History WesternAnimation / MenInBlackTheSeries

* ActionGirl: L is no pushover.
** There's also Aileen who shows up in two episodes, and in the second one, Edee accompanies her.

* HealingFactor: Jeebs.

* HotScientist: L fulfills this role.

* ImMelting: See CloneDegeneration.
* ImmortalLifeIsCheap: Jeebs and his brother.

* {{Jerkass}}: Agent X.

* OrganTheft: Alpha needs replacement parts... He eventually gets sick of it and gets cybernetic parts instead.
* TheParagonAlwaysRebels: Alpha.
* PowerWalk: J and K do this in the opening sequence.
* PsychoPrototype: Alpha.

* WeaponizedLandmark: Downplayed example: The Statue of Liberty has a giant neuralyzer in her torch.
* WeWouldHaveToldYouBut
* WhatAreYouInFor: See MattressTagGag above.

* WhosOnFirst: Comes up whenever Agent U is needed. J got around it by figuring out U's real name, since there aren't that many names beginning with 'U' for men. Averted with K.

It's worth noting this series is actually an AlternateContinuity of the movies, even getting to the point that [[ShowWithinAShow the "MIB movie" is a movie inside the series continuity]]!

* SpotTheThread: In "The Put Out To Pasture Syndrome" [[spoiler:Jay noticed Zed's eyes didn't look quite right after being Neuralized. Later when it was revealed it was a set up to lure Alpha into a trap and Zed wasn't neuralized, Jay commented on the eyes not being glossy like all other times. [[OhCrap Because Alpha got the information from reading Jay's mind, he might have picked up on that as well]]]].

* BackToBackBadasses: In the Season 3 episode "The Put Out to Pasture Syndrome", where Jay and Zed are facing against Alpha's mirages.

* BadFuture: "The Future's So Bright Syndrome". Jay [[TimeTravel travels about a century into the future]] and finds himself in a world where [[ItMakesSenseInContext Earth has been taken over by billions of Worms]],[[note]]they are descended from countless clones of the original four Worms from the MIB[[/note]] and are ruled by a [[EvilOverlord tyrannical emperor]] who has persecuted humans into near-extinction. This [[CrapsackWorld dystopian world]] is complete with [[FantasticRacism widespread bigotry against humans]], and a [[StateSec military police force]] that hunts down any [[LaResistance surviving human rebels]].

* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: In "The Little Big Man Syndrome", Kay reveals that Music/JohnLennon, UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr and Raffi are/were Arquillians.

* BrainTheft: In the episode "The Quick Clone Syndrome" by Alpha steals Zed's brain to get information about MIB. Zed's body still functioned because of alien tech and his brain is eventually retrieved in the end, though.

* CelebrityParadox: In "The Star System Syndrome", an agent proclaims "We've got Creator/WillSmith, Creator/TommyLeeJones and Rip Torn." Later in the episode, the Worms disguise themselves as a Mr. (Lowell) Cunningham[[note]]creator of the ''ComicBook/MenInBlack'' comic[[/note]] and wind up pitching [[Film/MenInBlack a movie]] about "well-dressed men and women" who police "bad aliens" on Earth.
-->'''K:''' We'll neuralize the town. Won't be the first town.

* {{Cyborg}}: In the last season, Alpha makes himself one of these - reasoning that flesh ultimately decays.

* DenserAndWackier: Season 2+ compared to the first. Which put a lot of focus on K's and J's relationship and had some really dark and at times even suspenseful stories. These got increasingly rarer as the series progressed though in favor of putting a lot of focus on the wacky hijinks of the worms or Frank the pug.

* ETGaveUsWiFi: A plot point in several episodes where advanced alien technology humans won't be ready for until several decades/centuries causes serious trouble, most notably the Cosmic Integrator that allows Alpha to [[MugglePower chop up alien parts and tack them onto himself]]. It is also implied that some familiar technologies, including the 8-track tape and the Clapper, were alien inventions.

