What happened to Mike Franks on NCIS? Character’s fate revealed

CBS’s procedural drama, NCIS, has had Special Agent Gibbs and his mentor, Mike Franks, at the center of the plot for years. While Gibbs got an opportunity to retire and relocate to Alaska, Franks died almost on the line of duty stabbed by the villain Jonas Cobb. He continued to appear as an apparition in Gibbs’ memories and hallucinations whenever the agent needed his mentor. Incidentally, a younger version of Franks can be seen on the spinoff, NCIS: Origins.

Meanwhile, NCIS is currently playing out its 23rd season. With no Gibbs and Franks, the series has a host of other agents to investigate military crimes. Meanwhile, the backstories of Gibbs and Franks are presented in the spinoff when the latter was heading an NIS team in Pendleton where Gibbs was a rookie. While the younger versions of some of the other agents such as Vera are also part of the Pendleton team, others like Lala, Woody or Phil belong to Gibbs’ past.

November 11, 2025, saw a crossover event on NCIS with its spinoff as a three-decade old crime was solved in the present time. Gibbs actor, Mark Harmon, made a cameo appearance as the storyteller for the crime on Origins while a retired Vera Strickland, played by Roma Maffia, made a guest comeback to solve the case. 

Revisiting Mike Franks’ story arc on NCIS

Michael Aaron Franks was the chief of the NIS Pendleton team when Leroy Jethro Gibbs was a rookie as shown in NCIS: Origins. As per his backstory, he was enlisted in the US Marine Corps and served during the Vietnam War. However, back home, he struggled with addiction and his brother threw him out. After his fallout with brother Mason, and a few romances later, Mike found his foothold as an NIS agent.

He joined the Camp Pendleton Office along with Vera Strickland and soon got promoted to Supervisory Special Agent. In 1991, he met Marine Gunnery Sergeant Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the husband of the deceased witness Shannon Gibbs. Since Shannon was killed by drug dealer Hernandez while she and Gibbs’ daughter Kelly were under NIS protection, Franks left the case information with Gibbs.

Soon Gibbs left Marine Corps and Mike Franks inspired him to join NIS. After hiring Gibbs, Franks helped train the rookie. In 1996, Franks, played by Muse Watson, was seen disillusioned by the top brass’s attitude. As such, he resigned and moved to Mexico. Later, in NCIS season 3, Gibbs was caught in an explosion and temporarily lost his memory. As such, Franks’ rookie moved to Mexico to live with his former boss.

Season 4 revealed the existence of Franks’ son Liam O’Neill from his brief relationship with Mary O’Neill. Since Liam was on ventilator, Franks spent time with his son and learnt about his daughter-in-law and granddaughter. After Franks pulled the plug on Liam’s ventilator, he smuggled Liam’s girlfriend and their daughter into Mexico.

How did Mike Franks die?

Franks continued to mentor Gibbs when the latter joined NCIS. Later seasons found Franks diagnosed with lung cancer and ready to go out with courage. However, Franks met his end in the hands of Jonas Cobb, a serial killer and rogue agent, in the show’s season 8 episode 23, titled Swan Song. 

While his end was heroic since Franks challenged the killer for a last fight, it was gruesome, as Cobb stabbed Franks in the chest as the two fought in the rain near Gibbs’ house. Gibbs was in the basement of his house nearby and could not hear Franks’ gunshot due to thunder. However, he felt he heard some noise and rushed out to find his mentor dead on the road. 

Muse Watson’s Franks continued to appear on NCIS as Gibbs’s hallucinations when the protagonist needed to make a tough decision. He made appearances as the ghost Mike in seasons 8, 9, 10, 12 and 13.

Incidentally, Kyle Schmidt plays the younger version of Mike Franks on NCIS: Origins. While Franks has passed away in the present storyline, the spinoff provides a glimpse of his past with Gibbs.

Catch NCIS and its spinoff, Origins, on CBS every Tuesday.