History Main / TheMenInBlack

* It is said Men In Black from the UsefulNotes/{{FBI}} either took notes from kids playing the ''VideoGame/{{Polybius}}'' video game, or that they came after hours to collect the data from the console.

* The Strangers in ''Film/DarkCity'' are [[spoiler:actual aliens]], which shows in the way they get details wrong: notably, their idea of common, everyday names includes "Mr. Book", "Mr. Wall", and "Mr. Hand".

The Men In Black are the generic intimidating agents. If they have names, expect them to be along the lines of [[MrSmith an obvious pseudonym]], one of the most common Anglo-Saxon names (although they're often described as being [[AmbiguouslyBrown very racially ambiguous]]), such as [[Film/TheMatrix "Mr. Smith", "Mr. Jones", "Mr. Brown"]], etc., or else they'll be MisterStrangenoun. They're there to loom over you and make you feel afraid, whether they're sent by TheGovernment, ShadowGovernment, TheMafia, a CorruptCorporateExecutive, or aliens from outer space. They're almost ''never'' there to help you - and if they are, [[GoodIsNotSoft you probably won't]] [[IDidWhatIHadToDo like their methods]].

* One episode of ''Series/{{Castle}}'' had Rick Castle call in some help from a friend who at least played the part of being in the CIA, though whether he really was or not is only useful in figuring out whether the dead guy in the case Castle and Beckett are working on was actually in the CIA. The friend comes and goes into the wind, a la Franchise/{{Batman}}, has to be very secretive about everything, and, in not so many words, tells Beckett and Castle, "[[IdTellYouButThenIdHaveToKillYou I can tell you, but I might have to kill you.]]"

* Creator/NeilGaiman's book ''Literature/AmericanGods'' did something similar, with the "Spookshow" taking names like Town, Wood, Stone, and World. The character of Sam commented on this by asking if they had driven here in Mr. Car, along Mr. Road, in a Mr. LampshadeHanging. One of the titular gods comments that, like pretty much everything else in the book, "they exist [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve because everybody believes that they exist]]."

* From the same author we have Lord Vertinari's "Dark Clerks" in the Literature/{{Discworld}} series, nondescript men in nondescript dark suits who are occasionally called upon to stand around looking vaguely ominous on the rare occasions when the Patrician needs some {{Living Prop}}s to help him intimidate someone, and are members some sort of rather vaguely-defined intelligence service. (But most emphatically [[AvertedTrope not]] any kind of SecretPolice, however, because that's not Vetinari's style.) Most of them are said to be former {{Scholarship Student}}s from the Guild of Assassins, including Inigo Skinner from ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', the only individual Dark Clerk to have a notable speaking role.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has Cardholder and Doe, a pair of "exterminators" sent by [[=OSI=]] to deal with Jonas Jr.'s "butterfly problem". Another episode has an entire squad of Men in Black being ominously briefed for a mission, that turns out to be working security for Dr. Venture's [[GarageSale yard sale]].

* True to the sci-fi nature of their songs, the Music/BlueOysterCult have multiple instances of MIB in their songs. Most noticeably in the song "[[Music/RevolutionByNight Take Me Away]]" as well as its music video.

* ''Film/{{Transformers}}'':
** Section Seven is an OverTheTopSecret agency created by Theodore Roosevelt to deal with Cybertronians and what they could give to mankind (it turns out that [[ETGaveUsWiFi stuff like the microchip was developed from reverse-engineering Megatron]]). Their [[NoSuchAgency immense secrecy]] gives the heroic U.S. Army soldiers about to pull an insane stunt (take the Allspark away and right to a city for extraction) a good answer to agent Simmons (up until then a [[LargeHam hard-core]] SmugSnake) ordering them to stop:
--->'''Agent Seymour Simmons:''' I'm ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction.
--->'''Sergeant Robert Epps:''' S-Seven don't exist.
--->'''Captain William Lennox:''' Right, and we don't take orders from people who don't exist.

* [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kerai/1121134714739.jpg Click here]] to see several of the girls from ''Anime/PaniPoniDash'' do the MIB thing.

* Subverted in ''ComicBook/TheFilth'', where the secretive operatives of The Hand actually wear day-glo suits and wigs. It turns out the suits are designed to inspire psychosexual urges to make whoever looks at them want to repress them like a bad memory, in effect making them invisible but still able to exert authority.
* In Creator/GrantMorrison's ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'' run, the Men in Black are only one subgroup of a massive organization that has different suits for ostensibly different purposes (the Men in Green, for instance, are more scatterbrained, whereas the Men in Mauve are implied to be completely ruthless).
--> '''Man In Green''': There are ranks and there are orders. There are faces at every window. Just be glad they didn't send the Men In Mauve.

* R-Complex from ''ComicBook/ScareTacticsDCComics''.

* Gleefully subverted in an issue of ''[[ComicBook/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtlesMirage Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'', in which two Men in Black show up to debrief the turtles' friend Casey Jones after an encounter with an alien robot. However, the agents are actually aliens themselves, testing human reactions to see whether Earth is ready to be contacted openly by their race.

* Parodied in some European [[ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Donald Duck comics]] with the secret bureau T.N.T. ([[FunWithAcronyms Tamers of Non-human Threats]]), of which Donald and his cousin Fethry are freelance agents. Their job is to take care of supernatural or alien threats against humanity, while keeping such things hidden from the general public -- though there's an almost complete lack of LaserGuidedAmnesia (they resort to making up stories about special effects or humans in disguise), no code names, and the uniform resembles a janitor's outfit more than the usual stylish suits and shades. All this, combined with the fact that they're always in a protagonist role (and their boss being a ReasonableAuthorityFigure) makes them much less sinister than many of the example of this trope.

* An issue of ''Series/TheXFiles'' comic has a brief background gag of a UFO enthusiast at a convention mistaking the heroes for this. Humorously, he refers to Scully as [[NonIndicativeName "a female [=MIB=]"]]
* ''ComicBook/Stormwatch2011'', in the New 52. They've been protecting the planet since at least the Middle Ages, completely in secret. As one member puts it, superheroes are amateurs: Stormwatch are the professionals.
* The Men in Black as a concept is brought up multiple times in ''ComicBook/TheDepartmentOfTruth'', and either the Department of Truth or Black Hat acts as a stand-in to these, or they manifest as {{Tulpa}}s that the Department have to deal with regularly. It's hard to tell which one starts and the other begins given the nature of this world. The comic also references to the ''Franchise/MenInBlack'' franchise multiple times, claiming that they don't have [[LaserGuidedAmnesia neuralyzers]] or fancy ScienceFiction spy-gadgets to help maintain [[{{Masquerade}} normalcy]].

* They hang around the President of Amarican in ''Fanfic/TwilightSparklesAwesomeAdventure'', and prove their badass nature by [[spoiler:being the only characters ADMIRAL Awesome can't beat in a fight]].

* ''Fanfic/SOE2LoneHeirOfKrypton'': NERV's Section-2 agents look and play the part: they wear black suits and black sunglasses and act as agents or bodyguards. However they are completely useless (Asuka can easily slip her so-called security detail, and Shinji's bodyguards were unable to prevent his kidnapping) or downright evil (they often harass people or torture witnesses, and their chief is experienced in torturing people to get information).
* In ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' crossover fanfic ''Fanfic/SlippingBetweenWorlds'', when a group of soldiers from "Roundworld" inadvertently arrive in Ankh-Morpork, they set off a Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds mass panic about alien invasion. Two of the displaced British squaddies, having stolen civilian clothes, blend into a rally in Hide Park and, un-noticed in the crowd, gleefully watch Ankh-Morpork's homegrown UFO nuts demanding an end to Vetinari's clearly blatant cover-up of proof of alien visitation. Discreetly monitoring the speakers, there are indeed Men In Black - Lord Vetinari's Dark Clerks, assigned there to listen and take notes....

* In ''Fanfic/{{Marionettes}}'', Trixie finds herself being hunted by a pair of these named Cover Story and Gear Shift. In addition to being TheStoic and wearing the proper attire, they prove to be [[ImplacableMan Implacable Stallions]] and shrug off everything she throws at them. Their words imply they're part of a larger organization. [[spoiler:For one thing, Spoiled Rich and Sweetie Drops are retired agents.]] It is revealed their organization is called S.M.I.L.E., but they use The Stallions in Black as an informal name. They were originally created to [[spoiler:safeguard the heroes and counter Princess Celestia should she ever become a Nightmare, but lost sight of their goal and are obsessed with manipulating fate.]]
* In ''Fanfic/ThousandShinji'', NERV and SEELE's agents wear the proper attire and their tasks include protecting their bosses' secrets, watching over the pilots, spying on the pilots... They find several grisly fates at the hands of the above-mentioned pilots, since the Children don't like people spying on them. Later on, [[spoiler:Shinji and his family]] use men in black as their security detail.

* In ''Fanfic/NeitherABirdNorAPlaneItsDeku'', they're mentioned by Hisashi while arguing with his wife over whether or not to adopt the alien baby they found. Later, a group of mysterious unnamed individuals intervene while Detective Shitsugen is interrogating the Midoriyas and Bakugous, taking over the investigation as Izuku blacks out from the stress of his Super-Hearing.
-->'''Hisashi:''' If anyone finds out that we were the ones who took him, our lives are over, Inko. I work in government, I hear whispers about this all the time. Guys in black suits will be at our doorstep in the dead of night to cart us off for interrogation and torture. After that, all of our neighbors and family will think we just disappeared, when really we '[[{{Unperson}} disappeared]]'. Do you want that to happen?
* ''Fanfic/DesperatelySeekingRanma'' features Ms Aoyama. She dresses in the sharp black suit and sunglasses mode, regardless of time of day or current lighting conditions. She generally has final discussions with those whom 'her employers' are displeased with. Who does she work for? 'That information is unavailable.' She seems to see all, know all, and would seem to give liquid nitrogen a cold.
* ''Fanfic/PersonaTheSougawaFiles'' has the Shadow Syndicate, a group of thugs led by Nobuyuki Itou. They start to oppose the Freedom Fighters when they begin getting into Persona business, and this leads to the two forces clashing.

* ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' subverts this trope with Cobra Bubbles, who dresses like a Man In Black despite being only a social worker making sure Nani takes care of Lilo. [[spoiler: This becomes a DoubleSubversion at the end of the movie, when we discover that he used to be a CIA agent responsible for dealing with alien visitors.]]

* The ''Franchise/MenInBlack'' [[Film/MenInBlack movies]] and [[WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries cartoon]] are unusual; they present Men in Black in a [[DarkIsNotEvil positive light]], acting as an immigration and naturalization agency for extraterrestrials, acclimating alien refugees to live among Earth society in secret and policing any manner of alien activity for the safety of all on the planet. Anything bad they do is usually PlayedForLaughs, such as the uncertainty over how much brain damage the [[LaserGuidedAmnesia neuralyzer]] does.
* The "Low Men" from ''Hearts In Atlantis''.

* The Agents of ''Franchise/TheMatrix'' (though they technically wear dark green instead of black, save for [[spoiler:Smith in the sequels]]) are [[LivingProgram programs]] that act as the Machines' enforcers within the titular LotusEaterMachine; they're generally tasked with hunting down human rebels, though as shown in [[Film/TheMatrixReloaded the second film]], part of their job is also hunting down programs from their own side that have gone rogue. As part of the {{Masquerade}}, they're given [[MrSmith very generic names]] ("Smith", "Brown", and "Jones" in [[Film/TheMatrix the first film]], and the "upgraded" ones "Jackson", "Johnson", and "Thompson" in the second) and seem to hold some ambiguous government position that gives them command over both the police and military.

