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{{Short description|Fictional character created by novelist Vince Flynn}}
{{Unreferenced|date=December 2009}}
{{Infobox character
'''Mitch Rapp''' is a character in a series of books by ]. He works for the ] as an operative for a covert ] unit called the "Orion Team."
| name = Mitch Rapp
| first = ''American Assassin''
| creator = ]
| portrayer = ] (])
| alias = Mitch Kruse, Mike Kruse, Irving
| occupation = Counter Terrorism Operative
| spouse = Anna Rielly (from ''Executive Power'' to ''Consent to Kill'')
| gender = Male
| title = Special Assistant to the Director of the CIA on Counterterrorism
| family = Steven Rapp (brother)
}}


'''Mitch Rapp''' is a fictional character in a series of novels that were written by ] and in the film adaptation of '']''. Since Flynn's death in 2013, the series has been continued by ].
==Background==
Rapp attended ], where he majored in ] and minored in ]. He attended the college on a ] scholarship and was ]. Rapp was also offered a scholarship by the ], but turned that one down because his high school sweetheart Maureen "the Dream" Eliot was attending Syracuse with the hope of getting into ]. Maureen, who Rapp had known since he was fifteen years old, was killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of ]. She had been one of thirty-five Syracuse students returning from a semester overseas.


==Character introduction==
Nearly a year after Maureen's death, Rapp was recruited into the CIA by Irene Kennedy. He began training the week after graduating from Syracuse. Only twenty-one years old at the time, Rapp did not go through the standard CIA training program at "The Farm," outside ]. Instead, for a year straight he was shuttled from one location to the next, sometimes spending a week, sometimes a month. The bulk of the training was handled by ] instructors who taught him "how to shoot, stab, blow things up, and even kill with his bare hands." In other words, he was schooled in firearms and marksmanship, hand to hand combat, and explosives. Endurance was stressed. There were long swims and even longer runs. Between all the heavy lifting, they worked on his foreign language skills. Since he had minored in French at Syracuse, within a month at the CIA he was fluent in the language. He was then taught ] and ] and can passably speak ] and ].
Rapp is a ] operative, employed, first unofficially then officially, by the ]. The primary focus of the character is thwarting foreign terrorist attacks on the United States and he is presented as an aggressive operative who is willing to take measures that are more extreme than might be considered commonly acceptable.


==Character sketch==
Rapp then became an operative of the Orion Team, a highly secretive organization supported by the CIA but outside the Agency. It is funded by money that has been diverted out of ] funded programs. The job of the Orion Team in a nutshell is to take the war to the terrorists. It was formed in response to the ] by the then CIA director of operations ]. The unit operates in secret, independent of the U.S. national security apparatus and circumvents the ] of politics and gets around small impediments like the ] banning assassinations. The team is headed by Rapp's recruiter, Irene Kennedy, whose official role is as director of the CIA's ].


Rapp's high school sweetheart Maureen Eliot, who was attending ] with Rapp, was killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of ]. She had been one of thirty-five Syracuse students returning from a semester overseas. One year later he was recruited into the Central Intelligence Agency by Irene Kennedy.
Rapp has been the Orion Team's star operative almost from the day he started and has been honed into the most effective counterterrorism operative in ] arsenal. He's spent significant amounts of time in Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia collecting ] and when the situation called for it, dealing with threats in a more final manner.


Over the course of the series Rapp terminates a large number of terrorists both on foreign and domestic soil. His main conflicts center on foreign terrorists.
Officially, Rapp has nothing to do with the U.S. government. He is what they like to refer to in the business as a private contractor. Rapp lives a life completely separate from the Agency. His cover is that of a successful ]. With the help of the CIA, he runs a small ] business on the side that just happens to do a fair amount of international business, which gives him the cover to travel frequently. To keep things legitimate, Rapp often does indeed conduct business while abroad.


==Biographical summary==
One of Rapp's aliases is Mitch Kruse. In the special ops community he is often known only by his call sign, "Iron Man" after the annual ] in which he has participated on several occasions and has twice won. His only remaining family is his brother, Steven Rapp, a millionaire financial genius. Mitch and Steven grew up in ].


