The MIB, a top-secret agency that polices, monitors and directs
alien activity on Earth, has established the Earth as an apolitical
"neutral zone". MIB agents have no identity of any kind or any
public record of existence, and the MIB agency doesn't answer to
any government (they "ask too many questions"). The funding for
their agency comes from the patents they own on technology
confiscated from aliens, such as velcro, microwave ovens and
liposuction. Any memory of MIB activity upon "mustering out" of the
MIB is erased and a new identity is created for the departing
agent. Into this strange world is ushered the initially skeptical
James Edwards, an NYPD officer, as he becomes Agent J, one of the
newest MIB personnel. K, a senior MIB agent recruits and guides J
as he learns the ropes.
MIB agents wear sunglasses and dark suits, and appear at UFO
landing sites, similar to paranormal reports of real-world Men in
Black. Instead of intimidating or threatening witnesses, the MIB
use devices known as Neuralizers to wipe their memories and suggest
more mundane causes to the encounter (to the amazement of Agent J,
such explanations are uniformly and horribly bland). Neuralizers
are typically the size and shape of an oversized pen (although a
giant version is seen in the second movie, hidden in the Statue of
Liberty's torch), and can be set to erase memories as far back as
several decades. Neuralizers are also used on agents who leave the
organization for any reason. The MIB's sunglasses protect them from
the effects of the Neuralizer.
A Bug (an alien species, similar in many ways to a very large
cockroach) is trying to steal a tiny galaxy, which is later
revealed to be secretly contained in an ornament hanging from the
neck of Orion, a cat who belongs to a member of the royal family of
another planet. The government of this planet, Arquil, is willing
to have the earth destroyed rather than let this galaxy fall into
the hands of the Bugs. During their mission, the agents investigate
a morgue where they meet Dr. Laurel Weaver, a cynical, dryly funny
deputy medical examiner. Eventually, the Galaxy is recovered, the
Bug is exterminated, and K asks J to erase his memory so that he
can retire. Dr. Weaver then becomes J's new partner, L.
Your Mission: Meet Orion at the posted coordinates and help save
the tiny world!