Awesome Backpack: If you don't think that a backpack with spider legs, an organ-stealing device, goggles, an entire personality and history, memories, and a hologram device isn't cool, then you need to taste some DOOM.
Blunt Metaphors Trauma: Almost Blunt Words Trauma. Although Zim speaks perfect English, he has a tendency to mix up words, or in some cases he just doesn't listen and ends up hearing the wrong thing.
Genius Ditz: It can be hard to credit, but he's demonstrated some true cunning on occasion. He's more insane than stupid, but his insanity is what makes him do stupid things in the first place, so it's hard to tell the difference.
Girl Scouts Are Evil: When he's selling Poop candy bars for a school fundraiser to get the mystery prize in "Door to Door".
Kill All Humans: That or enslave them — he changes it from enslaving, ruling, killing, poisoning their food supply and cutting their legs off depending on the episode. The bottom line is that the Earth needs to be ready for the other Irkens to conquer, so the humans need to be gone or easy to enslave.
Large Ham: So large it has its own gravitational pull.
Mad Scientist: He was once formerly a military scientist, albeit one responsible for killing the previous Tallests.
Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds: In the unproduced episode "The Trial," it's revealed that he has, in fact destroyed more than one planet. By scratching himself.
Paper-Thin Disguise: Consists of a wig and contact lenses (that apparently are very uncomfortable and can be knocked out just from hitting him in the head) doing nothing about his vibrantly green skin. Which may may you think at first, since Irkens have the technology to make themselves look completely human, but he only picked that one because he thinks he's too attractive to be covered up.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The sensitive guy to Dib's manly man. Although not "sensitive" in the soft and feminine sense, he is a lot more emotional than Dib is.
They Would Cut You Up: Zim fears this would happen if he were caught by Earth's natives. Dib explicitly threatens him with it. At one point he's seen vividly imagining his fate, human scientists stuffing him in a jar, dancing around his helpless body, cutting out limbs and eyes and keeping him a dark room for the rest of his life.
Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: A Running Gag with him is that he'll continually interrupt people trying to tell him something, demanding they tell him about the very thing his interruption is preventing them from saying in the first place.
"Who are you?" "I AM-" "Who are you?" "I AM-" "WHO ARE YOU?"
Another is for him to randomly accuse people of lying for no apparent reason.
Zim: Hey, these (waffles) aren't bad. What's in 'em? GIR:There's waffle in 'em! ZIM: YOU'RE LYING!
GIR
Voiced by: Rosearik Rikki Simons
"I like waffles!"
Zim's robot sidekick, on Earth disguised as a dog. Supposedly a "SIR" (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval) unit assigned to all invaders, but GIR is an "advanced" model the Tallest specially gave Zim. And by "advanced", we of course mean "moronic," thanks to having a head literally full of garbage.*
To be precise, Tallest Purple's pocket lint.
While usually too flighty to be of any consistent help, GIR will now and again go into "Duty Mode," signified by a change of eye-and-panel color from green to red, and act like a real SIR.
Ambiguous Innocence: It's hard to imagine that GIR even has the mental capacity to understand that there is a difference between right and wrong, much less know what that difference is.
This has been outright defied by the show's creator, who devoted an entire episode to showing what a delightful little sociopath GIR can be after the fans got a little too fond of portraying him as an adorable ball of sunshine and fairy dust. Well, Jhonen, this is what you get when you go for Generic Cuteness.
Blue and Orange Morality: We have absolutely no idea why he does anything he does, and if we could look into his thought processes our brains would a splode.
Dumb Is Good: This was not the intent, but the fandom picked it up and ran with it. GIR is often misconstrued as a harmless or even compassionate character rather than a merely stupid one. "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff" was in part a measure dedicated to correcting that.
Easter Egg: The infamous "Bloody Gir" (an image of GIR in duty mode and covered in blood), hidden as a Take That against the network for not allowing the image into a scene.
Extreme Omnivore: To name a few... A live chicken, tacos, burritos, taquitos, cupcakes, waffles made outta peanuts and soap, a fish (or tried to), pizza, Acne Blast acne cream, puppies (maybe)...
The best example of this would be the time he tried to point out to Zim that speeding up a slowed down explosion (It Makes Sense in Context) would be a bad thing.
Killer Rabbit: Despite his his super cute disposition he is surprisingly able to cause much damage and harm just like any other SIR unit. The only person we ever see get on his bad side was Zim, and that was only briefly, such as that one time Zim tried to lock GIR in duty mode.
Temporary Bulk Change: The metal he's made of is apparently very flexible because he grew to a massive size in "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" from eating the candy stolen from a bunch of trick-or-treaters.
Wolverine Publicity: He is the most heavily marketed character among the Invader Zim cast.
Dib
Voiced by: Andy Berman
"My problem is that the human race seems to want to be destroyed!"
An eleven-year-old (or thereabouts) self-styled "paranormal investigator", and one of only two people on Earth (the other being his sister Gaz) to realize Zim's extraterrestrial origin. Dib's goal is to expose paranormal phenomena to the rest of the world, but is regarded as a loon by pretty much everyone, and essentially treated like crap by the very people whose lives he's trying to save. Nonetheless, while he means well, he's fairly ruthless (at times bordering on sadistic) when it comes to dealing with Zim, making him not very highly regarded by viewers who like to cheer Zim on, but the other half of the fanbase staunchly defends his status as The Woobie.
Adorkable: His little dance with GIR near the end of "The Frycook What Came From All That Space" comes to mind.
Also, this exchange.
Zim: "Your loony "PARA-CHUTING" powers don't scare me, Dib. All it does is make you look stupid!" Dib: "It's para-NORMAL, and you're wrong, it makes me look cool!"
Anime Hair: And according to "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom," it gets more and more extreme as he ages.
Artificial Human: Would have been revealed as one had the show not been cancelled.
Badass: In "NanoZim," he hangs upside down from the ceiling, does a series of ninja backflips to evade the security system of Zim's house, and escapes without a scratch.
Character Development: Arguably more than any other character in the series. He starts off as something of a Knight Templar, but by the end of the series has definitely become its primary Straight Man.
The Klutz: He tends to trip over and bump into things a lot.
Leitmotif: A violin, which goes with Gaz's harpsichord.
Let's Get Dangerous: Briefly sheds his Butt Monkey status several times, one of the most noteworthy being Battle of the Planets.
Mr. Exposition: Dib. "Wow.....WOW! I'm boring! Do I always explain everything like that?"
Noodle Incident: A Running Gag is that someone will allude to some crazy-sounding paranormal event that Dib claims to have discovered before. Given how weird this show is, it's plausible that they really happened.
Greg from the FBI: Hey...you're DIB...right? Heh-heh, you ever get that ninja ghost outta your toilet? Dib:Yes, no thanks to you!
Whatever led to Dib bringing the dead back to life the first time.
Professor Membrane: Son, there better not be any walking dead up there! Dib: It's nothing to worry about, dad! And I said I was sorry about that!
Then there was this little gem in "The Nightmare Begins":
The Letter M: Yeah, what's wrong with you? All you talk about is aliens and ghosts and seeing bigfoot in your garage! Dib: He was using the belt sander...
Don't forget whatever gave the Mysterious Mysteries host his scar. Honestly, it's probably safe to say that Dib's entire life is one big Noodle Incident.
Vocal Evolution: Andy Berman couldn't seem to make up his mind: in some episodes, Dib sounds like he did in the premiere (more nasal and fast-paced), and in others, Dib's voice is much rougher and thicker (slower and sounding more like a pre-teen boy).
"What you need is to give the Game Slave to me or I will plunge you into a nightmare world from which there is no waking!" (after getting a negative response): "I hope ya like NIGHTMARE WORLDS!"
Dib's younger sister. Like Dib, she knows Zim's real origin, but unlike him, she doesn't much care, on the grounds that he really isn't very good at the whole world-conquering thing. That, plus she seems to be something of a misanthrope herself. (She did once have a very hard time deciding whether to destroy all life on Earth or not, when putting a can in a super-powered microwave.) Mostly Gaz sticks to her video games and snarks at the insanity around her.
Actually Pretty Funny: She's laughed at some of the stunts Zim's pulled on her older brother. Oddly, her saying this line near-verbatim after one of Dib's stunts proved unexpectedly hilarious was one of the closest things she's had to a Pet the Dog moment with him.
Disproportionate Retribution: At one point, she even throws Iggins down an elevator shaft and killing him, just for stealing her Game Slave 2.
Technically, Gaz didn't throw Iggins down all the way down to the ground, nor did she actually kill Iggins. She stopped the elevator as soon as Iggins gave the Game Slave 2 back to her. The elevator actually broke on its own, though he actually survived. Still pretty cruel, though.
Expressive Hair: Her hair turns straight when she's angry at Iggins for taking her Game Slave 2. When he gives it back to her, it springs back into shape.
Eyes Always Shut: When she does open them, she's either in an enraptured trance or about to hit you.
Gamer Chick: Er...sort of. She would rather play video games than just about anything, and she is very very good at them. And terrifying if you get in her way.
Hair Decorations: When younger, she wore a bow in her hair as seen in "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy".
Referenced in the commentary track for "Nanozim". Upon Jhonen admitting that he regretted not bringing Melissa Fahn on to do commentary for "Gaz's episode", the other commentators attempt to impersonate her voice to make up for it, which culminates in them repeatedly chanting "DIGI-MODIFY!"
Improbable Weapon User: She used cans of Poop soda against Zim, Dib, Tak, and MiMi in "Tak, the Hideous New Girl".
Only Sane Girl: She is one of the few people who know perfectly well that Zim is a alien who wants to conquer/destroy the Earth. She's also largely uninterested in the conflict, quipping rather correctly that Zim isn't very good at what he does.
To the Pain: Takes great care to explain to Dib how she will make him suffer in Gaz, Taster of Pork, complete with glowingRed Eyes, Take Warning and levitation.
Trademark Favorite Food: Pizza, to the point where it's one of the accessories that comes with the Palisades toy of her.
Twitchy Eye: "I'm trying to draw a little piggy. Can't you see I'm trying to draw a little piggy??"
Voiced by: Wally Wingert (Red), Kevin McDonald (Purple)
"The universe will be ours for the taking! It's only a matter of time before all the races of the Universe serve the Irken Empire!" "I'll have them serve me curly fries."
The leaders (or more accurately, figureheads) of Irken society. Their height being the only qualification for office, they're not necessarily well-equipped in the brain department, although Red does seem to have it together more than Purple. Pretty much they sit around snacking and acting like jerks. Their role can be likened to a pair of teenage bullies picking on and ordering around a bunch of smaller kids.Red and Purple weren't the first Tallests. Some of the previous leaders were slated to appear in flashbacks if the show hadn't been canceled.
Divergent Character Evolution: In the first episode they each got alternating moments of stupidity and intelligence. By "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars" Red seems to be the smarter one, though he still spends plenty of time acting lazy and stupid along with Purple.
Fingore: They only have two fingers on each hand as opposed to a normal Irken's three. According to the Zim wiki, when a Tallest is chosen, their thumbs are chopped off in a ceremony to prove that they can rule without them.
Manchild: Not to the extent of Zim, but its there. They love sweets and junk food, bicker over simple things, and make their servants present their planet-conquest strategies with puppet shows.
Moral Myopia: Averted. While the Irkens treat all other races as nonentities, the Tallests still have no qualms about shooting their own people out of cannons or airlocks.
You Don't Look Like You: Red's Series 2 Palisades toy gives him a darker shade of green skin than Purple.
Professor Membrane
Voiced by: Roger Bumpass
Friend to the world, enemy of Santa Claus.
The father (at least allegedly) of Dib and Gaz, Membrane is a scientist who also hosts the Show Within a ShowProbing the Membrane of Science. He keeps a very busy schedule, to the point he can only manage to eat dinner with his children once a year.
Even Evil Has Standards: Despite the obvious hatred she has for her students and all the horrible stuff she's told them before, she refused to divulge just what happened that led people to start giving out meat on Valentine's Day. Her response to Dib's question was "you don't want to know". She even expressed "moral outrage" to the principal allowing the kids to celebrate the holiday.
Evil Old Folks: She's half human, part demon, Twisted & Evil.
Snake People: She's tall and thin and swirls through the air and curls around people like a boa constrictor. Rattlesnake sounds show up when she speaks or gets annoyed.
"So that no Irken boot has to come in contact with any unsavory alien filth! HOO-HA!"
An incredibly short Invader, and something of Zim's only friend. Had the show continued, he would have become a reoccurring character, and lived in Zim's basement.
Badass: He's the first Irken Invader to single-handedly complete his mission, and he survived being on a planet as it was being blown up. If it wasn't for his gullibility, he'd be an Irken to be reckoned with.
"I should have been an Invader! I should have been part of The Great Assigning! I shouldn't have to be stealing this planet from you!"
A female Irken out to seek Zim's mission and prove herself as a worthy Invader to the Tallests. Fifty years ago, Zim caused a blackout that caused her to miss her test to become an Irken-Elite. Not to be confused with the main character of another Nick franchise, Tak and the Power of Juju.
Butt Monkey: Somewhat, particularly being exiled from her planet despite being an excellent invader but Zim's idiocy caused this, and getting thwarted by Zim and being almost killed in a spaceship crash. Tak just couldn't catch a break.
Cats are Mean: Her S.I.R. Mimi takes the guise of a cat, and is nasty powerful enough to kick Zim and GIR's asses.
Character Development: It's only in one episode, but you can still kinda see Lard Nar come into his own over the course of "Backseat Drivers" — from a guy who completely freaks out over the slightest setback, to a leader undaunted at even the loss of his entire ship.
"We will take your ship! And for the trouble you've caused, we're going to destroy your base, leaving you stranded here. Just like we were."
A race of aliens led by Gorkspace Sergeant Shnooky who were stranded on Earth posing as human babies after an incident in a maternity ward. They attempt to take Zim's ship and use it to fly back to their home planet. It doesn't end well for them.
Disproportionate Retribution: Zim refuses to let them take his ship. They threaten to take his ship, destroy his base, report him to the human authorities, and leave him stranded on Earth.
Fate Worse than Death: At the end of Plague of Babies, Zim uses the power amplifier to reduce their intelligence to that of real babies.
Fusion Dance: "Now, my minions! FORM GIGANTO-BABY!"
"Nobody escapes from Sizz-Lorr. I will find you, Zim. I will search all of space's dark corners to hunt you down.AND I WILL FIND YOOOOOUUUUU!!!"
Zim's boss during his exile on Foodcourtia, an Irken frycook who runs Foodcourtia's premier restaurant. After Zim escaped the planet, Sizz-Lorr swore to make him come back if it was the last thing he did.
Badass: Proves himself to be one in the climactic scene of The Frycook What Came From All That Space.
Bad Boss: He was like this to Zim even before the latter ditched him on Foodcourtia and left him stuck there for 20 years.
) self-styled "paranormal investigator", and one of only two people on Earth (the other being his sister Gaz) to realize Zim's extraterrestrial origin. Dib's goal is to expose paranormal phenomena to the rest of the world, but is regarded as a loon by pretty much everyone, and essentially treated like crap by the very people whose lives he's trying to save. Nonetheless, while he means well, he's fairly ruthless (at times bordering on sadistic) when it comes to dealing with Zim, making him not very highly regarded by viewers who like to cheer Zim on, but the other half of the fanbase staunchly defends his status as The Woobie.