Rapp attended ], where he majored in ] and minored in ]. He attended the college on a ] scholarship<ref>{{cite web|url=http://justlacrosse.squarespace.com/talkback/2009/10/7/former-orange-all-american-mitch-rapp-coming-to-the-big-scre.html|title=Former Orange All-American Mitch Rapp coming to the big screen|date=2009-10-07|accessdate=1 February 2011}}</ref> and was an ]. Rapp was also offered a scholarship by the ], but turned that one down because his high school sweetheart Maureen was attending Syracuse with the hope of getting into ]. Maureen, whom Rapp had known since he was sixteen years old, was killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of ]. She had been one of thirty-five Syracuse students returning from a semester overseas.
Along with French, Arabic, Persian and English, Rapp is also fluent in Italian. He is also ], but naturally left handed.


Nearly a year after Maureen's death, Rapp was recruited into the ] by Irene Kennedy. He began training the week after graduating from Syracuse. Only twenty-three years old at the time, Rapp did not go through the standard CIA training program at "]", outside ]. Instead, for a year straight he was shuttled from one location to the next, sometimes spending a week, sometimes a month. The bulk of the training was handled by Stan Hurley, a former CIA operative, who taught him "how to shoot, stab, blow things up, and even kill with his bare hands". In other words, he was schooled in firearms and marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and explosives. Endurance was stressed. There were long swims and even longer runs. Between all the heavy lifting, they worked on his foreign language skills. Since he had minored in French at Syracuse, within a month at the CIA he was fluent in the language. He was then taught ] and ] and can passably speak ] and ]. He also speaks French, ] and ]. He is ambidextrous, but naturally left-handed.
Throughout the books, Rapp works with several ] units including ] and ], ], ], the ], and the ]. He also has close ties with "SEAL Demolition and Salvage Corporation," a ] specializing in underwater salvage such as getting rid of debris for ports and shipyards and training law enforcement divers, but whose employees also work from time to time as freelance operatives for the CIA. The company is owned and operated by Scott Coleman, former commanding officer of ] and friend of Rapp.


Rapp then became an operative of the Orion Team, a highly secretive organization supported by the CIA but outside the Agency. It is funded by money that has been diverted out of ] funded programs. The job of the Orion Team in a nutshell is to take the war to the terrorists. It was formed in response to the ] by the then CIA director of operations Thomas Stansfield. The unit operates in secret, independent of the U.S. national security apparatus and circumvents the ] of politics and gets around small impediments like the ] banning assassinations. The team is headed by Rapp's recruiter, Irene Kennedy, whose official role is as director of the CIA's ].
==Books Appeared In==
===Transfer of Power===
(2000) -- ]ic terrorists have taken over the White House. The ] is safely evacuated to a bunker inside the White House. Things are not always as they seem, it is soon learned that his safety is in jeopardy and over 70 hostages are still inside. The clock is ticking in-favor of the Terrorist and if nothing is done soon the President and the hostages will be lost. CIA operative Mitch Rapp is tasked to observe from the inside and act if necessary. However, he quickly finds that in ], nothing is as simple as it seems, for there are people who are willing to use the hostages as pawns in their power struggle, and pawns can be sacrificed.


Rapp has been the Orion Team's star operative almost from the day he started and has been honed into the most effective counterterrorism operative in ] arsenal. He's spent significant amounts of time in Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia collecting ] and when the situation called for it, dealing with threats in a more final manner.
===The Third Option===
(2001) -- Beyond diplomacy and military intervention, there is the third option. Sinister forces wish to discredit the existing CIA chief and deputy chief as a part of a power struggle. Their perfect plan: set up top CIA operative Mitch Rapp on a "third option" mission to fail, and let Rapp take the blame. Their only mistake: they picked the wrong man to betray...


Officially, Rapp has nothing to do with the U.S. government; rather, he is referred to in the business as a private contractor. Rapp lives a life completely separate from the Agency. His cover is that of a successful ]. With the help of the CIA, he runs a small ] business on the side that just happens to do a fair amount of international business, which gives him the cover to travel frequently. To keep things legitimate, Rapp often does indeed conduct business while abroad.
===Separation of Power===
(2002) -- Dr. Irene Kennedy, now head of the CIA, has many enemies, and those enemies wish to destroy both her and the President in a daring plot. In the Middle East, ] is developing a ], and ] vows to launch a ] if the nuke is ever completed. Can CIA Operative Mitch Rapp destroy Saddam's plans before the Middle East is plunged into war while unraveling the sinister plots developing at home... in only 2 weeks?


