Invader Zim / Tropes G to M

Invader Zim Trope Examples
A - C | D - F | G - M | N - S | T - Z

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G

• Gamer Chick: One of Gaz's most defining character traits is her love of video games, which she almost always plays.
• Genki Girl: Moofy from "The Girl Who Cried Gnome" is always bright and cheerful, even when she's supposedly terrified.
• Getting Smilies Painted on Your Soul: Nick has a happiness probe applied directly to his brain.
• Gilligan Cut: In "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom", Zim is seen worrying whether GIR will be okay. Cut to GIR attacking trick-or-treaters and stealing their candy, flying tackling someone so hard their underpants fly off.
• Girl Scouts Are Evil: Moofy and the Girly Rangers, who attack people to force them to buy their cookies.
• Glitch Episode: While "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff" plays out this way, it's really an Inverted Trope example, since glitchy is GIR's default: see Gone Horribly Right below.
• Gone Horribly Right: In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim, tired of GIR's stupidity constantly interfering with his plans, modifies him to keep him permanently in Duty Mode. It ends up working too well when GIR, noticing that Zim himself is a few crayons short of a full box, deems him a threat to the mission and tries to kill him.
• Goth: The entire show has a gothic theme to it. Gaz and Tak are considered as goth girls.
• Grandfather Paradox: In "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", GIR points out to Zim the paradox of using time travel to kill Dib in the past logically rendering the effort pointless. The resulting Logic Bomb causes GIR to literally explode. (That happens to him sometimes.)
  GIR: Wait, if you destroyed Dib in the past, then he won't ever be your enemy, and you won't have to send a robot back to destroy him. And then he will be your enemy so you will have to send a robot back—!!
• Groin Attack: Zim is seen watching footage of his human classmates bullying him in "A Room with a Moose". One piece of footage depicts Dib kicking Zim in the crotch, causing his disguise to fall off.
• Grossout Show: It had its moments. Mostly highlighted in "Dark Harvest" (where Zim attempts to avoid being found out as an alien by stealing human organs), "Germs" (where Zim obtains a pair of goggles that make him highly germophobic due to being able to see everything as riddled with bacteria), and "Halloween Spectacular of Spooky Doom" (which features such sights as Dib being turned inside out and GIR becoming morbidly obese from gorging on Halloween candy).
• Growling Gut: Happens to Gaz in "Bloaty's Pizza Hog" after watching a commercial for said pizza restaurant.

H

• Hates Being Touched: Zim.
  Keef: (hugs Zim) I'm so happy!
  (Zim pushes Keef away)
  Zim: Don’t touch me.
• Height Insult: The entire hierarchy of Irkens is based on height, so the Almighty Tallest enjoy mocking and condescending the very small members of their species. In the pilot, Tallest Purple scornfully cites Zim's stature as a reason why he shouldn't be an Invader.
• Have You Come to Gloat?: In "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom", future ZIM asks this of future Dib.
• Herr Doktor: Countess von Verminstrasser.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: The Tallest are this when they're not being Vitriolic Best Buds. Though likely unintended, Zim and GIR can come off as this sometimes, too.
• Hidden Badass: Tak
• Homage: "FBI Warning of Doom".
• Homage Shot: A scene from "Hamstergeddon" which the crew admits they lifted from the first episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion. Compare◊.
• Hot-Blooded: Zim's computer; a strange mix of this (Processing...PROCESSING!) and a Straight Man.
• Hugh Mann: Zim when out in public.
• Human Aliens: Subverted. Most aliens shown in the series are at best humanoid in appearance, but there are no human lookalikes.
• Humanoid Aliens: Almost all of them. The Meekrob, the Slaughtering Rat People, Shloonktapooxys of the Resisty — and possibly the Plookesians — are some of the only exceptions. A lot of the background aliens look different, though a loose humanoid form does seem to be standard for "important" races.
• Human Outside, Alien Inside: Despite the fact that Zim appears to be able to pass for human with only a minimal disguise, his inner workings appear to be quite different. "Ow, my squeedlyspooch!"
  Zim: "Don't come any closer! Don't try anything on me or I'll...I'll...I'll lay eggs in your stomach! I mean it!"
  • Although that one may or may not have any basis in reality as he was primarily trying to scare off his "worshipers".
• Humans Are Bastards: Anyone who is not a complete moron is completely apathetic or cruel.
• Humans Are Morons: Every human is an idiot, except for Dib, Gaz, Professor Membrane and Agent Darkbooty. Although it should be noted that every other sentient race (including Irkens) is portrayed as stupid much of the time, so they're really not any worse off.
• Humiliation Conga: Everything Zim had set up for the humans in "Backseat Drivers from Beyond The Stars" blows up SPECTACULARLY.
• Hypocritical Humor: "Attack of the Saucer Morons" opens with ZIM flying around in the Voot Cruiser making police cars crash to test Earth's defenses. He concludes that Earth vehicles are "PATHETIC!!" ZIM's ship then collides with a bee and explodes.

I

• I Have a Family: "I have children. And a toilet. And toilet... children."
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight:
  • In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim tries to remind knowledge-mad duty-mode GIR of having been ZIM's servant before.
  • In "Dibship Rising", the Dibship, under Zim's mind control, is about to destroy Dib. Dib attempts to stop the ship by reminding it that it is essentially Dib too.
• Incessant Music Madness: As Zim flies to Earth, GIR decides to sing the "Doom Song" on the way... for six months straight. Zim is just about to lose it when they finally arrive.
• Incoming Ham: The first time we see Professor Membrane is when he is making... *sparks fly* TOAST!!!
  • Of course, he is the inventor of "Super Toast!"
• Incredibly Obvious Bug: Lampshaded, and so played for comedic value.
  "Hey! Look at that garbage can!"
  "Why yes, it is quite impressive, that can."
  • Not to mention the time the 'tracking device' ZIM uses on Dib is just GIR clinging to the back of his 'enormous' head.
• Industrial World: When the Irkens conquer a planet, they simply destroy everything and, on the Tallests' whim, rebuild it from the ground up based on a very narrow theme. One such planet, Callnowia, is covered in factories that Irkens can order things from.
• Inept Aptitude Test: "Career Day", in which only Dib gets the job he's so desperately trying for.
  • Considering the circumstances surrounding ZIM's banishment from Irk, his results were pretty appropriate too. He was banished to Foodcourtia after Operation Doom I.
• Informed Attribute: Used as a Running Gag brought on by Executive Meddling (though the cast apparently enjoyed the joke) with Dib's freakishly large head, which is actually no different from any other characters' heads.
• Insane Troll Logic: Oh there is a lot for this show. But one noticeable one is when the School Psychiatrist stopped believing in aliens because his foot got trapped in an escalator and aliens didn't come to save him.
• Insignificant Little Blue Planet: The Irken aren't even really sure if there is a planet in Earth's vicinity when they send ZIM away. Which was the whole point in sending him there...
• Instant Awesome: Just Add Mecha!: The Megadoomer, among others.
• Invisible to Normals: Spoofed.
• Ironic Echo: "You just don't get it, do you?"
• I Taste Delicious: Dib, in "Bolognius Maximus".
  "Gaz! Taste me! I'm delicious!"

K

• Karmic Butt-Monkey: Zim is a Villain Protagonist with plans for world domination. However, he's usually a Harmless Villain who brings a lot of his own failures on himself.
• Keet: GIR, the hyperactive robot.
• Kicked Upstairs: Zim's task of ruling earth.
• Kidnapped Scientist: The Vortians are essentially an entire race of such.
• Kids Are Cruel: But also stupid.
  • Pretty much the entire reason for "Room With A Moose."
  • Subverted in the pilot. Dib points out that Zim has green skin. Zim pases it off as a skin condition. A random kid in the room chews Dib out for picking on Zim for being "a little bit different".
• Kill It with Water: Drives the plot of "The Wettening".
• Knight Templar: The Delouser in "Lice," being rather pointedly similar to Dib. Slab Rankle, the security guard from "FBI Warning of Doom," could be argued as one too.
• Konami Code: It's a code for extra lives in one of Gaz's games.
• Kryptonite-Proof Suit: ZIM's solution to being melted by water? A paste based coating.

L

• La Résistance: The Resisty.
• Lampshade Hanging: Constantly. Dib will almost always question nonsensical (read: most) aspects of Zim's plans.
• Last-Second Term of Respect: In "GIR Goes Crazy and Stuff", Zim is fed up with GIR's incompetence and locks him into Duty Mode, which makes him smarter, more obedient, and more focused. Being smarter also allows GIR to realize that his master is quite incompetent himself.
  Zim: Go upstairs and...um, monitor Earth broadcasts until I think of something better for you to do! That's a good GIR.
  (from GIR's point of view, the words "Analysing Intelligence: Questionable", "Order: Counter-productive", and "Zim = Commander?" appear)
  Zim: GIR?
  GIR: (eye twitching) Right away...s-sir...
• Little Green Men: The Irkens, though some actually aren't all that little.
• Little Miss Badass: Gaz is a hardcore preteen girl that you don't want to mess with.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: Is revealed to be the generator of most of the plot in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom".

M

• Magical Defibrillator: In "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", the paddles turn to pigs.
• Maximum Fun Chamber: Based on Dib's reaction, a room with a nut-eating moose is either this or a psychological Brown Note.
• Meaningful Name: Gaz and Zim are a make and model of Soviet-produced car, respectively.
• The Mentally Disturbed: An incomplete episode revealed that ZIM is this. There's a reason he's so crazy y'know.
• Messy Pig: A few of them, but not all.
• The Millstone: GIR is usually far more hindrance than help with ZIM's mission.
  • The fact that Zim himself is one for the Irken Empire is the whole reason he was ever banished.
• Misapplied Phlebotinum: Spoofed to no end with ZIM's inventions. Here's someone that builds a machine that can suck all the water off of the planet, but only uses it to win a water balloon fight.
• Missing White Woman Syndrome: Exagerrated to high holy hell in "The Girl Who Cried Gnome". Moofy gets her leg stuck in a dirt mound in front of Zim's house, and almost immediately the press, multiple rescue teams, civilians, and helper robots arrive, trying to set her free. The President of the United States himself appears to make a speech regarding Moofy's ordeal only 6 minutes in, and they consider using a sonic vibration device that could destroy the Earth just to shoot her out the mound... and when Dib gets stuck in her place after she's pulled out, everyone leaves.
  News reporter: Just how many more minutes does she have to suffer before rescue crews can free her? HUH!? (Starts crying).
• Missing Mom: There is a lack of a mother in Dib's family. It is unknown if Professor Membrane was ever married.
• More Dakka: While common, ZIM accidentally grants Dib this in "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy".
• Most Definitely Not a Villain: ZIM and the two aliens from "Abducted".
• Multi-Armed and Dangerous: Gaz using the flesh processor to give herself extra arms so that she can play multiplayer games by herself.
• Multiple-Choice Past: Miss Bitters gives a few slightly contradictory accounts of her childhood at different points.
• Mundane Made Awesome: The series loves this trope. Almost every episode features Zim, GIR or both turning the most mundane things into sheer awesomeness.
  • "I'm making... toast!!"
  • "Jumping in a puddle? That was your 'fate-of-the-world work'?"
  • ZIM... EATS... WAFFLES
  • ZIM uses the bathroom.
• Mushroom Samba: A literal example in the Halloween special. When Ms. Bitters says that she used to be a fairy princess, we're shown a clip of a vividly-colored rainbow world with dancing mushrooms.
• Myth Arc: Or there would have been...

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