The universe of the Men In Black expands this year with the franchise’s first spin-off, MIB: International. The fourth MIB movie sends the ambitious newcomer Agent M (Tessa Thompson) and the goofy ass-kicker Agent H (Chris Hemsworth) on a globe-trotting mission to stop The Hive: a dangerous race of shapeshifting aliens that conquer every world they come across.
But like the vast and mysterious universe that the franchise is set in, the Men in Black’s return to cinemas leaves a lot of unanswered questions in its wake. While the spin-off movie’s plot is straightforward and easy to follow, it still leaves a lot of details and implications unaccounted for. Here are just 10 questions that MIB: International doesn’t address, whether accidentally or otherwise.
What Happened To Agents J And K?
The one burning question MIB fans have is obviously about the franchise’s original leads: Agents J and K. The last time they were seen, they saved the world with the use of time travel while also finding closure for their interconnected character arcs.
Sadly, MIB: International doesn’t explicitly show or say what happened to the organization’s most recognized agents. At best, J and K’s heroic actions were never forgotten by the agency, as proven by a painting hanging in High T’s office that immortalizes their world-saving final fight against Edgar the Bug.
What Happened To Secrecy?
The MIB keep the Earth safe from intergalactic threats by operating in the shadows, and the original trilogy made a big deal of this with the constant use of neuralyzers that came in different sizes.
In MIB: International, however, maintaining the facade isn’t that much of a priority. Though agents are shown neuralyzing individual civilians, International’s massive fights and chases leave lots of collateral damage and witnesses – and no one bothers to neuralyze anyone. Why no one decided to neuralyze the cities like what happened in the previous installments is a strange oversight for a MIB movie.
What’s The Fallout Of Vungus’ Death?
The death of Vungus, a member of the Jababian royal family, predictably causes a diplomatic headache for MIB: London. The only way MIB could stop the Jababians from turning their planetary drills on Earth was to pay with the lives of Agents H and M.
But outside of a throw-away line near the end, this issue is never addressed again. Since MIB functions as an intergalactic immigration and security agency, a high-profile death such as Vungus’ should’ve caused a bureaucratic nightmare with serious ramifications. None of the effects are shown, if there were any, to begin with.
Why Didn’t The Twins Ask For Help?
Due to the slayings they commit upon arriving on Earth, The Twins are mistaken for The Hive. In reality, they came to Earth to recover a super-weapon capable of killing the shapeshifting aliens. Even ignoring that MIB was deliberately misled regarding The Twins’ identities, why didn’t they approach MIB for help and why did they resort to violence right away?
Intimidating aliens with genuine intents are nothing new to the MIB, and they wouldn’t hesitate to help intergalactic refugees. The movie only hints at The Twins’ real motive, abruptly ending them before they could reveal their mission.
Why Didn’t MIB New York Do More?
Under Agent O’s orders, Agent M’s first mission is to investigate MIB London. The head of MIB New York had a hunch that something was awry in London, and her newest agent confirmed this. But if Agent O had reason to suspect, why didn’t she do more?
Though ambiguous, it’s implied that Agent O knew High T – MIB London’s head – was compromised. Given how The Hive are possibly the universe’s deadliest threat and that MIB London was under its control, Agent O could’ve and should’ve done more than just send an eager probationary agent to check things out.
What Took The Hive So Long?
Agents H and M’s mission is to stop The Hive from landing on Earth, only to find out that the invading aliens already did that three years ago. But if The Hive successfully infiltrated MIB London in 2016, why did they delay their invasion?
MIB: International revolves around agents and aliens chasing a super-weapon capable of killing The Hive, but it only lands on Earth in 2019. Basically, The Hive wasted three years waiting for their one weakness to fall into the hands of their would-be prey instead of opening the Parisian intergalactic portal in 2016.
Why Didn’t The Hive Do More?
The Hive’s shapeshifting abilities means that they can effortlessly invade worlds with just a few well-placed sleeper agents. So why did The Hive settle for leaving one agent on Earth if their goal was to conquer the whole planet?
Near the end, it’s revealed that a Hive agent has been impersonating High T and controlling MIB London’s resources since 2016. If this Hive agent had access to Earth’s largest alien gateway, why didn’t it send out more Hive agents around the globe or call for reinforcements to actually take over the Earth?
Why Did The Hive Only Neuralyze Agent H?
Another strange decision The Hive take is to neuralyze Agent H instead of either killing or absorbing him. It’s revealed that The Hive tricked Agent H into thinking that he stopped the invasion with High T by his side when in fact, one Hive agent snuck in.
It’s deduced that the compromised High T did this to cover his tracks but since The Hive essentially had MIB London and the Parisian gateway under their control, keeping a bumbling Agent H around only seems like a problem waiting to explode.
How Much Of High T Was Left?
One of MIB: International’s major twists is that High T was compromised, having been taken over by a Hive alien three years ago. It’s stated that The Hive absorb their prey’s entire being and consciousness, replacing them from the inside out.
But when fighting the alien High T, Agent H successfully calls out his former superior and father figure, bringing him back for a split second. If this proves that a bit of High T remained despite the alien’s control, how much of his personality was still alive and why wasn’t he able to resurface sooner?
Who Is The Real Agent H?
MIB: International’s most unexpected turn is the reason why the formerly heroic Agent H is now a bumbling idiot: he was neuralyzed and conditioned to be that way. Problem is, it’s never clear which personality is the real H and the new one.
When he’s introduced, Agent H is a wise-cracking badass but when Agent M meets him, he’s essentially the same – only more air-headed. Did the neuralyzer really change his personality or just amplify what was already there? Maybe the real Agent H will return when his memories are restored, which was proven possible in Men In Black II.