One of Rapp's aliases is Mitch Kruse. In the special ops community he is often known only by his call sign, "Iron Man" after the annual ] in which he has participated on several occasions and has twice won. His only remaining family is his brother, Steven Rapp, a millionaire financial genius. Mitch and Steven grew up in ].
===Executive Power===
(2003) -- A disgruntled ] has destroyed Mitch Rapp's CIA operative career by outing him on National TV, and marking him for death by almost every terrorist who owns a television. Now Mitch Rapp must adjust to a new life as a CIA analyst/adviser, while attempting to plug a leak in the ] that led to an ambush of a US Navy SEAL team in the ]. But in the shadows looms a madman and his assassin, ready to ignite another world war, and Mitch Rapp is the only one in their way.

===Memorial Day===
(2004) -- Mitch Rapp leads a daring raid on an Al Qaeda stronghold on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and reveals the unthinkable: ] has obtained a nuke, and the target is Washington D.C., on ]. As the government debates on a course of action, Mitch Rapp is chasing leads and suspects across the globe. When the nuclear material is intercepted, everyone breaths a sigh of relief, but Mitch Rapp can't help but think... what if there is more than one?


Throughout the books, Rapp works with several ] units including ] and ], ], ], the ], and the ]. He also has close ties with "SEAL Demolition and Salvage Corporation", a ] specializing in underwater salvage such as getting rid of debris for ports and shipyards and training law enforcement divers, but whose employees also work from time to time as freelance operatives for the CIA. The company is owned and operated by Scott Coleman, former commanding officer of ] and friend of Rapp.
===Consent to Kill===
(2005) -- A ] billionaire vows vengeance on Mitch Rapp after his son was killed by Rapp for the plot to nuke Washington D.C.. However, he's not the only one who wishes to see Mitch Rapp gone. For Rapp has made too many enemies in his effort to save the nation from Armageddon. This time, the international conspiracy may be bigger than even Rapp's ability to unravel...and the consequences could be devastating.


==Relationship with other characters==
===Act of Treason===
*Thomas Stansfield, the director of CIA (Transfer of Power, The Third Option, American Assassin, Kill Shot)
(2006) -- Mitch Rapp makes another major appearance in this story about a conspiracy by very high officials to passively rig a presidential election by launching a false terrorist attack on one of the candidates, granting him a strong sympathy vote and propelling him to the ]. Rapp, still mourning the terrible loss he suffered in "Consent to Kill", must work to save the nation from corruption and evil once more.
*Irene Kennedy, the Director of the Counter-terrorism Center (Transfer of Power and The Third Option, American Assassin, Kill Shot) and the Director of the CIA (Separation of Power through Total Power)
*Stan Hurley, his Trainer and Mentor (Pursuit of Honor, American Assassin, Kill Shot, The Last Man)
*Scott Coleman, Trusted Comrade in Arms, Former commander of SEAL Team Six, recipient of the Silver Star and the Navy Cross, owner of the SEAL Demolition and Salvage Corporation, and private contractor for the CIA (“Appeared in: Term Limits, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Extreme Measures, Pursuit of Honor, The Last Man, The Survivor, Order To Kill, Enemy Of The State, Red War, Lethal Agent, Total Power)


==Novels==
===Protect and Defend===
===]===
(2007) -- After the Israelis take out the Iranian nuclear complex with a brilliant strike using a deep undercover agent, the Iranians blame the U.S. and launch proactive attacks on the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf, and threaten to unleash a worldwide terrorist attack. Mitch has a plan to thwart the Iranians and embarrass them by exposing their lies at the ]. But, before he can complete his mission, he must deal with a Palestinian terrorist that is playing and being played by the highest levels of the Iranian government.
presented in order of storyline chronology
#''American Assassin'' (2010)
#''Kill Shot'' (2012)
#'']'' (1997) - Rapp does not appear but Scott Coleman does
#'']'' (1999)
#'']'' (2000)
#'']'' (2001)
#'']'' (2003)
#'']'' (2004)
#'']'' (2005)
#''Act of Treason'' (2006)
#''Protect and Defend'' (2007)
#'']'' (2008)
#'']'' (2009)
#''The Last Man'' (2012)