* The bleached-blond Strangers of ''Film/{{Knowing}}'' also seem to embody this trope. [[spoiler:They're either angels or aliens, depending on your interpretation.]]

* Several films dating from the time of J. Edgar Hoover featured [[FBIAgent G-Men]] as an early version of the MIB. Those [[DeathGlare steely-eyed]], [[CelibateHero strait-laced]], [[LanternJawOfJustice straight-jawed]], [[TwoFistedTales two-fisted]] [[BadassInANiceSuit suit-and-tie]] and [[FedoraOfAsskicking hat-wearing]] (to hide the stuntmen) heroes of the silver screen. Ah, the days when you didn't use LaserGuidedAmnesia, you just told people to shut up in the name of the US Government. And they did! Of course, all this came crashing down when Hoover's image got revamped into that of a power-hungry transvestite, wantonly violating the civil rights of anyone whose politics he didn't agree with.
* ''Film/ThePresidentsAnalyst'' defined the cultivated image of the G-man early on (in 1967), showing them as suit-and-tie and hat-wearing, quick-to-kill, unquestioning drones, all shorter than their stunted leader, whose grudge against the title character is based on moral differences. Most other spy agencies fare little better: a major scene has spies of all stripes sneaking up on the analyst in a grassy country meadow. All of them, from FBI men to African agents with tribal face scars, to a Genghis Khan-looking Asian, wear the same regulation black suit and tie (only a Russian agent has the sense to dress like a farmer).

* The alien-hunting organization, hidden beneath a cement factory, run by K. Edgar Singer in ''Film/MuppetsFromSpace''.
* ''Film/RepoMan'' features one of the most popular concept of the Men in Black before ''Film/MenInBlack'' came out. They're all tall, pale, and have unnaturally shaped and colored blond hair.
* ''Film/TheBrotherFromAnotherPlanet'' is an escaped alien slave. Two alien slave-hunters are after him, dressed in black suits and posing as INS agents. They are utterly unconvincing in their oddly-affected manner. One woman angrily bawls them out in Spanish, the words "Johnny Cash" and "Roy Orbison" heard in her rapid-fire shouting.
* ''Film/Hellboy2004'' features regular human agents in suits and ties alongside the superpowered specialists. They [[RedShirt tend to not fare particularly well]].

* The Adjusters in ''Film/TheAdjustmentBureau'', although they seem to prefer dark grey suits.
* This is how Franchise/GIJoe are portrayed in ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' and its sequel ''Film/GIJoeRetaliation''.
* Special Agent Johnson and Special Agent Johnson (no relation) in ''Film/DieHard''.
* ''Film/IComeInPeace'': After the two aliens have a shoot-out in a convenience store, the crime scene is quickly cordoned off by these people and the case closed. It's implied that Larry's boss is one of them, as he reveals that they want to make a deal with the alien and ignore how many he's already killed on Earth.

* The Men in Black in the ''Franchise/{{Halloween}}'' franchise are followers of the Cult of Thorne, the Pagan cult that actually made Michael Myers so he could kill his family in a form of HumanSacrifice out of ancient Celtic tribes customs. They only appear in movies [[Film/Halloween4TheReturnOfMichaelMyers 4]], [[Film/Halloween5TheRevengeOfMichaelMyers 5]] and [[Film/HalloweenTheCurseOfMichaelMyers 6]], as they are their own continuity (the franchise has a lot of [[ContinuityReboot reboots]]).

* In ''Film/TheMonsterClub'', Pickering heads The Blini (or B-Squad): a group of vampire hunters who dress in black suits and bowler and carry {{Wooden Stake}}s and hammers in [[SenselessViolins violin cases]].

* Creator/IainBanks's novel ''Literature/{{Transition}}'' utilises the trope in the form of a faction of L'Expédience, a parallel-world hopping secret service, suborned by Madame d'Ortolan to suppress the search for extraterrestrials across the many Earths. Subverted somewhat in that Banks gives L'Expédience an internal politics and diverging aims.

* Literature/TheSolomonCode sort-of has this with the secretive DEVAS organization, but they're never very mysterious from the book's POV. To outsiders, though, they would be.
* Literature/{{Sharpe}} features a subversion: Lord Pumphrey is as far from inconspicuous as it is possible to get - he wears flamboyant outfits, is ''very'' CampGay, incredibly effeminate... which just makes people underestimate him. He's considerably more ruthless than Sharpe himself (and Sharpe is no wilting violet) and, while officially a diplomat working for the Foreign Office, he acts as a one-man M.I.B for the British government. [[MemeticBadass He can start a war with three watermelons, twenty slaves and a copy of Ovid. And end one with just the Ovid.]]

* The mysterious men in the ''Literature/WaysideSchool'' books are there mainly for surrealistic flavor. There are three of them: a bald man, a man with a black mustache, and another man with a black mustache who also carries an attaché case. Their appearance is random, but usually has a connection to a character making life decisions. In one instance, they offer an emotionally fragile boy a choice between safety or freedom. When he chooses the latter, they hand him a contract, which he signs, and then leave. No explanation is given as to what that contract means, although it's shown that that character no longer has to do anything he doesn't want to, like take tests or do homework.