* ExpendableClone: The Quick Clones, as noted above. In one episode it's shown that quick clones start out as a vat of the same goo they dissolve into, so its possible that it could even be ''recyclable''.

** The worms unintentionally do this in "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome" - they disguise themselves as a coffee mug, a percolator and J and K, but due to the paper thinness of their costumes, the first person they visit thinks they're children dressing as aliens.

* GoodThingYouCanHeal: Jeebs provides this, as his race can regenerate from anything (even being reduced to gelatinous goo!) as long as oxygen is available and he can survive just fine even if there isn't.

* HeroOfAnotherStory: In "The Opening Gambit Syndrome," we see the reason why the Ixions didn't invade thirty years earlier. [[spoiler:Alpha struck a deal with Vengus to get the Ixions Earth's oil deposits in exchange for him getting control of Earth. However, plans changed because of ''Zed''. He had been investigating Vangus' presence on Earth and was about to crack everything wide open. If he had, Alpha knew MIB would defeat the Ixions - thus prompting a delay until the organization's guard would be down.]]

** The Bugs are an insectoid species part of a literal hive ruled by a Queen, and are described as having a "hive mind". But despite this, they can think as individuals and even betray each other.

* HollywoodSilencer: Jay uses a kind of silencer on the noisy cricket, which reduces [[LawOfInverseRecoil the massive recoil]].

* InformedJudaism: Frank

* LittleGreenManInACan: Shows up rather frequently, crossing over with MobileSuitHuman. In one episode, there was even a [[MatryoshkaObject Russian Nesting Doll]] of them-a little green man piloting an android, who himself was a robot piloted by an even smaller little BLUE man!

-->'''K''' and '''Cyrus:''' The Drummer.

* MisterSeahorse: In "The Sardines and Ice Cream Syndrome", Jay gets pregnant after he accidentally swallowed an alien egg.
* MuggedForDisguise: "The Take No Prisoners Syndrome" has Agent J destroy a robot that had been impersonating K and wear its' K LatexPerfection mask to pass himself off as said robot, to fool [[MonsterOfTheWeek that episode's villain]] Dr. Lupo, and the real K points out a flaw with the way the mask is worn...

* MustHaveCaffeine: The Worms in MIB absolutely love it -- apparently coffee is a drink reserved for royalty on their home planet.

* ReedRichardsIsUseless: MIB is full of advanced technology that would effortlessly transform the world, but is largely kept under lock and key...because [[TheWorldIsNotReady Earth simply isn't ready]]. MIB examines each piece of technology carefully and selects an appropriate time (sometimes even centuries away) for when humans will be ready to handle it.

** In "The Head Trip Syndrome", there's an alien-hating ConspiracyTheorist going back in time and kidnapping MIB founders. Nobody except J (who has an [[MyBrainIsBig intelligence bump]] due to an ImportedAlienPhlebotinum) can remember them or how MIB is being affected by their disappearance. Oh, and [[RaceAgainstTheClock he only has 22 hours before his intelligence bump kills him]].

* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Alpha tried to justify taking the cosmic integrator, not approved for human use for 1000 years, this way.

* SurpriseCheckmate: In "The Opening Gambit Syndrome", J tries to get information out of the imprisoned Alpha by offering to play chess with him. He's checkmated twice by the same distraction tactic. After Alpha escapes, he applies the same tactic to reality - this time, J sees it coming.

* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: The alien race who are zealots about law and order, seen under MattressTagGag above, J asks both K and the cop from the world they captured why anyone would go to this world when it has such strict policies, K and the cop reply in unison: "The beaches."
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Once per episode it seems. Granted it is a kid's show.

The show has spawned one video game, and was last seen in reruns on Creator/TheHub prior to its' rebrand as Discovery Family.

* BatmanColdOpen: Almost every episode opened with J and K on a mission unrelated to the main plot.

* ButtMonkey: If something bad happens, it almost always happens to J.

This series has spawned one video game. It was last seen in reruns on Creator/TheHub prior to its' rebrand as Discovery Family.