===]===
===Extreme Measures===
#'']'' (2015)
(2008) -- Now, with Rapp away on assignment in Pakistan, CIA Director Irene Kennedy turns to her protégé Mike Nash. Nash has served his government honorably for sixteen years—first as an officer in the Marine Corps and then as an operative in an elite counter terrorism team run by none other than Mitch Rapp. He has met violence with extreme violence and has never wavered in his fight against the jihads and their culture of death. Rapp is boggled by "desk jockeys" while trying to save the world from a terrorism cell
#''Order To Kill'' (2016)
#''Enemy Of The State'' (2017)
#''Red War'' (2018)
#''Lethal Agent'' (2019)
#''Total Power'' (2020)
#''Enemy at the Gates'' (2021)
#''Oath of Loyalty'' (2022)
#''Code Red'' (2023)


===Pursuit of Honor=== ==Screen adaptation==
{{Main|American Assassin}}
(2009) -- The action begins six days after a series of explosions devastated Washington, D.C., targeting the National Counterterrorism Center and killing 185 people, including public officials and CIA employees.


The '']'' bestseller, ''Consent to Kill,''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F02E0DC1E3EF933A2575AC0A9609C8B63|title=New York Times best seller list for September 10, 2006 |date=2006-09-10|work=New York Times|accessdate=19 December 2010}}</ref> was intended to be the first Mitch Rapp film in a proposed series of films by ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movierewind.com/mitch-rapp|title=Mitch Rapp Movie Coming, Says Vince Flynn |date=2010-09-05|work=Movie Rewind|accessdate=19 December 2010}}</ref> ''Consent to Kill'' was scheduled to be produced by ] and ]; the screenplay was written by ]. The studio's last few films had performed poorly, causing them to delay the production of this film. ] was originally attached to direct,<ref>{{cite news| url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/453248/Consent-to-Kill/details | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103150353/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/453248/Consent-to-Kill/details | url-status=dead | archive-date=2012-11-03 | department=Movies & TV Dept. | work=] | date=2012 | title=Consent to Kill}}</ref> with several names being rumored to play Rapp, including ], ] and ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.movieinsider.com/m6849/consent-to-kill/|title=Consent to Kill Movie (Pre-Production): Mar. 21, 2010 - added Matthew Fox (Rumored) to the credits - Movie Insider|website=Movie Insider|accessdate=5 September 2017}}</ref> but the studio announced some major changes in June 2011.<ref>{{cite web | first=Mike|last= Fleming | title=CBS Films Targets 'American Assassin' To Launch Mitch Rapp Franchise, Sets Ed Zwick To Direct | url=https://deadline.com/2011/06/cbs-films-targets-american-assassin-to-launch-mitch-rapp-franchise-sets-ed-zwick-to-direct-138204/ | website=] | date=June 8, 2011 | access-date=March 1, 2012}}</ref> One of these changes was that although the first film in the series was initially going to be based on an earlier novel, it would now be based it on a later instalment, ''American Assassin,'' which explains how Rapp became a CIA officer. Another change was that the leading man would, consequently, be younger, to reflect Rapp at a younger age and still at the beginning of his covert career. On 19 January 2016 CBS Films announced that ''American Assassin'' would be directed by Michael Cuesta and written by Stephen Schiff. Production needed to start by April 30, 2016, or the rights to the film would revert to the Vince Flynn Estate. On May 10, 2016, ] announced that 24-year-old actor ] was in talks to play Rapp, with the "idea that O’Brien’s Mitch Rapp is college aged, and the hope is the actor grows as the series progresses."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/05/dylan-obrien-american-assassin-maze-runner-vince-flynn-cbs-films-lionsgate-1201752315/|title='Maze Runner's Dylan O'Brien In Talks To Play Mitch Rapp In Vince Flynn Spy Novel Adaptation 'American Assassin'|author=Mike Fleming Jr|website=]|date=May 10, 2016|accessdate=May 10, 2016}}</ref>
It was a bizarre act of extreme violence that called for extreme measures on the part of elite counterterrorism operative Mitch Rapp and his trusted team member, Mike Nash. Now that the initial shock of the catastrophe is over, key Washington officials are up in arms over whether to make friends or foes of the agents who stepped between the enemy's bullets and countless American lives regardless of the legal consequences.


