Zim Invader Zim: Encyclopedia - Zim Invader Zim

Zim (Invader Zim)

Zim is the title character from the Nickelodeon animated series, Invader Zim. He is from Irk, a planet far out in the Milky Way galaxy. He is a short Irken defective but, despite his size, he feels that he is superior to other Irkens and other universal creatures. He hates humans and Earthly culture (as would any Irken), and dreams of conquering the planet for Irken use. He thinks the Almighty Tallest sent him on a "secret mission" to Earth, but in reality they simply wanted to get rid of him. After arriving on Earth, he becomes quick rivals with Dib, an avid paranormal investigator from the planet. Zim wants to conquer the Earth, more likely so as to prove himself great than for the glory of his homeworld.

Zim Invader Zim - Statistics

Zim's age is unknown, although Jhonen Vasquez states that Zim is older than any human being. In one episode, another Irken citizen claims that Zim had ruined her chances at becoming an invader fifty years ago. As a smeet (a baby Irken), Zim was created in an Irken incubation chamber and therefore has no siblings or parents. He was brought to life by a robotic arm; his first words were "I love you, cold unfeeling robot arm!" His physical appearance is based on the "typical alien" design, the Greys. Zim (like all other Irkens) was fused at birth with his Standard-Issue Irken Utility Pack, or PAK. Zim's PAK provides him with life support and increased physical abilities and stamina. The primary function of the PAK is a spider leg capability where 4 articualted legs extend from the PAK. In addition, the PAK can also provides rockets for mobility in space and lasers for cutting holes through walls. It also contains the Irken's entire personality, which can be altered by 'reencoding'. In this way, the Tallest (or whoever is running Irk) can keep close tabs on every Irken, making sure they stay in line. As shown in a 'The Trial', a later, unmade episode, Zim is among the rank 'Defective', that is, his PAK was flawed and therefore has resulted in a flawed Irken. It is obvious that Irkens, being so proud, would refuse to allow one of their race to be imperfect. Defective Irkens are given trials for their lives and, if sentenced guilty, have their PAK removed and erased, so they die in ten minutes.

Zim Invader Zim - Weaknesses and immunities

Zim's skin sizzles and smokes on contact with water. The episode "The Wettening" first clearly shows this, and it has since become one of Zim's primary bodily weaknesses. He also hated human food (as he thought it was "human filth") until the episode "Zim Eats Waffles" (although the waffles that GIR produces are not typically edible to humans, which may explain why he can eat them). When his face came in contact with soap and bacon, he grew a hypnotic pimple (named Pustulio).

A substance in his skin kills lice.

Zim Invader Zim - Overreaction and overdramaticism

He has a penchant for being overdramatic, saying phrases like "I AM ZIM!" and "Silence!" (both are his trademark catch phrases; the second catch phrase being a cliché command for supervillains), and uses ridiculously excessive and overelaborate plans to conquer the planet when he obviously has the resources to do so much more efficiently. He also has a characteristic evil laugh. Often Zim overreacts by screaming and shouting, even just when he's speaking to GIR, his robot slave/assistant. Richard Steven Horvitz, the American voice actor for Zim, later admitted (on the first DVD's interview with the voice cast, titled "The Voices of Zim") that the constant shouting tired his voice during the recording sessions, and he would have to go home and recuperate "for a day, day and a half, uh, beyond that." In the cancelled episode called "The Trial" (see below), it is revealed that Zim's overdramaticism and narcissistic behavior was probably caused by a corrupted data path in his PAK.

Zim Invader Zim - Disguises worn in public

Zim often wears disguises to attempt to conceal his identity from the "pig-smellies" that he plans to eventually conquer. They are often poor disguises. Zim's usual disguise consists of some contact lenses and a wig resembling Pee-Wee Herman's hairdo (pictured right), leaving his green skin clearly visible (which he explains away as an unnamed skin condition, and in the episode Vindicated!, that his red eyes are due to pinkeye). He's been known to wear other costumes as well, like an old man disguise, an elderly woman disguise, a bear suit (actual purpose unknown; it was most likely a running gag originating from Jhonen Vasquez's earlier comic, I Feel Sick), a poorly-constructed parent costume, and a Santa suit made from a Vortian liquid material.

Zim Invader Zim - Prospective occurrences during Zim's secret mission on Earth

If the series were to continue, Zim would have to undergo an Existence Evaluation Trial (an evaluation, based on past crimes, to determine whether an Irken is worthy of continuing to exist), get kicked out of his base by the Parent Decoys (which are robots designed by Zim in order to seem like a normal human child), and enter GIR in a SIR unit contest. After the series ended, Jhonen wrote a four-page comic for Nickelodeon magazine, in which Zim actually did conquer the earth when Dib wasn't looking, and took Dib, GIR, and Minimoose to another planet to drink space sodas and ride giant alien bunnies.

Zim Invader Zim - The Trial cancelled episode

In the unaired episode called "The Trial", it would have been revealed that Zim is essentially the cause of most of Irk's disasters; when he entered the information-downloading chamber, he claimed it as his own, shoving the next smeet (baby Irken) up the chute, causing a blackout that plunged Irk into darkness for five years. Later, an accident with a security robot caused another blackout, this one lasting for four years. As a military scientist, he created an energy-absorbing monster, which ingested an infinite energy source and proceeded to eat Tallest Miyuki. Years later, it returned to get the collar Zim had and ate Tallest Spork. He also plunged half of the military planet Devatis into darkness when he used a maim bot on a malfunctioning snack machine. During Operation Impending Doom One, Zim was placed in a small circle and told to watch it, but he stole a Frontline Battlemech and destroyed half of Irk. Incredibly, he's proud of all this and his personality allowed him to survive by screwing up the Control Brains who were going to remove his Pak.

Zim Invader Zim - Voice actors

Zim is currently voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz (for the original English version) and by a female voice actor (Nao Nagasawa) for the Japanese dubbed version. In the pilot episode, titled Food Fight, Zim's voice was provided first by the famous Star Wars actor Mark Hamill and then by veteran voice actor Billy West. Horvitz, however, was asked to come back, after being denied the part, to revoice Zim as a tester in the new version of the pilot, which is not currently seen on any DVD. But the version of the pilot voiced by Billy West is shown as an extra feature on disk two of the series.

Zim Invader Zim - Personality

Zim is, as previously noted, an Irken with megalomaniacal and narcisstic tendencies. However, in Horrible Holiday Cheer, Jhonen Vasquez mentions Zim acquiring a more sensitive side by the series' abrupt end. For example, he develops some compassion for GIR, whom he regards as both a 'robot slave', and his only real companion. Early in the series, he exhibits the desire to dispose of him, yet during episodes like Battle of the Planets and Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom, he shows concern for the robot's well-being and safety ("Maybe that little robot isn't such a bad evil minion after all" and "I hope poor GIR is alright by himself against those ZOMBIES!"). Character development of this nature is unusual in animated television series.

Zim is extremely loyal to the Irken Empire throughout the series but his instability renders this loyalty unreliable.

Zim is held in contempt by the entire Irken race. Ironically, he and his greatest enemy, Dib, are essentially similar in that they are both outsiders and isolated because their respective species and acquaintances consider them to be crazy or stupid.

It should be noted, though, that the source of Zim's failures at conquest isn't mere ineptitude. His own choice of delusionment would be a more accurate way of identifying the cause of his downfalls. He has tendency to headstrongly refuse to see any flaw (even if made obvious to him at times) in whatever grand scheme he has concocted. (This is likely brought on by his extremely narcisistic nature, as everything he does will always seems to be truly amazing- as is, in his "brain meats") At times in the series (specifically, situations that might endanger him or his "mission"), Zim does demonstrate his capabilities of great resourcefulness and ingenuity. But due to his nature, he may make judgements that are impractical or lacking in common sense, thus leading to complications and collapses in whatever plan he has.

In fact, this rigid nautre of his may lead to the speculation that Zim is indeed aware of his status as an outcast. There is the possibility that Zim is pretending to be oblivious to the fact that he is not an Invader. The greatest evidence of this theory is shown in Zim's reaction to Tak's insults, just before he launches her off into space.

Despite the cancellation of the show, many fans of Zim (and Invader Zim in general) continue to participate in the writing of fan fiction and creation of fan art.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Zim Invader Zim", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki