In the battle between two of cinema's most famous superspies, who wins when it comes to Ethan Hunt Vs James Bond? British agent James Bond was created by author Ian Fleming in the 1950s, with the first movie Dr. No arriving in 1962. Sean Connery's Bond became an instant icon, but the franchise was threatened when the actor decided to leave following his fifth outing. Producers replaced him with model George Lazenby, and in the decades since the spy has been portrayed by actors such as Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, with each bringing their own unique portrayal.
Mission: Impossible is based on the spy series of the same name from the 1960s, which followed the so-called tricky missions of the IMF. The first movie was directed by Brian De Palma, and it was designed to give star Tom Cruise his very own franchise. The movie also saw Cruise's evolution from an actor who jumped between different genres to an action star, with each installment focusing on his increasingly outlandish stunts. The original concept was that each sequel would be helmed by a different director with a distinct visual style, such as John Woo or Brad Bird, but since 2015's Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation the movies have been helmed by Christopher McQuarrie.
Genre fans love to pit characters against one another, although genuinely entertaining crossovers, like 2003's Freddy Vs Jason, are rare. Given that they're both extremely competent secret agents with a long-running franchise, audiences have often wondered about the outcome of an Ethan Hunt Vs James Bond fight.
The two spies have quite different personalities, which can be best summed up best with Bond announcing his real name at least one a movie, whereas Hunt tries actual espionage or misdirection to achieve his aims. Both Ethan Hunt and James Bond are highly trained in firearms, hand to hand combat and vehicles, and employ various gadgets to achieve their missions. From Connery through to Craig, Bond tends to be more of a blunt instrument, having racked up around 600 kills since the series began. Hunt hasn't always held to his proclamation of "zero bodycount" from the first movie - especially in Woo's sequel - but he tries to avoid bloodshed when possible; in the fourth entry, he doesn't even fire a gun.
While the James Bond movie franchise has been running for nearly 60 years, Mission: Impossible is a relatively youthful 24. That said, Tom Cruise has been with Hunt from the very beginning, and only seems to grow more daring in terms of performing action and stuntwork, such as literally claiming the world's tallest building. Contrast that with longest serving Bond actor Roger Moore, who stuck around for seven movies over twelve years, who left much of the action to stuntmen. Bond is also depicted as something of a functioning alcoholic and was once a chain smoker, whereas Hunt is relatively clean living.
So when it comes down to Ethan Hunt Vs James Bond, who wins? Well, if it came down to a car chase or gunfight, Bond's wealth of experience would likely win out. In a fistfight, however, it's hard to see any Bond - except maybe Daniel Craig's version - having the physicality to take down Cruise's borderline immortal Hunt. Plus Hunt would likely just shoot Bond with a knockout dart than risk an actual fight - which feels more in line with his modus operandi.