The movie filmed between the months of September and December 2016,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BN6bnBBhKPl/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/ninajager27/1403555662293935077 |archive-date=2021-12-25 |url-access=registration|title=End of filming for AmericanAssassin|publisher=]|author=Ninajager27|date=December 12, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> with shooting taking place in ], ],<ref>{{cite tweet|user=VinceFlynnFilm|author=American Assassin|number=775470247558180864|date=12 September 2016|title=@cookiedough53 filming has begun.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/taylor-kitsch-joining-dylan-obrien-920456|title=Taylor Kitsch Joining Dylan O'Brien in 'American Assassin' (Exclusive)|author=Borys Kit|publisher=]|date=August 18, 2016|accessdate=August 20, 2016}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BNe-tnjj_su/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/droneservice_aerialfilming/1395828748264143662 |archive-date=2021-12-25 |url-access=registration|title=Aerial shoot in Valletta, Malta.|publisher=]|author=droneservice_aerialfilming|date=December 1, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BNrELJIDuKr/|title=Filming in Phuket, Thailand I.|publisher=]|author=lailadegala|date=December 6, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2017|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203212223/https://www.instagram.com/p/BNrELJIDuKr/|archivedate=February 3, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.instagram.com/p/BNsZV7aDXyG/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/instagram/ksenialeschuk/1399605042265029766 |archive-date=2021-12-25 |url-access=registration|title=Filming in Phuket, Thailand II.|publisher=]|author=ksenialeschuk|date=December 7, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2017}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/film-news/birmingham-becomes-warsaw-weekend-hollywood-12336349|title=Birmingham becomes Warsaw for the weekend as Hollywood film makers move in|publisher=]|author=Roz Laws|date=December 17, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2017}}</ref> The action film follows the rise of Rapp (O’Brien), a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (]). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (]) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together, the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Iranian agent (]) to stop a mysterious operative (]) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/766035-dylan-obrien-in-first-look-at-american-assassin#/slide/1|title='Dylan O'Brien in first look at American Assassin'|author=Max Evry|website=www.comingsoon.net|date=September 12, 2016|accessdate=September 13, 2016}}</ref>
Not for the first time, Rapp finds himself in the frustrating position of having to illustrate the realities of national security to politicians whose view from the sidelines is inevitably obstructed.


== See also ==
Meanwhile, three of the al Qaeda terrorists are still at large, and Rapp has been unofficially ordered to find them by any means necessary.
* {{portal-inline|Novels}}


==References==
No one knows the personal, physical, and emotional sacrifices required of the job better than Rapp. When he sees Nash cracking under the pressure of the mission and the memories of the horrors he witnessed during the terrorist attack, he makes a call he hopes will save his friend, assuage the naysayers on Capitol Hill, and get him one step closer to the enemy before it's too late.
{{Reflist}}


{{Authority control}}
]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Mitch}}
]
]
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Latest revision as of 00:57, 16 November 2024

Fictional character created by novelist Vince Flynn Fictional character
Mitch Rapp
First appearanceAmerican Assassin
Created byVince Flynn
Portrayed byDylan O'Brien (film adaptation)
In-universe information
AliasMitch Kruse, Mike Kruse, Irving
GenderMale
TitleSpecial Assistant to the Director of the CIA on Counterterrorism
OccupationCounter Terrorism Operative
FamilySteven Rapp (brother)
SpouseAnna Rielly (from Executive Power to Consent to Kill)

Mitch Rapp is a fictional character in a series of novels that were written by Vince Flynn and in the film adaptation of American Assassin. Since Flynn's death in 2013, the series has been continued by Kyle Mills.

Character introduction

Rapp is a counter-terrorism operative, employed, first unofficially then officially, by the CIA. The primary focus of the character is thwarting foreign terrorist attacks on the United States and he is presented as an aggressive operative who is willing to take measures that are more extreme than might be considered commonly acceptable.

Character sketch

Rapp's high school sweetheart Maureen Eliot, who was attending Syracuse University with Rapp, was killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. She had been one of thirty-five Syracuse students returning from a semester overseas. One year later he was recruited into the Central Intelligence Agency by Irene Kennedy.

Over the course of the series Rapp terminates a large number of terrorists both on foreign and domestic soil. His main conflicts center on foreign terrorists.

Biographical summary

Rapp attended Syracuse University, where he majored in international business and minored in French. He attended the college on a lacrosse scholarship and was an All-American. Rapp was also offered a scholarship by the University of North Carolina, but turned that one down because his high school sweetheart Maureen was attending Syracuse with the hope of getting into broadcasting. Maureen, whom Rapp had known since he was sixteen years old, was killed in the December 21, 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. She had been one of thirty-five Syracuse students returning from a semester overseas.