* AlternateContinuity: L works for the [=MiB=] (and had been there for a longer time than J, apparently) and is a blonde. K seems to never have been neuralyzed, as he's still showing J the ropes. However, the events of the first film are still heavily alluded to in "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome", implying BroadStrokes at the very least..

* AlternateContinuity: L still works for the [=MiB=] (and had been there for a longer time than J, apparently) and is a blonde. K wasn't neuralyzed [[spoiler:or was, and got his memory restored as per the 2nd film]]. However, the events of the first film are still heavily alluded to in "The Big Bad Bug Syndrome", implying they happened as we remember.

''Franchise/MenInBlack: [[RecycledTheSeries The Series]]'' (1997-2001) was an animated series spun-off from ''Film/MenInBlack''. It originally aired on Creator/KidsWB.

* BadFuture: "The Future's So Bright Syndrome". Jay [[TimeTravel travels about a century into the future]] and finds himself in a world where [[ItMakesSenseInContext Earth has been taken over by billions of Worms]] [[note]](they are descended from countless clones of the original four Worms from the MIB)[[/note]], and are ruled by a [[EvilOverlord tyrannical emperor]] who has persecuted humans into near-extinction. This [[CrapsackWorld dystopian world]] is complete with [[FantasticRacism widespread bigotry against humans]], and a [[StateSec military police force]] that hunts down any [[LaResistance surviving human rebels]].

* AncientAstronauts:
** There's a few extraterrestrial species that lived on Earth in ancient times.

* ArbitrarySkepticism:
** In "[[HalloweenEpisode The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome]]", Zed insists that monsters and ghosts and the like don't exist, while kids are being abducted by a walking [[PumpkinPerson Jack O'Lantern]] and HQ is experiencing a haunting. [[spoiler:He's right; both occurrences are actually aliens.]]

* HalloweenEpisode: "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome," where Jay and the trick-or-treating Worms encounter a being preying on children, while spooky occurrences plague MIB headquarters.

* TheUnmasquedWorld: [[spoiler:During the GrandFinale, a global AlienInvasion leads to [=MiB=] revealing the existence of aliens to the entire world, so that the entire planet can fight for survival. Then subverted, when the [=MiB=] are being honored by the American government, and J points out that everyone on Earth is watching the ceremony, so Z & K take the opportunity to [[LaserGuidedAmnesia neuralize]] ''the entire planet'', thus ensuring that the {{Status Quo| Is God}} continued to be preserved.]]

** The worms unintentionally do this in "The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome" - they disguise themselves as a coffee mug, a percolator and J and K, but due to the paper thiness of their costumes, the first person they visit thinks they're children dressing as aliens.

* LighterAndSofter: There's very few fatalities in the show; even most InnocentBystanders are shown to only be webbed up, not killed.

* OrganTheft: Alpha needs replacement parts...

* AncientAstronauts: There's a few extraterrestrial species that lived on Earth in ancient times.

* ArbitrarySkepticism: In "[[HalloweenEpisode The Jack O'Lantern Syndrome]]", Zed insists that monsters and ghosts and the like don't exist, while kids are being abducted by a walking [[PumpkinPerson Jack O'Lantern]] and HQ is experiencing a haunting. [[spoiler:He's right; both occurrences are actually aliens.]]

* FantasticRacism: Pretty much the bedrock of a lot of conflicts in the series. It's mentioned that various alien races have been at war with each other or at least don't get along well. And of course, many of the villainous (or at least {{jerk|ass}}ish) aliens feel contempt for humans.

* AscendedExtra: Jack Jeebs, Frank the Pug, and the Worms. Essentially {{One Scene Wonder}}s in the first movie, but with frequent appearances in the series (each even scoring major episode plotlines to varying degrees). Their status as {{Ascended Extra}}s on the show led to their becoming {{Ascended Extra}}s in the next two movies.

* NeverSayDie: Averted, more often than not.