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My Top 10 Favorite Episodes of Invader Zim

This past week, we’ve taken a stroll down memory lane as I looked back on one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, Invader Zim. I’ve looked at some of the best moments, the best characters, and the incredible CGI that went into it. Now, my Zim week of Zim nears its end as we get ready for my review of Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus. Before we do that, though, I want to take one last look back at the best of Zim. So, here we are, my favorite episodes of Invader Zim, in no particular order.

The Nightmare Begins

What better place to start my list than the very beginning. The title is incredibly appropriate, as it represents the horror-themed work of series creator Jhonen Vasquez. In-universe, though, I think it refers to two things: the Tallest having to deal with the fact that Zim returns from exile, and Dib having to deal with Zim coming to Earth.

As a whole, the first episode does little beyond establish the plot and character dynamics. From the Irken Empire’s hatred of Zim, how Dib’s the outcast and only one who knows Zim’s an alien. Above all, though, it establishes a universal truth about the show’s world: almost everyone is varying levels of crazy or stupidity, sometimes both!

I’M GONNA SING THE DOOM SONG NOW!!

Abducted

This episode sees Zim and GIR get hit with a hilarious dose of irony, as they get abducted by aliens! The two get abducted by two aliens so monumentally stupid that they think Zim’s human even after telling them he lied. It doesn’t take that long for Zim to escape.

As Zim explains in a call he makes to the Tallest, he found the one species in the universe dumber than humans. I whole-heartedly agree with him. The two aliens, who are actually expy’s from Vasquez’s comics, are among the dumbest beings I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s their sheer stupidity and harmlessness, though, that makes them so much fun to watch.

The Wettening

I brought this up in my previous post about the smartest characters on the show, but I wanted to include it again. When Zim discovers that earth water burns his skin like acid, Dib sees this as an opportunity to destroy him for good. The two prepare for the ultimate water war, but Zim comes ready with the mother of all water balloons.

I liked this episode for two reasons. First, it manages to take something as simple and harmless as a water balloon fight into an epic battle. Second, and as I said in my post on the smartest characters on Invader Zim, it shows how dangerous Zim can be. If his overzealousness and ego didn’t hold him back, he could very well conquer Earth on his own. Plus, I love that smug look of victory he gives as he walks through the watery ruins of the city.

NanoZIM

This was one of the episodes of Zim that I kept watching over and over and never got tired of. When Dib gets photographic proof of Zim out of his disguise, the alien shrinks himself down into Dib’s body to destroy his brain. What follows is an epic chase and fight inside of Dib as the two duke it out.

I already said it in my CGI article, but I’ll repeat it: I loved the CGI in Zim. It showed me what computers could do for cartoons, and this episode burned that notion into my mind. Even today, I think it holds up well. Not to mention, seeing Dib flush Zim down the toilet is hilarious.

Battle of the Planets

Zim learns that the planet Mars was turned into a spaceship by an extinct race for the sole reason of “because its cool.” He plans to use it to squish everyone on Earth, but Dib counters with Mercury also converted into a spaceship. The two battle it out on a planetary scale before Zim’s recklessness has him lose once more.

When I first saw this episode, I thought it was the coolest thing the show had ever done. The entire premise is also the kind of crazy only Zim could pull off. An alien race that died turning their planet into a spaceship for the awesomeness? Mercury having a pair of buttcheeks that Dib pilots it from, and even gets stuck in at one point? GIR distracting Dib by pressing all the buttons on his controls, and somehow stealing his cameras when he wasn’t looking? The whole thing’s Zim at its finest.

Backseat Drivers from Beyond The Stars

In the season two premiere, Zim learns that the Tallest are closer to Earth than they’ve ever been. He wants them to come and watch his latest plan to destroy humanity, but when they refuse, he takes matters into his own hands. He hacks into The Massive and remotely-pilots it to Earth. At the same time, an Anti-Irken Resistance, the Resisty, attacks The Massive, and Dib hacks in Zim’s base to destroy The Massive. The Tallest are stuck on the universe’s craziest rollercoaster, and they can’t get off!

The second season of a good show is when they should start world-building and expanding the scope of the story. We got introduced to more of the series lore, such as the origins of The Massive, Dib’s recovery of Tak’s ship, and the Resisty. Had the show not been canceled, I think the Resisty would have had a significant role.

Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you got everything you ever wanted? In this episode, Dib receives all of that, and then some. One night, he’s visited by strange shoe-aliens that grant him superpowers to defend the Earth like never before. Right away, everything seems to go great for Dib. He finally captures Zim, gets the respect and validation he’s always craved, and dedicates his life to studying the paranormal. His whole life seems so perfect. That’s when it’s revealed that its all a lie. Zim put him in a giant simulation so he could get him to admit to throwing a muffin at him at lunch.

On the one hand, I thought it sweet to see the outcast Dib get everything that he wanted in life. He captured Zim, saved the world from the Irken Empire, and made paranormal studies a legitimate science. On the other, I find the fact that Zim set up this big, convoluted plan to learn if Dib threw a muffin at him to be hilarious. To make him even more of a troll, Zim finishes it up by throwing a muffin at Dib’s head. Only Zim would do so much over something so petty.

Lice

A day at Skool gets derailed when everyone falls victim to an outbreak of lice. Everyone except for Zim and Ms. Bitters. The entire Skool’s locked down by Countess von Verminstrasser, the Delouser, who’s convinced that the infestation is caused by a Lice Queen. Dib thinks she’s just plain crazy.

I loved this episode because its a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Dib, the one who believes in aliens, ghosts, and the paranormal, thinks the Countess is crazy for believing in a lice queen. She’s exactly like him, right down to her mannerisms and belief in something no one else believes in. And just like Dib with Zim, she ends up being right in the end. The whole thing’s so ironic, and it’s hilarious.

The Frycook What Came From All That Space

This was the show’s last hurrah before the Christmas Special and the show’s cancellation. If you recall from the first episode, Zim got banished to the planet Foodcourtia for ruining Operation: Impending Doom I. In this episode, his old captor, Sizz-Lorr, tracks him down and drags him back to Foodcourtia to serve out his exile. Zim has one week to get off the planet before an annual food rush traps him there for twenty years!

Aside from liking the premise of a food rush keeping people trapped on a planet, I liked this episode for expanding the series lore. Apart from seeing Zim’s first exile, we got a new setting and look at what life’s like in the Irken Empire, albeit focused on fast food. The big highlight, though, is the epic, city-wide chase as Zim attempts to escape Foodcourtia before The Great Foodening. That, and this one kid keeps showing up as a running gag pointing at Zim.

Tak: The Hideous New Girl

A mysterious new girl shows up at Skool and proceeds to torment Zim to no end. While Zim’s convinced its because she likes him, he’s shocked to reveal that she’s an Irken! After Zim ruined her chances to become an Invader, she came to Earth to conquer it in Zim’s place and gain the status she craves. Faced with such a deadly foe, Zim has no choice but to work with Dib and Gaz to stop Tak’s plans.

This is my all-time favorite episode of Invader Zim, in terms of plot, characters, and world-building. Most notable was the first appearance of Tak, who I consider the smartest and deadliest person on the show. Had the show continued, she would have had a significant role going forward. This should have been the start of even bigger stories for the show. Now, though, it’s merely an excellent reminder of what could have been.

OH, WAIT, THAT’S RIGHT! WE STILL HAVE THE COMICS, AND ENTER THE FLORPUS! I’m going to go watch the special again and then write my reviews!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

My Top 4 Darkest Moments in Invader Zim

No matter how much I liked it, I won’t deny that Invader Zim has some seriously dark moments. I think I may have suppressed the memory of some of them for the sake of my sanity. I’m Jay, and here are what I consider to be the darkest and weirdest moments on Invader Zim. For the record, pinning this down to a wiggle moment may be hard, since this is Invader Zim. Don’t be surprised if I use the whole episode.

The Piggy, Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy

This, kids, is why you shouldn’t mess with time. In an attempt to get rid of Dib before they ever meet, Zim builds a time machine to send things back in time to kill his nemesis. When the killer robot doesn’t work, Zim resorts to using an arsenal of rubber piggies, to devastating effect. While it works at first, Zim’s plans backfire when Professor Membrane makes Dib a nigh-invincible mech suit that nearly kills Zim.

What made this whole event so disturbing is that Jhonen Vasquez did intend to kill Dib off for good. He even planned on replacing him with a new character. Nickelodeon had to step in and remind the staff of Invader Zim that this was still a kids show, so Dib lived. In the end, Zim undid the events of the episode by telling himself to ever use the time machine. This Dib went back to his normal, harmless self.

Dib’s AI Kills itself, Dibship Rising

When Dib downloads his personality into Tak’s ship, the ship actually thinks it’s Dib. Zim takes advantage of this to take command of the ship to dispose of Dib for good. Fortunately for Dib, he manages to get through to his AI counterpart and regain control. Unfortunately, the memories of Dib’s life are so depressing that the AI erases itself. Basically, it commits suicide.