Nearly a year after Maureen's death, Rapp was recruited into the CIA by Irene Kennedy. He began training the week after graduating from Syracuse. Only twenty-three years old at the time, Rapp did not go through the standard CIA training program at "The Farm", outside Williamsburg, Virginia. Instead, for a year straight he was shuttled from one location to the next, sometimes spending a week, sometimes a month. The bulk of the training was handled by Stan Hurley, a former CIA operative, who taught him "how to shoot, stab, blow things up, and even kill with his bare hands". In other words, he was schooled in firearms and marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and explosives. Endurance was stressed. There were long swims and even longer runs. Between all the heavy lifting, they worked on his foreign language skills. Since he had minored in French at Syracuse, within a month at the CIA he was fluent in the language. He was then taught Arabic and Persian and can passably speak Urdu and Pashto. He also speaks French, German and Italian. He is ambidextrous, but naturally left-handed.

Rapp then became an operative of the Orion Team, a highly secretive organization supported by the CIA but outside the Agency. It is funded by money that has been diverted out of congressionally funded programs. The job of the Orion Team in a nutshell is to take the war to the terrorists. It was formed in response to the Lockerbie disaster by the then CIA director of operations Thomas Stansfield. The unit operates in secret, independent of the U.S. national security apparatus and circumvents the leviathan of politics and gets around small impediments like the executive order banning assassinations. The team is headed by Rapp's recruiter, Irene Kennedy, whose official role is as director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center.

Rapp has been the Orion Team's star operative almost from the day he started and has been honed into the most effective counterterrorism operative in America's arsenal. He's spent significant amounts of time in Europe, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia collecting intelligence and when the situation called for it, dealing with threats in a more final manner.

Officially, Rapp has nothing to do with the U.S. government; rather, he is referred to in the business as a private contractor. Rapp lives a life completely separate from the Agency. His cover is that of a successful entrepreneur. With the help of the CIA, he runs a small computer consulting business on the side that just happens to do a fair amount of international business, which gives him the cover to travel frequently. To keep things legitimate, Rapp often does indeed conduct business while abroad.

One of Rapp's aliases is Mitch Kruse. In the special ops community he is often known only by his call sign, "Iron Man" after the annual Ironman Triathlon in which he has participated on several occasions and has twice won. His only remaining family is his brother, Steven Rapp, a millionaire financial genius. Mitch and Steven grew up in McLean, Virginia.

Throughout the books, Rapp works with several special operations units including Navy SEALs and DEVGRU, Delta Force, Air Force Special Operations Command, the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne). He also has close ties with "SEAL Demolition and Salvage Corporation", a private military company specializing in underwater salvage such as getting rid of debris for ports and shipyards and training law enforcement divers, but whose employees also work from time to time as freelance operatives for the CIA. The company is owned and operated by Scott Coleman, former commanding officer of SEAL Team Six and friend of Rapp.

Relationship with other characters

  • Thomas Stansfield, the director of CIA (Transfer of Power, The Third Option, American Assassin, Kill Shot)
  • Irene Kennedy, the Director of the Counter-terrorism Center (Transfer of Power and The Third Option, American Assassin, Kill Shot) and the Director of the CIA (Separation of Power through Total Power)
  • Stan Hurley, his Trainer and Mentor (Pursuit of Honor, American Assassin, Kill Shot, The Last Man)
  • Scott Coleman, Trusted Comrade in Arms, Former commander of SEAL Team Six, recipient of the Silver Star and the Navy Cross, owner of the SEAL Demolition and Salvage Corporation, and private contractor for the CIA (“Appeared in: Term Limits, The Third Option, Separation of Power, Executive Power, Consent to Kill, Act of Treason, Extreme Measures, Pursuit of Honor, The Last Man, The Survivor, Order To Kill, Enemy Of The State, Red War, Lethal Agent, Total Power)

