Zim (Invader Zim)

Invader Zim Character
name = Zim"'|

race = Irken
gender = Male
relatives = "Cold unfeeling robot arm" ("mother")
appearance = Pilot
last appearance = The Most Horrible Christmas Ever!
voiceactor = Richard Horvitz
Billy West(original pilot)

Zim is the title character and protagonist/antagonist of the Nickelodeon animated series, "Invader Zim".

Zim is a member of the alien Irken race, where placement in the social hierarchy is determined by height. Zim, being one of the shortest invaders alive, is afforded very little societal worth. Zim remains oblivious to this, and believes himself to be the pristine example of his species. As a result, he takes it upon himself to become involved in missions of utmost importance, where he is very usually not wanted. His unsolicited involvement in the Irken "Operation Impending Doom 1" ended in disaster when he hijacked a mechanical suit and went on an rampage across the surface of his home planet, single-handedly destroying much of the invading forces. For this, he was banished by the Almighty Tallest; but after 'quitting' being banished, Zim returned to demand participation in, "Operation Impending Doom 2". To remove Zim as a threat, the Tallest send him to a section of the universe where there 'might' be a planet, in the hopes of sending him on a fruitless quest to traverse vast reaches of empty space, effectively removing him as a potential liability. Much to their chagrin, he calls them some six months later, very much alive and engaged in his 'mission'; to conquer Earth, incidentally the mystery planet the Tallest thought 'might' be there. And the only thing standing in Zim's way, is Dib, a pre-teen paranormal investigator, bent on exposing Zim's alien identity. Zim is voiced by Richard Steven Horvitz through the run of the series, but voiced by Billy West in the pilot episode.

Characteristics

Throughout the length of the series, various comments made by Zim have indicated that, at least by Earth standards, Zim is much older than he seems. And Jhonen Vasquez himself has stated that Zim's age is 16 Irk years or 159 Earth years. [cite web|url=http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Irkens|title=Irkens - Scratchpad Wiki Labs - Free wikis from Wikia|accessdate= 8 August|accessyear=2008]

Zim's key characteristic is his rather short stature; as the Irken race determines its social ladder by height, his excruciating lack of vertical prowess is definitively acute.

Abilities

Throughout the run of the show, we see Zim's abilities fluctuate in scope and capacity as pertinent to the episode in question. He runs the gamut from capable to incompetent from episode to episode, sometimes within the same one. As a pilot, he is skilled enough to go toe-to-toe with high-level Invaders like Tak in some cases, while he is often outmatched or equaled by humans with little to no space-faring experience (i.e. Gaz and Dib).

Fitting well with his having been trained from birth to be a ruthless and maniacal conqueror, Zim is able to goose-step so well that he sometimes does so even when walking casually.

His technological prowess is subject to much change throughout the series as well. About half the time that Zim invents and/or utilizes a technology, he meets with success; the other half consists of failures that has the potential result of destruction on many differant scales. He has the mental capacity to perform great technological feats, shown in the episode Walk of Doom via his ability to upgrade GIR's guidance system, which is apparently top-of-the-line. The upgrade is successful and bequeaths GIR with the ability to track local and intergalactic targets with pinpoint accuracy. Other times he manages to mismanage high-end Invader technology with catastrophic results: in the episode "Megadoomer", he is 'given' the titular Megadoomer Combat Stealth Mech. By not taking the time to study the machine prior to using, he manages to alert the entire city to his presence and appearance (though this is not explored in later episodes), eventually necessitating the self-destruction of the machine to avoid further notice. He also manages half-successes/half-failures, which, despite the successful half, manage to cause incalculable doom.

He develops a Variable Time Stasis Field in the episode Walk for Your Lives, which does work (it allows Zim to manipulate the temporal plane of anything within the eerie green aura of the Field), but malfunctions when he overcharges it, causing a explosion. The machine's energy manages to co-bond the time-stasis effect with the explosion of the Field itself, creating a green explosion that would gradually expand to its actual size (roughly larger than the entire city). He elects to accelerate the blast to real time to make it disappear, failing to realize that the explosion would just explode faster.

