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Jim Phelps

From Mission Impossible

Name Jim Phelps
Actor Peter Graves
Jon Voight
Description IMF Leader
Family Claire Phelps (wife)

James Phelps (died 1996) was the leader of the IMF team for several years. As the IMF leader, it was his job to plan out the missions that his team would go on, thinking about all the angles. If anything didn't go to plan during the mission, Phelps was quick enough to improvise so that the objective could still be obtained. ("The Controllers")

Contents

[edit] Early career

Phelps fought in the Korean War and worked for Pan American Airlines before entering government service.

This background information was developed by actor Peter Graves and revealed in Patrick White's The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier.

As a former government operative, Phelps formed the Impossible Missions Force from a former elite Special Forces squad led by Lieutenant Colonel Dan Briggs. (Mission: Impossible)

Colonel Briggs' military status and the IMF's military origin was devised from early material for Mission: Impossible.

Eventually, Phelps took over from Briggs as the field leader for the core IMF squad. ("The Widow")

[edit] Original IMF Career

Sections regarding his specific missions from 1966-1973 are incomplete.

While Phelps could have a pick of many different agents for his missions, he usually picked a specific group. Originally, his top squad included Rollin Hand, Cinnamon Carter, Barney Collier, and Willy Armitage. In the years afterwards, he replaced Hand (with The Great Paris), Carter (with Dana Lambert and later Lisa Casey), and added other talents for occasional missions, such as Doug Roberts, Mimi Davies, and Tracey.

[edit] Retirement

In 1974, with the eruption of the Watergate Scandal, the IMF was revealed as a public entity and Phelps was put on trial for its activities. For refusing to testify before Congress on a number of charges, Phelps was sentenced to six years in a federal penitentiary. (unproduced Mission: Impossible 1980)

After his release from prison, he briefly formed a small squad with Hand, Carter, and Collier in order to take down rogue IMF agent John Victor. (Mission: Impossible 1980) This squad was soon replaced with another covert IMF formed by Phelps and Collier. Sometime after stopping a massive terrorist attack and rescuing a kidnapped scientist, Phelps retired from IMF service. (unproduced Mission: Impossible 1981, unproduced film Good Morning, Mr. Phelps)

[edit] Return to IMF Service and Betrayal

Sections regarding his specific missions from 1988-1990 are incomplete.

After the death of IMF leader Tom Copperfield, Phelps left retirement to lead his squad, which included Nicholas Black, Max Harte, Grant Collier, Casey Randall, and later Shannon Reed. This squad would later evolve to include Ethan Hunt, Claire Phelps, Sarah Davies, Hannah Williams, and Jack Harmen. (Mission: Impossible)

Between 1990 and 1996, the IMF was placed under the direct leadership of the CIA and agent Eugene Kittridge, and Phelps' squad completely changed. He took on agents Ethan Hunt, Sarah Davies, Hannah Williams, and Jack Harmen. He later added a former Interpol agent named Claire, whom he would form a romantic relationship with and marry. (Mission: Impossible)

After the Cold War ended, Phelps had a change of heart, regarding his services to the US government. He became bitter and disillusioned with his work. During a mission in Prague, he caused the deaths of three of his agents and then faked his own death. Later, after Ethan Hunt discovered that Phelps was a mole within the US government, he was killed , but not before he killed his own wife, Claire.

[edit] Appearances

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