History Characters / InvaderZimZimAndAllies

-->'''GIR:''' You are no commander! You are a threat to the mission! Your intelligence is ''stupid''! Your methods are ''stupid''! Your progress has been ''stupid''! Your intelligence is stupid! For the sake of the mission, you must be ''terminated''!

* GoneHorriblyRight: In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim gets tired of GIR's incompetence screwing up his evil plans and uses a behavioral modulator to lock him into duty mode, making him smarter. GIR becomes smarter, indeed...so smart that he becomes more competent than Zim, and then concludes that ''Zim's'' incompetence is a threat to the mission and decides to "terminate" him.

* MinionWithAnFInEvil: [[ZigZaggingTrope Sometimes]]; in particular he holds no malice toward Dib (or anyone, usually) and helps him on occasion.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: How "innocent" is highly debatable but GIR essentially has the mind of a small child who doesn't fully comprehend the magnitude of his actions.

* [[invoked]] CriticalResearchFailure: Parodied in "FBI Warning of Doom," where it {{Ass Pull}}s like a madman as to gain more "educated guesses" regarding the FBI for Zim based on insufficient data.

* TheDragon: SIR units as a whole fulfill this purpose for their masters, and GIR, being Zim's robotic sidekick, fulfills the same role... [[TheDitz just with much less effectiveness than the standard model]]. When Minimoose comes aboard, he and GIR [[CoDragons share the role.]]

** When Zim gets freaked out about a baby spotting them [[note]]In fairness, it was actually an [[MakesAsMuchSenseInContext alien that looks like a human baby.]][[/note]], GIR says this:

--->'''Zim:''' Now ''this'' is what I like to see, GIR! Pathetic human scum fleeing in terror at the sight of ZIIIIM!
--->'''GIR:''' Nobody even lookin' at you!
* DumbIsGood: [[invoked]] [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]; GIR's impulsive stupidity leaves him with little regard for others' safety, and he causes destruction for entertainment on a whim. Note that portraying him as "good" was ''never'' the intent, but the [[MisaimedFandom 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; without his mental issues distracting him, it turns out he's naturally as cold and evil as any other SIR unit.

* EatingMachine: He loves to eat, mainly waffles and tacos. And burritos...and chicken...and pretty much everything else.

-->'''Zim:''' GIR! Your waffles have sickened me! Fetch me the bucket!

* RummageSaleReject: Robomom wears a pink ballerina tutu with overalls and yellow rubber gloves, probably because Zim doesn't care enough to learn how humans usually dress.

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", we get a brief glimpse into his thought process when he sees a field of cows as sausages in top hats, bowties and barbershop canes, saying, "Dance with us, GIR! Dance with us into oblivion!"

A pint-sized alien from the planet Irk, with an ego as big as he himself... isn't, Zim is a [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds walking disaster area]] that somehow remains [[SmallNameBigEgo oblivious to his own shortcomings and the contempt his people hold him in]]. He ''thinks'' he was sent to Earth as an Invader to ready the planet for hostile takeover, but really [[ReassignedToAntarctica his leaders were just trying to get rid of him by sending him as far away as possible]] (they didn't even know there would ''be'' a planet there for him to try to conquer). On Earth, he aims to TakeOverTheWorld, but is of course [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption continually thwarted]], either by his Dib's interference, GIR's stupidity, or his own incompetence.

* VitrolicBestBuds: A one-sided case with Zim. Zim often belittles GIR and displays frustration over the latter's antics, but hangs out with him constantly and displays more tolerance for GIR than he would anyone else. GIR, despite his [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} insanity]], is [[UndyingLoyalty extremely loyal to Zim in return]].

* MoralityPet: Slightly. Although GIR doesn't actually do anything to curb Zim's villainous actions, the little robot appears to be one of the few individuals Zim actually (somewhat) cares for.

[[/folder]]

* AxCrazy: Robomom sometimes has random, sudden and violent outbursts, such as repeatedly poking a woman in the face until she cries or holding another woman down and forcibly scrubbing her muth with a toothbrush.

* ADayInTheLimelight: "Parent Teacher Night" is the closest to this during the seires proper. The cancelled episode "Roboparents Gone Wild!" would have also been one for them.

