Agent J

James Darrell Edwards III, better known as Agent J or Jay, is one of the two main protagonists, alongside Agent K, of the Men in Black franchise. He is an agent of the MiB, after being recruited by Agent K. He is energetic, and tries to bring life and emotion back to the bland organization.
He was portrayed by in the films who also played a fictional version of himself in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mike Lowrey in the Bad Boys movies, Robert Neville in I Am Legend, Steven Hiller in Independence Day, Oscar in Shark Tale, Lance Sterling in Spies in Disguise, Deadshot in Suicide Squad, Henry Brogan and Junior in Gemini Man, and Genie in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin.
In the animated series, J was voiced by Keith Diamond.
==Personality==
Unlike his partner, Agent K, J is an upbeat and wise-cracking Agent of the Men in Black. He is extremely dedicated to his job and was determined, so much that he ran down a Cephalopoid on foot (which is apparently very difficult to do). Compared to K, J is definitely the more playful and will even make jokes with his enemies as he did with Boris the Animal and was courageous enough to fight Edgar the Bug head on despite his massive size and capability to swallow him whole.
J is quite brainy at times, able to realize that if he murdered cockroaches he found on the floor it would get Edgar’s attention and used the time travel device to anticipate Boris the Animal's attacks and then dodge them. J is quite the poor liar, when meeting with the younger version of K and says his name he responds by saying he calls all males K and says he was with his girlfriend, Schtaron but replies by saying she's Greek. When neuralyzing people he normally gives very complex excuses and even at times will stray from the memory he was attempting to erase.
==Biography==
===Men In Black===
Originally an officer of the NYPD, James' career changed when he was tasked to chase down an extremely fast alien, disguised as a human. When he finally catches up, it gives him a warning, before jumping off a building. Once at the station, he is interrogated and suddenly, a man in a black suit walks in and tells Officer Edwards that it was an alien. 
Once he gave everything the men in black needed, he is neuralyzed and given a card that says MIB with an address on the back. Later he goes to the building, going through a training program for recruits. Despite appearing to fail miserably, it was revealed by Agent K that he actually succeeded in the program. Edwards is reluctant to join, at first not even believing anything, but after seeing the Worms, a race of aliens, he comes to understand their purpose. The next day he returns, and becomes Agent J, the newest Men in Black recruit.
On their first mission, they investigate a crash site, deducing it to be the result of a dangerous race of aliens which resembles earth insects known as a "bug". Their investigation of this "bug" leads them to a murder of some disguised aliens who reveal the existence of a powerful object known as a "galaxy". After covering their tracks, they go off to get more information on this galaxy in which they learn that it is a small yet very powerful source of energy that can be used as a weapon. 
Suddenly the communications of the headquarters began displaying a message from the race of those disguised aliens the "bug" killed. The message is a demand for the "galaxy" and the object sending the message is a warship. Thankfully, Agent J was able to maintain his composure at this time of crisis to deduce where the "galaxy" is hidden, in the collar of a cat belonging to the murdered disguised alien.
Unfortunately the "bug" has also figured out where the "galaxy" is and after a scuffle, escapes with the cat and the prized object. Conditions continued to worsen when the warship threatened to destroy earth in an attempt to destroy the "galaxy". Still, Agent J was able to deduce how the "bug" planned on escaping this, at the New York State Pavilion which was a disguise for 2 flying saucers.
His deduction was correct and the two agents encountered the "bug" who finally shed off his disguise, revealing his true form. He was able to ate the two agents' guns before swallowing Agent K whole. While his partner was trying to find his gun, Agent J stayed outside to taunt the "bug" by stepping on earth cockroaches which kept him distracted long enough. Agent K eventually finds the guns he's looking for and blasts his way out.
As a last resort, the remains of the "bug" attempt to attack the two, only to be a shot down by a witness who Agents J and K didn't probably neuralyze. After the ordeal is over, Agent K reveals that he needs a replacement in order to retire. With some convincing, Agent J agrees to neuralyze his partner and create a cover story. In the end, Agent J hires a new partner for more future adventures
===Men In Black II===
A few years after the first movie, Agent J has become a well-respected agent in the Men in Black though he had issues with neuralyzing partners he deems unfit for the job. During one his investigations, he interviews a witness on a murder of a disguised alien. The interviewee, Laura Vasquez, reveals to Agent J that the murderers, a shape-shifting alien, is looking for something called the "Light of Zartha". Due to infatuation, Agent J does not neuralyze her despite being a violation to Men in Black policies. 
All leads in his investigation to the "Light of Zartha" leads to his former partner, Agent K who was still neuralyzed. Without much choice, Agent J decides to visit his old partner who was now working as a postmaster. Fortunately, all of his co-workers are aliens which Jay can reveal, convincing Kay to return to his work and headquarters to reverse the neuralyzation.