This may not be as outright disturbing as some of the other things mentioned here, but it’s the most realistic. The implication here is that while he doesn’t outwardly think much of it, the bullying and traumatic experiences Dib’s gone through leave him depressed. If it weren’t for his obsession with the paranormal, Dib may actually kill himself. That’s really disturbing!

As a side note, if you or anyone you know are suffering from depression or thoughts of suicide, seek help. Your life is not worthless.

Keef’s Eyes Get Plucked, Bestest Friends

Remember that episode where Zim got a best friend in the form of Keef? I’m asking because I barely remember it since I had to repress the memory! After realizing that Keef’s too clingy, Zim’s solution is to replace his eyes with robotic ones. The robot eyes then fool Keef into thinking the first thing he sees is Zim.

Of all the moments from Invader Zim, this may be the only one that I was actually scared of as a kid. I mean, I get that being dark is Vasquez’s thing, but come on! This was messed up on all kinds of levels. The fact that it looked like Keef died at the end of the episode made me almost block out the memory altogether. Thank god for my dream-catcher, or I’d have nightmares.

Dark Harvest, Dark Harvest

In order to protect his identity as an alien, Zim decides to steal the organs from every student in the skool. The end result is turning him into a freakishly huge blob monster stuffed with organs. Despite how crazy his plan is, it ends up working. As an added bonus, he makes everyone think Dib’s a freak of nature.

This is the other episode of Invader Zim that I ended up choosing to forget about, for a number of reasons. First, its dark as hell and not something you’d want kids to be seeing. Second, and most importantly, is that I don’t think it aired that often, so I don’t have a good memory of it. This episode is also controversial due to a murderer citing it as inspiration during his trial.

You know, I was going to include a fifth example, but after Dark Harvest, I realize that nothing can top it. If you guys have any other dark moments you remember from the show, let me know. Jay out!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

My 5 Favorite CGI Moments in Invader Zim

I already said it before, but I’ll say it again: I loved the CGI in Invader Zim. Growing up in a time when it was still a new thing, CGI was rare. It seemed almost unheard of outside of movies, at times. So fit a little kid to see it being used on a regular basis in a cartoon, it looked like the coolest thing ever.

Even after almost twenty years, the CGI in Invader Zim holds up well, seamlessly blending with the 2-D animation. So I thought, heck with it; let’s make an article out of it. These are my favorite CGI moments in Invader Zim. There will be minor spoilers ahead.

Mobile-Home GIR, Invasion of the Idiot Dog-Brain

After a mishap while replacing a defective AI, GIR ends up trapped inside the base’s computer. While Zim tries to get GIR to cooperate so he can fix the mess, all the robot can think about is tacos. So he picks up his house body and runs all the way to Crazy Taco.

Aside from being a hilarious example of GIR’s insanity, this was one of the more creative ways the show used CGI. The animators deliberately designed GIR’s house form to resemble that of a dog. If you look closely as GIR rampages through the city, you’ll notice how seamlessly the CGI blends with the 2-D buildings. This was a memorable moment for Zim, and it still makes me smile to this day.

Battle of the Planets, Battle of the Planets of Doom

After taking control of Mars, which is a planet-sized spaceship, Zim plans to crash it into Earth and squish all life. Dib counters him by using the planet Mercury as his spaceship. What follows is an interstellar battle of planets, and I loved every minute of it!

This moment has to have been Zim and Dib’s biggest battle ever, literally. The two adversaries chased each other from the edge of the Sun to the rings of Saturn. For someone who grew up fascinated with spaceflight, this was like a dream come true! Plus, it had some of the funniest moments in the show spaced in between.

Nanowar, Nanozim

When Zim shrinks himself down to microscopic size to destroy Dib’s brain, Dib counters using a nanomachine to take the fight to him. What follows is a chase through Dib’s body as the boy, and later Gaz, attempt to stop Zim from wrecking Zim’s brain.

Nanozim was an earlier episode on the show, but one that used CGI to the fullest. I watched the event over and over on tape. I even tried making little versions of Zim and Dib’s ships out of Play-Doh so I could re-enact it. Then the part where they turned into robots and started fighting was so epic! If I didn’t love Invader Zim before, then this had me hooked on it.

War on the Irken Armada, Dib’s Wonderful Life of Doom

Ah, what could have been. While stuck inside a simulation, Dib envisions what his perfect life would be like. This dream life culminates in him leading an assault against the Irken Armada where he single-handedly brings down their flagship. Then he gets a medal and everyone gets free snacks.

While the battle sequence only lasted for a minute, it was impressive to look at. Dozens of ships of varying sizes clashed in a battle straight out of a sci-fi movie. Then Dib brings down The Massive in a series of shots that transitions between 2-D and CGI with epic music in the background. It was like Independence Day times a hundred!

Zim vs. Tak, Tak, the Hideous New Girl

The climactic season finale to Invader Zim upped the stakes for everyone on the show. In a bid to stop Tak from conquering the Earth instead of him, Zim engages in an epic dogfight in space. All of this happens while the Earth’s core is being pumped out, too.

The show had already seen its fair share of epic fights, but I thought there was something otherworldy about this one. The battle between Irkens in space as molten magma floated around them looked so cool. I can’t put into words why I liked this so much, but I just know I did. DO NOT QUESTION ZIM!

Oh, if you guys didn’t know, Zim has his own comic book series now! Crazy right? You can read it right here on this website!

Click here to see my other animation stuff.

Kneel Before Zim!

Do you remember this show? Invader Zim, the cult classic of Nickelodeon. Created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez and premiering in 2001, this show isn’t like other Nicktoons. It was extremely dark for a kids cartoon. Too dark, it seems, for some kids to watch, and it worried a lot of parents.

Me, I didn’t care one bit. I loved Invader Zim because it was dark and different from other Nicktoons. I did think some of the episodes were a little too scary (I don’t even remember the “Dark Harvest” one that well). But it holds a special place in my heart for the amazing use of CGI. It was one of the first times I had ever seen CGI in a kids show, so I was mesmerized by it!

All the love can’t help with bad ratings, though, and the show got pulled in the middle of its second season, with a bunch of episodes remaining unreleased or unfinished. The last episode I ever saw was its Christmas Special, which aired sixteen years ago tonight. In honor of that, I decided to rewatch it for my 25 days of Christmas. So without further ado, I give you The Most Horrible X-Mas Ever.

Zim Ruins Christmas Forever

The entire story takes place in flashback, being told by a robotic snow who is a clear parody of Frosty the Snowman. He explains that two million years ago, Zim discovered the concept of Christmas, and more importantly Santa. 

After seeing how much humanity loved and adored Santa, Zim got an idea. An awful idea. Zim got a wonderful, awful idea. *cue the evil Grinch smile*

Using alien nanotechnology, Zim creates a robotic Santa suit for him to control, then with a flourish, presents himself to the world as the real Santa Claus.

Humanity successfully fooled, he summons them to the North Pole for a huge rally. In hindsight, the decorations, chanting, and the sinister overtones of the song, reminds me of a cult rally. It does give us the most oppressive and tyrannical Christmas Song ever, though. And I loved it!

Zim’s master plan is to build a teleporter and beam humanity to the Irken Empire to use as slaves. The only one with enough sense to oppose him is Dib. But since humans in Zim are stupid, they don’t believe Dib and Zim throws him in Jingle-Jail.

Fortunately, Dib doesn’t have to do anything this time around. Zim made the Santa Suit too good, and it’s started to think it’s the real Santa. Anything Christmas-related makes it take over.

Despite his best efforts, the suit manages to overpower Zim, trapping him inside.

So Zim’s trapped forever and Santa is real. Happy ending for all! Until Dib shows up with a giant robot suit and causes the suit to go berserk. 

The Fight I Couldn’t Show You

After a giant monster fight, Dib weakens the suit enough for Zim to escape, shrink it down, and have Dib throw it into space. There might have been a moral behind all that, but for the life of me, I still don’t know.

But despite thinking him destroyed, the Santa Suit, in fact, survived to gather power in deep space. Now it comes back every year on Christmas and terrorizes the Earth, so everyone has to live inside domes and placate him with milk and cookies. Dark

Dark Show, But I Loved It

Yeah, Invader Zim was a dark and scary cartoon more often than not, but that’s what it was supposed to be. That’s why I liked it so much: it was different, and not seeing it canceled leaves a hole in my heart. I know it’s sounds sappy, but I wanted to see where the series would go. This Christmas Special was the last episode that ever aired; the rest were released years later by Nickelodeon.

In hindsight, maybe it would have been a good idea to just leave Zim trapped inside the suit. It would have been a good way to end the series: Earth saved, Santa is real, and Dib got what he wanted with Zim stopped. At least we still have the comics and the upcoming movie. And even after all these years, I still love this Christmas Special! Ho-ho-ho, Happy Holidays one and all!

Click here to see my other animation stuff. Or here to see all holiday related posts!