To go along with that vein is Zim's inconstant intelligence. While Zim is smart enough to be called a 'genius' by Earth-standards, he is very often illogical, leading to many of his failures.

Relationships

Zim, while openly antisocial and individualistic, has varied and often complex relationships with the many beings around him.

GIR

As his primary sidekick, and incidental multi-faceted toolbot, GIR is shown spending the most time around Zim in the series, and is the Irken's only friend (in any remotely conventional sense). Their relationship is very tumultuous in its closeness; Zim's view of GIR fluctuates episodically between that of an expendable tool and a valued friend and lackey. Several of their escapades show Zim view GIR's welfare callously; when a freak accident propels GIR's intelligence into the house's A.I. and leaves GIR's body lifeless, Zim is unconcerned about his servant's welfare and is in fact annoyed that he now has to fix him. But on other occasions, there is notable compassion sensed for GIR from Zim: as Zim travels the dark depths of a paranormal dimension, he shows concern for GIR's welfare against an assault of what he believed to be preteen zombies (in actuality, they were Skoolchildren dressed up for Trick-or-Treating; far from being harmed by the Treaters, GIR was actually wreaking comically chaotic havoc upon them). The relationship is somewhat mutual, as GIR shows concern for his master as well.

MiniMoose

MiniMoose is Zim's secondary sidekick, introduced in the canceled episode "Nubs of Doom", but shown in the last aired Zim episode "The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever" for unmentioned reasons. Despite MiniMoose's limited vocabulary, Zim seems perfectly capable of understanding him, and seems to actually enjoy and respect whatever MiniMoose does. As MiniMoose can't talk in the conventional sense, his feelings for his master are unverifiable.

The Computer

The Computer is the artificial intelligence that runs Zim's house and executes his commands. While he usually obeys his master, he will not balk to point out the flaws of some of Zim's actions. The Computer also seems rather to rather unwillingly fulfill his roles, often responding to some commands with groans and complaints. Zim, in exchange, treats the Computer as a tool, occasionally as an employee.

Dib

Dib serves as the primary antagonist in the series, he is determined to expose Zim's extraterrestrial identity and stop the Irken Invasion. As such, they are bitter opponents, whose conflicts blur the line between petty rivalry and mortal enemity. From various quips made between the two of them, they are in the midst of a series of informal contests, the 'winner' and 'loser' determined by who manages to get the upper hand, no matter how slight the gain. These conflicts rarely incur monumental change in either ones' mission, and very often cancel each other out. Even when one wins, it is usually only a mental victory, as true victory escapes them while gloating. While loathing each other, an unfinished episode script shows that they are actually interdependent; Dib needs paranormal beings like Zim to maintain meaning to his life, and Zim needs Dib's antagonizing crusade to motivate himself to action. When one loses the will to perform as they should, the other loses interest and becomes decadent.

Gaz

Zim and Gaz rarely interact exclusively in the series' run, and mostly consist of sardonic one-liners between the two of them. Zim constantly underestimate Gaz's capabilities, leading to often disastrous results. In fact, Zim seems to be one of few people completely oblivious to just how dangerous Gaz is. Gaz, in turn, views opposing Zim's mission as pointless, given how incompetent he can be. This is shown when Dib points out how hazardous Zim's pursuit of world domination is with the statement: "But he's so "bad" at it."

The Tallest

Zim's relationship with the Tallest is one of adoration and near-worship. He is highly respectful of them, and greatly desires their approval. This gives rise to his great misconception of their confidence in his abilities: he manages to ignore the Tallests' vehement and frequent assertions that they find Zim dangerous and useless, and latches onto the false praise they mount in order to be rid of him. On rare occasion, however, he manages to find things that pique their interest, which may make him, if not an asset to Operation Impending Doom 2, perhaps a curiosity.

