The Men in Black: Difference between revisions

* [[CP 9]] in [[One Piece]] qualifies, given that everyone thought that the Cipher Pol divisions only went up to 8 (similar to how [[MI 6]] exists as the super-secret extra number in the [[James Bond]] continuities), but it's different in that [[CP 9]] has a number of very colorful characters who operate under what are presumably their real names. A number of literal "men in black" work for them as [[mook]]s, however. Another alternative would be Baroque Works, whose upper membership operated in a more conventional cloak-and-dagger scenario, with people like Mr. 2 a.k.a. Bon Clay a.k.a. Bentham.

* Roger Smith from ''[[The Big O]]'', emphasis on the "B": everything he wears (apart from his white shirts) has to be black, as does anything worn by his butler and android companion. Subverted, though, in that he's not a shady government agent, rather a freelance negotiator, but he is in the business of keeping secrets, like his [[Humongous Mecha]]-based vigilantism.

* The [[Mooks]] of the Kiga Group in ''[[Mawaru Penguindrum]]'' wear a more classic combination of black overcoat and fedora, but they are definitely men in black in appearance and action.

* A bunch of these show up in Marika's cafe in the pilot of ''[[Bodacious Space Pirates]]''. Later, Chiaki identifies them as working for various government agencies. Possibly subverted in that they were mostly there to protect her.

== Real Life ==

* Based on the secretive government agents of the Cold War era, following the President's every footstep and whispering coded security updates at every turn.

* Apparently, the standard MIB get-up has become something of an [[Ascended Meme]] where the Secret Service and similar government agents are concerned.

* In the British civil service they have been known as "Migs", Men in Grey Suits, for at least 40 years. Also known as "boxers" as according to the mythology the only address they give for their department is always a PO box. [[wikipedia:MI5|Box 500]] and [[wikipedia:Box 850|Box 850]] are the most well known.

* Part of the culture of 'Geek Squad' is a parody on this. Employees refer to themselves as 'Agent [last name or sometimes first name]', wear a uniform designed to be a nerdy version of a secret service agent's uniform, and are often portrayed as being 'super cereal' about what they're doing in both commercials and training videos. Of course, many tech illiterate people find some agents to be overbearing, dressed to kill, speaking an incomprehensible code language to mask the simplicity of their operations, and specially trained by experts to deal in matters too arcane for the normal mind to comprehend, so the parody practically writes itself.

* The term is also used tongue-in-cheek to refer to "Revenue Protection Officers" on UK railways, the people who check tickets and issue fines for evasion. They are almost universally seen in pairs, wearing long black coats (more following the "bouncer" image than a Man in Black proper) and [[Obstructive Bureaucrat|acting like the High Lords of the Universe]].

* Actually used by the modern Secret Service because of this trope. Although some suspect the [[Overt Operative|Highly Visible Secret Service Agent]] is just a decoy for plainclothes agents.

 

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