Top Gun
In the 1986 film Top Gun , Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, portrayed by Tom Cruise, is a young and charismatic naval aviator with a distinctive appearance. Maverick and his Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) Lieutenant Junior Grade Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, stationed in the Indian Ocean aboard USS Enterprise, fly the F-14A Tomcat were they meet the Top Gun Commanding Officer, Commander Mike "Viper" Metcalf. Before the first day of instruction, Maverick unsuccessfully approaches a woman at a bar. He learns the next day she is an astrophysicist and civilian Top Gun instructor, Charlotte "Charlie" Blackwood. She becomes interested in Maverick upon learning of his inverted maneuver with a MiG-28. However, privately she admires his flying; they begin a romantic relationship. Maverick’s rival is Lieutenant Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, calls his behavior "foolish," "dangerous," and worse than the enemy, to which Maverick responds, "I am dangerous." Maverick and Iceman, the leading contenders for the Top Gun Trophy, chase an A-4 in Hop 31. The F-14 flies through Iceman's jet wash and suffers a flameout of both engines, going into an unrecoverable flat spin. Maverick and Goose eject, but Goose slams into the jettisoned aircraft canopy and is killed by the impact. He is guilt-ridden and considers quitting before seeking advice from Viper who flew with Maverick’s father. He is eventually given the choice of any assignment, Maverick chooses to return to Top Gun as an instructor. He and Charlie reunite at a bar in Miramar. The song “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'” plays over the credits.
He is often seen wearing a leather G-1 military flight jacket, white T-shirt, blue 501 Levi Jeans, with cowboy boots, aviator sunglasses, and a flight suit, which adds to his iconic and rugged image as a fighter pilot. Maverick's appearance reflects the cool and rebellious nature of his character, making him one of the most recognizable figures in the film.
Top Gun: Maverick
Thirty years after the events of the first film, Mitchell is a decorated test pilot whose repeated insubordination has kept him from flag rank. His style of clothing is similar to the previous film with the addition of a Sage-green CWU-36/P zip-up flight jacket with styled collar. Maverick's friend and former Top Gun rival Tom "Iceman" Kazansky (Val Kilmer), now Commander U.S. Pacific Fleet (COMPACFLT), has assigned Maverick to the Top Gun school at NAS North Island. Maverick reunites with former girlfriend Penny Benjamin (Jennifer Connelly), to whom he reveals that he promised Rooster's dying mother that Rooster would not become a pilot. Over the course of the film, Maverick shoots down two Su-57 enemy aircraft which, in addition to the three MiGs he shot down in the original, earn him the status of the US Navy's first F-14 flying ace.
