Invader Zim Character Research

Invader Zim is an animated television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The show depicts the struggles of an alien invader as he tries to conquer the earth.

For the character Zim, Jhonen Vasquez had to develop something that was suitable to younger audiences but still had his darker style that was present in his other work, such as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. For this he became interested in the idea of an alien who had such vast technology that he could conquer the world in a day but instead spends all his time in school because he never realises that he can leave early. As a result, Zim became an eccentric idiot that leads him to having boundless confidence in his superiority. This idea is further developed through his clear inferiority complex that is directly tied to his personality and character design.

Zim is a member of an alien species who believe that intelligence is directly linked to ones hight. As a result, with Zim being the smallest member of his species, he is classed as being lesser than those around him. This plus his genuine stupidity led to him being exiled, to which he quit when the new invasion was starting, not understanding the concept of exile. This then led to him being sent to Earth where he met his greatest foe Dipper who challenged his cultural ideas by being smarter that any adult in the show despite being smaller. Because of this dynamic you could argue that Dipper was what Zim always desired to be, and what he pretends to be in order to hide his insecurities. This is also one of the defining aspects of his character that makes him a likeable antihero as the viewers empathy is placed more on the idea of Zim proving himself rather than his quest for world domination. Another facet of this is that his confidence and stupidity make him a very humorous and likeable character.