* AbusiveAlienParents: ''"I love you cold, unfeeling robot arm!"''
* AccidentalHero: [[spoiler:In ''Enter the Florpus,'' he opens the titular interdimensional space hole that the Massive ends up flying into, possibly dooming the Irken Armada and stopping Operation Impending Doom II for the forseeable future. With this in mind, Zim may have just ''saved the entire galaxy'' from the Irken Empire. Not that he's aware of it.]]
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: He comes from planet Irk, yet somehow still knew English before even coming to Earth.
* AllOfTheOtherReindeer: Even though he's completely oblivious to it, his reputation among the other Irkens is [[DoomMagnet less than amiable.]] He's not really liked on Earth, either, though he generally fares better there than Dib.
* AmbitionIsEvil: He's an extremely driven and ambitious little guy who never gives up, and is also a wannabe conqueror of worlds with almost no empathy.
* AmusingAlien: It's amusing to look at his schemes unless you're Dib.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Despite being an enormous thorn in their side, the Tallest and the Control Brains usually just punish Zim by demoting or banishing him. That's for all the death and destruction he caused. The crime that ultimately puts him on the fast track for termination during "The Trial"? [[spoiler:Having a faulty PAK. [[SubvertedTrope Then again]], as noted in AwesomeBackpack, that PAK is pretty much Zim's backup brain, meaning that its existence proves Zim is inherently messed-up]].
* AssholeVictim: Whenever his plans backfire in painful ways, it's very hard to argue he doesn't deserve it.
* TheAtoner: He is in part driven by his desire to make up for his disastrous incompetence during the original Operation Impending Doom. [[LackOfEmpathy Not out of any kind of guilt, mind you]]; [[NeverMyFault just so that the rest of his species will get off his back about it]].
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Zim has incredibly poor listening skills, and seems to retain only information he likes. "Walk for Your Lives" is probably the worst example, where Zim ignores literally everyone around him (even GIR) telling him that to speed up a time-locked, city-destroying explosion would produce... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin exactly that]].
-->'''Dib:''' Zim, you're just going to blow us all up?!? This is stupid! This... is ''stupid'' stupid!
* AwesomeBackpack: 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 [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom DOOM.]] That backpack is part of what allows Irkens to live. Without it, they literally can only survive for ten minutes at a time, and it also serves as a backup brain, effectively making them amnesia-proof. Unfortunately, according to the unaired episode "The Trial," Zim was given a defective PAK, which is the reason (or at least part of the reason) why he is so uncontrollable.
* AxCrazy: Incredibly so. It's clear as day that he's completely unhinged.
* BadBoss: He can competently rally complete strangers to his causes, but he has no qualms about ditching them when they're no longer useful.
* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: His mission to take over Earth was assigned to him simply to get him out of the way of the ''actual'' operation to conquer the universe, and holds no actual significance whatsoever. Despite this fact being blatantly obvious, Zim's BlindObedience to the Almighty Tallest generally causes him to ignore any evidence that suggests it. The only time he even comes close to noticing this is in ''Enter The Florpus'' where he tracks the Tallest's flight path and realizes that they aren't even coming to Earth, [[DespairEventHorizon causing him to go into]] [[TenMinuteRetirement a brief depression]] before [[spoiler:getting the idea to use Professor Membranes technology to warp Earth to the Tallest.]]
* BenevolentBoss: That being said, he is rather friendly towards his two CoDragons (GIR and Minimoose), and in ''Enter The Florpus'' Zim gets distraught for his MechaMooks when Professor Membrane destroys Zim's robot army.
* BaldOfEvil: He has no hair, being an InsectoidAlien, though he wears a wig in his human disguise.
* BewareTheSillyOnes: Zim is deeply silly, but he's also dangerous and tends to cause mass amounts of wanton destruction when left to his own devices.
* [[BigBadDuumvirate Big Bad Triumvirate]]: On any other given day, Zim falls squarely into BigBadWannabe, but the only time Zim ever comes close to proper BigBad status is in ''Enter the Florpus''. He's the cause of all the mayhem that ensues, including putting Earth at the mercy of the two other major threats in the form of the Tallest and the Florpus Hole.
* BigBadWannabe: He's set on conquering Earth and hatches multiple schemes to accomplish this, but his general incompetence hampers him every step of the way, and on the off chance he ''does'' succeed, it's often for petty revenge over furthering the invasion. Even in ''Enter the Florpus'', [[spoiler:though he succeeds in teleporting Earth into the flightpath of the Massive, the real threats to Earth come from the Tallest just deciding to blow up the planet rather than deal with Zim, and the Florpus Hole Zim unwittingly created by teleporting Earth in the first place. [=GIR=] even notes that despite Zim claiming victory when the end of the world is happening, none of the humans are even looking at him or aware of his involvement.]]
* BigNo: This is basically one of his catchphrases.
* BizarreAlienBiology: ''"Gah, my squeedlyspooch!"''
* BlatantLies: He tends to tell very obvious lies about being human and not being an alien, [[TooDumbToLive but most humans are too stupid to realize this.]] Who has a skin condition that includes earless and noseless side effects?
* BlindObedience: He recognizes that GIR is defective on sight and shows clear confusion about why the Irken Empire would have any interest in taking over a planet as backwater as Earth, but graciously accepts the duty of oveseeing both due to his loyalty to the Tallest, who assigned them to him.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: While he can still be an exceptionally vindictive bastard, most of what Zim does is determined by what he deems necessary to fulfil his purpose as an Irken drone. As such he's willing to go to very bizarre and dangerous lengths to achieve this, and fails to understand why it's wrong to do so.
* BluntMetaphorsTrauma: 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.
-->'''Dib:''' [[YoureJustJealous You're just jealous!]]\\
'''Zim:''' This has nothing to do with jelly!
* BurgerFool: Zim was banished to a planet called Foodcourtia where he had to do community service for royally screwing up Operation Impending Doom I. Also, he works in a fast food restaurant on Earth in "Career Day".
* ButtMonkey: He fares ''slightly'' better than Dib most of the time, but is still constantly beaten up and humiliated.
* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Zim has the means to destroy the Earth, but since he's ostensibly there to ''conquer'' it, his hands are often tied. That being said, he is not averse to letting mankind wipe itself out (with a little assistance from him) if the opportunity arises and slaves are just a nice bonus to the Irkens and not necessary acquisitions.
* CardCarryingVillain: "Now...back to my filthy evil, I guess..."
* CatchPhrase: "YOU LIE!!", "SILENCE!!!", "I AM ZIM!!!" and [[BigNo "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"]]
* ChaoticStupid: He has repeatedly shown himself to be determined enough to not only easily conquer Earth but the entire galaxy, yet his impetuous nature and his COMPLETE lack of consideration for the consequences of his actions results in utter failure and/or the deaths of people he WASN'T trying to kill.
* CharacterDevelopment: While just as much of [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} a lunatic]] as ever, in ''Enter the Florpus'', Zim is presented as a far more patient [[TheChessmaster chessmaster]] with his infamous impulsiveness from the show downplayed.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: His hamminess noticably comes in spurts in the pilot episode, as opposed to being his default state as it is for the rest of the series.
* TheChessmaster: In ''Enter the Florpus'', where Zim is at his most cunning and meticulous when it comes to his planning, having his bases covered far more than ever.
* ClarkKenting: Zim's human form is basically himself but with human eyes and a slick hairstyle.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: In one episode, when confronted by fully mobile talking babies, he stated that 'I knew it! Earth babies come from space!'. More pointedly, in an unfinished episode called "The Trial", he is kidnapped and brought to court among his people; in spite of the flagrant evidence that it is, in fact, a trial for his continued right to exist, he insists on believing it to be a party in his honor. In what was to be that episode's ending, Zim is scanned for defects by the robot "control-brains" that run the planet. His insanity drives the machines to madness, and they declare him the greatest of all Irkens. The Tallest weep as Zim is given ten free minutes of piloting the Massive and proceeds to gleefully smash it into everything like a little kid driving a bumper car at an amusement park.
* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: To GIR ''all the time'', even though he's a {{Cloudcuckoolander}} himself.
* ComedicSociopathy: Most of his insane, self-centered and spiteful deeds are PlayedForLaughs.
* ComplexityAddiction: In "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom", he traps Dib in a LotusEaterMachine simulating ''decades'' of life (from childhood to old age), all to find out ''if he was the one who threw a muffin at Zim''.
* CosmicPlaything: Sometimes. There's a good chance that circumstances will contrive to force him in the most hilariously painful way possible... [[SnapBack then again, sometimes he succeeds and that doesn't really matter.]] But when his leaders want him gone, or for him to fail, it ''will'' blow up in their faces. More than any situation involving him usually blows up in someone's face, considering that it's seemingly impossible for him not to destroy anything.
* CrossdressingVoices: As a baby. Some foreign dubs also give him a voice actress, probably to facilitate his more high-pitched voice, as Richard Horvitz has a range that's unattainable for most male voice actors.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: When he ''does'' put up a fight ("Hobo 13"), he can be surprisingly competent and clever.
* DeadpanSnarker: Usually Zim is SarcasmBlind thanks to his massive ego and craziness, but he does get a few moments occasionally to get his snark on (usually at Dib's expense).
* DecoyProtagonist: In ''Enter the Florpus'', it becomes more apparent as the movie goes on that Dib is the main character, with Zim being less the VillainProtagonist and more the plain ol' BigBad.
* DespairEventHorizon: Though it doesn't last long, in ''Enter the Florpus'' Zim becomes despondent when [[spoiler: he finds out that the Almighty Tallest had no intention of coming to Earth.]]
* {{Determinator}}: Continuing his "mission" even after being exiled due to his entire species loathing his very existence, although there's disagreement as to whether he merely ignores their scorn or he really is that stupid.
* DevilInPlainSight: Or with a PaperThinDisguise...
* DidntThinkThisThrough: One of his main personality traits; Zim's plans often fail because he tends to think precisely one step ahead of his current problem. This is best shown in "Walk For Your Lives", where the explosion of his [[TimeStandsStill time stasis field device]] is slowed down, but will [[SphereOfDestruction eventually grow to destroy Zim's base and the whole city]]. Not wanting the Tallest to see an embarrassing screw-up like this, Zim desperately works out a way to get rid of the explosion. His solution? To cancel the stasis field under the assumption that once the field is canceled, the explosion will be gone forever, not factoring in that doing so will ''annihilate'' his base and the whole city. He ultimately goes through with it, despite his computer, Dib, and even ''[[DumbassHasAPoint GIR]]'' all telling him that it's an absurdly bad idea.
* DisguisedInDrag: At one point in "Walk For Your Lives", he's [[ItMakesSenseInContext disguised as a giant old lady.]]
* DoomMagnet: Thanks to his stupidity, insanity, and lust for violence, he tends to cause wanton destruction everywhere he goes. He's both hated and feared among his own people for this very reason.
* TheDreaded: Hated, ridiculed and feared by his entire race. Not that he notices.
* EnfanteTerrible: He wasn't even two minutes old when he accidentally caused a massive blackout on Irk that lasted five years and came to be known as "Horrible Painful Overload Day". And then when he was ten, he caused another one that lasted four ''more'' years and was called "Horrible Painful Overload Day, Part II".
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: In his case, GIR is the closest thing of a loved one that he has given his behavior toward him. He also has shown ''slight'' slivers of affection towards the Roboparents in "Parent Teacher Night".
* EvenEvilHasStandards: It's a comparatively minor one, but in ''Battle Of The Planets'' he's confused and flabbergasted why the Martians would [[spoiler:work their entire species to extinction building a Planet sized ship just because it's "cool."]]
** Before mellowing out and experimenting with various hobbies in the GrandFinale of the comic, Zim exploited the GroundhogDayLoop of the titular ''Dookie Loop Horror'' to kill Dib enough times that he was able to create an entire, bulging scrap book full of his rival's many, many deaths. This was all in good fun apart from one very gristly murder where GIR decapitated Dib and used the rest of his body to make a "people pie", the sight of which was so horrifying to Zim that he never wanted to see it happen again, and the smell of the process was so foul that it briefly overpowered the Chrono-Dumper dung that causes the time loops.
* EvilIsHammy: Most of Zim's plans come with long tirades that he just ''loves'' to inflict on whoever he's forcing to listen.
* EvilIsPetty: Despite being older than every other human on Earth, Zim's greatest rival comes in the form of an 12-year-old child no one even believes. The biggest example is when he put Dib through a LotusEaterMachine where he lives a fulfilled life and is adored by everyone...because he threw a muffin at him.
* EvilLaugh: ''Incredibly'' good at this. In the show's opening, he is seen laughing maniacally in an ImagineSpot of succeeding in his conquest.
* ExpressiveMask: His contact lenses change pupil size like real eyes. Somehow.
* FatalFlaw: He has two -- his vanity and unwillingness to abide by common sense. The truth is that Zim ''is'' genuinely brilliant and a deadly invader when he applies himself. Unfortunately, he's less than aware of this, which leads him to concocting insane half-plans that always blow up in his face. If it weren't for (most) of the human population being stupid and the universe making Dib its chew toy, Zim would have been defeated long ago under normal circumstances.
* FauxAffablyEvil: The few times Zim teams up with Dib to stop an even worse/more chaotic evil, Zim usually tries to put on a vague facade of politeness but it's still obvious that he utterly hates having to work with the human.
%%* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Choleric.
%%* {{Foreshadowing}}: His first appearance in the comic proper has him doing stretches. It's soon revealed that he's warming himself up after [[spoiler:doing nothing for a number of weeks as part of his BatmanGambit]].
* FailedAttemptAtDrama: In the 2017 teaser trailers for ''Enter the Florpus'', he tries to scare the audience with a video message about [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall his return and newfound plans to conquer Earth,]] only to get interrupted by GIR.
-->'''Zim:''' ''(in a deep and ominous voice)'' People of Earth...did you really think you'd seen the last of me? Don't you know an Invader never stops until their mission is complete? I've been watching you. Waiting. And soon your world will be MINE!\\

'''Zim:''' ''(returns to normal voice, annoyed)'' No, GIR! I'm being serious!\\
'''GIR:''' But I like your voice! It's funny!\\
'''Zim:''' I'm not ''being'' funny! I'm being, you know, terrifying and spooky!\\
'''GIR:''' Oooooh, okay!\\
'''Zim:''' ''(resumes deep voice)'' Soon your world will be... ''(normal voice)'' ...Nope! You've ruined it, GIR! Nice going!\\
'''GIR:''' Awww.
* GalacticConqueror: As the show's title [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin speaks for itself.]]
* GeneralFailure: He really ''is'' a moron. His stupidity is usually what prevents him from conquering anything at all (if [[WorthyOpponent Dib]] or [[BumblingSidekick GIR]] has no interference). The most common assumption for this is that he carries a defective [[AwesomeBackpack PAK,]] which is basically an Irken invader's brain, knowledge and competence. An interview with Richard Horvitz said this is partially because of his blind allegiance to his planet. Horvitz said Zim would tell right away GIR was just trash, but because the Tallest said he was "advanced", Zim instantly believed them.
* GeniusDitz: [[invoked]] 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. WordOfGod has noted that Zim is best described as a genius with horrifically skewed priorities and no common sense.
* GirlScoutsAreEvil: When he's selling Poop candy bars for a school fundraiser to get the mystery prize in "Door to Door".
* GoalInLife: To conquer Earth, enslave all humankind, and impress the Tallests. Due to his stupidity, he's never going to accomplish it.
* HairTriggerTemper: He's known for his anger issues.
* HarmlessVillain: If it isn't Dib who stops him, it's usually his own stupidity. Gaz herself lampshades it in "Enter the Florpus", where ironically he's actually proven to be a NotSoHarmlessVillain when he really applies himself.
* HatedByAll: Outside of GIR (and even then that's almost only because of his stupidity), nobody likes Invader Zim. This is for a multitude of reasons, such as Zim's utter insanity and incompetence (most characters), Zim trying to take over the world (Dib), Zim ruining their life (Tak), etc. And even though the children defend Zim from Dib's accusations, they still hate the Irken's guts. Even GIR has been shown to hate Zim in "Duty Mode" and his base's computer is [[DeadpanSnarker very snarky towards him]]. In addition, his entire race despises him, often mocking Zim behind his back, and the Tallest only made him an Invader so he wouldn't horribly derail their plans for universal conquest. [[ObliviousToHatred Not that Zim is aware of this contempt, of course]].
* HatesBeingTouched:
** In "Mortos Der Soul Stealer", Dib wasn't touching him per se, but holding him down so Mortos could steal his soul. Zim reacted very negatively to it.
** In "Germs", he really doesn't want to be hugged by GIR, though this could be due to his [[NeatFreak germophobia.]]
** This dialogue in "Bestest Friend":
--->'''Keef:''' ''(hugs Zim)'' I'm so happy!\\
'''Zim:''' ''(pushes Keef away)'' Don't touch me.
* TheHeavy: Like all Irken invaders, Zim acts as an agent for [[GreaterScopeVillain the Tallest]], being charged with conquering Earth.
* HiddenDepths: When he doesn't have time to let himself swell up in his own ego, he can be quite [[CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass dangerous and a really skilled opponent.]] He's very intelligent, just reckless and too loyal to his race for his own good. He also has disturbingly vivid fears: he's very obsessive-compulsive (to the point of breaking down crying when he discovered how filthy his house is) and has very specific fears of being discovered by humans, mutilated, and kept in a dark room for the rest of his life. In addition, despite the militarised conditioning that Irkens go through as soon as they're born, his reaction in "Parent Teacher Night" to remembering the robot arm that first greeted him indicates, if anything, the capability to experience love and further a desire to be loved, and he looks both relieved and downright euphoric to see the Roboparents take him into their arms at the end of the episode.
* HijackingCthulhu: Many a plan of Zim's involves harnessing a force greater than himself. Ex. the Wormhole Moose, the Mars-ship, the Star Donkey, the Pants-parasites, the Brain-Eating Parasite, and the Florpus Hole. In most cases it backfires on him...and quite often everyone else.
* HisOwnWorstEnemy: Having demonstrated his intelligence and genuine competence time and time again, it has been increasingly clear just who is in his way of becoming the greatest Invader of them all: '''Zim'''.
* HumanoidAliens: He has the general shape and proportions of a human child but also has green skin, no ears, a lizard-like tongue, red insect eyes, and antennae. Funnily enough though, everybody on Earth except Dib and Gaz is so stupid that with just contacts and a wig he's able to pass off his green skin and lack of ears as a "skin condition".
* HumansAreUgly: A firm believer of this. In fact, he sticks with his counter-productive PaperThinDisguise because he doesn't want to look too human.
* HumansThroughAlienEyes: Sees them as stupid and revolting, which to be fair, is [[SurroundedByIdiots not entirely inaccurate when it comes to humans in this show]]. Secretly, though, he's also terrified of humans; one of his recurrent fears is being captured and mutilated by human authorities.
* {{Hypocrite}}: He condescendingly pities "poor, deluded Skoodge" for thinking the Tallest still hold him in favor. The irony of this really needs no explanation.
* HypocriticalHumor: ''(laughs)'' "Inferior human organs! ...Ow, my squeedlyspooch!"
* IHaveYourWife: Coerces Vortian Prisoner 777 for information by [[http://globegander.tumblr.com/post/123359114696/somebody-put-this-on-a-t-shirt-ive-missed-you holding his children hostage and threatening to "erase" them.]]
* IneffectualSympatheticVillain: Deconstructed. While it's hard not to pity Zim at times given how much he goes through trying to fulfill his purpose,with his leaders brushing him off as a defective failure, his sheer devotion to the Irken Empire's genocidal agenda, as well as the fact that he's capable of some truly vile and horrifying deeds, reminds you how much of a monster he is.
* InsaneTrollLogic: "My Tallests, a new child attacked me with meat. My conclusion? SHE'S IN LOVE WITH ME!" Amusingly, given that the customary Valentine's gift on Earth in the ''Invader Zim'' universe is meat, this might in fact be one of the few times Zim was actually paying attention to the humans.
* InsectoidAliens: Zim, and all other Irkens, resemble generic humanoid bugs, not helped by the fact that their [=PAKs=] contain mechanical spider legs.
* InsufferableGenius: Zim is brilliant with alien technologies and even an effective strategist at times, but he overestimates his own abilities and likes to declare out loud that he's an incredible genius.
* InsufferableImbecile: A selfish, LethallyStupid jerkass whose evil plans often fail due to his own stupidity.
* IRejectYourReality: Zim's [[SmallNameBigEgo remarkable ego]] is a great example of this. Any evidence that suggests the Tallest don't like him and that his mission to conquer Earth is a lie meant to get rid of him will go in one ear and out the other. A notable example occurs during Dib's failed attempt at an EnemyMine in "Gaz, Taster of Pork":
-->'''Zim''': Help ''you''!? Why should I help ''you''!?
-->'''Dib''': Hey! I helped ''you'' [[CallBack when we were transforming into giant balonies!]]
-->'''Zim''': '''YOU'RE MAKING IT UP!!'''
* ItsAllAboutMe: Zim is absurdly selfish and cares about no one else.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Though he would never admit it, he's occasionally shown to care about GIR.
** In Battle of the Planets, when GIR was actually being helpful (in his standard crazy state, no less), he said to himself: "Maybe that little robot isn't such a bad evil minion after all."
** In an unfinished episode, he screamed in sorrow when he thought GIR transformed into ground beef.
** "And I already promised the moon to GIR."
** In "Halloween Spectacular Of Spooky Doom", he was worrying if GIR could take on all the "zombies" all by himself.
** Once Zim gives GIR a lollipop when he cried, though it was mostly to shut him up.
** When GIR gets the two lost and Zim snaps at GIR, causing him to cry, Zim looks uncomfortable and comments that yelling will get them nowhere which is as close to an apology as Zim might ever get.
* JerkWithAHeartOfJerk: In "FBI Warning of Doom" and "Planet Jackers".
* KarmaHoudini:
** [[ZigZaggingTrope Sometimes, sometimes not.]] The most prominent example is "Dark Harvest", where he gets no repercussions for stealing his classmates' organs to avoid being found out as an alien.
** In ''Enter the Florpus'' [[spoiler:despite his actions endangering the Earth, he gets off relatively scott-free and still continuing his plans for world domination. [[DownplayedTrope It eases the sting in that]], though he's still up to his old tricks, his actions seem to have inadvertently doomed the Almighty Tallest and virtually all of the Irken Empire to the Florpus Hole, a fact that he remains oblivious to. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also, a pug falls on his head from space.]]]]
* KillAllHumans: 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 either be gone or easy to enslave.
* TheKingslayer: An unproduced episode reveals that he is responsible for accidentally killing the two Almighty Tallest, Miyuki and Spork, who came before Red and Purple. [[spoiler: His actions in the movie may have lead to the deaths, or FateWorseThanDeath, for Red and Purple as well, bringing the number up to 4.]]
* LackOfEmpathy: He has no empathy for anyone unless it's GIR or the Tallest.
* LargeHam: His hamminess is so large that it has its own gravitational pull.
* LaughablyEvil: Yes, his intentions are to conquer the Earth and he's overall a raving {{Jerkass}}, but Zim is still the funniest member of the whole cast by a wide margin, providing a ''lot'' of laughs thanks to his utter insanity, absurdly disproportionate ego, bitter sarcasm, and stupefying incompetence.
* LethallyStupid: He was originally exiled to Foodcourtia after he went on a [[AxCrazy killing rampage]] on his ''[[OmnicidalManiac own home planet]]''. In the unfinished episode "The Trial", it's revealed that he [[MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds destroyed several planets by scratching himself.]] Unfortunately, where it's required for him to actually destroy everything (Earth) he doesn't quite succeed.
* LonersAreFreaks: He's a social outcast at Skool (and in general), but has no interest in cultivating friendships. The one time he attempted to make a friend was solely as a means of avoiding being outed as an alien, and ended just as quickly as it began.
--> '''Zim''': Tch... humans and their ''friendships''... Invaders need no one! '''[[SuddenlyShouting NO ONE]]'''!
* MadEye: This ''is'' a Creator/JhonenVasquez production, after all.
* MadScientist: He was once a military scientist, but was exiled to food service after accidentally killing the Almighty Tallest. He's still prone to performing unethical experiments in the series proper; often with live test subjects.
* MadeOfIron: Probably another good reason the Tallest fear him. He gets burned by toxic rain water, gets his lenses boiled by the sun, takes a brutal beating from a Planet Jacker, gets ''flayed alive'' in "Lice", gets grotesquely swollen up by a cosmic eclipse, and gets feasted upon by a brain parasite, among other injuries. He never loses his confidence, and if anything these just seem to encourage him to keep trying.
* MikeNelsonDestroyerOfWorlds: In the unproduced episode "The Trial," it's revealed that he has, in fact destroyed more than one planet. By scratching himself.
* MirrorCharacter: He and Dib share a lot in common. Both of them are looked on as incompetent or crazy by regular members of their respective races due to past incidents. Both of them are capable of being legitimately dangerous in spite of their quirks. Both of them are mocked by their own race for a perceived physical quirk (being small in Zim's case, having a big head for Dib). Both of them are obsessed with proving their worth and success to their peers. This is something Dib even briefly acknowledges in ''Enter the Florpus'' during Zim's DespairEventHorizon.
-->'''Dib:''' You know... my dad [[DudeWheresMyRespect doesn't respect what I do, either.]]
* MoodSwinger: While he's most known for being a LargeHam, the occasional moments when he's [[DullSurprise shockingly nonchalant]] are often just as funny. "Zim Eats Waffles" in particular features him oscillating between his usual diabolical ranting and a more laid-back casualness.
* MostDefinitelyNotAVillain: He passes himself off as a human and nobody else but Dib and Gaz notice that he doesn't look much like a human.
* TheNapoleon: He is from a society that determines rank from height, and is the size of a human child, due to him being hatched prematurely. For comparison, he is roughly the same age (if not older) than The Tallest, but doesn’t even come up to their knees. As a result he's perpetually eager to please his leaders, but being a TooDumbToLive GeniusDitz he only succeeds in making things worse.
* NeatFreak: In "Germs", he starts to get obsessed with cleanliness due to becoming germophobic to paranoid levels.
* NiceHat:
** In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", he wears a police hat he took from Officer Squidman.
** When he works at the fast food restaurant in "Career Day".
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: His efforts to get the Almighty Tallest to notice him in ''Enter the Florpus'' ultimately results in [[spoiler: most (if not all) of the Irken Armada getting sucked into the titular Florpus, freeing the galaxy (at least temporarily) from their conquest.]] Zim is completely oblivious to this, of course.
* NoIndoorVoice: Zim tends to be pretty shouty most of the time ("[[YouLie You lie! You liiiiiiiiiiiiie!!!"]]) This trait of his is lampshaded in "Issue #17" of the comics, where Dib tells him that he yells too much, and that he never realized how annoying it was until [[ItMakesSenseInContext spending time locked up with him]].
* NotMeThisTime: One of the comics has him try to infiltrate the local equivalent of the Girl Scouts. Dib bursts in and yells that there's an alien in disguise trying to take over the earth here... and the scout leader rips off her rubber mask and reveals herself. Turns out Zim was only there to steal cookies to bribe GIR with.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain:
** Several episodes such as "The Wettening" or "Dark Harvest" show that he can be a pretty big threat.
** This becomes a plot point in ''Enter the Florpus'', [[spoiler: where he [[TheChessmaster goads Dib into assisting him in the (improvised) Phase Two of his plan by allowing Dib to bring him to his father's convention, giving him the opportunity to take Professor Membrane's place as the world's leading scientist and trick the children of the world into holding hands wearing recalibrated Membraclets so that he could teleport the Earth straight into the Tallest's path]]. Gaz herself admits that this is a step up from Zim's usual incompetence and that she was wrong for thinking he'd just mess up his plan on his own.]]
* ObliviousToHatred: He is utterly blind to how much his entire species hates him, due to both his insanity and big ego [[IRejectYourReality tainting his view of things]].
* OddFriendship: With GIR, his robot sidekick. Zim's a megalomaniacal, egotistical world conqueror while GIR's a ditzy, cheerful {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, but they seem to get along fine for the most part.
* OffModel: In one shot in "Megadoomer", his uniform is red instead of pink.
* OlderThanTheyLook: [[WordOfGod Jhonen Vasquez]] has stated that [[https://twitter.com/JhonenV/status/1147294170140143616 Zim is far older]] than any human on the show and is only treated as a kid due to his height. This only makes his feud with an 11 year old boy look that much more pathetic.
* OmnicidalManiac: He even embarked on a destruction spree on ''his own planet''. Either he didn't understand how much devastation he caused or he [[LackOfEmpathy just doesn't care.]]
* PaperThinDisguise: 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. He claims he has a skin condition, [[BlatantLies which is also the reason why he doesn't have ears]]... The funny part, though, is that given later episodes, Zim is shown to actually put the ''most'' work into his disguise compared to other Invaders.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Tricky to place, but Zim ''does'' do a lot of damage, intentionally or not. [[AllThereInTheManual According to the unmade scripts,]] he single-handedly started a crippling global blackout when he was about four minutes old. And according to that same script, he once seemingly blew up a planet just by standing there while scratching his butt. In fact, he was sent to military research because, in the words of the Tallest Miyuki (the Tallest at the time) "He destroys everything he touches!"
* PetTheDog:
** Rather literally, Zim has had a few moments of genuine-seeming kindness directed at GIR, whose disguise consists of a dog.
--->'''Zim:''' It's over, Tak! The Earth is mine to devastate! ...And I already promised the moon to GIR.
** Amusingly downplayed in "Tak: The Hideous New Girl". When he's summing up the episode's events to the Tallest at the end, he briefly admits that he couldn't have defeated Tak without the assistance of "the filthy humans" (read: Dib and Gaz). Of course, he ''immediately'' goes back on that and claims that he [[BlatantLies used mind control on them to get their assistance with his plan]], but considering how Zim sees all of humanity as only fit for either extermination or being MadeASlave, that's still a pretty noteworthy moment of humility from him.
* PickOnSomeoneYourOwnSize: His rivalry with Dib... [[NonIndicativeName although, technically,]] they ''are'' the same size...
* PintsizedPowerhouse: He's absolutely tiny compared to a lot of characters in the series but he's ridiculously destructive. And insane.
* PragmaticVillainy: He usually will team up to stop a greater threat from destroying the earth, but make no mistake this is because ''he'' wants to ravage the planet for himself.
* PsychoForHire: He prefers HumongousMecha and his KillSat instead of killing and maiming directly, but it's hard to ignore the maniacal glee with which he steals organs or reduces cities to rubble.
* PsychopathicManchild: He's an adult by Irken standards (the Almighty Tallest are actually his ''peers'' in age), but he's also childish enough to have a mutually intense rivalry with a twelve-year-old human boy.
* PuppeteerParasite: His PAK would have been revealed to be one in "Ten Minutes to Doom".
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: WordOfGod has him [[http://www.revolutionsf.com/article.php?id=552&page=5 "older than any human alive,"]] at any rate.
* RealMenWearPink: His uniform is pink and he looks like he's wearing a dress.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: The Tallest sent him to invade Earth simply to keep his incompetence from screwing up the more important plans of Irken conquest.
* TheRemnant: [[spoiler: By the end of ''Enter the Florpus'', a combination of his shortsightedness, the Tallest's stupidity and the Membrane family's resistance results in the entire Irken fleet becoming trapped inside an interdimensional hellscape, which may have ended Operation Impending Doom II and potentially the Irken Empire itself. Zim himself is totally unaware of this, and continues his effort to conquer the Earth in preparation for the Tallest's arrival. Assuming this isn't handwaved away by NegativeContinuity, his mission, which was already a SnipeHunt to begin with, is now truly of absolutely no consequence.]]
* RightForTheWrongReasons: In ''Enter the Florpus'', Zim realizes that the Almighty Tallest and Irken Armada will never actually come to Earth. However, Zim thinks that this is a punishment for him forgetting "Phase 2" of his plan and wasting their time earleir, when in reality the Tallest were ''never'' going to come to Earth regardless (as they both hate him and Zim is TheExile).
* SanityHasAdvantages: He has proven himself several times to be pretty badass and can be very intelligent. Heck, if he wasn't totally out of his mind, he'd be the best soldier the Irkens could have. As it is, his erratic nature, immaturity, and delusions mean that he's more a threat to the Irkens than to anyone else.
* SecretIdentity: On Earth, he has a secret identity through his PaperThinDisguise.
* SelectiveObliviousness: Due to his massive ego, Zim cannot conceive the idea that his superiors hate him and want nothing to do with him, no matter how plain they make their contempt for him known. Even in ''Enter the Florpus'' [[spoiler:when Zim discovers that the Irken Armada isn't coming to Earth, he assumes it's because the Tallest are angry at him for failing to think of a Phase 2 of his plan to conquer Earth and not that they were never planning on coming in the first place.]]
* ScreamingWarrior: Mostly averted; Zim attempts this but usually ends up with a high-pitched squeal.
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: He screams like a little girl when he's afraid or in pain.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The Manly Man to GIR's Sensitive Guy.
* SheatheYourSword: The first issue of the comic has Zim reaping the fruits of a very simple and effective BatmanGambit he set up against Dib. [[spoiler:By doing absolutely nothing for a prolonged period of time]], he knew that he'd make Dib so paranoid as to what he was plotting that he'd [[spoiler:waste all his time and energy trying to seek him out with his surveillance equipment, neglecting his body and turning himself into a fat, noodle-armed impotent who would be incapable of interfering with Zim's real scheme.]] ''Enter The Florpus'' starts with the end-result of him doing this, and he takes advantage of it by [[PokeThePoodle switching around people's mail, read newspapers he doesn't have a subscription for, and kick over trash cans]].
* SkewedPriorities: [[invoked]] Despite his reputation, Zim is in fact a genius with a lifetime of incredible scientific achievement under his belt. The problem is that he's easily distracted and is horrible at prioritizing his goals. [[WordOfGod Jhonen Vasquez]] has listed the episode "Megadoomer" as the perfect example of this trait, where, after receiving the most powerful weapon the Irken Armada has ever created, he rationalizes that the best use of the machine would be petty revenge on Dib (rather than attacking a strategic target or fixing the machine's faulty power systems).
* SlasherSmile: In many of his AxCrazy moments, he grins in an unnerving fashion.
* SmallNameBigEgo: He is despised by his species due to the combination of this trope and TooDumbToLive.
* SmugSnake: His massive ego is what usually prevents him from succeeding, because when he doesn't have time to let his ego have any impact on his decisions, he's actually quite badass (especially prominent in "Hobo 13").
* SnipeHunt: His mission originally began as one of these, as the Irken Empire wasn't entirely sure there ''was'' a planet where Earth was, and he was simply sent there to get rid of him. When he finally reached said planet six months later, the operation "upgraded" into a case of ReassignedToAntarctica.
* TheSociopath: Given that he is part of a race who're obsessed with conquering planets for petty reasons, it's not surprising that he has virtually zero empathy for other people and is willing to hurt people without remorse. Justified still, since he isn't very good at acting out false feelings, however, the humans are too stupid to notice.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Single-handedly ruined Operation Impending Doom I by accidentally devastating the Irken homeworld as a result of being too short to see over the control panel of his HumongousMecha. [[spoiler: He ends up doing the same with even more catastrophic results in ''Enter the Florpus'', where his moving the Earth to be along The Massive's warpath ends up creating the interdimensional Florpus that the entire Irken Armada gets trapped in, not only slowing/stopping Operation Impending Doom II but potentially destroying the ''entire'' Irken Empire.]]
* SpiderLimbs: He has spider-like legs emerge from AwesomeBackpack.
* SquareRaceRoundClass: Being an (ex-)invader runs counter to Zim's destructive talents. As Red accurately put it, invaders are supposed to "observe" and sabotage planets rather than annihilate them outright.
* StaticCharacter: At the end of the day, he is and probably always will be the conquering little maniac we love to hate, and never move beyond his quest to TakeOverTheWorld. [[spoiler:Even when he falls into a temporary depression over his Tallest not caring for him, he still just as quickly gets back into the groove and is happy to go back to his normal routine even after his plans are thwarted.]] One could say that this is deliberate, as he's pathologically incapable of recognizing his flaws and is [[IRejectYourReality much happier in the fantasy that he's a great invader.]]
* StopWorshippingMe:
** In "Attack of the Saucer Morons", he gets discovered and captured by a group of alien-worshipping cultists who proclaim themselves his loving servants. Zim, who finds humans repulsive, wants nothing to do with them and tries to escape their clutches as fast as possible.
** In Issue 7, he's initially happy to have the rapidly-evolving amoebas worship him. However, they quickly get on his nerves, to the point where he repeatedly tries in vain to get them to leave him alone.
* StupidEvil: He veers between this and ChaoticStupid:
-->'''Zim''': I put the fires out!\\
'''Tallest''': You made them '''worse!'''\\
'''Zim''': Worse... Or ''better?''
* SuperOCD: [[NoIndoorVoice "GERMS!!"]]
* SycophanticServant: He goes to extreme lengths to impress the Tallest.
* TakeOverTheWorld: The premise of the show is that he attempts to conquer Earth.
* TemporaryBulkChange: He becomes enormously bloated in "Dark Harvest" as a result of stealing organs from his Skool classmates and eating them.
* TerrifiedOfGerms: In "Germs", he panics when he sees germs on every surface of his house while looking through his germ-finding goggles.
* ThatLiarLies: Zim's proclamations of lies, and how they usually bring out his hamminess, is a RunningGag.
* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: If it's not his personal motto, it ought to be.
* TheyWouldCutYouUp: 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.
* ThirdPersonPerson: "I am Zim, and Zim shall rule!"
* TheStarscream: Normally averted completely, since he’s ''obsessively'' loyal to the Tallests despite them blatantly not caring about him, but in his MotorMouth message to thank them for (accidentally) sending him the Megadoomer, he apparently wants to rule the universe himself, though even then he says they “won’t be forgotten”
* TomatoSurprise: After adapting the opening of the comicbook series, the film's plot is kicked off when Zim finds out that the Almighty Tallest have no intention of ever coming to Earth, wrecking Zim's usually unflappable confidence and giving Dib (who has become fat and filthy due to Zim's manipulations) a chance to stage his own comeback.
* TooCleverByHalf: Yes, Zim is an EvilGenius with access to advanced technology, but his massive ego, SkewedPriorities, and faulty programming all combine to prevent him from taking over Earth.
* TooDumbToLive: Unable to learn from his various lethal mistakes... and it doesn't help that he often comes out of them unscathed.
* TookALevelInBadass: While in the series he was typically portrayed as a ridiculous NotSoHarmlessVillain, Zim in ''Enter the Florpus'' is portrayed as more of a genuine threat to the entire universe, albeit one who is still quite LaughablyEvil and so incompetent that his plan would've completely blown up in his face anyhow.
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: In the unproduced episode "The Trial", he is declared a defective by the Control Brains, who sentence him to execution and attempt to erase the data from his PAK (which he needs to live). But his PAK is filled with so much bad data that absorbing it drives them insane and causes them to instead declare him the most incredible Irken ever.
* TwitchyEye:
-->'''Zim''': We cannot fail, Gir. Even as a small Irken smeet my dream was to pass Probing Day like a sloorbeeze passes her young. JIGGLY! And full of juice. (''twitch twitch'')
* UncertainDoom: Due to NegativeContinuity, many episodes end with Zim potentially dying/revealed to the public. In "The Wettening," we last see him drowning in a toilet. In "Hobo 13," he possibly flies into a sun when The Tallest tamper with his new ship's controls. In "Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars," we last see him screaming in pain as his [[HoistByHisOwnPetard own brain-eating Parasite procceeds to eat his brain]]. In "Dibship Rising," Tak's Ship throws Zim into space [[WhateverHappenedToTheMouse and we don't see him again]]. And in "Attack of the Saucer Morons," both he and GIR have their true forms revealed to ''two'' different groups of alien-worshipping cultists and UFO investigators.
* TheUnfettered: Zim will stop at absolutely nothing to achieve his dream, even if it's for petty grudges, such as dropping a giant water-balloon on Earth just to win against Dib in a water fight.
* UndyingLoyalty: To the Tallest and the Irken Empire. Unfortunately for them, "loyal soldier" is not equivalent to "''competent'' soldier".
* UsedToBeASweetKid: PlayedForLaughs in a flashback. The first thing he does upon being born -- aka awakened by a Control Brain following his creation in an underground lab -- is to affectionately glomp onto the robot.
-->'''Zim''': I love you, cold unfeeling robot arm!
* VagueAge: While Zim is short enough to pose as a human child, he also claims that he's been flying ships since before Dib was born. This, combined with Irken biology and their societal views based on height, makes it difficult to place how old Zim actually is. WordOfGod says that he's an adult by Irken standards, but still leaves how old this actually makes him vague.
* VillainProtagonist: His goal is to conquer the world under the assumption that doing so will assist the EvilEmpire that he serves in taking over the galaxy. Outside of this, he's generally violent, destructive, ammoral and cruel, with little in the way of obviously redeeming traits.
* VillainsBlendInBetter: His disguises are garbage, but he can be rather charismatic and deceptively personable once he has enough information about his targets. In the comics, he uses his newly-acquired knowledge of the alternative art scene pretension and related lingo to create a front for an enormous mechanism to summon the Star Donkey.
* VillainousBSOD: He suffers a complete breakdown and falls into a depression in ''Enter the Florpus'' upon finally realizing the Tallest have no intention of seeing his conquest of Earth. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Dib ends up]] being the one to give him the motivation and plan needed to renew his efforts.]]
* VillainousValor: Whenever he goes up against a bigger, nastier horror(often of his own making) he remains incredibly diligent and is willing to take a beating to overcome any challenge to his mission.
* VocalEvolution:
** His voice was artificially pitched up in the early episodes, causing it to sound lower as the series goes on.
** Zim sounds a little hoarser in ''Enter the Florpus'', likely because it's been well over a decade since the show and Horvitz is a fair bit older.
* WeaksauceWeakness: To water. It was supposed to be to ''polluted'' water only, but that didn't come across to the writers/animation team/storyboarders. Though, given [[GaiasLament Earth's state]] in this setting, one could argue that ''all'' water has been polluted.
* WellDoneSonGuy: Though the Tallest are his leaders instead of his fathers (in fact they're apparently around the same age), a lot of Zim's motivation for conquering the Earth comes from a childlike desire to make them proud, not unlike a little kid wanting his parents' recognition.
* WontTakeYesForAnAnswer:
** A RunningGag 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:''' [[ShapedLikeItself There's waffle in 'em!]]\\
'''Zim:''' YOU'RE LYING!
* WorthyOpponent: He admits on one occasion he sees Dib as this.
-->'''Zim:''' You're one of the only people who can appreciate the amazingness of this plan, [[JustBetweenYouAndMe so I'm going to let you in on what "it" is...]]
* WouldHitAGirl: In "Bestest Friend", he tortures Gretchen just off-screen.
* WouldHurtAChild: Considering that he is actually an adult and that he has no issues with trying to kill or harm any children who get in his way, he is an example of this. Sometimes, [[ForTheEvulz they don't even need to be in his way.]] In "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX7yo6xZlxw&t=10m40s Attack of the Saucer Morons,]]" for instance, he deliberately veers his escape ship so that it's heading straight for ''a baby.'' [[SlasherSmile Note the look on Zim's face.]]
* YouDontLookLikeYou: His Series 2 Palisades toy doesn't have a PAK.

[[folder:GIR]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gir_dog_suit.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Rosearik Rikki Simons

->''"I like waffles!"''

Zim's [[RobotBuddy 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 "[[TheDitz moronic]]," thanks to having a head literally full of garbage.[[note]]To be precise, Tallest Purple's ''pocket lint''.[[/note]] 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 blue to [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]], and act like a real SIR.

* AchievementsInIgnorance:
** Without even trying, he's very good at blending in with humans. In "Attack of the Saucer Morons", he has fun dancing with some girls at a nightclub.
** In the unproduced episode "The Trial", he ''successfully conquers Earth'' while Zim is being held prisoner on the Massive.
** His very creation is a case of this. He was literally slapped together with random lint and garbage for a "brain"/CPU, with a body made from spare parts and according to WordOfGod, a defunct frozen yogurt maker. And yet the end result was still a fully functional robot assistant. Even with his insanity, the fact that he can turn on and perform even the most basic functions, all things considered is a miracle.
* AffablyEvil: Definitely more amiable compared to Zim.
* AliensLoveHumanFood: GIR has a bottomless appetite and will eat almost anything, his favorites being tacos and waffles. "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" has him ballooning to a massive size after eating loads of candy stolen from trick-or-treaters.
* AmbiguousInnocence: GIR is, indeed, innocent -- it is hard to imagine he even has the mental capacity to understand that there is a difference between right and wrong, much less know what that difference is. GIR often relishes in destruction only seemingly without malice, but an increase in understanding and competence (such as in the episode "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff") would simply provide the needed motivation to apply that destructive force purposefully. In short, just because he's dumb and innocent doesn't mean he'd be a sweet-tempered do-gooder if left to his own devices.
* AntiVillain: Type IV (unless he "goes crazy and stuff"). Usually he's too interested in snacking or television to do anything actually evil, and the few times he's lucid enough to act like the killer robot he was intended to be, they don't last long enough for him to accomplish anything before going back to his relatively harmless insanity.
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: Nearly anything can distract him--squirrels, piggies, waffles, the Scary Monkey show, whatever.
* BadassAdorable: He's a pretty cute robot taking over the world ''all by himself'' in an unfinished episode, and he wasn't in duty mode.
* BagOfHolding: The inside of his head can hold dozens of rubber piggies.
* BerserkButton: Don't make the Taco Man die in front of him, not even if it's fake.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: It would be hard to say if he is nice or mean, but he isn't as evil as Zim, and he's too [[InnocentlyInsensitive dumb to realize how evil he is.]].. and when he's in [[OhCrap Duty Mode]]...
* BewareTheSillyOnes: In one episode, Zim locks GIR into "Duty Mode" (the red-eyed, serious version), and he promptly becomes much more evil and competent than Zim himself, including deciding that Zim is a threat to the mission and needs to be eliminated. Long story short, Zim just barely turns him back to normal in time to prevent a KlingonPromotion.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: We have absolutely no idea why he does anything he does, and if we could look into his thought processes, [[YourHeadAsplode our brains would a-splode]].
* BigEater: He's very gluttonous, eating lots of waffles and tacos mostly. He also comes off as a messy eater due to how fast he eats.
* BumblingSidekick: He is Zim's incompetent lackey.
* CatchPhrase:
** "TAACOOOS!"
** "Okie dokie!"
** "Ooooooo..."
* ChaoticStupid: Even more than Zim, due to his utter lack of reasoning capabilities or self-restraint.
* ChickMagnet: Was seen dancing with a bunch of girls at a club, then dropped off at the house hours later by his new friends.
* ChildrenAreInnocent: How "innocent" is highly debatable but GIR essentially has the mind of a small child who doesn't fully comprehend the magnitude of his actions.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: However, Jhonen has gone on record to say that humor involving GIR isn't random as it's all rooted by the fact that the robot's brain is literally junk.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Blue/green = regular GIR. Red = duty mode.
* CraniumCompartment: He can open the top of his head and uses the space within to store items. As his behaviour demonstrates, his CPU doesn't take up much space at all in there.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: His duty mode proves this without a doubt, especially in "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff". Not to mention that he managed to TakeOverTheWorld all on his own in an unfinished episode.
* {{Cuckoosnarker}}: During his moments of clarity, GIR can be pretty snarky towards Zim.
-->'''Zim:''' You now possess superior geographic guidance abilities, GIR.\\
'''GIR:''' [[SarcasmMode Finally.]]
* CuddleBug: "Aww, somebody needs a hug!"
* CuteButCacophonic: GIR is undeniably cuddly looking and has a loud, high pitched scream when he's upset.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Well, not quite -- his eyes are the same color as the lightbulb on the antenna on the top of his head.
* DeathGlare: When delivering his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Zim in duty mode in "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff".
* TheDitz: He is amazingly ditzy. He often heads into {{Cloudcuckoolander}} territory, depending on the local humidity and/or piggy count.
* TheDragon: SIR units as a whole fulfill this purpose for their masters, and GIR, being Zim's robotic sidekick, fulfills the same role... [[TheDitz just with much less effectiveness than the standard model]]. When Minimoose comes aboard, he and GIR [[CoDragons share the role.]]
* DumbassHasAPoint: More often than you would expect. It's not uncommon for him to pick up the SmartBall when no one else is around to be Zim's StraightMan.
** When Zim gets freaked out about a baby spotting them [[note]]In fairness, it was actually an [[MakesAsMuchSenseInContext alien that looks like a human baby.]][[/note]], GIR says this:
--->'''GIR:''' Dib's seen us before. ''And'' he knows where we live.
** He gets another moment in "Walk For Your Lives." When Zim decides to cancel out the stasis field slowing down a city-busting explosion, [[DidntThinkThisThrough not taking into account]] that said explosion will still annihilate his base and the entire city, GIR of all people insists to Zim that going through with this plan is ''not'' a good idea.
** In the movie, Zim tries to pull a YouDidntSeeThat, only for GIR to say "YES THEY DID."
* DumbIsGood: [[invoked]] [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]; GIR's impulsive stupidity leaves him with little regard for others' safety, and he causes destruction for entertainment on a whim. Note that portraying him as "good" was ''never'' the intent, but the [[MisaimedFandom 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; without his mental issues distracting him, it turns out he's naturally as cold and evil as any other SIR unit.
* EasterEgg: The infamous "Bloody Gir" (an image of GIR in duty mode and covered in blood), hidden as a TakeThat against the network for not allowing the image into a scene.
* EatingOptional: Being a robot, GIR doesn't need to eat, but he does anyway out of enjoyment of Earth food.
* EatingMachine: He loves to eat, mainly waffles and tacos. And burritos...and chicken...and pretty much everything else.
* ExtremeOmnivore:
** 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)...
** In the first issue of the comic, GIR claims [[EatsBabies to have eaten a baby]]. This joke is repeated verbatim in ''Enter the Florpus''.
--->'''GIR:''' I ate a baby there!\\
'''Zim:''' He did.
* FloatingLimbs: His metal legs. Averted in the toys, where his legs are attached to his body.
%%* FourTemperamentEnsemble: The Sanguine.
* TheGlomp: He loves anything cute and especially clings to Zim more than once.
* GeniusLoci: In "Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain", his brain is accidentally uploaded into the central hub of Zim's house, allowing him to control it and eventually turn it into a HumongousMecha.
* HanlonsRazor: Well, he actually never has an malicious intent whenever he does help Zim, but in duty mode...oh boy, is this trope ever averted.
* HeadPet: He rides on Zim's head in a few episodes such as "Battle of the Planets" and "Attack of the Saucer Morons". In "Tak, the Hideous New Girl", he uses Dib's head instead.
* HehHehYouSaidX:
-->'''Zim:''' I'm going to attempt to lock you into duty mode with this behavioral modulator.\\
''(GIR giggles)''\\
'''Zim:''' What?\\
'''GIR:''' Doody.
* HiddenDepths: The sentence "Do anything is real?" can be seen among his childish scribbles along the walls of Zim's house in ''Enter the Florpus'', implying that he possesses an understanding of existentialism that we otherwise get no insight into.
* HyperCompetentSidekick: In duty mode. Unfortunately for Zim, that usually only lasts for a few seconds. [[DumbassHasAPoint Although non-duty mode GIR has moments of surprising clarity that Zim repeatedly fails to pay any heed,]] like in "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy". The best example of this would be the time he tried to point out to Zim that speeding up a slowed down explosion (ItMakesSenseInContext) would be a bad thing.
* {{Keet}}: His electronic robot voice coupled with his bizarre enthusiasm for everything makes him a very notable example.
* KlingonsLoveShakespeare: He loves watching human TV programs, especially the Scary Monkey show. This causes some trouble in "Parent-Teacher Night" when Zim puts him in charge of making sure the Roboparents absorb information from a videotape of human parents' behavior towards their children, but GIR changes the channel to a bunch of random shows and commercials instead. HilarityEnsues.
* LethalChef: In "Zim Eats Waffles", he makes waffles and begs Zim to eat them. Zim enjoys them until GIR reveals that the waffles contain peanuts and soap.
-->'''Zim:''' GIR! Your waffles have sickened me! Fetch me the bucket!
* LethallyStupid: Especially in "Invasion of The Idiot Dog Brain".
* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext: '''EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM.'''
* TheMillstone: If it isn't Zim himself or Dib who foil his plans, [[LethallyStupid it's usually Gir who does.]]
* MinionWithAnFInEvil: [[ZigZaggingTrope Sometimes]]; in particular he holds no malice toward Dib (or anyone, usually) and helps him on occasion.
* MoralityPet: Slightly. Although GIR doesn't actually do anything to curb Zim's villainous actions, the little robot appears to be one of the few individuals Zim actually (somewhat) cares for.
* NotAfraidToDie: His reactions to impending doom can be downright gleeful, and he's even expressed disappointment at avoiding it. Doesn't quite cross the line into DeathSeeker territory, though.
-->'''GIR:''' Aww. I wanted to explode.
* NotSoHarmless: Jhonen has gone so far as to describe him as an "amoral baby monster" who has a tenuous grasp on reality due to how he was made.
* OcularGushers: Whenever he cries, expect bigass streams of tears to come flowing from his eyes.
--> "[[BigWhy WHYYYYYY?!]] WHY, MY PIGGY?! I LOVEDED YOU PIGGY! I LOVEDED YOU!"
* OddFriendship: With Zim, his leader and boss. Zim's a megalomaniacal, egotistical world conqueror while GIR's a ditzy, cheerful {{Cloudcuckoolander}}, but they seem to get along fine for the most part.
* PaperThinDisguise: His dog disguise isn't much better than Zim's own "human" disguise, up to and including the prominent zipper.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: In ''Invasion of the Idiot Dog Brain.''
* PintsizedPowerhouse: In duty mode, he can put up an impressive fight in spite of his small size. Occasionally in his "normal" mode as well. In "Megadoomer" he was able to carry a contact five times his size without any troubled effort.
* PluckyComicRelief: While most of the cast is comedic to some extent, [=GIR=]'s {{Cloudcuckoolander}} tendencies, BlueAndOrangeMorality and endless supply of non-sequiturs land him squarely in this category.
* PunchClockVillain: He only does what Zim says because he is his servant. [[TheMillstone Not that he often does what is asked of him, anyway]].
* RidiculouslyHumanRobots: For some reason, he enjoys eating food, watching TV, consistently demonstrates emotions, and is even able to cry. And then, of course, there's the fact that his constantly malfunctioning A.I seems to be suffering from [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schizoaffective_disorder schizoaffective disorder]].
* RobotKid: Although not intended as such in-universe, GIR's personality strongly resembles that of a hyperactive small child.
* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: The Sensitive Guy to Zim's Manly Man.
* ServileSnarker: He's not always making remarks at Zim's expense, but can be this during his moments of clarity. Not to mention when he's in duty mode.
* StepfordSmiler: If one is to take WordOfGod in the commentary of "Bestest Friends" literally, "GIR hates life and he wants to die", which would make him Type A. His glee at being ordered to self-destruct in "Dib's Wonderful Life Of Doom" seems to back this up, as does his admission in "GIR Goes Crazy And Stuff" that he despised being Zim's servant even when he was his normal self. According to his voice actor, GIR's usual behavior is the result of him being a broken unit and "duty mode" GIR is the real deal trapped in an AndIMustScream scenario.
* StylisticSuck: When Zim enters GIR's mind during the comic's Virooz arc, it greatly resembles the Grid from {{Film/Tron}}, but it's a deranged and largely broken version of it.
* SuicideAsComedy: In "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom", GIR shrieks a delighted "FINALLY!" upon being ordered to self-destruct. An early draft of the script made it more explicit by having GIR shout "SWEET RELEASE!" instead.
* TalkativeLoon: A lot of what he says are complete non sequiturs to show just how bonkers and ditzy he is.
-->"OOH! LEPRECHAUNS!"
* TantrumThrowing: Having the mind of a small child, GIR will sometimes do this when Zim does something he doesn't want. When Zim returned a DVD to the rental store, GIR ran around in circles screaming and crying for about five seconds before randomly falling asleep on the living room floor.
* TemporaryBulkChange: 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.
* TooDumbToFool: Possibly why Tak's MindControl doesn't work on him.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: He loves tacos, pizza and waffles.
* TransformationSequence: The first time he assumes dog form, he leaps into the air, poses amid a field of spinning bones, lets out a slow howl, and [[spoiler: lands, picking up his costume and zipping it on snugly.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: For all the time he spends goofing off, he still sticks by Zim the way a loyal pet does for his owner. Even when not in Duty Mode, he's come to Zim's rescue on a few occasions.
* WildCard: There's no way of knowing what he'll end up doing in any given circumstances, making him serve as a regular SpannerInTheWorks for Zim's plans.
* WolverinePublicity: Good god. If we had a dollar for every individual piece of merchandise that featured GIR in his dog suit, we'd have enough money to bribe Nickelodeon into uncanceling ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim.''
* YouDontLookLikeYou: In the toys that feature Robot!GIR, his legs are connected to his torso instead of floating apart from it, for obvious reasons.

