Ilsa Faust

"If you want to bring down the Syndicate, you have to let me out."

- Ilsa talks to Ethan about defeating the Syndicate, before dropping her off

Ilsa Faust is one of the main protagonists, the anti-hero then turned main fifth protagonist of the 2015 action spy film Mission: Impossible: Rogue Nation. Faust is an ally to Ethan Hunt and is part of Hunt's team, with Benji Dunn, Luther Stickell and William Brandt. With Hunt and his team, she goes rogue to stop the Syndicate - a rogue terrorist organization that led by the film's main antagonist, Solomon Lane, which she is a former high-rank member but also former MI6 undercover agent.

She is portrayed by Rebecca Fergusson.

Early Life
Faust's early life is currently unknown, but it's known she was trained by MI6 and became a highly trained agent on the field. During time, she left MI6 and joined the Syndicate, a organization with former agents from around the globe recruited onto missions.

Stopping The Syndicate
In time, Faust left the Syndicate.

Saving Hunt
Faust was summoned to question captured IMF Agent Ethan Hunt. She prepared medicines, removed her shoes and calmly observes Ethan. Janik Vinter and his men came in and Janik beat up Ethan. Ethan mentioned he knows who Janik is and he prepared to brutally torture Ethan with various butcher tools. Ilsa distracted Janik long enough for Ethan to knock him out with a kick. Ilsa threw him the keys of the cuffs but the other men saw it and attacked her. Ilsa defeated two but the third overwhelmed her and started to beat her into submission. Ethan managed to break free and took him out. In the ensuing melee Ethan and Ilsa fought the guards. Ilsa disarmed one but was knocked down before she could use the gun. Using teamwork Ethan and Ilsa managed to kill all the guards and fled the scene before reinforcements arrived. Ilsa told him to run and then faked to Janik that Ethan had killed the guards and she had tried to stop him.

Assassination At The Opera
Six months later Ilsa went to the opera to assassinate the Austrian Chancellor. Infiltrating backstage she hid in the decoration pieces high above the stage with a sniper rifle. Ilsa waited for a high note during a song so her shot would be masked. However before she could shoot Ethan shot the Chancellor in the shoulder which made her shot miss. Realizing Ethan had foiled her attempt she tried to shoot him. However as she shot at him Richter, another operative of the Syndicate tried to shoot her. The operative was engaged in hand to hand with Benji. Ilsa shot the operative but Benji put on the lights which revealed her position. Ilsa dropped her rifle and tried to escape the building but it got locked down by the police. Ethan offered her a way out and the two went to the rooftop. With a rope they left the roof and saw the Chancellor getting killed as his car was blown up. Ilsa, Ethan and Benji escaped by car. Ilsa told them they had to let her go but Ethan searched her for weapons, took her eyeshade and questioned her. Ilsa told him his name and that she was ordered to kill the Chancellor to make up for letting him escape. They were chased by Syndicate agents and Ilsa convinced them to let her escape the car.

Ilsa was brought to Solomon. Ilsa was pushed by a henchman and she jumped on the men and pinned him down before taking his gun. Solomon mentioned he questioned her as Ethan had escaped her now two times and she had failed at the opera. Ilsa threw him the gun and told him to trust or kill her but he should do it himself instead of his hitman. Solomon shot the henchmen and asked her how she would find him. Ilsa mentioned Ethan would come to her as she had information about Marocco in a chip hidden in her eye shade.

Stealing The Ledger
Leaving traces behind for Benji and Ethan she stayed at a house in Marocco where she trained to stay under water. She explained to them Solomon was former British intelligence and that the Syndicate had been created by them. Solomon had a ledger with information about the Syndicate which was stolen by a agent hoping to blackmail him. The agent died during questioning and the ledger could only be retrieved in a secure server beneath a power station by changing access control data stored in an underwater turbine tank. Ilsa had been send by Solomon to do this. The three designed a plan to steal the ledger in which Ethan will go underwater without oxygen tanks to avoid detection and change acces control so Benji can acces the server and steal the ledger. They succeed but Ethan is unable to open the tunnel to get out. Ilsa followed him and saves him just when he passes out by lack of oxygen. She opens the tunnel and drags Ethan to safety. Using a defibrilator she saves his life. Benji comes in with the ledger and mentions he misjudged her. Ilsa schocked Benji and escaped with the ledger. Syndicate agents wait for her to escort her with motorcycles. She knocked them over with her motorcycle and flees. During the chase Ethan follows her and takes out the Syndicate agents. Ilsa stopped and suddenly stepped in front of Ethan to make him crash to avoid running her over. She then escaped with the ledger.

