Wikia


Irk
Inhabitants	Irkens, Control Brains, SIRs Digestor
Moons	unknown
Purpose	Irken imperial capital and native homeworld
Notable Facts	This is the homeworld of the Irken Empire, Irk has planetary rings.
First Appearance	The Nightmare Begins
[Source]

Irk is the homeworld of the bloodthirsty Irken race, and capital planet of the Irken Empire. The view of Irk from space is unknown to humans, but the capital city could be seen when Invader Zim was rampaging through it in The Nightmare Begins when he mistook Irk for an enemy planet. A screen showing the Irken Empire in the same episode depicted a large, dark blue planet in the middle, identified as Irk. This coloring was probably for easier identification for the Irken military audience, and Irk is believed to be red, magenta or pink in colour.

Physical Characteristics

Irk's climate, geography and topography are unknown, though it is theorized that with the dominance of the planet by the Irken species, the entire planet has become covered in sprawling cities and metropolises or even completely converted into a 100% mechanical/Industrial world. There is even civilization deep under Irk's surface. The cities are largely purple/magenta in color, hinting that it is an Irken custom for things to be shades of purple or magenta. The sky on Irk is light pink in color, like on Foodcourtia and Conventia. The idea of rain puzzled Zim when he first saw it on Earth, indicating that there was no rain on Irk. It is also suggested in Walk of Doom that Irk's sun does not emit ultraviolet rays, or that Irk's ozone layer is unusually thick.

Life

The only known organisms of the planet are the Irkens themselves and the Control Brains, who dominate the planet in sprawling cities and metropolises. However, if Irk is anything like Earth, it will have other species native to it. Zim has made references to other species when speaking in metaphors, but it is not known if any of these creatures are native to his planet. Also, Irken Smeets are born presumably in a large "birthing facility" (known to be called the "Hatcheries") beneath the surface of Irk. Very few Irkens are taller than five feet, except the Tallest and a few exceptions.

Orbit

The idea of Irk being distant from its star would suggest the planet has a very low temperature. However, this does not increase the likelihood of water, as water requires hydrogen and oxygen to be present on the planet, which Irk may be devoid of. However, this is again highly unlikely, since hydrogen is the single most common element in the universe, with oxygen being similarly common. Additionally, Irk's sun is presumed to have a very thick ozone layer, meaning that Irk must have oxygen in some form.

Air

It has been confirmed that Irk has an atmosphere, since it has clouds and a pink sky, but the make-up of its air is unknown. It is presumed that it has contains a breathable gas also found on Earth, as Zim does not need his space suit to breathe on Earth. If this is true, it is conceivable that, conversely, humans can breathe unassisted on Irk.

Distance

In a canceled episode (the series finale), Dib would have gone to Irk, and tried to take it over, probably using Tak's Ship. It is unknown if he would have aged in the journey. However, distance appears to be relative, changing for comic reasons quite regularly. Assuming that the conquered planet Conventia is anywhere near Irk, it takes about six months or less (depending on the speed of the ship) to journey from the Irken homeworld to Earth.

Rings

As seen on the galactic map in The Nightmare Begins, Irk is surrounded by rings, meaning Irk is likely high in gravity. However, unlike the ringed giants in this solar system (such as Saturn and Jupiter), Irk is a solid planet like Earth and Mars rather than a gas planet. This is probably what gives Irkens their agility on Earth, similar to the enhanced abilities that Superman gains when separated from his home planet, Krypton.

View from Space

As mentioned above, Irk's view from space is possibly unknown. However, in The Nightmare Begins, Irk is said to be the dark blue planet with thin red rings in the center of the galactic map. We can assume that this is a color-coded representation of the universe, rather than its natural color, as all the other planets are a white color.

Trivia

"Irk" is a synonym for "annoy". A possible reason Jhonen Vasquez named the planet this and named the species "Irkens" (which sounds like "Irkin' ") could be that Zim can be quite annoying.

In The Nightmare Begins, Irk can be seen on the map behind The Tallest. In this incarnation, it appears to be a blue planet with a red ring. However, this may simply be a color-coded representation, as none of the other planets surrounding it have any color and are just left white.

Appearances

The Nightmare Begins
Parent Teacher Night
The Frycook What Came from All That Space
The Trial (cancelled episode)
Invader Dib (cancelled episode)

Wikia

Irk

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