!!Duty Mode GIR

[[quoteright:262:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gir_duty_mode.png]]

When in "duty mode", GIR switches to a completely different personality: highly intelligent, calculating, and efficient, even moreso than Zim.

* AIIsACrapshoot: While GIR's usual level of helpfulness is questionable at best, when Zim temporarily locks him into hyper-competent Duty Mode, [[GoneHorriblyRight GIR decides that Zim himself is a threat to the mission]] and [[TheStarscream decides to take over]].
* AndIMustScream: According to Rikki Simons, there is a perfectly competent "inner-GIR" desperately wanting to fix the outer "broken GIR" in order to get out and/or gain control of himself.
* AxCrazy: In duty mode, he takes his invasion job very seriously and will not hesitate to do away with anyone who serves as an impediment toward the Irken cause.
* CatchPhrase: "Yes, sir!" or, "Yes, my master!"
* CuteAndPsycho: In "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff]]", this adorable robot becomes psychotic.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Most episodes only have him show up for a few seconds, but his biggest role is in "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff".
* EvilSoundsDeep: His voice noticeably deepens, which is also the state where he is at his most transparently evil.
* FlatJoy: This line in "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff":
-->'''Duty!GIR''': Blend in with the indigenous life, analyze their weaknesses, prepare the planet for the coming badness. Yay.
* GoneHorriblyRight: In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim gets tired of GIR's incompetence screwing up his evil plans and uses a behavioral modulator to lock him into duty mode, making him smarter. GIR becomes smarter, indeed...so smart that he becomes more competent than Zim, and then concludes that ''Zim's'' incompetence is a threat to the mission and decides to "terminate" him.
* KillerRobot: In this mode, he becomes psychotic and violent.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Delivers one to Zim in "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff".
-->'''GIR:''' You are no commander! You are a threat to the mission! Your intelligence is ''stupid''! Your methods are ''stupid''! Your progress has been ''stupid''! Your intelligence is stupid! For the sake of the mission, you must be ''terminated''!
* RedEyesTakeWarning: This GIR has glowing red eyes and is ''much'' more dangerous than his normal self, since he has a completely functioning brain and is dedicated to completing his mission of taking over Earth.
* RoboticPsychopath: GIR is one of the few cases where AIIsACrapshoot is a ''good'' thing. In just the [[TheDitz ditzy sense]], he is always this, but in the AxCrazy sense he's this in duty mode. Zim [[OhCrap learnt this the hard way]] [[IdiotBall when he locked him into duty mode...]]
* TheStarscream: In ''GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff,'' a newly hyper-competent GIR decides that Zim's stupidity is a threat to their mission and attempts to correct the problem by terminating his master. Especially since the episode was made in attempt to show fans that he isn't supposed to be good-natured.
* SuperPersistentPredator: When he decides Zim is a threat to the mission, he'll stop at nothing to hunt him down and kill him. He's only stopped by being turned back into his normal goofy self.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: GIR's Duty Mode briefly becomes this when Zim locks him into it.
* TwitchyEye: When locked into duty mode permanently, and Zim leaves the room, you can clearly see his twitching.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Minimoose]]
[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minimoose.png]]
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/JhonenVasquez

->''"Nyaaa!"''

A floating, purple, noseless moose who's Zim's second sidekick. Originally envisioned as Zim's ultimate tool of destruction, whom he created to replace [=GIR=], since the series was cancelled before his debut episode could be finished, he was instead simply retconned as being with Zim "the entire time." Minimoose's actual power is finally showcased in ''Enter the Florpus'' where he ends up being crucial to Zim's evil plan.
----