Before the procedure could be done however, the headquarters are attacked by the murderers, a shapeshifting alien named Serleena and a two-headed alien, Scrad and Charlie. Despite the damage they've done to the headquarters, Agent J and Kay survived and was able to recover the latter's memories. Unfortunately Agent K reveals that he had removed all memories of the "Light of Zartha" even while working at the Men in Black. He does however have a series of evidence he left behind in case he needs to find the item.
After getting a locker key and finding the place that it opens, they discover Agent K's wristwatch and video store membership card guarded by tiny aliens. For safety purposes before following the next lead, the two agents hide Laura with a number of worm-like aliens. At the store, they find a fictionalized story of the Light of Zartha which finally allowed Agent K to recover his memories. 
At an unknown date (sometime in the 70's or 80's), Kay and other agents protected Princess Lauranna of Zartha, and was entrusted with the Light of Zartha to stop it from getting into Serleena's hands. However, Kay pretends to launch the Light into space. Serleena kills Lauranna and follows. Unfortunately, Agent K still doesn't remember what the "Light of Zartha" is and instead suspects that it might be Laura's bracelet.
Just then, Laura was kidnapped by Serleena and brought to Men in Black headquarters where the agents working there are also captured. Along with the worms, the agents attack the headquarters, succeeding at liberating the place. Serleena attempts to chase them down, only to be eaten by a giant worm in the subway. 
Following Laura's bracelet, they end up at the roof of a skyscraper with a ship directed to Zartha. Agent K finally decided to reveal the truth, that Laura is the daughter of Lauranna and also the Light of Zartha. After some convincing, Agent J lets Laura go. Serleena attempts to chase the ship down, having taken the form of the giant worm that ate her though the two agents quickly blasted her apart. To cover up their tracks, Agent K activates a giant neuralyzer in the torch of the Statue of Liberty.
===Men In Black 3===
During a mission, Agent J and K encounter an old criminal named Boris the Animal who recognizes the latter and tells him that he's already dead. Jay soon figures out that said criminal is a bitter rival to his partner who set up protection against Boris' species, leading to their extinction. The next day however, he finds himself in a timeline where his partner never existed though his panicking does alert the agents of the new timeline that a space-time fracture has occurred.
Agent J was able to send himself back in time, finding himself in 1969. During his attempts to capture future Boris, he was arrested by a younger version of Agent K. He attempts to neuralyze him though he stops upon hearing Agent J's advice. They go off on an investigation, being led by the agency to future-seeing alien, Griffin. Unfortunately their meeting is cut short due to an attack by Boris and they are forced to meet up at another time. 
They meet up at a stadium, getting attacked by both Boris who was able to kidnap Griffin though the two were able to save him. Unfortunately, both Boris escape and Agent J explains to his young partner later that Boris is going to kill him. They formulate a plan to launch the protection device with a rocket though they are arrested by a colonel on the way. Luckily Griffin was able to get them out of the situation with a vision of the future.
The two end up on the rocket launching site, being encountered by the two Boris. As Agent K fights off past Boris, Agent J takes on future Boris. Using the time travel device, he was able to dodge all of his opponent's attacks and kill him off. Agent J finds Agent K at the beach, having killed off the surviving past Boris though the colonel had died in an attempt at saving Kay. 
The colonel's child appears which Jay recognizes as a past version of himself. Agent K neuralyzes the child and tells him that his father is a hero which led Agent J to realize that his partner had been watching over him and is the reason why he was unaffected by the space-time fracture. Jay later returns to his point in-time, finding his partner still alive and in the mindset of the normal timeline. He also thanks him for watching over him all along before getting back to work.
==Gallery==
===Images===
J Chases An Alien.jpg|James as a cop chases down a fast alien disguised as a human.
Animated Agent J.jpg|Agent J in Men In Black: The Series.
Comic book J.jpg|J in the original Men In Black comic series.
Agent J Funko Pop.webp|Agent J's Funko Pop.
File:Noisy Cricket Silencer.png
==Trivia==
*Before Will Smith was cast as Agent J, Chris O'Donnell and David Schwimmer were considered for the role of Agent J, but O'Donnell turned down the role, due to having the character being too similar to O'Donnell's role from Batman Forever. Schwimmer also turned down the role.
*In the movies and in Men in Black: The Series, Agent J is an African-American man, but in the original comics, Agent J is a blonde haired Caucasian man.
*In Men in Black: The Series, Agent J is depicted to be slightly younger and has no mustache.
*Agent J is the only of the three MIB agents who is virtually unchanged from the comics to the movies and the TV show, as he was a genuinely heroic character in the original comic, protesting the ways of the MIB and functioning as a moral compass for the whole agency.
*Agent J is February 2021 Hero for Headline.
==External Links==
*
*Agent J in the Men in Black Wiki
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