Luther Stickell

Infobox character
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name = Luther Stickell
series = Mission: Impossible


caption = Luther Stickell, played by Ving Rhames, in "".
first = ""
last = ""
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portrayer = Ving Rhames
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gender = Male
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imdb_id = ch0002307

Luther Stickell is a supporting fictional character from the "" film series. The character first appeared in (1996) and holds the distinction of being the only character besides Ethan Hunt to appear in all three films as well as two video games.

In the films, Luther is an expert computer hacker who works for the fictional "IMF" (Impossible Missions Force) division of the CIA alongside Ethan Hunt.

He has been portrayed in all three movies by Ving Rhames. The character has also appeared in the for both the Nintendo 64 and Sony Playstation as well as 2003's "", wherein Ving Rhames reprised his character by lending his voice.

Appearances

Over the course of three movies, Luther's character has gone from being a soft-spoken, down-to-business and reliable team member to being Ethan's most trusted friend and confidant. Aside from appearing in three movies, his character also appears in two video games, one of which actually found Ving Rhames as the voice of Luther.

Movies

Luther's first appearance occurred in "" (1996). IMF Agent Ethan Hunt (portrayed by Tom Cruise had been "disavowed" by the CIA following a botched mission in Prague: a "mole-hunt" for an agent who planned to steal the CIA's Non-official cover (NOC) list, which left his teammates dead (including his leader and mentor, Jim Phelps), himself framed for their murders, and the CIA hot on his trail, thinking that he was the "mole". After regrouping and discovering that Jim's wife, Claire was still alive, Ethan plotted to steal a copy of the list for himself. The NOC List, a detailed file of all the IMF agents situated in Eastern Europe, was to be a part of Hunt's strategy: a piece of leverage used to lure the person responsible for framing Hunt out of hiding. The catch was that the list wasn't online and, therefore, unattainable from an outside computer terminal. As a result, Hunt and Claire enlisted the help of two other "disavowed" IMF agents: Luther Stickell and Franz Krieger (portrayed by Jean Reno). While Claire had chosen Krieger herself, Hunt had personally chosen Stickell as "Cyber-Ops" for his reputation as a well-known hacker/phreaker and as "the only man alive who hacked NATO Ghostcom". Reluctant at first, Luther was baited into the hack when Ethan played to Stickell's ego, selling the job proposal as "The Mount Everest of hacks". Posing as a team of firefighters putting out a small blaze within the building, the rogue IMF group breached the CIA and infiltrated the main computer mainframe via a remote computer terminal at CIA Headquarters at Langley, Virginia. In order to gain access to the floor with the NOC List, Luther hacked into the building's computer-controlled electrical system, triggering the fire alarm on that floor. Because of his agility, Hunt ended up performing the physical act of obtaining the information himself but had Luther, in his ear via headset, instructing him on performing the hack. Luther, (from the team's stolen firetruck parked outside the building), obtained the password to the terminal by hacking into the CIA's online network from a laptop. After obtaining the list, Hunt discovered that Jim Phelps not only survived the initial mission in Prague, but also suspected that he was the real "mole" and the man responsible for framing him, despite Jim's insistence that CIA Director Kittridge was the mole. After learning this from Ethan, Luther helps him double-cross Claire, and Jim together. Aboard a TGV headed for Paris, Max (Ethan's buyer of the NOC List) attempts to upload the stolen NOC data to a personal server. Luther secretly interrupts her modem signal via a makeshift jamming device disguised as a cellphone all while using an Apple Powerbook to make sure that the upload does not resume. The mission nearly goes awry when somebody discovers that Luther has "accidentally" left his "cellphone" unattended on his tray-table. Luther reluctantly takes his phone with him, accidentally jamming everyone's phone or computer signals as he walks down the train car. This causes Max's bodyguard to suspect that Luther is the cause of the jam, causing Luther to evade Max's hired muscle by hiding in the bathroom. After Ethan dispatches Jim (who presumably murders his wife in the process) and Krieger during a fight on top of the train and Max and her bodyguard are caught with the stolen data, the CIA drops their case against Hunt and reinstates him, along with Luther. When Ethan and Luther celebrate together at a British pub, Luther proclaims he's "The Flavor of the Month", indicating that the CIA is now treating him like royalty thanks to his help. At the same time, he muses that he's "gonna miss being disreputable" as he is no longer in hiding and incapable of the illegal computer activities he was privy to performing before he was reinstated. Before going their separate ways, Hunt smiles and tells Luther that, if it makes him feel any better, he will always see Luther in that light.cite video|people=Brian DePalma (Director)|title=Mission: Impossible|medium=DVD|location=United States|publisher=Paramount Pictures|year=1996]