Novels

Vince Flynn

presented in order of storyline chronology

  1. American Assassin (2010)
  2. Kill Shot (2012)
  3. Term Limits (1997) - Rapp does not appear but Scott Coleman does
  4. Transfer of Power (1999)
  5. The Third Option (2000)
  6. Separation of Power (2001)
  7. Executive Power (2003)
  8. Memorial Day (2004)
  9. Consent to Kill (2005)
  10. Act of Treason (2006)
  11. Protect and Defend (2007)
  12. Extreme Measures (2008)
  13. Pursuit of Honor (2009)
  14. The Last Man (2012)

Kyle Mills

  1. The Survivor (2015)
  2. Order To Kill (2016)
  3. Enemy Of The State (2017)
  4. Red War (2018)
  5. Lethal Agent (2019)
  6. Total Power (2020)
  7. Enemy at the Gates (2021)
  8. Oath of Loyalty (2022)
  9. Code Red (2023)

Screen adaptation

Main article: American Assassin

The New York Times bestseller, Consent to Kill, was intended to be the first Mitch Rapp film in a proposed series of films by CBS Films. Consent to Kill was scheduled to be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Nick Wechsler; the screenplay was written by Jonathan Lemkin. The studio's last few films had performed poorly, causing them to delay the production of this film. Antoine Fuqua was originally attached to direct, with several names being rumored to play Rapp, including Gerard Butler, Colin Farrell and Matthew Fox, but the studio announced some major changes in June 2011. One of these changes was that although the first film in the series was initially going to be based on an earlier novel, it would now be based it on a later instalment, American Assassin, which explains how Rapp became a CIA officer. Another change was that the leading man would, consequently, be younger, to reflect Rapp at a younger age and still at the beginning of his covert career. On 19 January 2016 CBS Films announced that American Assassin would be directed by Michael Cuesta and written by Stephen Schiff. Production needed to start by April 30, 2016, or the rights to the film would revert to the Vince Flynn Estate. On May 10, 2016, Deadline announced that 24-year-old actor Dylan O'Brien was in talks to play Rapp, with the "idea that O’Brien’s Mitch Rapp is college aged, and the hope is the actor grows as the series progresses."

The movie filmed between the months of September and December 2016, with shooting taking place in London, Rome, Valletta, Phuket, and Birmingham. The action film follows the rise of Rapp (O’Brien), a CIA black ops recruit under the instruction of Cold War veteran Stan Hurley (Michael Keaton). The pair is then enlisted by CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) to investigate a wave of apparently random attacks on both military and civilian targets. Together, the three discover a pattern in the violence leading them to a joint mission with a lethal Iranian agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (Taylor Kitsch) intent on starting a World War in the Middle East.

See also

References

  1. "Former Orange All-American Mitch Rapp coming to the big screen". 2009-10-07. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
  2. "New York Times best seller list for September 10, 2006". New York Times. 2006-09-10. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  3. "Mitch Rapp Movie Coming, Says Vince Flynn". Movie Rewind. 2010-09-05. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
  4. "Consent to Kill". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-03.
  5. "Consent to Kill Movie (Pre-Production): Mar. 21, 2010 - added Matthew Fox (Rumored) to the credits - Movie Insider". Movie Insider. Retrieved 5 September 2017.
  6. Fleming, Mike (June 8, 2011). "CBS Films Targets 'American Assassin' To Launch Mitch Rapp Franchise, Sets Ed Zwick To Direct". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  7. Mike Fleming Jr (May 10, 2016). "'Maze Runner's Dylan O'Brien In Talks To Play Mitch Rapp In Vince Flynn Spy Novel Adaptation 'American Assassin'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  8. Ninajager27 (December 12, 2016). "End of filming for AmericanAssassin". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved February 5, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. American Assassin (12 September 2016). "@cookiedough53 filming has begun" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. Borys Kit (August 18, 2016). "Taylor Kitsch Joining Dylan O'Brien in 'American Assassin' (Exclusive)". HollywoodReporter. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  11. droneservice_aerialfilming (December 1, 2016). "Aerial shoot in Valletta, Malta". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  12. lailadegala (December 6, 2016). "Filming in Phuket, Thailand I." Instagram. Archived from the original on February 3, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  13. ksenialeschuk (December 7, 2016). "Filming in Phuket, Thailand II". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2021-12-25. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  14. Roz Laws (December 17, 2016). "Birmingham becomes Warsaw for the weekend as Hollywood film makers move in". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved February 5, 2017.
  15. Max Evry (September 12, 2016). "'Dylan O'Brien in first look at American Assassin'". www.comingsoon.net. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
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