Men in Black II (2002): the film versus the comics of inspiration

Following an adaptation that had already taken everything from its source, Men in Black II illustrates what happens to a franchise when the comic no longer has anything to provide. Source-by-source decryption.

As in each article in this series, only verified information (creators, distribution, dates, publishers) is stated; the comparative analysis is ours, without reproducing dialogue or protected images.

The Men in Black (1990): a much blacker comic

Men in Black originally adapts a creation by Lowell Cunningham, drawn by Sandy Carruthers, published in 1990 by Aircel Comics — a small independent publisher then absorbed by Malibu, itself bought by Marvel a few years later. The story is short, just a few issues, and its tone has nothing to do with that of the franchise it spawned.

Two fundamental differences. First the perimeter: in the comic, the men in black don't just monitor aliens. They police the entire paranormal – demons, monsters, occult phenomena, secret societies – which makes it less of a galactic immigration control agency than a police force of the entire supernatural. Then the method: the paper agents do not systematically erase memories with a light gadget, they eliminate annoying witnesses. The story is cold, without humor, and the organization appears as a threat as much as a protection. The black suit is not a recurring gag: it is the uniform of an institution that inspires fear.

The transformation carried out from the first film

It isthe 1997 filmwhich changed everything: Barry Sonnenfeld and his screenwriter keep the skeleton – the secret agency, the costumes, the memory erasure, the veteran-recruit duo – and replace the darkness with comedy. The neuralyzer becomes a funny object, the aliens become cartoon creatures by Rick Baker, and the organization becomes a burlesque administration rather than a shadow police force. The result was one of the biggest hits of its time, and it was this version, not the comic, that the whole world remembered.

Direct consequence for the future: in 2002, there was literally no left nothing to adapt. The original story was contained in a few issues, already out of print, and its tone had been explicitly discarded. Men in Black II is therefore an original creation, written to extend a franchise whose only documentary heritage is a concept — men in black who hide the strange from the world. This is the situation that we find in several articles in this batch,Kingsman: The Golden Circleto RED 2: a sequel without a source, forced to invent.

The structural problem of the sequel: undoing the ending of the first

Men in Black II runs into the classic trap of orphan sequels. The first film ended with the departure of K, whose memory had been erased at his request so that he could return to an ordinary life - an emotional conclusion which gave meaning to the story. To bring Tommy Lee Jones back, the sequel must undo this goodbye: a good part of the film consists of finding K, then restoring his memories. The plot itself – Serleena, a shapeshifting creature in search of an artifact hidden on Earth, played by Lara Flynn Boyle – serves above all as a pretext for this reconstruction.

The mechanism is exactly that of Harry's return in The Golden Circle: reviving what the previous film had managed to close, at the cost of its better effect. The critical reception was significantly more severe than for the first film, with recurring criticisms of the repetition of gags and the brevity of the footage, even if the commercial success remained. For the comic book reader, the comparison is instructive in reverse: Cunningham's story, with its much broader scope - the paranormal as a whole - nevertheless offered considerable material for sequels. It was the choice of tone of the first film, not the poverty of the source, which closed this door: a police force of the supernatural did not lend itself well to family comedy.

The characters, from paper to screen

• K— The veteran, whose film must cancel the farewell of the previous one.
• J— The rookie turned veteran, comic engine of the franchise.
• Zed— The agency's superior, present in both versions.
• Serleena— The shapeshifting antagonist, creation of the film.
• The men in black from the comics— Much more ruthless, paranormal police.

Aircel, Malibu, Marvel: a property that has changed hands three times

The editorial history of Men in Black is a summary of the upheavals of the comics industry. Aircel Comics, the original publisher, belongs to this wave of small independent houses in the late 1980s which published in black and white in small print runs. It was absorbed by Malibu Comics at the beginning of the 1990s - the same house which had hosted the first successes of the future founders of Image -, then Malibu was bought by Marvel in 1994. The concept of the men in black thus passed between three publishers in four years, without its creator, Lowell Cunningham, having become a name known to the general public.

For the collector, this genealogy has a practical consequence:The Men in Black #1(1990, Aircel) is an atypical first appearance - confidential print, disappeared publisher, black and white format - whose value was built entirely by the success of the 1997 film. It is the typical profile of the independent comic re-evaluated by the cinema, comparable to what we observe for Men in Black II or Timecop: rare not by speculation but by initial obscurity. The number remains accessible, however, as the franchise no longer has any recent news that would boost demand. Off-peak periods are, in this regard, the best purchasing windows.

Rick Baker: what cinema brought in exchange

If the films took a lot from the comic, they gave it something that the black and white of Aircel could not offer: a bestiary. Rick Baker, a legendary makeup artist who has already received multiple awards for his transformations, designed dozens of practical effects creatures for the franchise – prosthetics, animatronics, puppets – whose abundant invention has become the visual identity of the saga. Men in Black II continues this work, with even more numerous creatures, including the famous locker populated with tiny worshipers.

This dimension explains part of the success of the franchise and its departure from the source: the comic hardly described its monsters, focusing on the bureaucratic apparatus and the threat represented by the agents themselves. Cinema has made extraterrestrials into a spectacle. It is a shift in the subject - from the institution towards its targets - which alone sums up the transformation carried out in 1997 and continued in 2002. For the reader who came from the comics, the surprise is there: what the comics showed the least has become what the films show the most.

Where to start reading

To discover the source, you have to look for the numbers of The Men in Black(1990, Aircel) by Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers, or subsequent reissues. The reading is brief and will surprise anyone who only knows the films: no humor, ruthless organization, and a scope that covers everything paranormal. No album tells the story of Men in Black II.

Chronology of comics to know

• 1990— The Men in Black: the creation of Cunningham and Carruthers at Aircel.
• Early 1990s— Aircel is absorbed by Malibu, then bought by Marvel.
• 1997— The first film transforms the dark tale into a hit comedy.
• 2002— Men in Black II, with no comic source to adapt.

Collection side: what numbers to aim for after the film

Men in Black points to an atypical independent key.The Men in Black #1(1990, Aircel Comics) is the piece to aim for: first appearance of the concept, confidential print from a now defunct publisher, in black and white. Its value was built by the success of the 1997 film, according to the classic mechanism of the independent comic reevaluated by cinema. Subsequent issues and reissues complete the set at a lower cost. The lack of recent news for the franchise keeps prices reasonable. As always, condition and gradation determine value; relying on real recent sales is strongly recommended.

Its place in the saga and for the collector

Men in Black II will remain as the sequel which had nothing more to adapt, and which had to cancel the conclusion of its predecessor in order to exist. It illustrates a frequent sequence in this corpus: a short source, a first film which exhausts it by changing its tone, then sequels condemned to invention. For the collector, the franchise refers to The Men in Black #1, a discreet first appearance that became sought after purely for the effect of cinema. For the reader, the interest lies elsewhere: to discover that behind the comedy was a much more disturbing supernatural force - a subject that the films have never dared to exploit.

The verdict: the concept kept, everything else invented

• Loyalty: the secret agency in black suits, the erasure of witnesses, the agents designated by a letter, the strange hidden everywhere and the veteran-recruit duo come from the comics.
• Freedoms: the entire plot is original; the comic monitors everything paranormal and not just aliens, its agents kill witnesses, and it contains no humor. The film also undoes the ending of the previous one to bring back K.
• Collectible numbers: The Men in Black #1 (1990, Aircel Comics).

Men in Black II does not adapt any comics: the story of Lowell Cunningham and Sandy Carruthers, short and much darker, had been entirely absorbed - and its tone discarded - from the first film. Forced to invent, the sequel must also cancel the farewell which gave its strength to the previous one. For the reader as for the collector, it is an invitation to discover the original from 1990.

Frequently asked questions