Invader Zim is More DISTURBING Than You Remember...

[@pulsefel9210]

the strangest part about the show is it didnt air on adult swim. wonder what it would have been like if it had

[@violetthebat8810]

If the show was a CN show, it could've & should've! ~ ☺️ That way, it could've been way more popular! ~ 😭

[@SadisticPsycho]

Look up Johnny the homicidal maniac. That's what this would have been if aired on AS. Comics made by the same creator.

[@violetthebat8810]

@@SadisticPsycho I know about that! ~ 😎

[@RobeonMew]

Imagine Invader Zim with secksual fan service.

[@EvanUzzl]

Because it was a nickelodeon show

[@Beigemage0621]

My personal favorite episode was when Zim trapped Dib in a simulation for an entire lifetime where he believed he had sucessfully defeated Zim and waited till he was in his old age to ask him if he threw a muffin at him. Then right as it looks like he is about to fry is brain with a death beam the laser chucks the same muffin at his head. Its one thing to have grand machvellian schemes, but its a stroke of comic genius when it's for the smallest moments of petty revenge XD. I truly miss that show.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

That episode freaked the crap out of me! Lol I love this show

[@rhonnichan]

This was every Emo/Scene kid's favorite show in the 2000's-2010's because it was dark but funny. I remember my best friend Sydney being the first in our high school class to get a tattoo and it was Gir dressed as Pikachu. I had costom Gir and Zim Chuck Taylors, a Gir Backpack, many and i mean MANY damm shirts and hoodies, and even made a big green bow w Zim on it 😂 This is such a classic show i rewatch over and over

[@sardonicus1739]

Not a goth but from what I saw the show was originally mostly watched by goths who were already fans of Jhonen Vasquez since the early 90's, and the emo/scene kids didn't even seem to be much of a movement til around 2005 or so when I started seeing them pop up more and more, at which point they got in on it late to the party long after the show was cancelled already. Not to say there's anything wrong with emo/scene kids or that goths are superior since I hate all that dumb in fighting between slightly different flavors of morbid lovers, but it seems insincere to say they were the main ones watching when goths were the ones who gave Jhonen the prominence through their love of JTHM to even get a show like that on air. The merchandise made me sad because 95% of it was Gir related and I was one of the few people who loved the cartoon but didn't like Gir. Ever since I was a small child I hated the trope of the stupid character that messes things up for everyone else due to their stupidity, and yet almost never suffers the consequences of their actions due to being a Karma Houdini. It was so hard to find merchandise that had Zim or Dib, but no Gir. And pretty much nothing with side characters like Gaz.

[@Magical_Trash]

Lmao I owned a Gir hoodie, necklace, & pins 😆😆😆

[@alexandergn]

The can of poop is a brand of cola in the universe of zim. They should have known the series was going to be dark from the get go. They hired a guy that wrote a comic series called "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac"

[@BillGD]

JTHM was so good though, still a favorite of mine to this day.

[@gothicMCRgirl]

Yes, and he continued to draw disturbing comics like Squee! and I Feel Sick (with the latter you can really see that distinctive Invader Zim artstyle, too). In hindsight it made sense though, the late 90s and early 2000s was all about that burgeoning alternative rock and emo aesthetic in media, like movies and video games, and it spread to cartoons, too. Cartoon Network had its own dark comedy shows too, like The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy and Courage the Cowardly Dog. That was just the thing to be into. Nowadays no network would dare air shows like these anymore, unless it was for more mature audiences.

[@orangeslash1667]

@@gothicMCRgirl Jhonen Vasquez said that Squee!!! was the reason Nick choose him to make a show to begin with.

[@argentin2306]

To answer how Zim didn't die after having his brain replaced by a rubber piggy, it was because of his PAK, that backpack thing on his back, a PAK is essentially the true brain of an Irken, not only that, IT IS the irken, the body is only an organic shell that carries it, if the PAK were to be detached from the shell, a 10 minute timer would activate for the PAK to be attached back to tge shell or the latter one would die after the ten minutes, there was going to be a whole episode about this, but it was never aired due to the serie's cancellation

[@metalmilo]

It's actually exactly as disturbing as I remember, and for that I will love it forever

[@A_Real_Bloody_Vampire]

Same here I miss Invader Zim

[@alastor8091]

I liked the subtle cyberpunk dystopia of the show with all the high tech stuff. The school is a hellish prison, the people are mutated, brain dead, the cops can arrest anyone, even school children. Aliens exist, they're all more powerful than humans, sadistic in an almost Lovecraftian way with how little they care for ANY life whatsoever.

[@theotherther1]

It resonated with me as a child. Adults can harm you, reaching out into the stars can get you hurt, being valued by your community might not always be a good thing. Sure I loved all the "Taco Pancakes Rawr XD" shit, we all did, but the show is deeper than it might appear from content like that. I still have my Gir pillowcase.

[@Tenchi593]

14:00 "a demonic Mrs. Bitters" Implying there's a non-demonic Mrs. Bitters

[@DuskusCB]

Bad Bad Rubber Piggy was the episode that messed me up. Not Dark Harvest, not the Halloween episode. Nah, they had to use the psychological time travel horror to get to me.

[@glynmillett7193]

oh yeah with how dib keeps getting more disfigured and mutilated thanks to zim in the past , pretty twisted concept

[@tunebeat3809]

@@glynmillett7193 Not only that, Dib is given an exoskeleton from his dad for protection, which he use it for his revenge on Zim for ruining his life thanks to the time machine. Needless to say, Dib going unhinged with revenge is pretty frightening, especially in regards to why Dib had to suffer from Zim.

[@Alex_Barbosa]

Yea that episode really freaked me out! Not many cartoons are able to do that and I love invader zim for it.

[@Dapper974]

The nurse’s brain was replaced with Poop Cola™. Not just any regular can of poop, this is the most popular brand of soda in the show.

[@BillGD]

The same artist, Jhonen Vasquez, made my favorite comic series as a kid. It was called "Johnny, The Homicidal Maniac" and it was super dark but super funny. I even forgot that was where my profile pic came from. JTHM also had a few spinoffs that were decent too. One of the best parts was not only the humor in the panels, but the Jhonen lined the borders with some extremely funny little comments and anotations.

[@PtolemiosFrost]

I think my favorite episode was the lice one. I loved Ms. Bitters reactions and it was hilarious how Zim's skin was the cure. So messed up how they put him in a peeler/juicer gun and he was all skinless looking like a weird root veggie at the end

[@TheLastJack]

[reads video title while wearing an Invader Zim shirt] Me: No, I remember how disturbing it is. That’s why I love it. 😂😂

[@donovancane2422]

Even as a kid while watching it as it came out week to week I knew a lot of it was SUPER messed up. It didn't mess ME up but it did help shape my love of dark humor and themes in media, including my own writing (as a hobby)

[@candiigurl7893]

Every time I see Zim I'm transported back to copious amounts of Hot Topic parafernalia, circa 2006.

[@benjaminh.morgan3193]

I don’t know, I already remember it being pretty disturbing. **watches video** Nah, yeah, it was worse than I remembered.

[@ripleyandweeds1288]

I've read Jhonen's other work 'Johnny the Homicidal Maniac' and honestly the only difference between that and this is that Invader Zim lacks all the gore and swearing. Aside from that they have the exact same tone and dark humor, and I love it. You literally could not make this show today because so much of it was a product of the gothic edge of the mid to late 2000s. Also I love that you say 'Bad Rubber Piggies' isn't as dark as the other episodes like a moment before Dib literally fucking dies.

[@ryurc3033]

"Grrrrr. Why did we run out of rocket fuel?" "To make room for the tuna.......numnumnumnum,"

[@TheMeetymeet]

Even during my time when I was young, the grotesque things in this show made me laugh rather than be grossed out. The thing about Invader Zim now that I think about it is that no matter the species, everyone is an "alien" and maybe in that case disgusting and/or filthy as Zim said himself that many even myself can agree on, but still loved it either way. 😅

[@warioland523]

Yeah the Rubber Piggy episode was by far the darkest episode of the show because it shows how outright cruel Zim can be if he puts his mind to it. Just seeing Zim continuing to alter Dib's past more and more as Dib becomes more and more disfigured with increasingly more cybernetic enhancements to keep him alive is disturbing. Even the mech suit he eventually gains through time alterations to fight Zim is disturbing when you see Dib in the mech's pilot seat with all the tubes lodged in his head attached to the mech with him drooling as if his nerves are reliant on the machine to even function properly. Also if you look at his hand it went from resembling a crane claw to just a razor sharp robotic claw hand. Like Zim just destroyed this guy's life.

[@tunebeat3809]

Not only that, Dib had probably wanted to make Zim suffer for ruining his life thanks to the time machine.

[@warioland523]

@@tunebeat3809 In Dib's defense he has every right to be ticked and wanting to make Zim suffer. His entire past was destroyed due to those pigs. He can't even live properly without the the dang Megaboy. Had Zim not undo the action with the pigs through that warning Dib would never have returned to normal and would be stuck as this abomination of biology fused with machinery because of Zim's actions and given how unstoppable the mech was Zim likely would have not survived.

[@tunebeat3809]

@@warioland523 You got a very reasonable point to be honest.

[@Cutthroatrah]

Zim is voiced by the same person as Billy from Billy and Mandy.

[@brockbracken318]

And Kaos

[@orangeslash1667]

​@@brockbracken318 Fun Fact: Zim was played by Billy West in the unaired pilot.

[@Mr_Mcfeely]

So glad I found your channel, all the entries so far are great. Who doesn't love a fun, nostalgic trip down memory lane 🫶

[@biscuitz777]

I mean what do you expect if the creator of invader zim (Jhonen Vasquez) previously created comics about a deranged murderer named Johnny/Nny who drains peoples blood and paints a wall in his basement with the blood?

[@JoeRuffler]

I actually did not know that and now I know what I need to look up later

[@User-pw3pu]

​@JoeRuffler It's called Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. It's an amazing graphic novel. You can tell by the art and randomness that it's from the same guy, but JTHM is a lot darker than a kids show.

[@theotherther1]

They had a chapter where a guy sees Johnny as a role model and Johnny is just disgusted by him...then kills him. Can't say they weren't warned!

[@biscuitz777]

@@theotherther1 yeah, johnny like told jimmy to leave like a few times and got to the point of walking into his basement to avoid jimmy, feeling immense disgust. im confused why fans still like jimmy when jimmy lasted only a few pages and so far you can tell hes just terrible

[@babygfeva]

I had a love/hate relationship with this show. I loved the chaos of it, but the animation style was disgusting during certain episodes... Gir was my favorite character and wished for more of him throughout the series... It was fantastic actually, just heavily slept on.

[@InvasionAnimation]

Dib was actually meant to die in the last episode. But Nick did not want them to do it.

[@SadisticPsycho]

I love that you did this because I was watching the courage one the other day and all I could keep thinking was invader zim was 10 times more disturbing than courage

[@geek5301]

i loved invader zim as a kid but never really thought about how disturbing it could be guess i was to young at the time lol

[@ImmaLittlePip]

I just got the puns for the two kids who got their organs replaced by a clock and a cat

[@mike17701]

Invader Zim was my favorite cartoon as a kid I still love it even with the twisted way things are in the show

[@TnT_F0X]

Invader Zim was killed on earth by Dib... He lives in Earth Hell with his Wife Millie now.

[@theotherther1]

Which ironically is an improvement.

[@skullkiller7537]

And that Halloween episode proved me wrong the miss bitters couldn't get scarier or meaner

[@chrisbg99]

I'm so glad this show premiered just before I graduated high school so I was able to watch a good solid half of it before going to college and it getting canceled after being on a real awful schedule. Bought the DVD set in the mid-aughts and caught the rest and found it even more brilliant.

[@takeo1418]

I don't know what they expected from the creator of johnny the homicidal maniac

[@sixx_xlr]

oh no no, i remember it being quite disturbing...witch is why i loved it so much xD still one of the best shows ever made

[@darktemplar1177]

I never watched invader zim, by the time it started airing in my country I was already in my late teens and stopped watching tv, it kinda sucks too, I still love cartoons.

[@YuuyaKZMI]

Honestly Dark Harvest is the one episode I remember the most because it left a lasting impact on me. I didn't remember the whole thing nor its name, but I did remember the image of Zim vomiting an intestine like a new grotesque tongue. I wasn't an easily scarred kid when it came to gross-out (mainly because I knew it wasn't real) but Dark Harvest felt like baby's first Amnesia.

[@kaimobley5324]

Ain't no way in Hell there were only 26 episodes of Invader Zim. I remember at least 50

[@OfficialCyaned]

4:20 I don't know why, but that part of the episode disturbed me as a kid. Still, that didn't detour me from watching the show.

[@deathfangthegothicgamer5601]

a lot of that episode is disturbing for especially the organs appear too much details

[@merp497]

This show only exists bc someone read “Johnny the homicidal maniac” and thought it would be a great idea for a kids show lol

[@curtiswilkerson8489]

So according to the lore zim would have been crippled till his brain was put back but he would have survived without it, irken paks(his backpack) function as a kind of psudo brain maintaining a copy of all his memories a d seeing as the pak is integrated i to his anatomy he could survive with the pack while he placed his brain back in his skull to restore full functionality.

[@TheGreatSalsaMan]

Oh I wouldn’t have watched it if it wasn’t! 😂😂😂

[@jayjaybulldog9180]

I wish this show could’ve gone more or instead airing on Cartoon Network’s adult swim, like just imagine what would’ve happened if Invader Zim met Danny Phantom or Rick and Morty.

[@adamk-paxlogan7330Sucks]

I'm scared by everything but apparently I was fine with this as a kid XD

[@mindedpearxd4834]

My life as a teenage robot next please

[@leroyhudson8952]

The parent teacher night is the best episode 😂 “my squeezing arm… they took MY SQUEEZING ARM!!!!

[@whodis7507]

Loving the content, Keep it coming! Every series you cover, I end up re-watching within the week!

[@EdwardDanks009]

Poop is the brand of soda. There's an episode focused on selling chocolates for money for the school. Poop is a mega corporation. Edit: the episode: FBI warning shows that ChatGPT was really an Irkan thing.

[@jayjaybulldog9180]

I never gotten a chance to watch invader Zim until it aired reruns on Nicktoons network in 2006 but THANK GOD I did not watch dark harvest as a kid😅. I can really understand why this show was cancel even though it still hold up for me being Iconic as one of the most impactful dark sci-fi shows on a kids network channel.

[@pwabd2784]

The Halloween episode is reminiscent of the movie Jacobs Ladder.

[@havenk.5226]

Just wanted to say ty for making this cartoon content! I run out of videos to watch often so I subbed and can’t wait to see more 💖

[@mrsnayarlhats4242]

I use to like invader zim and support the artist on Twitter but he blocked me because he hates his fans like me I just ended up leaving the invader zim community for good I remember when invader zim use to make me smile so did dark harvest because it pulled me out of a dark time in my life because a guy was harassing me a few years prior I was sad for real long time I knew I relied on invader zim to stay happy that's why I was so obsessed with invader zim because of that reason but since I now I moved on to a better cartoon called villainous because I found out the creator of villainous loves his fans and I made better friends and found a guy that really loves me finally I can feel loved again in the first time in 8 years

[@ToXos49]

You don't say? Considering it was produced by the prolific author that also produced Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Side question; Whos better Squee or Gir?

