#F CORRECTION FEED (CLICK TO SEARCH)
[1] Agent J (James Edwards) begins as an NYPD officer who chases a Cephalapoid on foot, displaying athletic ability but frustration with the mundane explanations given for the alien encounter.
[2] By the end, J is a full MIB agent, partners with Laurel (Agent L), and has successfully saved the galaxy.
[3] K reveals he has been with the agency since 1961 and left his life/love behind. He is shown watching his ex-love via satellite.
[4] K is neuralyzed by J at his own request. A tabloid shown at the end of the film displays K reuniting with his wife with the headline 'Man Awakens from 35-Year Coma'.
[5] Laurel Weaver is a morgue worker who expresses boredom and cynicism, and J notes she has been neuralyzed before.
[6] Laurel shoots the Bug with J's gun (the final kill) and is recruited as Agent L.
[7] Beatrice's husband Edgar is depicted as abusive and demanding before he is killed by the Bug.
[8] J neuralyzes Beatrice and gives her a cover story that she kicked Edgar out and is starting a new life. The abusive husband is indeed gone.
[9] The Bug seeks the Galaxy to destroy the Arquillians.
[10] K shoots the Bug from inside, blowing it in half. Laurel then shoots the upper half, destroying it. The Bug mentions '78 million' family members earlier.
[11] Edgar is a farmer who yells at his wife and is killed immediately upon the Bug's landing.
[12] The Bug wears Edgar's skin as a suit, which decomposes throughout the film.
[13] Rosenberg poses as a jeweler and guards the Galaxy on Orion's belt.
[14] Rosenberg is killed by the Bug at a diner.
[15] Agent D is K's partner in the opening scene who admits he is too old and slow.
[16] K neuralyzes D at D's request so he can retire.
#C RELATED QUERIES
#01 What specific cover story did Agent J give Beatrice in Men in Black?
#02 Did Agent K actually go into a coma in Men in Black?
#03 How many bugs did Edgar say were in his family in Men in Black?
In the 1997 film *Men in Black*, the characters' trajectories vary from professional ascension to literal physical destruction. Here is a breakdown of who ends up better and who ends up worse by the time the credits roll.
### **Who Ends Up Better**
* **James Darrell Edwards III (Agent J):**
* **At the start:** He is a frustrated NYPD officer who feels restricted by bureaucracy and is mocked by his peers for his "unbelievable" encounter with a vertical-blinking suspect.
* **At the end:** He has been recruited into the most elite and secret organization on Earth. He has saved the world, proven himself to his mentor, and successfully transitioned from a "rookie" to a senior agent. He gains a clear sense of purpose and the ability to see the world for what it truly is.
* **Kevin Brown (Agent K):**
* **At the start:** K is a lonely, weary veteran of the MIB who has spent 35 years policing aliens. He has no personal life and carries the heavy emotional burden of leaving behind the woman he loved in 1961 to join the agency.
* **At the end:** He achieves his ultimate goal: retirement. By having J neuralyze him, he erases the decades of "bug guts" and secrets. The film ends with a tabloid showing him reunited with his long-lost wife, believing he had merely been in a 35-year coma. He gains his humanity and happiness back.
* **Dr. Laurel Weaver (Agent L):**
* **At the start:** She is a cynical Deputy Medical Examiner who is clearly bored and disturbed by her job in a New York morgue. She has a history of encountering MIB agents and being neuralyzed, leaving her with a lingering, frustrating sense of déjà vu.
* **At the end:** She moves from being a "damsel in distress" to the hero who delivers the killing blow to the Bug. She is inducted into the MIB as Agent L, J's new partner. She finally gets to work in a field that matches her intelligence and satisfies her curiosity about the universe.
* **Beatrice (Edgar's Wife):**
* **At the start:** She is living in a dilapidated farmhouse with a husband, Edgar, who is shown to be verbally abusive and cruel.
* **At the end:** Although she is left with a confusing memory after being neuralyzed, her abusive husband is gone. While she is technically a widow, her quality of life has arguably improved by the removal of a toxic presence (and the giant cockroach that was wearing his skin).
---
### **Who Ends Up Worse**
* **The Edgar Bug:**
* **At the start:** He is an ambitious intergalactic terrorist on a mission to seize a "Galaxy" (a massive power source) to win a war for his species.
* **At the end:** He is physically blown apart from the inside by Agent K and then completely vaporized by Laurel Weaver. Not only is he dead, but his plan to provide food for his "78 million" family members fails, and his species faces the wrath of the Arquillians.
* **Edgar (The Farmer):**
* **At the start:** He is an unlikable but living human farmer.
* **At the end:** He is the film’s first casualty. He is killed, eaten, and then his skin is worn as a rotting "suit" for the rest of the movie. He is effectively erased from existence.
* **Gentle Rosenberg (The Arquillian Prince):**
* **At the start:** He is a royal living in peace on Earth, disguised as a jeweler and protecting a miniature galaxy.
* **At the end:** He is murdered by the Bug in a restaurant. While his death ultimately leads to the Bug's defeat and the safety of his empire, he himself is dead before the first act is over.
* **Agent D (K’s original partner):**
* **At the start:** He is a veteran MIB agent who has lost his "step" and is no longer able to effectively police aliens.
* **At the end:** He is neuralyzed and retired. While he gets a "normal" life back, the film frames his departure as a sad necessity due to aging and burnout, and he loses his entire legacy and identity as a protector of the Earth.