've stepped into a world of lies, Grace. Nothing anyone says is true. Just remember that when he promises to protect you. |
„ |
| ~ Gabriel talking to Grace about Ethan at the party. |
| “ | Gabriel: Of course, I know what it unlocks. Ilsa: And what's he offering for the key? Gabriel: As I've explained to Grace, I'm not here for any key, as I'll have both halves in hand tomorrow. White Widow: What makes you so certain of that? Gabriel: You have no idea the power I represent. Thousands of quadrillions of computations per millisecond, subtly manipulating the minds of billions, while parsing every possible cause and effect, every scenario, however implausible, into a very real map of the most probable next. And, with only a few changes to the present, the future is all but assured. The key will come to me. Tomorrow. On the Orient Express, bound for Innsbruck. |
„ |
| ~ Gabriel to everyone else at the party. |
| “ | Gabriel: It knows. It knows that you've already chosen your suitor. It knows that you intend to mate the two halves of the key in a desperate grasp for control. I, however, have been promised the completed key will lay itself at my feet, provided someone dies tonight. White Widow: Who? Gabriel: Her. Or her. And you will bear witness, Ethan. The key will be mine, and I will be gone, like smoke in a hurricane. But only after someone you care about dies. It is written. |
„ |
| ~ Gabriel, on how he will achieve his goals as long as either Grace or Ilsa dies. |
| “ | Ethan: You see what this is, don't you? He's afraid. It's afraid. Somehow it knows we're close. Why else would you be here? Help me. Help me complete the key, and I will kill this thing. Gabriel: It knows your every secret, Alanna. Ethan: Don't listen to this, this fanatic! Gabriel: Help him and you'll die, too. Ethan: Help him, everyone dies! |
„ |
| ~ Ethan and Gabriel bargain with the Widow. |
| “ | For old time's sake, I'll let you choose which one. Ilsa? Or Grace? | „ |
| ~ Gabriel gives Ethan the choice. |
| “ | So be it. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel before fighting Grace. |
| “ | I was hoping it'd be you. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel before fighting Ilsa. |
| “ | And this is where you tell me a story. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel to Denlinger on the train. |
| “ | You will betray us. And you'll tell Ethan Hunt everything you've learned. Because he spared your life. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel kills Denlinger before attempting to kill Paris as she will tell Ethan everything because he spared her life in Venice. |
| “ | I know what the key unlocks, Ethan. I'm the only one who knows. | „ |
| ~ Gabriel convinces Ethan not to kill him, as killing him will risk losing the location of the Entity's source code. |
| “ | EETTHHHAAAANNNN!!! | „ |
| ~ Gabriel when he realizes he has lost the keys, also his last words in the film. |
Skills and Abilities[]
Gabriel's set of knives.
- The Entity's Calculations: As the representative of the Entity, Gabriel has access to its advanced calculations and is able to formulate intricate plans and time them to go off exactly as he needs them to based on the Entity's predictions about what will happen. He can also use the Entity to predict specific outcomes, such as what actions he needs to take to ensure he's able to obtain the key or identifying which allies of his are most likely to betray him so he can eliminate them beforehand. This alone would be enough to make him the franchise's most powerful villain and one of Ethan's most dangerous adversaries.
- Knife-wielding: Gabriel is exceptionally proficient at fighting with bladed weapons, most particularly his set of knives. Gabriel engaged in close combat with Ilsa Faust and drove a knife through her heart, while demonstrating great skill, despite Ilsa wielding a sword, before engaging Hunt in battle aboard the train at the end of Part One.
Relationships[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
- Impossible Mission Force
- Ethan Hunt - Archenemy and Attempted Killer
- Ilsa Faust † - Victim
- Luther Stickell
- Benji Dunn
- Grace - Attempted Victim
- Marie † - Victim
- Paris - Former Right-Hand Woman turned Attempted Victim
- Denlinger † - Attempted Recruiter turned Victim
- Eugene Kittridge
- Unnamed buyer †
- Unnamed Orient Express conductor † - Victim
- Unnamed Orient Express worker † - Victim
- The Community
- Jasper Briggs
- Degas
Trivia[]
- Along with his assassin Paris, the White Widow, Zola Mitsopolis, and Solomon Lane, Gabriel is one of the five villains of the Mission: Impossible film series who survived and appears in more than one film.
- In fact, given Solomon Lane's survival in Mission: Impossible – Fallout yet Sean Harris' lack of interest in staying in the franchise, it was initially rumored that Harris would be recast with Esai Morales as Lane in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. However, said rumors were proven wrong as the seventh film's official trailer instead revealed Morales to be playing Gabriel.
- The reason for this speculation, other than Harris not wanting to return, may be due to the fact that Part One and Part Two were both announced in 2019. Gabriel's name not being revealed until early 2023 (when Part One's official trailer dropped) would give fans enough time to come up with theories on who his character could be.
- Nicholas Hoult was originally cast as Gabriel, but dropped out from the film due to scheduling conflicts with his role in the third season of The Great and was replaced by Esai Morales.
- Morales was cast after Christopher McQuarrie saw his performance as Camino Del Rio in Ozark.
- Director Christopher McQuarrie described Gabriel as "Ethan, before he was Ethan".
- Gabriel is the third Mission: Impossible villain to face Ethan in a personal way. The other two were Owen Davian and Solomon Lane.
- Interestingly enough, Gabriel is the only one that Ethan had interacted with prior to the start of the franchise.
- The scene at the end where Gabriel blows up the bridge stirred controversy with the Polish government due to the fact that the bridge in question was a historical landmark. In the end, a prop was built on a set in an unused quarry and destroyed for the scene.
- Gabriel, along with Denlinger, Paris and The Entity, are the first villains since Ghost Protocol not to be affiliated with The Syndicate.
- Apparently, Gabriel may again become the main antagonist in the next film, or perhaps the Entity itself may become the main antagonist. Maybe Entity itself may betray Gabriel himself after he does his job.
External Links[]
- Gabriel on the Mission: Impossible Wiki
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Mission: Impossible (TV series) Mission: Impossible (film) Mission: Impossible 2 Mission: Impossible III Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation Other Mission: Impossible – Fallout Other Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning | ||