Characters in Invader Zim: A Very Tall Problem. For more information on their canon counterparts, please see the character sheet for Invader Zim.
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Red & Purple
Tropes that apply to both
The lazy, arrogant, and immature co-rulers of the Irken Empire. At the beginning of the series, they get ousted from power and stranded on Earth.
- Art Evolution: They stand with their backs straight in this series instead of moving around with slouched backs like in canon.
- Ascended Extra: The Tallest were supporting characters in Invader Zim but never played a direct role in the show's episodes, which mostly focused on the conflict between Zim and Dib. That doesn't appear to be the case in AVTP, which sees the Tallest being advertised as the main protagonists alongside Zim and the Membranes.
- Fish out of Water: When the two get stranded on Earth, they quickly find themselves in this situation as neither knows much about Earth outside of what Zim reported. Since it doesn't rain on Irk, the Tallest are unfamiliar with the sound of thunder in episode 1. Purple questions why the sky is making noise while Red worries that the noise was made by some sort of Earth predator.
- Nervous Tics: Both of them pull down their antennae when they are extremely stressed out.
- Smart Jerk and Nice Moron: Downplayed. Red is definitely the smart one of the duo and comes across as more mean-spirited than Purple, who isn't stupid but still kinda ditzy, and shows more empathy towards others than Red. This also gets deconstructed as Red's jerkish behavior causes Purple to get fed up with him and leave.
- Technicolor Blade: Red's knives are made from a red metal while Purple's bident has pale purple blades.
- Villain Protagonist: Both of them are genocidal Galactic Conquerors ruling over an Evil Empire bent on universal domination.
Red
Almighty Tallest Red
Voiced by: Marcus Shaw
, Corey Wilder ("The 12 Irks of Christmas")
, Corey Wilder ("The 12 Irks of Christmas")- Absurdly Sharp Blade: The concept art notes for Red's knives mention that their blades are sharp enough to "cut ste[e]l like butter".
- Adaptational Intelligence: AVTP Red is leagues ahead of his Enter the Florpus counterpart when it comes to common sense and survival instincts. In episode 1, Red figures out that his best hope for repairing his PAK and escaping Earth is to find Zim.note Compare this to Enter the Florpus where he took his hatred of Zim into Too Dumb to Live territory and got himself killed by flying directly into a Florpus Hole after repeatedly ignoring (and even mocking) his subordinate's pleas to change course.
- Blade Enthusiast: Red owns a pair of knives that he created during his younger days at the Academy. The song cover for "Destructive and Defective" has a younger Red brandishing them in a cafeteria. "The 12 Irks of Christmas" takes this one step further by depicting him as a Psycho Knife Nut who demands more and more knives from Santa during his segment of the song while appearing to go through some Sanity Slippage.
- Deadpan Snarker: Red has a particularly snarky moment during his argument with Purple in the first episode.Purple: I'm clearly everyone's favorite!
Red: Tallest Spork was also loved and he was as intelligent as a brick. I can see the resemblance now. - Dual Wielding: Red owns a pair of knives which concept art shows are meant to be dual-wielded.
- Hidden Depths: Despite acting like a domineering jerk towards Purple, Red does have a selfless side which surfaces in the first episode where he nearly sacrifices himself by pushing Purple out of the way of an incoming laser and ends up Taking the Bullet in the process.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While it doesn't justify verbally abusing Purple, Red wasn't wrong to think that Purple wasn't qualified to repair his PAK given he had been working on it for four hours with zero progress made.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Red is a justified example. He becomes increasingly snappish and temperamental after Minimoose teleports him and Purple to Earth, but this is only because he is under an extreme amount of stress from having a damaged PAK and knowing that he could potentially die if it isn't fixed soon.
Purple
Almighty Tallest Purple
Voiced by: Corey Wilder
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Purple is played off as more of a snack-loving goofball here with a lot of his Jerkass tendencies from canon being toned down. AVTP Purple also shows some concern for the lives of his subordinates; he is visibly shook when he comes across the bloodied corpses of Irkens murdered by the Resisty in episode 1, and he later cries out in horror when one of his guards is shot dead in front of him. By contrast, canon Purple is a sociopathic Bad Boss who regularly bullies around his underlings and has no qualms about having his men Thrown Out the Airlock over minor slights.
- The Alleged Boss: On paper, Purple is of equal rank to Red and they are meant to share leadership of the Irken Empire. In practice, Red is the one calling all the shots and appears to have seniority over Purple. This is even shown through the color of the uniforms worn by their subordinates; nearly everyone is dressed in red with the exception of a few token Irkens wearing purple.
- Even Evil Has Standards: In the first episode, Purple is genuinely hurt when a frustrated Red accuses him of trying to kill him by stalling until his PAK breaks down so he will be the only Tallest left.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: While it's true that almost every Irken Invader is comically horrible at disguising themselves, Purple's attempt to pass himself off as a human in the trailer is so paper-thin that it begs the question of whether he even intended for it to be a disguise in the first place. It's literally nothing but a purple beanie hat that doesn't even hide his antennae well. Dib is naturally the only one who sees right through it while his father is totally fooled.
- Retractable Weapon: Concept art shows Purple has a retractable spear that extends when he pushes a button on the main handle.
- Shear Menace: The concept art for Purple's bident reveals that the two-pronged tip can be detached and used as scissors. The official explanation given for how a weapon like this can function is "[because] Irken tech".
- Sweet Tooth: Like his canon self, Purple has a love for all junk food and sugary sweets. In "The 12 Irks of Christmas", he sings about how he wants "snacks on [his] face" from Santa; he goes on to stuff his mouth full of cookies and have GIR hand feed him a large stack of pancakes drenched in syrup. In episode 1, he is introduced eating a bag of potato chips, takes Red's orders to secure the donuts very seriously, and even attempts to use his snacks to bribe the Resisty.
Membrane Family
Gaz
Gaz Membrane
"Give me a new game or die."
Voiced by: Ciipherstatic
The younger sister of Dib. Gaz is a misanthropic girl who couldn't care less about her brother's conflict with Zim and prefers to spend most of her time playing video games. Through sheer coincidence, she winds up bumping into Purple after he and Red are teleported to Earth.
- Ascended Extra: Similar to her comics and Enter the Florpus incarnations, the poster and trailers depict Gaz as being more involved in the plot rather than being an apathetic bystander like in the original show.
- Big Sister Bully: Inverted with her older brother Dib. In "The 12 Irks of Christmas", she steals Dib's allowance (much to his protest) to buy herself a new video game.
- Costume Evolution: In addition to her teal shirt and black skirt from Enter the Florpus, Gaz now wears a purple hoodie that complements her purple-colored hair.
- Gamer Chick: As per canon, she loves playing video games on her Game Slave console. In "The 12 Irks of Christmas", she keeps asking Santa for new games before eventually resorting to stealing Dib's allowance money so she can buy her own games.
Dib
Dib Membrane
"YOU! You're an alien!"
Voiced by: T-Zim/Airborne
Zim's Arch-Enemy and the older brother of Gaz. A young boy obsessed with the paranormal, Dib has unsuccessfully been trying to expose Zim as an alien ever since he first came to Earth.
- Arch-Enemy: To Zim, as per canon. This is especially apparent in "The 12 Irks of Christmas" where it's revealed that the one thing Dib wants from Santa more than anything else is the chance to dissect Zim's body and air his organs on the news.
- Art Evolution: Compared to the way he was designed in the original show, Dib is drawn so that his head is better proportioned to the rest of his body. Dib also has his hair grown out more compared to his character design in Enter the Florpus.
- Costume Evolution: His blue shirt now has an alien with its eyes crossed out instead of a ghost.
- Informed Deformity: In the trailer, Zim continues to insult Dib by calling his head "big" even though the show's art style makes it so that every character (including Dib) has their head properly portioned to their bodies.
Professor Membrane
Professor Membrane
"Son, threatening our guests and calling them names isn't very polite."
Voiced by: Corey Wilder
Dib and Gaz's father. Professor Membrane is a world famous scientist who disbelieves in the supernatural. After the Tallest are stranded on Earth, the good professor welcomes a disguised Purple into his home as a guest.
- Nice Guy: The trailer shows him treating Purple as a guest, making tea for him, and defending him against his son's (correct) accusations of being an alien. It's also implied that he's letting Purple stay in his house because he fears for the latter's safety due to the recent string of disappearances his neighborhood has experienced. The fact that Membrane was willing to give shelter to a complete stranger alone (especially with his children around) speaks volumes about his character.
- Supernatural-Proof Father: To a ludicrous degree. In the trailer, he doesn't recognize Purple as an alien even though his human disguise consists of nothing more than a beanie hat.
Zim and His Robots
Zim
"Invader" Zim
"Say hi to your fellow worms, Dib!"
Voiced by: Swiblet
The titular Irken Invader himself. Zim is an elite alien operative sent by his leaders to infiltrate Earth and weaken its defenses for the coming invasion.
...Or at least, that's what Tallest Red told him. In reality, Zim is a delusional outcast whose only talent lies in accidentally killing his empire's rulers and almost destroying his own home planet through sheer stupidity. Desperate to get rid of him before he could cause any more damage, the Tallest tricked Zim into exiling himself to the farthest planet they could find (which just happens to be ours). Red is forced to seek out his help after being stranded on Earth.
- Arch-Enemy: Dib as per canon. In "The 12 Irks of Christmas", Zim sings about how he wants to bury Dib in the ground, and is even shown to have prepared a special gravestone with Dib's name engraved on it.
- The Dreaded: To the Almighty Tallest. In the first episode, Red and Purple share an Oh, Crap! moment when they realize that they're stuck on the same planet as Zim.
- Ray Gun: Concept art shows that Zim's weapon is a simple ray gun typically given to promising Irken Elites. The notes mention that Zim is unaware the viewfinder for his ray gun also doubles as its safety button (likely put there by the Tallest to keep Zim from accidentally shooting them).
- Secondary Character Title: Isn't the main protagonist despite what the series' full title would have you believe. Rather, the Almighty Tallest are the ones who the plot centers around.
- Smart Ball: Despite normally being a childish, failure-prone Harmless Villain whose incompetence sees him sometimes thwart his own plans, this animatic draft reveals that Zim actually had the smart idea to program his base's computer so that it will only take orders from him. This conveniently prevents Red from being able to use the computer to contact the Massive as soon as he makes his way to Zim's base.
- Third-Person Person: Does this once in the trailer while tied to a chair alongside Dib.Zim: Zim does not wish to die here on your dirt rock just as much as you.
GIR
GIR
"IMMA COMIN' TO SAVE YOU MASTER!"
Voiced by: ButtercupWarrior
Zim's hyperactive Robot Buddy. He's a malfunctioning SIR unit made of literal garbage that Red gave to Zim before sending him off on his "mission" to Earth.
Minimoose
Minimoose
"NYAH!"
Voiced by: ButtercupWarrior
A small, purple robotic moose originally built by Zim to replace GIR.
- Deus ex Machina: Right as the Tallest are about to be executed by the Resisty in the first episode, Minimoose appears out of nowhere and teleports the Tallest to Earth.
- Glowing Eyes: In the trailer, his eyes briefly glow violet after he uses his powers to perform a Swap Teleportation with the Tallest.
This is absent from the actual show itself. - Spanner in the Works: He foils the Resisty's carefully planned Assassination Attempt on the Tallest in episode by teleporting Red and Purple to Earth just as they were about to get shot.
- Teleportation: Like in Enter the Florpus, Minimoose possesses the ability to teleport people and objects. Unlike in the movie, the teleportation here works by swapping Minimoose with whatever is being teleported.
- Villainous Rescue: In the first episode, he uses his teleportation powers to rescue the Tallest from being executed by the Resisty.
Computer
Zim's Computer
"SHOUTING ISN'T GOING TO CHANGE MY PROTOCOL!"
Voiced by: T-Zim/Airborne
The artificial intelligence that runs Zim's base.
- Jerkass to One: Zim's computer seems to mostly reserve its biting sarcasm solely for Zim. When talking to Red in this animatic draft, it comes across as more sincere and emotional, expressing genuine frustration at being unable to help Red due to its programming and even offering Red a bagel to cheer him up. Of course this could justified since Red is the Tallest of the Irken Empire and even the Computer knows better than to talk back to him.
Irken Empire
The Almighty Tallest
Medea
Almighty Tallest Medea
Voiced by: Crimson ShadowVA, Ava Hauser (young)
, Ava Hauser (young)A member of the Irken Elite who takes over the Irken Empire in Red and Purple's absence. She is the main antagonist of A Very Tall Problem.
- Bad Boss: Medea isn't above physically abusing her subordinates as shown in a teaser scene where she violently throttles Reel.
- Badass Cape: Unlike previous Tallest, Medea's outfit includes a long red cape that compliments her yellow uniform.
- Bee Afraid: She visually evokes the image of a queen bee, having a yellow-and-black color scheme and being the female ruler of an Insectoid Alien empire.
- Big Bad: She is advertised as the main antagonist of A Very Tall Problem.
- Blood-Splattered Warrior: At the start of the (sadly deleted) storyboard teaser, Medea is shown walking down the halls of the Massive with both her armor and polearm covered in blood.
- Color Motif: Yellow. She has yellow eyes and uses a golden polearm with a yellow-tinted blade in combat. Her outfit as the new Tallest is yellow. Her personal insignia is colored yellow with a black background. Even her underlings are forced to don yellow uniforms after she takes over leadership of the Empire.
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: To Red and Purple. Like her two predecessors, Medea is a Tallest who rules the Irken Empire. Whereas Red and Purple were male Non-Action Big Bads who showed little interest in actually leading their empire, the teaser shows off Medea as a Dark Action Girl who isn't afraid of getting her own hands dirty. Also, the original show didn't treat Red and Purple all too seriously; most of the duo's scenes had them lounging around eating snacks and acting like childish bullies bossing around a gang of younger kids. Medea, by contrast, is built up by promotional material as a menacing villain with none of the cartoonish Laughably Evil traits that Red and Purple had.
- Evil Overlooker: The header photo for AVTP's Twitter account features Medea looming above the main characters and looking as if she's about to swoop them up in her arms. The series' Tumblr header also has an enlarged Sinister Silhouette of her lurking above the main cast.
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: Wears heavy black eyeliner that makes her eyes stick out from the rest of the Irkens. These are even featured prominently on her own emblem.
- Facial Markings: She sports a black triangular symbol on the center of her forehead which signifies her status as an Irken Elite.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: She gets treated like this by the other major characters in the "The 12 Irks of Christmas" music video. The main cast start and end the Christmas song without her, and it's even implied that they deliberately misinformed her on when they were scheduled to sing. By the time she arrives at the recording booth, everyone else has already finished and left. This also apparently wasn't the first time Medea got stood up by the rest of the cast as she ends the video by grumbling about how she's had this happen to her every year.
- Impossibly Cool Weapon: Concept art depicts her wielding what appears to be a golden polearm with a two-pronged, yellow-tinted blade. One half of the blade resembles a barbed flamberge while the other half is a smaller, single-edged spear tip. To top this off, the weapon features a tonfa-style handle and is meant to be wielded like a tonfa in combat.
- Lean and Mean: Like her fellow Tallest, Medea has a tall, rail-thin build while wearing her uniform.
- Original Character: She is a fan-made character exclusive to A Very Tall Problem.
- Serrated Blade of Pain: Her polearm features a flame-shaped blade with barbed edges. Notes in the weapon's concept art mention that Medea deliberately designed it that way so it could be used to both impale and gut her enemies.
- Slasher Smile: In the (now deleted) storyboard teaser, she lets out a bloodthirsty grin while facing down the Resisty aboard the Massive. She also has a menacing smile in an hologram silhouette shown at the end of the official trailer.
- Technicolor Blade: Released concept art of her polearm shows that it has bright yellow blades.
- Technicolor Eyes: She's the only Irken seen so far who has yellow eyes.
Miyuki
Almighty Tallest Miyuki
Voiced by: Devil's Roost
The first Almighty Tallest of the Irken Empire. Currently deceased. Is held in high regards by her people to this very day.- Adaptational Attractiveness: Compared to how she was supposed to look had the original show continued, this Miyuki is taller, more regal-looking, and generally much easier on the eyes. It helps that (like every other Irken character) her eyes are changed to look more human and less insectoid, which is only accentuated by her white eyeshadow.
- Excessive Evil Eyeshadow: She wears thick black eyeliner that she contrasts with a lot of white eyeshadow.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: She is shown to be rather classist in "The 12 Irks of Christmas" where she sings about how she's entitled to blind loyalty from everyone else and calls Santa "a filthy, fat peasant".
- Posthumous Character: Despite being set to appear as a character in A Very Tall Problem, Miyuki is actually long dead by the present day, having met her accidental death due to Zim's incompetence.
- Predecessor Villain: She was the original Almighty Tallest who began the Irkens' pursuit of universal domination and ruled the empire before her death eventually led to Red and Purple taking her place.
- Schrödinger's Canon: In the unproduced episode "The Trial", Tallest Miyuki was revealed to have been Swallowed Whole by an Eldritch Abomination that Zim created during his time as a military researcher stationed on Vort.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's quite beautiful and is easily the tallest Irken in the series, being several heads taller than Red and Purple.
- True Blue Femininity: Barring Medea, she's the only known female Tallest and wears a blue outfit.
Spork
Almighty Tallest Spork
Voiced by: PARANOiD DJ
Miyuki's successor as the Almighty Tallest of the Irken Empire. While not the brightest crayon in the box, he was nevertheless beloved by the Irken people. Was succeeded by Red and Purple following his untimely demise.- Edible Theme Naming: He's named after an eating utensil.
- Inadequate Inheritor: To Miyuki. Whereas Red and Purple still view Miyuki with respect and adoration, Red posthumously describes Spork as a total idiot. It's implied that Purple shares Red's less than flattering opinion of Spork since he doesn't even try to defend his deceased predecessor's honor when he hears Red brazenly Speak Ill of the Dead in the first episode.
- Informed Attribute: In episode 1, Red mentions how Spork was "as intelligent as a brick" despite being widely beloved.
- Obsessed with Food: Implied in "The 12 Irks of Christmas" song where he keeps asking Santa for a platter full of meat for Christmas.
- Posthumous Character: Like Miyuki, Spork has been dead for years by the beginning of A Very Tall Problem with Red and Purple having long since taken over his job.
- Predecessor Villain: Was the ruler of the Irken Empire before Red and Purple.
- Schrödinger's Canon: The cancelled episode "The Trial" would've revealed Spork and his predecessor Miyuki to have accidentally been killed off by Zim when an Eldritch Abomination he created during a science experiment swallowed them both whole.
- Third-Person Person: Does this once during his segment in "The 12 Irks of Christmas" where he refers to himself as "Sporkie" while singing about what he wants for Christmas.
- Trademark Favorite Food: He loves meat as it's the one thing he keeps asking Santa for in "The 12 Irks of Christmas". This fan art by one of the series' artists features various drawings of a younger Spork eating, holding, and fawning over a drum of meat.
Crew of The Massive
Carlos
Carlos
"Our diagnostics are down, sirs!"
Voiced by: William Chan
That comms officer from Enter the Florpus who kept pointing out how the Armada could easily avoid Earth by steering around it.- Aerith and Bob: He has the rather mundane name "Carlos" despite being an Irken whose empire's rulers go by names like Miyuki and Spork.
- All There in the Script: His name isn't mentioned onscreen but is instead shown in the credits for episode 1.
- I Warned You: This non-canon 7-second animated clip consists entirely of Carlos railing at Red and Purple for ignoring his warnings to go around Earth in Enter the Florpus.
- Mauve Shirt: Is the only pilot on the Massive to be given a name or any sort of personality.
- Mook Carryover: Concept art on Patreon shows that he switches over to serving Medea after she replaces Red and Purple as the Tallest of the Irken Empire, even swapping out his red pilot uniform for a yellow one.
- Named by the Adaptation: The credits for first episode give him the name Carlos when he was originally only known by his job title "Comms Officer" in Enter the Florpus.
The Tallest's Guards
The personal protectors of Red and Purple during their reign as the Almighty Tallest.
- Boom, Headshot!: When the Resisty ambush the Tallest as they are evacuating the Massive, the head guard is the first to be killed when he is shot in the center of his forehead by assassins before he even has time to react.
- Custom Uniform: Downplayed. The head guard wears a more angular mask than his two subordinates.
- Double Weapon: Their weapon is a double-ended spear with a retractable shaft.
- Gas Mask Mooks: They are all shown wearing gas masks on the lower halves of their face.
- In the Back: The purple guard dies from being shot in the back by Lard Nar after taking down the final assassin.
- Javelin Thrower: The purple guard takes out the last of the assassins by throwing his spear at him just as he's about to shoot the Tallest.
- No Name Given: None of the guards are ever named. Eventually subverted with the red guard who is given the name Chad by one of the show's artists.
- Non-Uniform Uniform: Each of the three guards escorting Red and Purple wear slightly different uniforms.
- Oddly Small Organization: The Tallest apparently only have a total of three royal guards to protect them. This bites them in the ass in episode 1 as their small numbers mean that even a few assassins can quickly whittle down their (already tiny) numbers and make them easier to pick off.
- Praetorian Guard: They appear to serve as the Almighty Tallest's bodyguards and are shown escorting them to safety when the Massive is attacked.
- Red Shirts: The trio exist only to get killed by the Resisty while trying to defend the Tallest. Two of the guards even wear red uniforms. Ultimately downplayed since they manage to put up a good fight and even kill all three assassins in their final moments.
- Retractable Weapon: They use retractable spears with telescoping shafts that extend from the handle.
- The Voiceless: Not one of them has a speaking line.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: They only appear for one scene in the first episode where they all get killed off.
Chad
- All There in the Manual: His name is revealed on a Tumblr post by one of the series' artists.
- In the Back: Is killed when an assassin shoots him through the back with a Hand Cannon.
- Surprisingly Sudden Death: Appears to be dominating the fight with the assassins when he is abruptly shot In the Back by one of them.
- Torso with a View: Gets a large hole blasted through the center of his chest courtesy of an assassin's Ray Gun. The laser also went right through his PAK, killing him instantly.
- Villainous Valor: Despite having just witnessed one of his fellow guards getting shot in the head, he doesn't hesitate to charge a group of assassins while armed with only a spear even though they outnumber him and are all using guns.
- Weapon Twirling: His fighting style involves a lot of twirling his spear around.
Other Irken Forces
Irken Pilots
- Evil Minions: Unlike the Invaders or soldiers, these Irkens serve non-combative roles in their empire like piloting and communications.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": They are all visibly frightened when the klaxons start blaring on the bridge of the Massive and they realize just how serious the situation is.
- No Mouth: They presumably do have mouths but they're covered up by the collars of their pilot uniforms.
Irken Soldiers
- Adaptational Dye-Job: Downplayed. In canon, all the Irken soldiers wore purple uniforms. Here, nearly all the soldiers' uniforms are colored red, although at least one is shown still dressing in purple.
- Archaic Weapon for an Advanced Age: Even though Irkens possess ranged laser weaponry, the soldiers stationed onboard the Massive use regular metal spears.
- The Cavalry Arrives Late: They arrive too late to save the Tallest from the Resisty in the first episode.
- The Dreaded: When they show up, every member of the Resisty has a Mass "Oh, Crap!" moment and Lard Nar immediately screams for his men to retreat.
- Mooks: They are the basic footsoldiers of the Irken Empire.
- No Mouth: They have mouths but they're obscured under loose face masks that cover everything below their eyes.
- The Voiceless: Not one of them ever speaks.
Others
Anno
The Announcer / "Anno"
Voiced by: Cougar MacDowall
The announcer ("Anno" for short) of the Irken Empire's Great Assigning ceremony on Conventia.
- Adaptational Attractiveness: Downplayed. Anno is drawn with round teeth instead of the shark-like Scary Teeth he had in canon. His clothing is also brighter and more opulent than what he wore during the few seconds of screen time he had in canon. Additionally, the pupil of his eye is visible and his facial expressions are easier to read since he isn't wearing a One-Way Visor like his canon counterpart.
- Adaptational Personality Change: In canon, he was depicted as a Large-Ham Announcer during what little screen time he had. This version comes across as more of a dreary-eyed Beleaguered Assistant.
- Almighty Janitor: In a height-based society, Anno is almost as tall as the Almighty Tallest themselves yet his job title is merely "announcer". When one of the show's artists was asked about this on Tumblr, their response was simply that "being the Announcer has its perks".
- Ascended Extra: He was a bit player in the original series and only briefly appeared in two episodes. Here, he is listed as a major character and his personality is expanded upon.
- Beleaguered Assistant: This is hinted at in "The 12 Irks of Christmas". When it's Anno's turn to sing about what he wants for Christmas, a groan is heard in the background followed by a dejected-looking Anno singing that he wants "vacation from the Tallest".
- Cyborg: Instead of being a regular Irken wearing a Cool Helmet with a monocular visor, this version is a Cyber Cyclops with the upper half of his head (including his eyelid) being mechanical.
- Cyber Cyclops: He qualifies for the trope, being an Irken cyborg with a single eye.
- Cyclops: He has a single eye at the center of his forehead. This makes him rather unique as every other Irken character seen thus far is drawn with two eyes.
- Dreary Half-Lidded Eyes: He's always drawn with these even in promo art where he's seemingly happy. "The 12 Irks of Christmas" implies that this is done to show how exhausted and jaded he is from constantly having to deal with the quirks of the Tallest.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": The Announcer is both his full name and job title.
- Non-Standard Character Design: He looks radically different from every other Irken in the series. He's the only Irken character who is a cyclops, has a head that's partially robotic, and lacks the pair of antennae shared by the rest of his species. With the exception of the Tallest and Sizz-Lorr, he's also one of the few known Irkens who stands at a similar height to adult humans.
- O.C. Stand-in: Although the Announcer is a canon character, he barely has any screen time and little-to-no characterization. This version is portrayed as a Beleaguered Assistant, is a Cyber Cyclops despite his canon self not being one, and his character design is taken from fan art by Tumblr user Khaliars Art.
- Pimped-Out Cape: He wears a burgundy cape with a carmine fur collar and trim.
- Riddle for the Ages: Why does Anno have one eye when every other Irken character has two? What did he go through that was so bad that he had to replace his entire upper head with cybernetic parts?
- Trademark Favorite Food: There are several◊ pieces of promotional material that feature Anno holding a coffee mug.
Bid
Bid
"WAIT, IS THAT A HUMAN?!"
Voiced by: Corey Wilder ("The 12 Irks of Christmas")
A male Irken obsessed with finding proof that humans exist.
- Badass Longcoat: He wears a black duster that looks very similar to Dib's.
- Faeries Don't Believe in Humans, Either: In "The 12 Irks of Christmas", he's desperate to obtain evidence that humans exist and devolves into Inelegant Blubbering about how all he just wants is someone who believes him. This indicates that humans are viewed as something akin to mythical creatures in whichever part of the Irken Empire that Bid is from.
- Identical Stranger: He looks like Dib if he were transformed into an Irken; he wears a black long coat over a blue tunic, his goggles resemble Dib's glasses, and his antennae are even styled in a similar way to Dib's scythe-like hair.
- Mirror Character: Take a wild guess. Whereas Dib is a human obsessed with proving aliens exist, Bid is an alien equally obsessed with finding proof that humans are real.
- Original Character: Like Medea, he is a fan-made character exclusive to A Very Tall Problem.
- Parody Names: His name is just "Dib" spelled backwards.
Reel
Reel
A female Irken set to appear in A Very Tall Problem.
- High-Class Gloves: She wears opera gloves that cover her whole arm while leaving a small patch of skin at her shoulder exposed.
- Neck Lift: One of the scenes in the (deleted) teaser shows Reel getting grabbed by the neck and lifted off the ground by Medea.
- Original Character: She's an fan-made character that this Tumblr post mentions was created by artist lbskrill specifically for AVTP.
Mooshi, Ina, Zii, & Aka
Mooshi, Ina, Zii, and Aka
A quartet of female Irken drones set to appear in A Very Tall Problem. They are the announcer's four assistants.
- Best Friend: Mooshi's character profile states that she is best friends with Ina.
- Color-Coded Characters: Mooshi is pink, Aka is red, and Ina and Zii are yellow.
- Fluffy Fashion Feathers: Ina wears a yellow feathered dress.
- Giant Poofy Sleeves: Aka's outfit features large, round shoulder puffs on the arms of her turtleneck.
- Non-Standard Character Design: Even for Irkens, they're incredibly short and are just barely taller than GIR. They also wear clothing that looks like it was made on Earth instead of the standard uniforms worn by nearly every other Irken character. Their child-like appearances and cute clothes make them seem as though they were all pulled straight out of a Sugar Bowl as opposed to the Dark Comedy Crapsack World that the other characters live in.
- Original Character:
- Ina is a fanmade character created by Shav's Media Production for this series.
- Mooshi is an Irken OC that artist Jelzyart created for AVTP.
- Aka is a fanmade character originally created by Tumblr artist Khaliars Art before being made a character in AVTP.
- Zii is an OC created by Tumblr artist Shandzii for AVTP.
- Ship Tease: It's implied that Mooshi has a crush on Bid. In her Twitter character profile, there's an image of her blushing with a speech bubble next to her saying "Bid is my beat boi!". She can also be seen in the background of this music video staring at Bid with admiration while he holds some sort of rally.
- Technicolor Eyes: Mooshi has pink eyes.
Tak
Tak
- Adaptation Deviation: AVTP Tak has her beauty mark located below her right eye whereas canon Tak had it under her left eye. She also doesn't appear to have a cybernetic implant on the left side of her head like she did in the original series.
- In the Hood: Concept art on Patreon shows her disguised in a dark hooded cloak.
The Resisty
In General
- Ascended Extra: Go from being one-shot characters in canon to major antagonists whose actions throw the main plot into motion.
- Badass Crew: Despite only having a single ship with a relatively small crew, the Resisty is able to go toe-to-toe with the entire Irken military and curb-stomp the Irken Elite in a shipboard battle.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Unlike the Irkens, no one member of the Resisty look alike as the group is made up of different alien species who all come from varying backgrounds.
- The Greys: Lard Nar and the assassins are short, grey-skinned aliens with no noses.
- Hero Antagonist: When it comes down to it, they're a group of plucky rebels fighting against an imperialistic race of genocidal conquerors. In any other story, the Resisty's invasion of the Massive would be depicted as the epic culmination of a Misfit Mobilization Moment from the heroic underdogs. However, because AVTP is being told from the perspectives of the Tallest, this scene is instead played like a Mook Horror Show.
- La Résistance: Their membership consists of individuals from various races that the Irken Empire has subjugated who have all banded together to rise up against their cruel oppressors.
- The Noseless: Lard Nar and the assassins visibly lack noses, hence why they wear goggles with straps instead of glasses. Justified since they are aliens.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Inverted. The Resisty are Not-So-Harmless Heroes. In the original series, they were wannabe freedom fighters who were mocked by the Irkens for their silly-sounding name and general ineffectiveness at being rebels. However, the first episode has them disable the Massive, massacre the crew onboard, and even hold both of the Almighty Tallest at gunpoint. Also, unlike before where they were just after Purple's snacks, this time they are explicitly out to kill the Tallest and would've gunned down the duo had Minimoose not teleported them away in time.
- Our Weapons Will Be Boxy in the Future: A few of the Resisty's laser guns in the first episode resemble black rectangular boxes with trigger handles attached to them.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: In contrast to their canon counterparts who only attacked the Massive to steal snacks, this version of the Resisty is more violent and merciless while pursuing their goals. They brutally murder every Irken they come across while boarding the Massive and try to execute Red and Purple even after they've surrendered.
- Took a Level in Badass: And how! They've gone from being a weak and ineffectual Ragtag Bunch of Misfits fighting a Hopeless War against the Irkens to a terrifyingly competent Badass Crew capable of directly assaulting the Irken Armada, besting the Irken Elite, and forcing the Tallest to flee for their lives.
Lard Nar
Lard Nar
"Not so tall now, are we?"
Voiced by: PARANOiD DJ
The Resisty's leader. He's a former Vortian scientist who used to develop military technology for the Irken Empire. After the Irkens conquered his home planet Vort, he founded the Resisty with the goal of ending the Almighty Tallest's reign of terror once and for all.
- Adaptational Badass: In canon, Lard Nar was a cowardly Nervous Wreck who had no real plan for fighting the Irkens and freaked out at the mere thought of trying to take on the Massive. Here, he's a skilled tactician who leads the Resisty into ambushing the Massive and almost kills the Almighty Tallest. This version also seems to know his way around guns and is a capable field commander as evidenced when he takes command of the strike team that boards the Massive and personally kills at least three Irkens with his laser pistol.
- Adaptational Personality Change: Canon!Lard Nar is a Determined Defeatist and a Cowardly Lion who tries to make himself appear as though he's in control of the situation, but ultimately fails. By contrast, AVTP!Lard Nar genuinely is a calculating and charismatic leader confident in his chances of defeating the Irkens.
- Alien Hair: As is typical for his species, he has a pair of flexible, horn-like appendages sticking out of his head.
- Big Good: Is this from an in-universe perspective. As the commander of the Resisty, Lard Nar is one of the biggest obstacles to the success of Operation Impending Doom II and his attempted assassination of the Tallest is what kickstarts the entire plot.
- Evil Gloating: Inverted in that it's a hero gloating over the villain. After his men have the Tallest surrounded and on their knees in episode 1, Lard Nar takes a moment to engage in a little gloating over how the tables have turned since they last encountered him.
- Frontline General: During the Resisty's ambush on the Massive, he personally leads his troops into charging aboard.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: His eyes visibly glow in the trailer while he's aboard the bridge of his ship giving the order to attack the Massive.
- Psychotic Smirk: He lets out one in the first episode after he and his soldiers corner the Tallest and have them at his mercy.
- Rebel Leader: Unlike in the original show, this gets played completely straight here. His appearance in episode 1 portrays him as a daring rebel commander who inspires his men and seeks to free the universe from the Irken Empire's tyranny.
- Scary Shiny Glasses: In the first episode, his goggles become opaque after he shoots the last of the Tallest's bodyguards dead.
- Silence, You Fool!: After his men have cornered the Tallest on the Massive, Lard Nar engages in some gloating when he is interrupted by Red trying to talk his way out of being killed. Lard Nar responds by loudly shrilling "SILENCE!", then pausing for a second before resuming to gloat.
- Tactical Withdrawal: In the first episode, he immediately orders his men to retreat when they find themselves faced with Irken reinforcements after failing to kill the Tallest. Since the whole point of their mission was to assassinate Red and Purple, there is no longer any reason to remain aboard the Massive now that both have mysteriously vanished.
- Twitchy Eye: His left eye is shown visibly twitching in the (now deleted) storyboard teaser.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: While speaking, he occasionally slips into a vaguely British-sounding accent.
The Assassins
The Assassins
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear whether or not the assassins are Vortians. They have grey skin, digitigrade legs, and a short stature similar to Vortians, but their heads aren't enlarged like Lard Nar's and they appear to have horns growing from their heads instead of flexible antennae.
- Character Death: They are all killed during their fight with the Tallest's guards.
- Flat Characters: None of them receive much focus or personality. They are mainly characterized as stoic, cold assassins bent on eliminating the Tallest.
- Horned Humanoid: They all resemble Vortians but with actual horns instead of segmented antennae sticking out of their heads.
- No Name Given: None of them are given a name.
- Original Character: The trio are all fan-made characters with no canon counterparts.
- Psychotic Smirk: The only time that the head assassin shows any emotion aside from his stoic silence is just after he's shot Red in the PAK. The assassin lets out a menacing smirk as he aims his pistol at the Tallest and prepares to finish them off. It's also the last thing he ever does as he is then speared through the side by the last surviving Irken guard before he can pull the trigger.
- Silent Antagonist: Even while trying to kill the Tallest, none of them are ever heard making so much as a grunt or a whisper from their mouths.
- Small Role, Big Impact: They only have around 45 seconds of screen time before getting killed off. However, they damage Red's PAK, kill all the Tallest's bodyguards, and delay the Tallest long enough for the rest of the Resisty to catch up and corner them, thus leading to Minimoose teleporting the Tallest to Earth.
- Space Clothes: All three of them wear pocketless one-piece bodysuits of varying colors alongside stylish headgear and goggles.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: They only appear once before getting killed off.
Other Members
In General
- Adaptation Dye-Job:
- Downplayed with the armless, horn beard alien. It has lime-green skin here when its skin was olive-green in the original show.
- The three-headed alien has light tan skin and wears a dark pink bodysuit whereas in canon it had plum-colored skin and a dark purple suit.
- Animate Inanimate Object: One of their new members look like a giant living screw with a smaller screw inserted into their head.
- Blob Monster: One of the Resisty's unnamed members is a short, gumdrop-shaped blob who looks like she constantly has vomit coming out of her maw.
- Heel–Face Return: Crystal and one of the unnamed Resisty aliens were trainees on Zim's team during his boot camp evaluation on Hobo 13. Since Hobo 13 was allied to the Irken Empire, this would mean that they were canonically allies of the Irkens as well around the time of "Hobo 13". When they appear in AVTP, the two are revealed to have defected to the Resisty.
- Satellite Character: So far, most of the Resisty's members are given little characterization beyond being Lard Nar's crew.
- The Voiceless: So far, Lard Nar is the only member of the Resisty who has a speaking role.
Ixane
- Adaptation Dye-Job: In canon, Ixane's eyes were light blue. Here, her eyes are white. The sleeves of her cloak are also dark blue instead of being dark purple like in the original series.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: Her reaction to watching Minimoose perform a Swap Teleportation with the Tallest in front of her in episode 1 is to raise her left eyebrow in confusion.
- Oddly Visible Eyebrows: Even though she hides her face under a hood and only her eyes are usually seen, her eyebrows become visible after Red and Purple are teleported away. This conveniently lets her express her confusion by raising her eyebrow.
- Shadowed Face, Glowing Eyes: Her face is obscured under her hooded cloak with the only things visible under the hood aside from total darkness being her white eyes.
Crystal
- Adaptational Heroism: In canon, Crystal was a cadet on Hobo 13 who was assigned to Zim's training squad, meaning that she was likely affiliated with the Irken Empire. Here, she is a member of the Resisty who is fighting against the Irkens.
- Choke Holds: When Lard Nar is giving his speech to the rest of the Resisty aboard the Massive in episode 1, Crystal can be seen in the background using a sleeper hold to subdue an Irken crewmember.
- Crystalline Creature: She is a humanoid made entirely of crystals.
- Exposed Extraterrestrials: She is one of the few members of the Resisty who doesn't appear to be wearing any form of clothing.
- Scary Teeth: Has a mouthful of pointed, razor sharp teeth.
- Slasher Smile: She lets out a wide grin while using a chokehold to squeeze the life out of an unfortunate Irken.
- Team Member in the Adaptation: Is part of the Resisty in AVTP when there is nothing to indicate that was ever the case in canon.
Spleenk
A cowardly four-armed alien who works for the Resisty.
- Cowardly Lion: Right before the Resisty charges aboard the Massive, he is seen engaging in some Rapid-Fire Nail Biting. He's also visibly hesitant to join in on the battle, and his panicked screaming while waving all four of his arms in air shows that he is scared out of his mind. Despite this, he still joins in on the Resisty's Boarding Party for the Massive in episode 1.
- Demoted to Extra: He was a major member of the Resisty in the original show, and was one of the few Resisty aliens to be named and voiced. Here, he doesn't have any lines and isn't as prominently featured in the Resisty; only having a brief cameo in the first episode and being absent in the scene where the Resisty capture the Tallest.
- Non-Action Guy: Implied. When the Resisty boards the Massive in episode 1, he's one of the only rebels to go in unarmed and shows a clear hesitancy to fight. Shortly afterwards, he is the only Resisty member who isn't seen standing over a dead Irken during a scene where Lard Nar is rousing his men into further action.
- Rapid-Fire Nail Biting: In the first episode, he is seen nervously chewing his fingers while waiting for Crystal to give the signal to attack.
- Tooth Strip: Spleenk is drawn with a pair of undivided strips of teeth.
Alien Kid
One of the Resisty's new recruits.
- The Baby of the Bunch: Is the only member of the Resisty who is visibly a minor and is clearly the youngest of the group.
- Black Dot Pupils: The one thing that distinguishes him from Kidulor is his eyes. Whereas Kidulor has violet irises shaped like hourglasses, this kid's pupils are drawn as solid black dots.
- Child Soldier: Takes part in Lard Nar's assault on the Massive and can even be seen carrying a laser gun despite being a Reused Character Design of a child character.
- No Name Given: Like the majority of Resisty members, he is never named.
- Reused Character Design: He's a reused character model of Kidulor.
Shloonktapooxis
A cone-shaped alien who works for the Resisty.
- The Cameo: He can briefly be seen in the crowd of Resisty aliens listening to Lard Nar's speech after they've boarded the Massive in episode 1
- Demoted to Extra: In canon, he was the second most important member of the Resisty behind Lard Nar. Here, he only has a voiceless cameo for a few seconds.