Prisoner 777

A Vortian prisoner who Zim contacts every now and then to get new technology like Schematics of the Massive, MiniMoose, The Santa Suit and probably all the other machinery he has around in his underground lab, it is obvious that 777 thinks of Zim as a pest but apparently has no problem with giving him what he wants.

Ms. Bitters

Zim harbors a relationship bordering on respect for his 'Skool' teacher, and finds her a useful repository of Earth knowledge. But, even with this pseudo-respect, he is still often bored of her lectures, and finds himself passionately aching for an end to her intolerably dull and oppressive classes.

The Skool Children

Zim establishes no close friendships with his classmates, preferring to use their ignorance as a medium to study their race rather openly without any suspicion. He is often the brunt of many taunts on the part of his classmates, though usually he is just ignored; on rare occasion he is given their approval, especially at times when such approval would most antagonize Dib. Keef is the only classmate with whom Zim has communicated on any level approaching friendship, using the red-haired weirdo as a way to maintain his human facade.

Other Invaders

Since Zim sees himself as the greatest Irken alive (with the possible exception of the Tallest), he usually views other Invaders in a condescending manner. The irony is, of course, most of them are usually far more capable than he is. Exemplary instances of this include his detailing of Invader Tak's capabilities; he recognizes her immense talents, but still seconds them to his own ("She's good! Not good like me, but still good."). He treats Invader Skoodge, a ridiculed, yet highly capable Invader, with derision even in the face of his more prominent successes.

Zim's PAK

Zim, like all Irkens, was fused at birth with a mechanical device called a PAK. Zim's PAK provides him with life support, all the necessary nutrients for survival, and an array of different weapons and tools. These tools include a set of four spider-like mechanical legs that can shoot out lasers, an organ harvester, scanner pads, hand-held communicators, memory drive, charging cell, atmospheric processor, high tech infrared/nightvision binoculars and holographic transmitters. It can reanimate the user after a sudden shock (like the wave of raw stupidity in "Plague of Babies").

Zim's PAK, due to his actions after Impending Doom One, has him encoded as a Food Service Drone; this was part of his banishment to the Irken snacking planet Foodcourtia. In an unfinished episode Dib steals Zim's PAK. Zim accidentally slips telling Dib that without his PAK he can only live for 10 minutes, though in "NanoZim", it shows Zim without it for a few seconds for him to work on in his lab.

Weaknesses and Immunities

Members of the Irken race, or at least Zim, exhibit severe adverse physical reactions to certain normal Earth products. Physical contact with water, some meats, and barbecue sauce among other foodstuffs cause him terrible pain; some of these things act as a caustic and can burn him seriously by merely touching his skin, and can even fuse itself to his flesh if left alone, such as bologna.(as seen in the episode "Bolognius Maximus") He also finds most Earth foods to be disgusting to the taste, resulting in serious wretching and vomiting were he to consume them; though he does seem to be able to tolerate some foods, waffles in particular, and takes the chance to attempt to immunize himself to the negative ramifications of Earth food by eating things he can stomach.Notably, Tak was not harmed by being in contact with meat while Zim is always burned at the touch.

While his weaknesses are many, he seems to also possess immunity to certain human travails. Lice, for instance, find no appeal in him, and are, in fact, repelled and destroyed by his skin. A liquified form of his skin can kill even the largest and most ferocious lice in seconds. He also appears to have a pain threshhold larger than that of the average human. An example is in the episode, "Planet Jackers" when he smashed into the earth's fake sky and his eye popped out. He then simply popped it back in, despite a grunt or two.

Zim also is apparently unable to be killed easily, somehow he manages to elude death on several occasions, there are times when other characters, most notably the Tallest try to kill him, he somehow survived meeting his demise at the end of "Hobo 13" when the Tallest programmed a ship to go straight into a sun, Zim is also unable to be "erased" from the Irken Empire due to his PAK having many errors that would, in turn, make any Control Brain to go insane.

