{"id":48658,"date":"2025-07-20T00:01:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T04:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=48658"},"modified":"2025-07-15T23:27:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T03:27:33","slug":"men-in-black-1997-comic-book-month-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/20\/men-in-black-1997-comic-book-month-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Men in Black (1997) [Comic Book Month 2025]"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When a New York city street cop nearly catches an inhuman perpetrator on foot, he’s quickly pulled into the secret world of aliens and recruited to the one agency that keeps them in line\u2014\u00a0<\/span>the Men in Black.<\/p>\n

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Men in Black was the surprise blockbuster hit of 1997. It paired Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in a buddy-cop scenario that showcased a plethora of unique aliens, quotable moments, spectacular visuals, and a steady supply of laughter. Everyone knows the premise by this time. Will Smith, wildly popular thanks to his role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, plays Jay. He’s a street cop who stumbles upon the world of the aliens who walk among us. Tommy Lee Jones plays Agent Kay, the veteran MIB agent who recruits Jay as his new partner. This was his second film of the year, hot off of his role in Volcano. Together, they interrogate an intergalactic arms dealer, deliver a \u201csquid\u201d baby during a road-side emergency, and pursue a cockroach like villain who’s blending into society while wearing a man named \u201cEdgar\u201d as a skin suit. Edgar, and the alien who occupies him, are hilariously portrayed by Vincent D’Onofrio who’s work includes Full Metal Jacket, Adventures in Babysitting, and multiple Marvel shows as Wilson Fisk\u2014 The Kingpin.<\/p>\n

While the movie is as well known among movie fans as the likes of Superman, Titanic, or Saving Private Ryan, what often flies under the radar is the fact that Men In Black is a comic book adaptation. Based on the work of Lowell Cunningham, Men In Black had a brief history of climbing the ranks when it came to comic book publishers. Cunningham’s work takes the alien conspiracy of the mysterious men in black and ramps up the sci-fi charm. Not just suit wearing government officials sent to silence anyone who has info on aliens, his take on the Men In Black had a more \u201chands on\u201d approach. These Men In Black worked in the field, eliminating hostile aliens and wiping the minds of citizens who witnessed their antics.<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Men in Black were originally printed under Aircel Comics in 1990. After two short runs, the property was picked up by Marvel as a series of One-Shots. The opening credits of the movie claim that it’s based on a Malibu Comic, but no such issues exist. Malibu was owned by Marvel, who published Men in Black: Far Cry in August of 1997. The cover of the comic had a splash tag that read, \u201cSee the blockbuster movie this summer!\u201d If you really wanted to, you could confidently claim that Vincent D’Onofrio’s first Marvel role was Men in Black’s Edgar, nearly twenty years before his Kingpin run.<\/p>\n

While Lowell Cunningham mostly stuck to comic books, he created a series of short films in the early 2000’s. All of these were Star Wars parodies that can still be found online. The movie and its success can be attributed to screen writer Ed Solomon, who has previously written Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, Mom and Dad Save the World, and… unfortunately… 1993’s Super Mario Bros. Whether or not his video game adaptation was any good, Solomon had a passion for whimsical sci-fi adventures and never let his foot off the gas while creating them. Director Barry Sonnenfeld took Cunningham and Solomon’s work in an ideal direction, and stayed with the franchise during its initial trilogy’s run. Sonnenfeld had previously directed Get Shorty, For Love or Money, and both The Addams Family and Addams Family Values. He would work with Will Smith again while directing 1999’s Wild Wild West, another TV show adaptation for the big screen.<\/span><\/p>\n

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There was no lack of talent among the ensemble that made the world of MIB come to life. Cinematographer Donald Peterman’s portfolio included the likes of Cocoon and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He had also worked on Addams Family Values and Get Shorty with Barry Sonnenfeld. Both Peterman and Sonnenfeld teamed up with film editor Jim Miller. He had previously worked with the duo on the aforementioned Addams Family installments as well as Get Shorty. He would later edit Wild Wild West, bringing most of the team together yet again. The musical score was in the hands of Danny Elfman, who almost requires no introduction with such films as Mars Attacks, The Frighteners, and The Nightmare Before Christmas being just a few among over a hundred films in his history. The film also received a hit music video thanks to Will Smith’s off-and-on musical career. The film didn’t struggle to enter the pop-culture zeitgeist, it kicked in the door and made itself at home.<\/p>\n

With a star studded cast, beautifully paced script, and timeless comedy, Men in Black remains an easy choice for a casual movie night. Yet, to this day, it continues to fly under the radar as a comic book film. Thanks to its mislabeling as a Malibu adaptation, the film hasn’t received any love from the majority of Marvel movie fans. But make no mistake, the honorary title is well deserved. The Marvel DNA wouldn’t show up again until after the trilogy, when the cast and director of Thor: Ragnarok starred in MIB: International. The next time someone wants you to name an obscure Marvel film, start an argument by name dropping Men in Black. Then calm it down by explaining the bizarre way it came about. Then do you and your peers a favor and plan a Men in Black movie night. It never disappoints.
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When a New York city street cop nearly catches an inhuman perpetrator on foot, he’s quickly pulled into the secret world of aliens and recruited to the one agency that keeps them in line\u2014\u00a0the Men in Black.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[58,219,221,1458],"class_list":["post-48658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-action","tag-comedy","tag-comic-book","tag-sci-fi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48658","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48658"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48658\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48659,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48658\/revisions\/48659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}