Agent J
| Agent J | |
|---|---|
| Men in Black character | |
Will Smith as Agent J.
|
|
| First appearance | Men in Black |
| Created by | Lowell Cunningham |
| Portrayed by |
Will Smith (Original) Cayen Martin (Young) |
| Voiced by | Keith Diamond |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Jay J "Slick" "Son" "Cochise" |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Former NYPD detective MIB agent |
| Birth name | James Darrell Edwards III |
Agent J (born James Darrell Edwards III, and also called Jay, or just J) is a fictional MIB agent in the film Men in Black, its sequels Men in Black II and Men in Black 3, and Men in Black: The Series. Jay is portrayed by Will Smith in the three films and voiced by Keith Diamond in the animated series.
Not much is known of the life of James Darrell Edwards III prior to being recruited to MIB. His appearance as a small child in 1969 in Men in Black 3 would place his year of birth in 1965. His father, United States Army Colonel James Darrell Edwards II, was working security at Kennedy Space Center for the Apollo 11 launch when he was murdered by Boris the Animal after assisting Agent K in stopping a chain of events that would have led to K's death and a widescale invasion of Earth forty years later. Nothing else is known about the preceding twenty-eight years save that James joined the NYPD. Though little is known of J's personal life outside of his role as an agent of Men in Black, he is known to be a big fan of video games and rap music. A line of dialogue from Men in Black II suggests he owned a Game Boy.
Agent J's MIB career starts out when, as NYPD officer James Edwards, he runs down a swift, wall-climbing alien on foot. When MIB Agent K notices his potential, he recruits J into the MIB (within the continuity of the series, the events of Men in Black 3 imply that K recognized J from their meeting in the 60s). At first, J is suspicious, but he decides to join. He is registered as Agent J and his energetic, enthusiastic attitude brings humor to a bland organization. J is not fond of K's diminutive references to him (son, sport, slick, kid, etc.), but gets used to it. In his various adventures, he encounters Frank, the dog; finds out that Jeebs, the pawn store owner is actually an alien, not just a buyer of stolen goods from chain snatchers like he originally thought when he was a detective; and delivers a baby squid. Their first official mission is to stop an alien Bug from leaving Earth with a tiny galaxy before the galaxy's owners disintegrate the planet. During the final confrontation with the bug, K is swallowed by it in an attempt to get his gun back, leaving J to keep him on Earth. When he starts squishing cockroaches, the Bug confronts him, but before it can attack him, K shoots it from the inside. The Bug was finally killed by Dr. Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino), a morgue worker. When K requests to be neuralyzed (a memory-wiping procedure) to retire, J fulfills the request and his new partner is Laurel, who becomes known as Agent L.
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