* The Gentlemen of Last Resort in ''Literature/{{Nation}}'' by Creator/TerryPratchett, who owe allegiance to the British Crown but not to the actual monarch, and know the full version of the Magna Carta, which is seventy times bigger than the official version. They wear black suits, and are named Mr. Black, Mr. Brown, Mr. Red and Mr. Amber.
* From the same author we have Lord Vertinari's "Dark Clerks" in the Literature/{{Discworld}} series, nondescript men in nondescript dark suits who are occasionally called upon to stand around looking vaguely ominous on the rare occasions when the Patrician needs some {{Living Prop}}s to help him intimidate someone, and are members some sort of rather vaguely-defined intelligence service. (But most emphatically [[AvertedTrope not]] any kind of SecretPolice, however, because that's not Vetinari's style.) Most of them are said to be former {{Scholarship Student}}s from the Guild of Assassins, including Inigo Skinner from ''Literature/TheFifthElephant'', the only individual Dark Clerk to have a notable speaking role.
** The [[TimePolice History Monks]] are nicknamed 'The Men in Saffron' in a nod to this trope [[note]]They're even said to hail from 'No Such Monastery'[[/note]].
** In ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'', when the Auditors of Reality take human form, they appear as very serious, very formal men (and a few women) with names like Mr. Green, Mr. Black, and Miss Red, who don't ''quite'' understand how to act like regular humans. When TheIgor first sees them, he assumes they're lawyers.

* Subverted in Creator/MercedesLackey's ''S.E.R.R.Ated Edge'' universe in which her covert government elf hunting organization dress are the Men In Green. The green is because of their special suits, which make them invisible to the Sidhe they're after.
* The Organization in Matt Ruff's ''Literature/BadMonkeys'', complete with NC guns (Natural Causes) which make it look like their victims died of either a heart attack or an aneurysm.

* ''Literature/HuntForTheSkinWalker'' the book mentions reports of men driving around in black Cadillacs in a place where seeing a car would be extremely unusual.
* ''Literature/GoodOmens'' has The Them speculate about MIB, who they reckon probably cause traffic accidents because of all the big black cars going around telling people they haven't seen aliens. Unlike most of Adam's ideas they don't show up, although it's possible that America did suddenly start swarming with them and none of the main cast heard about it.
* ''Literature/{{Declare}}'', by Creator/TimPowers, features a mixture of international intrigue and the supernatural; there are several spy agencies hidden within larger spy agencies responsible for dealing with the djinn. Since the book draws its roots from hard espionage, though, said spies do ''not'' wear black suits and sunglasses, nor are they there to cover things up from the public. (Though they do cover things up from pretty much ''everybody'' as a matter of course.)
* The Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures novel ''Alien Bodies'' features a UNISYC (TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture UNIT) infiltration of {{Area 51}}. There are a number of men there who wear dark suits despite the heat, and dark glasses despite the fashion in the 2060s being for light-reactive contacts.
* H.P. Lovecraft mentioned a sort of precursor version in ''Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth'' -- Federal authorities descend on the titular TownWithADarkSecret, dynamite half the buildings, send many of the inhabitants off to secret prisons, and launch torpedoes at the offshore underwater city. The Deep Ones take it as just a temporary setback.
** ''Once More from the Top'' by A. Scott Glancy has two apparent [=MIBs=] interviewing a old soldier who survived the Innsmouth operation, but also subverts the trope by having it be revealed that the SecretWar against the Deep Ones is a shoestring operation because the authorities decided to suppress the evidence rather than confront it (see ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'').
* In {{Literature/Adaptation}} by Malinda Lo, sinister federal agents are spying on Reese, the main character. [[spoiler: They kidnap her and take her to a secret government facility.]] Lampshaded- when her friend refers to them as Men In Black, Reese asks, "Isn't that a [[Film/MenInBlack Will Smith Movie]]?

* In ''Literature/MonsterHunterInternational'', the Americans' Monster Control Bureau uses intimidation and various kinds of underhanded acts to maintain the {{masquerade}} by silencing witnesses to supernatural creatures, often acting as if they're from other federal agencies to hide the existence of the MCB from the general public.

* In ''Literature/{{Unique}}'' we never even learn what agency Agent Smith actually works for. We only know that he regularly acts as liason between the Federal government and the assorted supernatural creatures living on U.S. soil, and that he believes the government can be a powerful force for good. “As long as you abide by the rule of law, you are subject to the law. And that includes... protection by the law.”

* The Unspeakables in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' are the wizarding world's version of this, although the secrecy is emphasized more than the intimidation. They conduct confidential research on forces of nature like spacetime and death while the magical public knows very little about what they actually do, and they're unable to talk about it (hence the name).
** The Wizarding World also has the Obliviators, whose job it is to "Obliviate", or wipe the memory of, any muggle (not closely related to any wizards or witches, and even then...) who witness magical acts or manage to discover the truth of the Wizarding World.
* ''Literature/TheEverythingBox'' has the Department of Peculiar Science, which investigates (and employs) paranormal entities from TheGreys to {{Fallen Angel}}s to zombies. They're highly secretive and make liberal use of {{Perception Filter}}s, but don't seem to care much about the {{Masquerade}} beyond the fact that it makes their bureaucratic work easier.
* In ''Literature/DanielFaust'' series. Vigilant Lock in Harmony Black's spin-off series is a black ops government agency that deals with magical threats under the table. [[spoiler: They were originally the latest in a series of catspaws for the eastern United States demon courts to nettle the larger courts to the west, but Harmony and her team officially take control of it in ''Cold Spectrum'' and its cover identity becomes its real identity.]]

* The AIB (Alien Investigation Bureau) in ''Series/UltramanGeed'' could be considered this, as their duty is to monitor Earth's [[AliensAmongUs hidden population of aliens]] for troublemakers, deport them, and make sure humans don't know about it. In a twist however, every member of the organization (except Riku's friend Moa Aizaki) is a disguised alien as well.

* ''Podcast/TheLastPodcastOnTheLeft'' has a multi-episode series on the Men in Black, citing ''Literature/TheMothmanProphecies'' as one of its primary sources and delving into the lives of Albert Bender and Grey Barker. They focus on the creepy version of the MIB described in ''Mothman'', with Harry Zebrowski providing voices that speak in gravelly and/or disjointed voices. Theories about them include their being {{Tulpa}}s created from Bender's image of them, {{Eldritch Abomination}}s in a new form, and even TimePolice.
* ''Podcast/TheAdventureZoneAmnesty'' has Agent Stern, an agent from the paranormal division of the FBI who came to Kepler to research Bigfoot sightings in the area. Unbeknownst to him, however, Bigfoot (actually a Sylph named Barclay, who can turn himself into a human form) serves him breakfast every single day at the titular Amnesty Lodge.
* ''Podcast/PretendingToBePeople'' features agents of Myriad, an apparently-governmental agency whose [=MIBs=] are [[HumanoidAbomination ambiguously human]] at best. [[SuperMobBoss Marvin Glass]] appears to be a fallen member of their ranks.

* ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'':
** MIB were a common enemy in ''TabletopGame/MageTheAscension''. The faction they belonged to, the New World Order convention of the Technocracy, also included Men in Grey (infiltrators, who rarely actually wore grey suits) and Men in White (who acted as [[InternalAffairs internal police]]). It is noted that this is just one of many guises they have used throughout the centuries.
** Also appeared in ''TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse'', this time as drones of the [[ControlFreak Weaver]]; armed with an impressive array of supernatural powers and devices, they can [[BavarianFireDrill talk their way into any crime scene with hypnotic ID cards]] and track fleeing suspects across great distances by means of their HiveMind. For good measure, a note in ''Book Of The City'' specifically observed that the Technocracy's Men In Black are not allied with the Weaver drones, and may actually be at war with them.
** The Second Inquisition (or "FIRSTLIGHT") in ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasqueradeFifthEdition''. An organization formed by various secret services around the world and the Catholic Church's [[ChurchMilitant Society of Leopold]], after the NSA accidentally cracked the vampire intra-net [=SchreckNet=]. The Second Inquisition send its agents in attempts to hunt and kill any vampires.

* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'':
** The Company in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Black Ops'' tries to conceal information about extranormal events from the public.
** Also referenced directly in ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Illuminati,'' the Third Edition supplement about worlds based on conspiracy theory. ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}} Warehouse 23'', a companion piece to ''Illuminati'', says that the Warehouse contains thousands of records of MIB sightings that the Secret Masters didn't authorise and don't understand.
** In the setting of ''TabletopGame/TheMadnessDossier'', agents of Project SANDMAN engage in mind control and memory wiping, implant electronic chips in people's brains, and can and will divert the full resources of major governments to their secret purposes. They're also the heroes, and by default, include the [=PCs.=] Their opponents really are much, much worse.
** In ''TabletopGame/GURPSTechnomancer'', "Mages in Black" are part of the general lore around [[TheFairFolk Seelie]] sightings and abductions (which may or may not actually happen).
* ''TabletopGame/DeltaGreen'' in the ''TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu'' RPG ''were'' the official Men in Black of the setting until a giant snafu in the Seventies that resulted in massive losses and the dismantling of the organization. Now it exists as a conspiracy within several government agencies, while their arch-rivals, the MAJESTIC conspiracy, have risen to the roost with an even less moral approach to skullduggery. At least, until the War on Terror shook things up, with Delta Green invited back into the fold as an interagency network known only as "The Program." Add in some international counterparts such as PISCES in the United Kingdom and GRU SV-8 in Russia and at times the ''Delta Green'' setting gets positively ''crowded'' with sinister guys in sunglasses, all trying to intimidate each other.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Deadlands}}'' features The Agency (an offshoot of the Pinkerton Detectives) and the Texas Rangers, organizations used by the United States and Confederate States respectively. Publicly, they are national law enforcement agents. Less well known to the public is that the two groups are employed to spy on the other group's government, but this itself is a cover for their real activities as Men and Women In Black (literally in The Agency's case; the Rangers wear gray), investigating and suppressing knowledge of the weirdness inherent to the game's setting.
** The head of Agency operations in the Weird West is none other than [[spoiler: Abe Lincoln himself, risen from the grave.]]
* ''TabletopGame/TeenagersFromOuterSpace'' has its Alien Control Officers, who are supposed to keep the chaos caused by alien students to a minimum. Since they're equipped with black suits, black sunglasses, excessive ultra-tech firepower, and "All the tactical sense of a pithed hamster", this rarely works.
* ''TabletopGame/Bureau13'' [[note]]Released in 1983, written by Nick Pollotta of TriTac Games.[[/note]] - Released long before MIB or ''X-Files''. Players create agents of the titular government bureau and hunt down the things that go bump in the night and keep their existance secret from the nation at large. A classic setting combining supernatural horror with a touch of tongue in cheek comedy, the long awaited d20 version came out at GenCon in 2008.
* Many conspiracies in ''TabletopGame/OverTheEdge'' use people fitting in the description as their Mooks, but the Movers are probably the most eponymous, having presence in pretty much every government.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' has the Men in Infrared, whose black clothes let them hide among regular Infrareds (low-level grunts making up something like 80% to 90% of the population).
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' has the Keepers; mysterious, unnerving, and inhuman aberrations clad in black. They appear human at first glance, but closer inspection reveals the truth - their flesh is livid and rubbery, their joints bend in any direction, and if one removes the goggles or masks they wear, it becomes apparent that they have no eyes. As the name implies, they keep secrets. They seek out beings who know them - any kind of secret will do, as long as it is important on a large scale (or pertains to the keepers themselves). Then they appear, demanding silence and enforcing it in [[HeKnowsTooMuch a tried and true manner.]]
** In 5th edition, the Unearthed Arcana subclass [[https://media.wizards.com/2020/dnd/downloads/UA2020-Subclasses01.pdf “Oath of the Watchers”]] lets you create a Paladin who investigates extraterrestrial—- err, ''extraplanar'' strangeness.
* Project Ozma in ''TabletopGame/EclipsePhase''. It's even {{Lampshaded}} that they essentially break the laws of physics in this setting, since it's essentially impossible to keep secrets buried this deep without someone exposing them, but Ozma does it anyway. (Firewall, the contrasting Secret Organization, is less concerned about keeping secrets as such and more about simply ensuring that nothing becomes an existential risk to what's left of humankind.)
* In ''TabletopGame/AgeOfAquarius'', the Institute is this. In the first edition, the standard campaign was playing as them; in the second edition, they are one of several playable organisations. Subverted in that they are mostly plainclothes agents, but their intents and purpose are exactly this trope.
* ''TabletopGame/HollowEarthExpedition''. In the ''Secrets of the Surface World'' supplement, the Paranormal Investigator archetype works for the FBI's Special Investigations Unit. He investigates and deals with supernatural events and things and covers up the truth from the general public. He even has a Neuraliz... er, Amnesia Ray device.
* ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter1999'' is positively crowded with these, being a ConspiracyKitchenSink. Everyone from PC's working for the more-or-less benevolent Hoffman Institute to agents of many governments, to representatives of various other conspiracies all tend to take this look and behavior. There's also an alien race with distinctly inhuman features like six fingers that have their advance scouts on Earth using this guise as cover.
* The whole setting of ''TabletopGame/ConspiracyX'' pits two secret organizations - Aegis and the NDD - against each other in a world better off not knowing too much of paranormal activities and alien incursions. Both conspiracies rely heavily on hte typical image of Men in Black, which occasionally can make it awkward for polayers trying to find a contact.

