…was probably a prototype for the Black Org in Detective Conan to be honest. Or at least started in the same serious vein because they were made around the same time, Conan starting in January 1994, and the third Magic Kaito volume released in October that year. As I assume the Blue Birthday and Green Dream chapters were serialized sometime before the whole volume was released, it also leads to my assuming that Snake and Gin + Vodka’s first appearances were in the same planning process.
I wouldn’t say Kaito’s mysterious organization is as competent, at least not anymore. But there’s a good chance Snake and the people above him were supposed to be just as threatening, careful, and smart as the DC men in black, and then it was toned down because of how the MK world works in comparison to DC. It’s not meant for an incredibly serious takedown plot, but Gosho threw it in anyway to make up for the lack of drive to Kaito’s thieving. MK was fun and silly, until Gosho started working more on DC and the more serious elements from that bled into the story. And those few serious elements have hurt MK a bit, but that’s a rant for another time.
Right now, my thoughts on the MK org. (With Japanese scans purely for quality purposes)