History Characters / InvaderZimIrkenEmpire

[[center: [- [[Characters/InvaderZim Main Character Index]] | [[Characters/InvaderZimZimAndAllies Zim & Allies]] ([[Characters/InvaderZimZim Zim]]) | [[Characters/InvaderZimMembraneFamily Membrane Family]] | '''Irken Empire''' | [[Characters/InvaderZimSkool Skool]] | [[Characters/InvaderZimAliensMonstersAndWeirdos Aliens, Monsters, and Weirdos]] -]]]

An incredibly short Invader, and perhaps the closest thing that Zim has to an actual friend. Had the show continued, he would have become a reoccurring character, and lived in Zim's basement.

* JerkassHasAPoint: Given what we see of Zim’s actions during Operation Impending Doom I, it’s hard to argue that Zim didn’t deserve to be banished. Honestly, he probably got off ''easy''. It’s also easy to see why they trust him as an invader after this, and Zim’s antics ''do'' tend to create more problems for the Irkens than they solve.

* AffablyEvil: Once he accidentally drops Zim after kidnapping him from the skool, he genuinely apologizes to the human skool students.

* CloningBlues: After Dib attempts to become its pilot by overwriting the AI derived from Tak with one made from his own brainwaves, the ship is wholeheartedly convinced that it ''is'' Dib.

* ForWantOfANail: Had Zim not decided to use a HumongousMecha to [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill retrieve a bag of chips from an obstinate vending machine]], Tak likely would have passed her exam and wouldn't even ''know'' who Zim was, let alone his activities on Earth.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Is her SIR unit named Mimi or [=MiMi?=]

* HateSink: Comedic moments aside, the Tallest are both callous, genocidal, ''utterly'' unsympathetic cowards who horribly mistreat even their most loyal soldiers, and actually make ''[[VillainProtagonist Zim himself]]'' look sympathetic by comparison. It's pretty telling that the vast majority of the the Tallest's jokes involve them getting a blast of karma to the face.

* BigEntrance: Unlike Zim, he has neither the training nor desire to act as an invader and infiltrate human society in order to get what he wants. In fact, [[SoMuchForStealth he does ''exactly'' the opposite and literally crashes into Ms. Bitters' class]] (while Dib was in the middle of giving a speech on Zim being an alien, no less), [[SoMuchForStealth grabs Zim by the head, and drags him back to his ship]].

* PsychopathicManchild: Despite being the [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] overlords of the most powerful known race in the galaxy, they mostly act like a pair of lazy, arrogant and stupid teenagers. They love sweets and junk food, bicker over simple things, and make their servants present their planet-conquest strategies with puppet shows. Heck, their dynamic with Zim can best be described as two [[BigBrotherBully Big Brother Bullies]] and their AnnoyingYoungerSibling.

* UnskilledButStrong: They vastly misuse their resources, have absolutely no tactical skills, and are a massively shallow race that values physical height and size more than anything (to the point where their Mothership is called The Massive). That said, their massive technology advantage over every other race in the universe keeps them on top.

* ThrownOutTheAirlock: Purple especially seems to enjoy doing this.

* BigBadDuumvirate:
** For the franchise as a whole. Because of their matching height, they're both the official leaders of the Irken Empire. Unofficially, Red is the more domineering and competent of the pair.
** In ''Enter The Florpus'', they form a rare Big Bad ''Triumvirative'' with [[spoiler:both Zim ([[TheHeavy who is responsible for all the film's mayhem]]) and the Florpus itself; the Tallest intend to blow Earth up just to finally be rid of Zim, and the Florpus is a NegativeSpaceWedgie that threatens to suck the Earth in and scatter it across infinite realities]].

* BareYourMidriff: Their "Tallest" outfits sort of have this look going for them.

* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler: They're obviously in distress at the end of the movie, and Jhonen confirmed during th Pixelatl México stream that they died. He then mentions the show's NegativeContinuity and tendency to bring characters back from the dead with no explanation in the same breath, so whether they'll ''stay'' dead is up in the air.]]

* AwesomeBackpack: From birth, each Irken is fitted with a backpack-like device called a PAK that contains their memories, serves as a backup brain, and can be used as a BagOfHolding. However, the PAK is so essential to an Irken's life that they will die if separated from it for longer than 10 minutes. Also, if an unlucky Irken happens to be fitted with a defective PAK at birth, they themselves are also considered defective (read: Zim).
* BizarreAlienBiology: Irkens are dependent on their [=PAKs=] to live, are allergic to water and meat, and have a large super-organ called a "squeedlyspooch" that fills their entire torso and performs most or all bodily functions.