* TabletopGame/DeltaGreen show up in ''Webcomic/OwMySanity'' as the requisite spec-ops team responsible for hush-hush procedures in situations where [[Franchise/CthulhuMythos "squamous and rugose"]] are operative words. Their attire is not unlike that of traditional [=MIBs=], with the exception of the [[SplashOfColor telltale green triangle badge]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'' had its Fantasmagorical Integration Board, or [=FIB=], whose theoretical purpose was the defense of the world from destructive forces. Initially antagonists, then untrusted allies, then antagonists again, then... and so on. Largely a sort of over-arching sendup of this concept and all related ones. Most notably, "Miller" and "Sully" were agents, and "The [=XYZ=]-Files" was a way for them to cover their tracks using fiction. They were semi-sympathetic, which was exactly what their "first" leader wanted. It's easier to get away with things when they like you.
* In ''Webcomic/GunnerkriggCourt'', a FlashBack reveals that two rather benign Men in Black were responsible for Zimmy and Gamma's enrollment at the Court, apparently for the girls' own protection. [[WordOfGod Word Of Tom]] has since revealed that they were Court staff. The group they're a member of (or possibly another one with the same look) are later described as the Shadow Men, "an autonomous group that pretty much only answers directly to the Court".

* ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' has Agent Ben and Agent Jerry. Initially just a pair of FBI agents who had the bad luck to be stuck with the task of investigating Bob, they have since been officially promoted to the status of a "paranormal taskforce", and now get undesirable jobs like investigating "FishPeople reports" in Innsmouth. Jerry blames Bob for this development in his career.
* ''Webcomic/TheLawOfPurple'' features an MIB. Ironically, the ''Film/MenInBlack'' film also exists in this universe.
* ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic's'' Martians theme has repeated appearances by an MIB agent, who shows up out of nowhere to deny all of Ishmael's claims of Martians, [[ImplausibleDeniability no matter how much proof there is]]. His most memorable moments include denying the existance of aliens [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/782.html to the Martians themselves]], [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1146.html preemptively denying Ishmael's next alien sighting]], [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1189.html claiming that Venus was actually the one using Ishmal's computer]], [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1352.html denying Ishmael's claims that they can move from one room to the other]], and many other leaps of [[LogicalFallacies horrible logic]].

* In ''Webcomic/ElfBlood'', King, the leader of the secretive paramilitary government-sanctioned magitek-wielding unethically-experimenting Council, naturally favours a dark grey suit and a dark burgundy tie.

* The unnamed agency in charge of dealing with aliens in ''Webcomic/AlienDice'' seems to have relaxed the dress code and is actually pretty reasonable, especially compared to one of the author's ''other'' series...
* ''Webcomic/TheCyantianChronicles'', whose AMIB aggressively hunts down any aliens, humans modified by captured alien tech, and humans who've met aliens. Made even worse by the fact that the Cyantians actually want to help humanity. Fortunately some other countries' versions of the MIB are suggested to be more reasonable, particularly the JMIB with whom the Cyantians are preparing for formal FirstContact.

* Present by implication in ''Webcomic/TheEnd''. Some governing body is apparently aware of and monitors alien activity on earth, and has composed a series of files on the main characters who were taken off planet at a sci fi convention, but no organization members have made an appearance thus far.
* In ''Webcomic/AxeCop'', when Uni-Baby gets thrown down to Earth from space, for some reason everyone thinks she's an alien (which is technically true) and that someone should fight her. A group of men in black, possibly the Alien Police, show up pointing guns at her, but Axe Cop happens to be driving by and saves her, chopping all their heads off when they refuse to listen to reason.
* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'': In "Aylee", when some government agents have been killed and Sharon Gall tries to inquire about what's happened, she's told to forget and not to talk to anyone about it by a couple of men in black representing the government, who want to keep the whole thing internal due to the sensitive positions the victims worked in. She tells one of them sarcastically that he was cooler in ''Film/TheMatrix'' than in person.
* The [[StateSec Royal Secret Chancellory]] agents from ''Webcomic/BasketsOfGuts'' have the reputation of these.
-->'''Vincent Gardier:''' They are people with great authority. Guards, military, trade guilds with their little armies, wizarding institutes - all are obliged to aid them. Any resistance is considered treason.
* In ''Webcomic/AutumnBay'', the {{Masquerade}} is maintained by this sort of group, known colloquially as "The Shroud".
* ''Webcomic/LeifAndThorn'' has the [[http://leifandthorn.com/character/woman-in-black/ Woman in Black]], working for the Secret Order of Monster Hunters. Anyone who meets her has their memories of her disrupted/obscured by a magical effect that she can't turn off.
* Once the eponymous organisation of ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'' gets enough budget to actually have squads, and Sweetheart gets enough power to enforce a dress code, they start looking like this. This is despite the fact they're ''social services''. They don't want to cover up the paranormal, they want to help it find a place in society! Skin Horse is just one department of a Shadow Government as complex and faction-ridden as regular government, and it's implied other agencies might fit the description better.
* ''Webcomic/DelaTheHooda'': Canada's version are the somewhat lower-budget "Men in Plaid." After initially presenting as antagonists they become somewhat reluctant allies of Dela and Peabow's other extraterrestrial residents.