Disguises worn in public

Zim often wears disguises to attempt to conceal his identity from the humans that he plans to eventually conquer; they are often poorly or hastily constructed, and habitually grew worse as the series went on.

Zim's school disguise consists of a pair of contact lenses and a bouffant wig. The contacts give his eyes a human appearance, and the wig covers his antennae; all else about him, including his uniform and green skin, is left unchanged. He explains away his skin color and lack of ears as a skin condition [Dib: "What about his horrible green head?" Zim: "Insolent fool boy! It's a skin condition." Dib: "And he's got no ears! Is that part of your skin condition Zim? No Ears?" Zim: ("Looking sad") "...Yes" ("The Nightmare Begins")] , and has passed off being caught without his contact lenses as a bad case of pinkeye.

He occasionally wears an old man disguise in "Walk of Doom", which he uses throughout the first season. In the second season of the show Zim upgrades his disguise arsenal with a floppy, huge-headed human suit with a cape, a sewn-on handbag and stuffed puppy, and a name-tag that reads 'human'.

Other costumes worn include a fat lady outfit, used to hide the timefield explosion in "Walk for Your Lives", a strange, moth-eaten bear suit inexplicably seen when reporting to The Tallest in "Battle of the Planets", a 'Baby Inspector' disguise for interrogating 'Noogums' in "Plague of Babies" and the Santa suit and Easter Platypus disguises used to manipulate the public in "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever". The "Pilot" episode also has an oversize robotic battle-suit shaped like Zim's school disguise for use in the food-fight that occurs. However, this pilot is alternate which only appears on the DVD sets.

Domination of Earth

Zim's singular and rather unwieldy goal throughout the series is his completely unnecessary domination of the planet Earth. Since the Tallest accidentally 'assigned' him this mission, he pursues it with his own insane drive and unhinged gusto. It is, however, unclear what he really wants to do with the Earth and its humans; about a good half of his plans involve dominating the humans and culling them into servitude, while the other half involves mechanisms or schemes that would inevitably destroy the planet. As these goals are somewhat mutually exclusive, it seems that he seems to implement whatever plan he comes up with, regardless of whether it enslaves man or just destroys him.

The ways he attempts to destroy/enslave humanity are often just as insane and unpredictable as our little green madman himself. When he feels like destroying the Earth, he has tried to do so by many flamboyantly inefficient ways. These have included: planning to squish the surface of the earth with a jet-propelled planet Mars, creating a parasite capable of eating the brains of all humans(only to have it backfire horrendously), and filling GIR up with a host of explosive monkeys for some unknown purpose(which presumably never came to fruition). His plans to dominate humanity are often similarly over-exuberant, or even just infeasible, and include: trying to use a genetically enhanced hamster to force mankind to their knees, attempting to climb to the top of human sovereignty by winning his Skool election, and dressing up as Santa to win humanity's trust and trick them into being beamed to slavery with the Irkens. However,in Walk For Your Lives, the energy ball in that episode grew and grew and grew until it exploded. It is unknown how all the humans survived the explosion,for the city looked as if it was exploded by a atomic bomb.

Voice actors

In Vasquez's original pilot episode, Zim's voice was provided first by Mark Hamill and then by "Futurama" voice actor Billy West. Vasquez has stated in the DVD commentaries that he felt casting West as Zim would have created a situation where there would be two comedy science fiction-based cartoons on the air at the same time with the same lead voice. The pilot episode with Billy West's voiceover track is available as an extra feature on the 2nd disk of the Zim DVD set.

Angry Beavers voice actor Richard Horvitz was originally intended (as Vasquez mentioned in the DVD commentary) to voice Zim, however he still had work to do on Angry Beavers. After Angry Beavers was over, he re-voiced Zim as a tester on the third pass of the pilot and was finally chosen to be the character's permanent voice for the remainder of the American series. This final version of the pilot is not currently available to the public in any form. Only Billy West's version is available on the first volume of the Invader Zim DVD collection.

References