So there would appear to be a general precedence, if not an archetype, for the beings Bender described. However, Bender can be credited with giving these beings a specific purpose, i.e. discouraging UFO percipients from discussing what they have experienced. What is interesting is that not only did reports of MIB encounters begin to filter in before Bender's book was published, nearly all MIB encounters since have invlolved people who have never even heard of the phenomenon, let alone Bender.

A "typical" MIB encounter goes something like this: Soon (usually immediately) after witnessing some type of UFO phenomenon, the percipient is visited by one or more strange men. These men often flash badges, give names, and claim to be from one government agency or another. (Upon subsequent investigation, the names givien are invariably absent from the mentioned agency's records and often the agency itself is found not to exist.) The "agents" usually display not only an uncanny knowledge of exactly what the witness has seen, but intimate personal knowledge of the witness as well. They collect all physical evidence of the encounter that the witness may have, such as photographs or residue from a landing site. Even in instances where they do not threaten the witness outright not to speak of his or her experience, the MIB usually manage to make it clear that doing so would not be a good idea. Other times, however, the MIB claim to be insurance salesmen, portrait photographers, or something equally unconnected with the subject of UFOs and never mention the UFO event in question, yet somehow leave the impression that they are associated with it none the less.

MIB tend to run the gamut as far as physical appearance is concerned, however, some generalizations in this are can be made. While some MIB are decidedly more human-looking than others, they have been fairly consistently described as being olive-complected and having thin lips, high cheekbones, and slanted (sometimes glowing)eyes. Their height can range from very short to very tall. They often sport garish makeup and bad wigs in a failed attempt to look more "normal." It is usually difficult to estimate their age. Often they move in a "mechanical" fashion and their voice has a machine-like quality. They frequently appear to have respritory difficulties and seem to be drained of energy over short periods of time. They are usually dressed, of course, in black; most often in out of date suits that appear to be brand new and cut from some strange type of fabric.

MIB usually travel in packs of three, although doubles and singles are not uncommon. They tend to drive large, black American cars such as Cadillacs, Buicks, and Lincolns which are usually at least twenty or thirty years old old, yet in mint condition. Often these cars display strange, unidentifiable insignias. An unusual glow, as if from a vapor lamp or instrument panel on some type of console, has often been reported as illuminating the interior of the vehicle. License plate numbers are usually either obscured or missing altogether, but in numerous instances, plate numbers have been recorded and checked otu only to show that they had never been issued.

The hallmarks of the "classic" MIB visitations are incompetence and bizarre behavior on the part of the MIB. Seemingly mystified by human ways, they are extremely poor taskmasters in the area of imitation. For instance, they often express amazement at the most mundane objects, such as bowls of jello or ball-point pens, and have been known to ask inappropriate and downright rude questions

MIB encounters, as one might expect, are actually quite rare, roughly forty cases in all have been "documented." Encounters that have the slightest credibility are rarer still.