* In the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', these are likely to be members of the Mutant Commission Office, whose international task is to monitor mutants and be prepared to handle mutant threats. Since the protagonists are all mutants at the SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy, this is not a good thing.
* In Roll to Roll to Dodge, the Men in Black are agents tasked with ensuring that nobody has unauthorized access to the Raws. The only two whom we see, Passedrims and Salvenames, are subsequently killed; one by rogue Raw modifiers, the other by an knife thrown by Frelock which explodes on the ground after Passedrims dodges it.
* {{Tropers/Anonymous}} riffs on the Men in Black motif. One of their insignias is a black-suited man with a question mark instead of a head. Some members will often wear black suits and a Guy Fawkes mask when making a public appearance.

* In the original Something Awful forums, there were mentions of a shadowy group known as "Optic Nerve", who fulfilled the role of like traditional MIB.

* ''WebVideo/BedtimeStoriesYoutubeChannel'' has an episode dedicated to them, where they're implied to be part of an intergalactic GovernmentConspiracy related to the existence of aliens. In addition, they also make an appearance in another episode about the so-called "[[EnfanteTerrible Black-eyed Children]]'', where they're said to be the "guardians" of the children in question.

* In one episode of ''[[WesternAnimation/WatchMyChops Corneil & Bernie]]'', after Bernie succeeds with his alien prank that even makes it into the school newspaper. A couple of individuals in black suits show up and takes Bernie into custody for questioning on he understood the "alien"'s language.
* ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyTest'' spoofs this: a pair of bumbling Men in Black are recurring characters who constantly fail to save the day.
* The ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "[[Recap/KimPossibleS2E12RufusVsCommodorePuddlesDayOfTheSnowmen Rufus vs. Commodore Puddles]]" centers around Area 51. Kim's ride for the mission is a pair of Men in Black named "Agent Smith" and "Agent Smith". Kim's usual formulaic response to their "don't mention it" line, to humbly recount how simple it was to help them in the past, is interrupted by, "No, really! Don't mention it."

* The ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' mythos has several different takes on the concept in various segments of the mythos, as befits a franchise that often has an AlienAmongUs story.
** Sector Seven from the live-action movie and associated side-stories. We could tell you more, but A, that would be spoilers and B, we'd have to kill you. This site has no budget, and assassins are expensive. Save us the trouble.
** Colonel Franklin, from ''Anime/TransformersCybertron'', and his people seem like bad guys at first, but Franklin turns out to be a good guy at heart. The reason he was so eagerly looking for the Transformers? [[spoiler:When Colonel Franklin was just a young boy, a mysterious and otherworldly figure saved his life. That figure, it turns out, is none other than the Autobot hero Evac, and their reunion goes pretty nicely.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'' also has its Men In Black, seen mostly in flashbacks relative to Franz Hopper and Project Carthage. Two secret agents appears in episode "False Lead" but don't seem to linked to the other MIB. Parodied when they confess that they are so secret, even the president don't know they exist, and they are not so sure who they are working for. [[SarcasmMode But school directors are allowed to know what even the president must not]].

* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'' has Section 13, which is technically just a law enforcement / intelligence agency, but they now have to help Jackie Chan with fighting supernatural enemies. While they are not very familiar with magic, they are good at transportation, are very good against technology-based threats, and have been known to slow the bad guys down long enough for Jackie and co. to conjure up the spell needed to win. They are a very rare heroic example.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' has Cardholder and Doe, a pair of "exterminators" sent by [[=OSI=]] to deal with Jonas Jr.'s "butterfly problem". Another episode has an entire squad of Men in Black being ominously briefed for a mission, that turns out to be working security for Dr. Venture's [[GarageSale yard sale]].
* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' animation "[[Recap/DoctorWho2009ASDreamland Dreamland]]", set in Area51, introduces Men in Black early on. They eventually turn out to be [[spoiler:robotic agents of the Alliance of Shades]], named Mr. Dread, Mr. Fear, Mr. Terror and Mr. Apprehension.
* The S.U.M.A. (Shut Up and Move Along) agents from the ''WesternAnimation/ClassOf3000'' episode "Brotha from the Third Rock". Competence optional.

* The Dai Li from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' are a FarEast variant of this.
-->''"There is no war in Ba Sing Se./[[spoiler:There are no airbenders in Ba Sing Se]]."''

* The ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''' episode "[[Recap/GravityFallsS2E1Scaryoke Scary-oke]]" begins with such agents coming to town. These agents were named Agent Powers and Agent Trigger and they were the main antagonists of the episode the appeared in. The episode's events convince them that there's definitely something going on.

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperNoobs'' has Memnock and Zenblock, who are virus warriors and agents for the Benevolent Alliance. Their role in this only applies to them on Earth due to the fact that its citizens do not know about The Benevolent Alliance. Memnock and Zenblock fit in this category because they are aliens, wear black colored armor, own a memory erasing device, fight The Virus while trying to maintain the status quo of Earth, hide their alien identities and reason for being on Earth from the public while disguising themselves as two basic human men when they go own in public, and their backstories are extremely vague and are not touched on very much.
* As per the film and comic books, ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlackTheSeries'' features these guys as the protagonists. It also shows that this is a thing among the aliens as well! The alien policeman Temblor is a seven-foot-tall humanoid wearing a black coat, sunglasses, and a fedora. The only thing off model is his [[VaderBreath gas mask]] and facial bandages.
* While a lot... [[LighterAndSofter quirkier]] than most examples, ''WesternAnimation/GlitchTechs'' certainly act as a local [=MIB=]. They deal with threats that could cause serious damage if left unchecked, and their equipment allows them to erase memories and repair any damage caused by glitches or a Glitch Tech's fight with a glitch.
* The Alliance in ''WesternAnimation/RoswellConspiraciesAliensMythsAndLegends'' operates like the Men in Black. A secret agency comprised mostly of humans, and some aliens, who track down and deal with abnormal alien activity on Earth, and keeping the unaware civilian population sated with convenient cover stories.

* ''TabletopGame/DarkMatter'' is positively crowded with these, being a Conspiracy Theory based game. Everyone from PC's working for the the more-or-less benevolent Hoffman Institute to agents of many governments, to represenatives of various other conspiracies all tend to take this look and behavior. There's also an alien race with distinctly inhuman features like six fingers that have their advance scouts on Earth using this guise as cover.

--->'''Captain William Lennox:''' You don't exist. And we don't take orders from people who don't exist.

* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' Season 4 episode "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS4E3E4TheVaultOfSecrets The Vault of Secrets]]" features the return of the Alliance of Shades from the ''Series/DoctorWho'' animated serial [[Recap/DoctorWho2009ASDreamland "Dreamland"]]. While they used to collect evidence of aliens and erase memories, they are now mostly defunct and only guard the titular vault.

* The ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' episode "Rufus vs. Commodore Puddles" centers around Area 51. Kim's ride for the mission are a pair of Men in Black named "Agent Smith" and "Agent Smith". Kim's usual formulaic response to their "don't mention it" line, to humbly recount how simple it was to help them in the past, is interrupted by, "No, really! Don't mention it."
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has the Plumbers, a secret organization to which the hero's grandfather used to belong--"used to" because in the series, we're told that the agency was shut down years ago. The sequel series {{Retcon}}ned that they're a still-active [[SpacePolice intergalactic police force]]. A further Retcon, [[AuthorsSavingThrow most likely meant to appease those who found the sequels making no sense]], reveals that they got back into work sometime after the first series ended, with far more alien recruits being added to the lineup.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', the U.S. Government's answer to ghosts at first comes off as a typical example, with the little twist that they're called ''Guys In White'' and invert the usual fashion choices accordingly. Then we learn that they're paranoid, [[LargeHam anything but subtle]], [[AffectionateParody not particularly effective at dealing with ghosts]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking obsessed with keeping their uniforms clean]].
** Then played straight in later appearances when they appear much more competent, and actually pose a threat to Danny.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'' has MERF, the Military Extraterrestrial Response Force, whose purpose it to protect Earth from otherwordly threats. Considering that AdultsAreUseless on this show, you can guess how well that works out.

* The ''Series/DoctorWho'' animation "Dreamland", set in {{Area 51}}, introduces Men In Black early on. They eventually turn out to be [[spoiler: robotic agents of the Alliance of Shades]], named Mr. Dread, Mr. Fear, Mr. Terror and Mr. Apprehension.

** The Swollen Eyeball Network - a group of conspiracy theorists who communicate mostly via webcam (in silhouette with red eyes). [[OnlySaneMan Dib]] is a member, and they're one of the few groups that doesn't outright dismiss him. [[spoiler: [[KafkaKomedy Most of the time]].]]
** Bill - dresses like an actual [=MIB=], but dismisses the idea of creatures like aliens and Bigfoot, choosing to believe in theories like [[BlandNameProduct Count Cocofang]] being a ''real'' vampire.

--->'''GIR:''' Hello, I am [[HughMann Government Man]], [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment here from the government.]] [[RuleOfThree The government has sent me.]]\\
'''GIR:''' Ho ho ho! That is not an alien! [[GasLeakCoverup He is an experimental government aircraft]]. ''([[TwitchyEye Zim grinds his teeth]])''
* The Dai Li from ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' and ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'' are a FarEast / DishingOutDirt variant of this.
-->"There is no war in Ba Sing Se / [[spoiler:There are no airbenders in Ba Sing Se]]."

* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''' second season begins with such agents coming to town. These agents were named Agent Powers and Agent Trigger and they were the main antagonists of the episode the appeared in. The episode's events convince them that there's definitely something going on.

* As per the film and comic books, the ''WesternAnimation/MenInBlack'' cartoon features these guys as the protagonists. It also shows that this is a thing among the aliens as well! The alien policeman Temblor is a seven-foot tall humanoid wearing a black coat, sunglasses, and a fedora. The only thing off model is his [[VaderBreath gas mask]] and facial bandages.

* An advert for Mars bars had the Men in Black questioning a FirstContactFarmer about his experience (whether the out-of-this-world experience involved AlienAbduction or [[MundaneMadeAwesome eating a Mars bar]] was left vague).

* Men in Black show up in one mission of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas''. Their lines seem to imply that ''they're'' the aliens: "Carbon-based buffon!" and "You evolved from ''shrews!"''

* Agent Rick Dicker from ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' is older than the usual MIB, his suit is brown, and his demeanor is more that of an overworked bureaucrat that a sinister government agent. All the same, he uses bribes and LaserGuidedAmnesia to keep superhero [[SecretIdentity Secret Identities]] secret.