Meeting MI6 Director Atlee she handed him the ledger. However he said that it might be false and she should keep working with Salomon to find more evidence. Attlee blames her for compromising her position while saving Hunt and that the next time she should kill him. Ilsa refused but he threatened her that only few people know of her being undercover and that she has to obey him.

Ilsa met with Solomon and handed him the ledger. Calling him a terrorist he explained to her that the Syndicate will be able to take out threats with surgical precision and make the world a better place. The ledger turned out to be empty and Solomon orders her to take the ledger from Hunt and his team.

Meeting with Ethan he revealed that the disc was real and he wanted to allow her to free herself from Solomon. They realize that Attlee has erased her version. Ilsa proposed Ethan with three options. Go to the CIA, let het go with the disc to Solomon or be with her and leave the spy life. Ethan realized she was going to deliver him a message. Ilsa warned him she can not save his life again and then activates her phone and jams their communication. Benji gets abducted and she flees the scene. Solomon used Benji as leverage to force Ethan to activate the ledger. This will allow the Syndicate acces to enormous funds to keep them operational for decades.

Ilsa gets send by Solomon to trade Benji for the activated the ledger. A bomb is strapped to the chest of Benji. Ilsa explained to Ethan that she will kill him and Benji after the trade or Solomon will blow them up

Ethan revealed the ledger is destroyed and he memorized the bank accounts. Solomon is forced to disarm the bomb and orders his men to kill Ilsa and capture Ethan. The two took out multiple Syndicate agents but end up separated and out of bullets. Ilsa got chased by Janik Vinter. She tried a sneak attack but it failed and the two ended up in a knifefight. Both of them take slashing wounds but Ilsa was able to climb on top of him and impale his chest, killing him.

Ethan ended up capturing Solomon. Ilsa and Ethan shared a moment and Ilsa left telling him he knows how to find her.

Personality
Ilsa is a disciplined and strong willed woman. Bound by a moral code and sense of duty she goes in deep cover to take down the Syndicate. When Ethan is about to be killed she risks her life and blows her cover to help him escape.

During the events she constantly seems to struggle between her loyalty towards MI6, her desire to do the right thing, her feelings for Ethan and keeping her cover for the Syndicate. She saves Ethan his life multiple times but has no problems manipulating or betraying him to fullfil her mission for MI6 and the Syndicate.

Saving his life and using subtle manipulation she keeps Ethan off balance and uses his feelings for her to deceive him and make him do what she wants. This went as far as that she forced him to lose control of his motorcycle and crash to avoid running her over. During the opera she even tried to kill him when he foiled her assassination attempt. At a certain point she was touched by him trying to help her and she even offered to leave together and leave the intelligence world behind.

Abilities
Ilsa is a highly trained field operative. A skilled assassin she is trained in the use of firearms, ranging from guns to sniper rifles. She is a exceptional swimmer and can hold her breath for multiple minutes while swimming. Ilsa is also a proficient driver and was able to stay ahead of Ethan and Syndicate agents in a motorcycle chase.

Always preparing for the worst, Ilsa has deep tactical awareness and constantly positions herself at dominant angles and near (improvised) weapons. While preparing to fight in the torture chamber she already removed her shoes and unbuttoned her blouse to avoid hindrance. Her tactical savy is further shown by her choice of clothing, wearing a dress with a deep split which allows her to infiltrate the opera, while still being able to climb, fight and run without any difficulty. She was also carrying hidden knives on her person while wearing the dress.

Fighting Style
Ilsa uses a unique fighting style relying on her feline agility and use of momentum. During combat Ilsa moves gracefull yet ruthless, moving in fast she uses big powerfull movements to build up momentum to cause maximum effect.

A signature move of her consists of leaping or climbing onto her opponent and wrapping her legs around their head, shoulders or waist. She then twists her body and uses the momentum to knock them off balance and flick them to the floor.

She was also able to kill a man by wrapping her thighs around his neck and snap his neck.

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