[@LeahBouley]

Just noticing now but dib looks like a young mister Crocker from fairly odd parents lololol

[@twindrill2852]

That Invader Zim Halloween Special was my introduction to psychological horror, and it scared me BADLY. And I just ended up feeling bad for Dib because he was forced into a nuthouse instead of actually getting substantial help. Edit: ALSO, regarding the endings of some episodes (such as the one where Zim loses his brain), this show is running on little to no continuity. There was another episode you didn’t cover that ends with Zim and Dib being turned into oversized sausages stuck in an abandoned house, but of course those two ended up untouched by the next episode.

[@deathfangthegothicgamer5601]

the Zib arc (the arc is from an Invader Zim comic) gives a little bit info on the sausage part but only Dib gotten interrupted by an alternate universe Zim before he could tell how he got back to normal

[@D3D_UN1C0RN]

Zim has killed more irkens than humans, and has saved the earth more than save irk

[@Sennodev]

21:01 I died at the droopy eye and lisp 😂😂😂🤣🤣💀

[@NyxNyxie]

this episode gave me nightmares

[@kingj521]

what invader Zim is as exactly disturbing i remember. because i had a physically hard time watching that show.

[@T1fixFelix]

Same. Courage and every other mildly gross/dark show from the time I could watch. But this one, nope.

[@ereoleon]

Just want to say for some reason to me Invader zim has one of the best dubs in latin america. all the characters sound so funny and the mood changes are perfectly handled by the voice actors.

[@krissykayluv7241]

OBLONGS, WILD THORNEBERRIES

[@FrizzyWolf]

I rewatched and I started to get the dark shit behind it

[@quinnhouk5369]

Aw dude I LOVED Invader Zim when I was a kid

[@FoxDemonMaster]

Dark Harvest is literally the only episode of Invader Zim in never rewatch out of sheer disgust.

[@aetaur]

It's exactly as disturbing as I remember. I actively avoided this show as a kid.

[@tdawggonzo88]

Maybe it’s because I was an outsider but I always thought of the show as a way of explaining being a weird kid in a school that fells like an asylum or prison I mean obviously it’s a show about an alien but that was my interpretation as a pre teen

[@tdawggonzo88]

And maybe a little mental health issues in young children 😂 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@sporkinstien6571]

"More disturbing than you remember" Nah I remember the Organ episode lol

[@awkwardsemantic4058]

Keef....his name is Keef 😆

[@janurabladesbane2779]

Thank you for taking my suggestion from the last video. I think another good one from the 90s is Ahh! Real Monsters. 90s nickelodeon had some crazy stuff lol

[@ajnothing16]

invader zim is my favorite cartoon of all time, it was so underrated. you should make a video on the show “making fiends”

[@tri-sapien6487]

I think there should always be a cycle of horror kids shows, that bring that once one ends a new one takes it's place, but never two at the same time. To show kids that not everything is bright and sunny, but that they can live bright and sunny with their other shows.

[@iancolpetzer5311]

Fantastic video! I totally forgot about that piggy episode, that one really stuck with me as a kid

[@hinata-chanhyuuga3842]

You're welcone man,saw you're first video and I sub to your channel right away,stay awesome.

[@eagleangel5568]

I still love the show but i will say im reslly shocked they let the guys episode air CAUSE that was alot lol 😅 but hey nickelodeon wanted a more uh grimmer show lol

[@WEEMZ1746]

I grew up on this show, even read the other comics by the same creator. I’m a functional adult. I promise. I also had to make room for the cupcake. I’m ok i swear. Where am i?

