24 years after its first made its debut, and nearly 20 years from when it first came to an end, it’s time to admit this cult favorite Nickelodeon animated series was one of the best sci-fi hits that the network has ever had. Nickelodeon has introduced fans to tons of animated shows and live-action favorites over the decades, and naturally they have encompassed all sorts of genres and ideas. There’s one series that went beyond science fiction, however, and it deserves a lot of credit for how big of a universe that it was able to build over the course of only two seasons.
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Invader Zim made its debut with Nickelodeon back in 2001, and introduced fans to a wild new space world. The franchise was led by the titular Zim, who had come to Earth with the hopes of conquering the planet. Despite the fact that his overseers didn’t expect much from him and had wanted to just get rid of Zim entirely, Zim tried his best to take down humanity with all kinds of wacky machines and experiments. It’s through all of this we found out about a whole new universe too.
Invader Zim Kicked Off a New Sci-Fi World
Originally created by Johnny the Homicidal Maniac creator Jhonen Vasquez, Invader Zim was a rather surprising series released with Nickelodeon at the time. While the network has had edgier cartoons beforehand like with The Ren & Stimpy Show, Invader Zim immediately felt different. Vasquez clearly inject Invader Zim with all of the creepy and kooky qualities that the creator was known for, and it resulted in an animated series that blended together different sci-fi, horror and comedic elements to create something brand new altogether. It was unlike anything seen on the network before or after really.
Invader Zim introduced fans to the titular Zim (Richard Steven Horvitz), an alien from the Irken Empire on the Planet Irk. This empire’s main goal is to spread throughout space and conquer planets, but hilariously have a hierarchy based on how tall they are. Even Zim’s overseers are called “The Almighty Tallest,” and are only in charge because they happen to be taller than the rest of the series. It’s already a fun set up for an alien species, but then it’s taken even further with Zim as it’s revealed that he’s very low on the totem pole.
Zim was already seen as a failure by the rest of the empire as he almost destroyed it in a previous invasion, so the Tallest decide to send him to a faraway planet under the guise of a special mission. This planet turns out to be a dystopian version of Earth that has been ruined by tons of mindless consumerism and capitalism that Zim sort of flounders his way towards trying to conquer with his alien devices and schemes. And as fans might have realized, it led to a ton of shenanigans over the course of its two season run with Nickelodeon.
Invader Zim Expanded With Sci-Fi Horror
These science fiction elements were already incredible seeing as how the empire was put together, but even more so when it gets to Earth. Vasquez’s take on Earth society is helped what bring it all to a new life. Invader Zim‘s take on Earth is grotesque, and is filled with technologies that really reflect modern day life. Not only is Zim’s side of thing expanding on its sci-fi, but that’s especially for Zim’s rival Dib (voiced by Andy Berman). Who is the first one to notice that his new classmate is an alien and makes it his sole mission to stop Zim’s plan.
Dib, a conspiracy theorist and expert on the supernatural, helps to add a fantastical new layer to all of the ideas. Because while his top priority is exposing Zim as an alien, he goes about it in very different ways across its many episodes. The series has a lot of back and forth between Zim and Dib where they exchange wins and losses throughout (especially in the revival film with Netflix released decades later), and it’s through all of this that the wider world around this Earth expands.
Invader Zim showcases not only aliens, but all sorts of different kinds of creatures. There are invasive technologies that have essentially brainwashed the populace, things that have warped their minds, and basically crafted a world that was ready to be taken over by an invading alien empire. It was just such a uniquely voiced world on top of everything, and it was just a ton of sci-fi fun hiding away on Nickelodeon all those years ago for those kids who tuned into each episode.
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