Every Main Character From Top Gun: Maverick Ranked

Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller) is sort of the Maverick of the 2022 sequel. Not so much because he's an arrogant hotshot that needs to be humbled like Maverick himself — in fact, his character's arc is the exact opposite of that — but, rather, because he's the student that Maverick needs to take under his wing, like Skerritt's Viper did for Maverick in the first film. Rooster, meanwhile, is too much in his own head, waiting too long to make a decision, rather than acting on instinct, like apparently pilots are supposed to do.

To be clear, the arc laid out for Teller's Rooster in "Top Gun: Maverick", and the innate emotional baggage connected to him and Maverick is actually pretty good on paper. Maverick is seen by Rooster as responsible for the death of his father, Goose, in the first film. Thus, throughout this movie, both Rooster and Maverick have to learn to move past that tragedy before they can truly coalesce as a team.

Unfortunately, the character is badly, woodenly acted by a bored-looking Teller. Furthermore, Rooster also has an extremely one-note characterization, alternating between some variation of angry or brooding for most of the movie, which doesn't really do the already stiff performance any favors. Again, there's theoretically meat on the character due to his connection to OG character Goose ... but it just doesn't land at all.

Glen Powell stars as Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin in "Top Gun: Maverick." He is the cocky hothead of the group, and arguably the best standalone pilot in the program at the beginning of the film. However, like Maverick in the original '86 "Top Gun," Hangman must learn humility and how to work with a team. In fact, his call sign, "Hangman," is stated to have been given to him because he leaves his wing men and fellow pilots "out hanging," or leaving them alone to be picked off by enemies while he cares only about himself.

Hangman does have a Han Solo-esque arc where he saves the day at the end ... but it's also kind of a "too little, too late" situation. Unfortunately, Glen Powell does such a great job being a preppy scoundrel at the beginning of the film that it's hard to shake that first impression entirely off, even during the climax. It's almost too derivative and cliche of a face-turn to really be compelling — though that's more the script's fault than Powell's.

In many ways, Hangman hangs himself by being too good of a heel in his introduction. We never really get the chance to understand or empathize with him. Better luck next time, we suppose — which judging by the box office numbers, there probably will be.

Penelope "Penny" Benjamin, played by Jennifer Connelly, is a bartender near the military base where the Naval Fighter school is established, as well as an old flame of Maverick's. While not introduced in the first "Top Gun" from 1986 (when Connelly was only 16 years old) her character apparently has a lot of history with Maverick, which is revealed via clunky exposition throughout "Top Gun: Maverick." Penny even has an cloyingly precocious daughter named Amelia (Lyliana Wray) who is aware of — and even fondly considers — Maverick as a worthy suitor to Penny after her mom and dad's divorce.

Penny is well-acted by Connelly — since she's a great actress — but it's an archetypal "romance" role, and it's super-underdeveloped and half-baked despite being one of the emotional cores of the films. Plus the fact that they didn't bring back the original movie's love interest, Charlotte, played by actress Kelly McGillis — even for a cameo — seems obviously misogynistic and ageist. This is especially transparent, given the fact McGillis is three years older than Cruise, while Connelly is almost a decade his junior.

Chief Warrant Officer Bernie "Hondo" Coleman (Bashir Salahuddin) is a loyal friend to Maverick who we meet at the beginning of the film as part of Maverick's manned mission to go Mach 10 in an experimental jet. While the character wasn't in the original movie, Salahuddin gives Hondo a great sense of history between him and Cruise's Maverick. For instance, Hondo comically stalls Admiral Cain (Ed Harris) during the Mach 10 test, putting his own career on the line for Maverick, which shows the kind of friendship — and loyalty — he has to the captain.

Despite Maverick's constant recklessness, Hondo continues to be a ride-or-die comrade to him — meaning his character is similar to Kilmer's Iceman in that way. However, Hondo has much more personality in the film, due to having more screen time and definitely getting some of the best laugh lines in the film as well. If the franchise is to continue, it will be nice to see where the sequels will take Hondo's character in the future. We'd like to see him stick around.

Monica Barbaro plays Lieutenant Natasha "Phoenix" Trace in "Top Gun: Maverick," one of the only female pilots in the prestigious TOPGUN flight school; she's also one of the best. By the end of the film, Maverick chooses only a select few to join on the life-or-death mission introduced at the beginning of the story, and Phoenix is one of the first he picks.

Barbaro gives a strong performance as Phoenix, not trying too hard to be "one of the boys," while still maintaining her poise and strength. It's also nice to have female representation in the film via a woman who doesn't fail or need to be rescued or anything — she does her part in the climax flawlessly.

It's also refreshing to have a female character who doesn't need to have her arc connected directly to a male's — especially not romantically. While there is some potential sexual tension between her and Rooster, it doesn't overshadow her own journey and accomplishments, and is never resolved in the cliché, cheesy way that even the original "Top Gun" used. She's allowed to be her own person — still sadly rare in mainstream blockbuster movies (via THR), although things are getting better in that regard. Nonetheless, Phoenix rises from the ashes to be the third highest-ranked character in "Top Gun: Maverick."

To end the list, we have Captain Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, played, of course, by star Tom Cruise. In the film, Maverick is still the characteristically roguish pilot, who disobeys orders if he feels it would benefit his mission or help the people around him. Due to his advanced age, it is stated in the film that Maverick should be an admiral by now; however, he says he prefers being in the air as a captain, where he feels he can do more good. We even open the film to him piloting a dangerous experimental manned plane, since if he didn't, his comrades would lose their jobs. That shows the main reason he's at the top of the list: his compassion.

For all his bravado and righteous anti-authoritarian streak, it's the fact that Maverick puts himself out on the line to help others that puts him at the top of this list. Examples of this heroic streak continues throughout the film, such as his effort to make a plan that gets the other pilots back home — which isn't even initially a consideration from the top military brass — attempting the mission himself when all hope seems lost, sacrificing his plane to save Rooster during the raid, and many more gestures large and small. In addition, Maverick's willingness to not tell Rooster about his mother's wishes to hold his training back a few years — making Rooseter hate Maverick instead — is noble in its own way as well.