24: CTU Agents Ranked From Heroic To Most Villainous

The Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) doesn’t exist in real life but in the world of FOX hit series 24, it’s is the reason why America still stands still. The Los Angeles branch of the agency—which is under the Department of Homeland Security—has been responsible for stopping numerous terrorist attacks on US soil.

Even though ever-running, ever-yelling federal agent Jack Bauer deserves praise for doing all the heavy lifting, CTU has had a number of key agents who have been instrumental in its activities. Some of the agents are worthy of countless honors for their good job while some would be rotting away in jail if they weren’t dead already.

10 Jack Bauer

Terrorists dread his name and there is a good reason for that. Jack has saved America more times than he can remember. Unlike other CTU agents, he might not be good with technology but on the field, he is a dab hand. His level of endurance is remarkable too. No injury sets him back. Not to forget that he can manage to go without eating, taking a nap, or using the bathroom for 24 hours.

Jack’s line of work has made him lose plenty of loved ones, including just about every woman he has ever dated. But despite the challenges, nothing stops him from doing the right thing.

9 Chloe O’Brian

Jack might yell “Damnit Chloe!” about 5 times per episode but she is the only person he truly trusts. There is nothing Chloe wouldn’t do for Jack and thanks to her total trust in the man, she has managed to prevent more attacks than any other desk agent.

Chloe constantly risks her job several times and disobeys orders in order to do what she believes is the right thing. After the events of Day 8, she gets dismissed for disobeying orders but still goes on to help Jack after she joins the hacker organization Open Cell. When she gets captured by the Russians, Jack trades his freedom for hers.

8 Bill Buchannan

On Day 7, Bill makes a major sacrifice when Sangala dictator Benjamin Juma takes over the White House. He creates an explosion meant to wipe out most of Juma’s men, knowing that he might die too. He thus dies a heroic death.

Apart from that incident, Bill is generally one of the most likable characters of the show. He is the most understanding CTU director as he trusts his agents instead of constantly bossing them around. At various points of the series, Bill also serves as a Division agent and as the Acting White House Secret Service director.

7 Edgar Stiles

Edgar is perhaps the nicest character to ever appear in the series. He initially struggles at work but thanks to Chloe’s guidance, he becomes one of the most competent agents.

It’s been said many times that bad things always happen to good people and that’s what happens to Edgar. The shy agent stops a nuclear plant crisis only to learn that his mother was a victim. He also stops the mole Marianne from slowing down operations. He eventually meets his demise when there is a terrorist nerve gas attack at the CTU offices.

6 Chase Edmunds

On Day 3, Chase finds out just how difficult it is to be Jack’s partner. The two go on a wild ride together as they tackle the Salazar drug family. Chase ends up developing feelings for Jack’s daughter Kim, something the protagonist doesn’t mind since he is a lot like him.

By the end of it all, Chase not only loses an arm but he loses Kim too. It’s reported that he was later killed by the leader of a biker gang. The field agent might have not been around for long but he gets credit for being one of the few people that Jack could trust with his life. He made Kim happy too.

5 Curtis Manning

Curtis is a very efficient field agent, having served in the military where he was part of Operation Desert Storm. He was also a member of Boston PD’s SWAT unit. However, his major weakness is his failure to see the bigger picture.

Curtis dates Marianne who later turns out to be a mole. She has been using him without his knowledge. His penchant for attempting to undermine Jack all the time makes him rub fans the wrong way. Jack is forced to kill him when he vows to kill former terrorist Hamri Al-Assad who is now cooperating with the US government.

4 George Mason

George is initially portrayed as the nightmare boss everyone wishes not to have. The CTU director keeps scolding Jack and every other agent who he spots, for no good reason.

He eventually becomes nice after realizing he only has a few days to live. This reality dawns on him when gets exposed to extreme amounts of plutonium while searching Mamud Faheen’s warehouse for a bomb. Knowing he’s going to die anyway, George sacrifices his life by flying a plane containing a bomb to the Mojave desert.

3 Ryan Chappelle

Like George, Chappelle is also a hated boss, thanks to his dictatorial style of management. He believes he is smarter than everyone in the building, including Jack, hence he never hesitates to micromanage.

His belief that is better than everyone else makes him go on a dangerous pursuit of the terrorist Stephen Saunders. Since Saunders still has plenty of leverage against the government, he demands that Chappelle be executed or else he’ll release a bioweapon. President Palmer is left with no choice but to order Jack to kill Chappelle.

2 Tony Almeida

Tony isn’t necessarily a bad guy but he doesn’t qualify as heroic because everything he does is extreme and for his own interest. He complies with the villain Stephen Saunders in order to save Michelle’s life. After Michelle gets killed by a car bomb, Tony loses it.

For a while, he is presumed to have been killed by Christopher Henderson but he resurfaces on Day 7 as a mercenary. He works with CTU agent Chloe and Bill but his real intention is to meet Wilson, the man who ordered the death of Michelle. Unfortunately for him, he gets captured and sent to prison.

1 Nina Myers

Nina is the mother of moles in the series. At the end of Day 1, the second-in-command agent is revealed to be an intelligence broker. She is also responsible for the saddest character death in the series when she kills Jack’s wife Teri Bauer while trying to escape. Never mind that she dates Jack too.

She somehow manages to convince two presidents to pardon her, including the likable David Palmer. She always proves to be too smart for everyone, even tricking Jack into activating a hidden virus in CTU’s computer systems. Jack finally corners her and executes her as revenge for murdering his wife.

About The Author

Philip Etemesi
(1215 Articles Published)

Philip Etemesi is an author, journalist, screenwriter and film critic based in Nairobi. Kenya. As a child, he preferred watching movies like The Goodfellas instead of Home Alone. His girlfriend constantly has to pull him from the front of the TV but he just keeps returning. Stubborn dude! An animal lover, Philip also has a pet giraffe called Refu.

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