In "" (2000), Hunt recruits Luther (along with IMF Agent Billy Baird) to help stop Sean Ambrose, a former IMF agent, from unleashing a deadly virus (code-named, "Chimera" after the mythological beast) upon Sydney, Australia. This time around, Luther utilizes GPS tracking satellites to keep tabs on Nyah Nordoff-Hall, a GPS-bugged mole they have planted inside of Ambrose's complex. As the mission progresses, Ethan enlists Nyah to lift a CompactFlash memory card containing information on the virus from Ambrose's jacket so that Luther can analyze the virus and its capabilities. Luther also provides Ethan with an entrance to a biological lab in the city of Sydney through a jammed-open vent on the roof by hacking into the building's computer-controlled electronics system. As is in the first movie, Luther assists Ethan from a vehicle adjacent to the building. During the infiltration of the building, however, Luther is nearly killed when one of Ambrose's men plants a bomb on the underside of the van Luther is using as an observation station. The attempt on Luther's life was meant to trap Ethan in the building without a second pair of eyes to get him out. Luther manages to escape just in time with only some cuts and bruises but finds that his main laptop was damaged in the bombing and that the rest of his computer equipment has been destroyed. After repairing it, he eventually assists Ethan in infiltrating an island complex where Nyah has been tracked and Ambrose is selling the virus. Luther helps Ethan find his way around once the fight moves above ground but backs off when the helicopter he's in comes under fire by Ambrose's troops. He eventually injects Nyah with the cure to the virus (symbolically named, "Bellerophon" after the Greek hero who managed to slay the Chimera according to Greek myth) and helps Ethan escort her safely away from Ambrose.cite video|people=John Woo (Director)|title=Mission: Impossible 2|medium=DVD|location=United States|publisher=Paramount Pictures|year=2000]

In "" (2006), Luther reunites with a retired (and about-to-be-married) Ethan Hunt to help rescue Ethan's kidnapped protege, Lindsay Farris. Along with being Ethan's usual "second set of eyes" and manning his routes through the building from a van, Luther also activates and utilizes remote-controlled sentry machine guns in order to cause chaos and confusion so that Ethan doesn't have to bother taking out several armed and alert men under pressure. After Farris's death (a small explosive was implanted in her head and was activated after the rescue), Ethan comes across a microdot that was sent to him by Farris before her untimely death. He immediately consults Luther about it but Luther finds that the microdot contains nothing, much to Ethan's dismay. Luther gently prods Ethan for reasons why Farris would send Ethan a blank microdot, let alone anything at all, eventually implying that Ethan slept with Lindsay. When Ethan tells Luther that Farris is "like his little sister", Luther skeptically asks, "And you never...SLEPT with your little sister?" Nonetheless, Luther continues to be of assistance to Ethan, helping him abduct the man responsible for kidnapping Lindsay, Owen Davian. The mission is not authorized by Director Musgrave or Brassell (portrayed by Laurence Fishburne) which causes Brassell to come down hard on the team. On top of providing his usual computer navigation, Luther also assists Ethan by providing him with a pull-away mask and specially-encoded voice patch so that Ethan can imitate Owen Davian. On their way to bring Davian to authorities, Luther finds out that the microdot Agent Farris sent is not blank but that the data was merely hidden and encrypted. The "data" is in the form of a video file shot by Lindsay in which she tells Ethan that she has found out that IMF Director Brassell is a mole and has been leaking IMF data to Davian. Things take a turn for the worse when the convoy is attacked, Davian gets rescued, Ethan's wife is nabbed by Davian's muscle and Ethan and Luther are briefly separated when the CIA, believing that Ethan is the one who was behind the attack, apprehends Ethan. Luther is reunited with Ethan in Shanghai after Musgrave allows him to escape and, once again, becomes his eyes, helping him to steal the Rabbit's Foot and escape the building in one piece, musing, "Langley was a cakewalk compared to this." However, that's the extent of Luther's help as Ethan is instructed to bring the Rabbit's Foot to Davian alone. He doesn't meet with Ethan again until the mission is over and everything is settled.cite video|people=JJ Abrams (Director)|title=Mission: Impossible III|medium=DVD|location=United States|publisher=Paramount Pictures|year=2006]

Video Games

While no more movies have been made (to this date), the character of Luther has appeared in two other video games.

In 1998, Ocean Software and Infogrames Entertainment teamed up to release for the Nintendo 64 and Sony PlayStation. The video game very loosely followed the story of the first movie: not only are there whole levels that have nothing to do with the movie, [cite web | url=http://www.gamespot.com/n64/adventure/missionimpossible/review.html?sid=2544803&om_act=convert&om_clk=gsupdates&tag=updates;title;2 | title="Mission: Impossible" (Nintendo 64 Review) | accessdate=1998-07-18] but both Luther and Krieger are reduced to being snipers instead of sophisticated former IMF agents with the talents they had in the movies. [cite web | url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/file/197955/8645 | title="Mission: Impossible (PS) FAQ/Walkthrough by IRogers" | accessdate=2000-08-23]

In December 2003, (three years after "M:I 2" and three years before "M:I:III"), Atari (in development partnership with Paradigm Entertainment) released for the Microsoft XBox, Sony PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Gamecube game consoles. [cite web | url=http://www.gamefaqs.com/portable/gbadvance/data/582186.html | title="Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma Info"] This time around, the game was closer in spirit to the movies and not only featured actor John Polson as IMF Agent Billy Baird, but Ving Rhames as well. [cite web | url=http://www.allaboutgames.co.uk/reviews/PS2/Mission+Impossible:+Operation+Surma/194/ | title="allaboutgames.co.uk Review for "Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma" | accessdate=2003-03-12] Gamespot noted that the voices were great and added that having Rhames reprise his role made Luther "a little more authentic (and badass)." [citeweb | url=http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/action/missionimpossibleos/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;review | title="Gamespot: Mission: Impossible: Operation Surma for PlayStation2 Review" | author=Brad Shoemaker | accessdate=2003-09-12]

References

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