[@johnnywalker8815]

Oh invader Zim is just as weird and disturbing as I remembered.

[@ThatAussieSiesta]

Holy heck, I remember 200 episodes not 27 😅

[@JoeRuffler]

Right?! I was so shocked when I realized it was only 27

[@ThatAussieSiesta]

@@JoeRuffler Good ol' Mandela effect right there 😅 but great vid as always, I've been loving these dark childhood cartoons

[@MasSamurai]

sounds like normal school days to me?

[@JakeCoasters]

My favorite animated show of all time

[@azazelgrigori9244]

When I saw this as a kid, I was unphased. If I see this now, HELL NO!

[@JoeRuffler]

So many moments just went over our heads as kids for sure

[@noneed4me2n7]

Invader Zim rocks.

[@justinianflavius9571]

I remember having nightmares because of this Halloween episode.

[@taralandgallagher6995]

Honestly such a brilliantly funny show dude, I can’t believe they were trying to get kids 2-11 to watch this! I remember I liked it when I was around 10-11 but it DID freak me out. If a station like adult swim had it im sure it could have had an amazing run

[@MrMartellSincere]

This channel will blow up and grow into 100k. Anyways i love your videos and the inner yet dark tone and meanings of the late 90s and 2000s kids. Please do Ren and stimpy as an shout-out video if that's ok. Anyways keep up with the awesome content and work. Hope you're in a good place mentally and emotionally

[@Mr_Mcfeely]

So the show isn't really creepy in any kind of way, but the theory that Ed, Edd and Eddy takes place in purgatory could make for some interesting episode breakdowns 🤷

[@ravenouself4181]

Orifessor Membrane doing something nice for Dib!? Scientifically Impossible!

[@mrsnipermask936]

I KNEW IT WOULD BE THAT ONE 1ST I remember in 5th grade Squiggly-spooch stuck with me

[@yrbelite8450]

This show was wayyyyyyy ahead of it’s time. Probably why they cancelled it. Also ger thought so hard man’s head exploded😭🤣 Avatar the last air bender please!

[@kingkez5749]

i been checking if you uploaded since i subbed nice

[@TheGlacierEmpire]

Wow 2 weeks ago you had less than 1k subs. Congrats

[@JoeRuffler]

Thanks 🙏

[@LeahBouley]

If I remeber poop is the shows version of coke or Pepsi lol

[@NecroitsHardcore]

it is still as disturbing as i remember.

[@joshuahector9024]

Cow and chicken, samuri jack and if u can fan boy and chum chum

[@oonegro82]

Nice little presentation that you put here, enjoyed the nostalgic trip reminiscing down memory lane. The name of that kid was Keef who's eyeballs were replaced by Zim what he was trying to prove that he was a normal human worm baby by having a friend. That is who was in the cell in the nightmare Halloween episode. The Hunter destroyer could not go in because it was incompatible inorganic material, and by sheer coincidence the pig was acceptable inorganic material to go through the temporal field... There are so many different hidden jokes within the whole series😂 Classical hilariousness right here indubitably 🧐

[@oonegro82]

Plus I find it hilarious how the third episode you reviewed was Looper before its time...🤔

[@omegaflowey9932]

25:09 If you pause at the right time, you will see bloody gir

[@Crayolapup]

Head Pigeons episode never aired on Nickelodeon. It aired 6 years after the series was cancelled on Nicktoons Network

[@srjsfangirlPL2014]

Now I see why this show was never aired in Polish Nickelodeon.

[@Jok3st3r]

Joe should do a video on Chop Socky Chooks! That Big Bad Bubba episode was pretty disturbing

[@shaamex2]

I know invader zim for a longtime but the youtube search is leting random people post random stuff that is not invader zim.

[@cmbrew-s3q]

I love invader zim because it’s the only scary-ish thing I can watch without being scared 😭

[@Ruisu_Skungoid]

He did well, now zim is fat, a true American