Irkens are an aggressive species driven by a desire to expand their Empire and enslave or exterminate life on all other planets. To this end, the majority of their society appears to be one big military in and of itself.
Military Forces[]
Guards[]
These Irkens appear in the episode "Battle of the Planets". They seem to be an elite personal guard for the Almighty Tallest. They were in attendance at a large gathering of the Irken Army inside the Massive.
When Almighty Tallest Purple decreed that the individual who didn't remember how Zim had messed up Operation Impending Doom I should be thrown out the airlock, the guards swooped down and grabbed someone else and threw him out the airlock by mistake.
[]
These Irkens take messages for the Almighty Tallest, and seem to make up all of the bridge crew of the Massive. They are taller than the Invaders but shorter than the Almighty Tallest, so it may be that Red and Purple had this job before they became the Almighty Tallest. Most of them have either green or red eyes.
Irken Invaders[]
- Main article: Irken Invaders
The Irken Invaders are an elite corps trained in stealth, infiltration, espionage, and disguise. They are the first wave of the Irken assault on any given planet, moving in with their SIR Units to gather information on their assigned planets.
Both Invaders and SIR units must disguise themselves as the dominant species native to that planet, and "become the enemy" in order to gather information on the planet's weaknesses. Irken disguises are generally not very good, despite having the technology to disguise themselves perfectly. Irken Invaders are tasked with weakening the enemy and making their planet susceptible to invasion.
Commanders[]
Commanders are elite officers within the Irken military, holders of the rank appearing several times in the comic series. Their main purpose appears to act as team leaders during important missions.
What their hierarchal relation is to Invaders is unknown, as Invaders appear to operate independently of mainstream military forces, yet the first Commander introduced, Poki, is shown in flashbacks to have overseen classes of Invaders-in-training.
Equipment[]
Dermis Prowler Security Droid[]
The Dermis Prowler Security Droid is a type of security robot used by the Irkens to protect their homeworld. They are designed to home in on movement and to attack, causing intense pain. In "The Trial", it's shown that when Zim was ten years old, he encountered one of these droids while trying to escape the education chamber and he used Invader Skoodge as a diversion to help him escape. The damage done to Irk by the droid plunged Irk into four years of darkness, an event known now as "Horrible Painful Overload Day Part II."
SIR Units[]
- Main article: SIR Unit
The Standard Information Retrieval Units are small robots designed to help Invaders subvert their planets. Each SIR Unit has many capabilities - including but not limited to disguise, navigation, combat, and thermos.
Maimbot[]
The Maimbot seems to be one of the staples of the Irken military. What a Maimbot's offensive capabilities have never been shown, since they have only been seen as a schematic when Zim requested one from the Almighty Tallest in "Hobo 13" and used one against a vending machine in "Tak: The Hideous New Girl".
Frontline Battle Mech/BattleMech 4[]
This is the huge Battle-Mech that Zim stole and piloted during Operation Impending Doom I (In the episode "The Trial", it is show that Zim was supposed to remain in a dirt circle, as commanded by the Tallest. However, he decided that "My empire needs me!" and proceeded to commander this Battle-Mech.
This is evidenced by "Random Irken #2" saying: "Hey, has anyone seen Frontline Battle Mech #4? I'm supposed toaaAAAAAAGHH!!" After this the Battle-Mech is seen rampaging, with Zim inside). It requires multiple Irkens to pilot this machine. Zim almost destroyed his homeworld with this device, even though one of the pilots told him that they were still on their home planet.
Megadoomer[]
The Megadoomer X-3 Combat Stealth Mech is a unique (but ultimately flawed) piece of hardware created by the Vortians. It is a huge robot that looks similar to the BattleMech 4, except this one can be piloted by one Irken, while the BattleMech 4 requires numerous Irkens to pilot it.
The Megadoomer is equipped with a powerful cloaking device which allows it to become invisible (but not the pilot), and a Doom Cannon to smite its foes.
Plasma-Armed Battle Tank[]
We never get to see any Plasma-Armed Battle tanks in action - but it is safe to assume that they are dangerous, because the Tallest did not want Zim to have one.
Death Wave Cannon[]
Like the Plasma Armed Battle Tanks, we never get to see the Death Wave Cannon in action, though it is probably extremely dangerous.
Hunter-Destroyer Machine[]
The Hunter-Destroyer Machine is a military robot created by Zim. As its name suggests, its purpose is to hunt down and destroy its targets. The only time one appears is in the episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", when Zim tries to send one back in time to eliminate Dib as a young child.
Vehicles[]
The Massive[]
- Main article: Massive
The Massive is a huge starship and personal vessel to the leaders of the Irken Empire, the Almighty Tallest. It is from the Massive that Organic Sweeps are launched to remove the last vestiges of life on conquered planets, and it is the Massive that strikes fear into the hearts of all alien races with hearts.
The Massive is almost always shown surrounded by many various smaller Irken craft. It was originally built by Vortian engineers, mashing together different designs and features of many other ships.
Viral Tanks[]
Viral tanks are among the largest of the Irken ships, second only to the Massive itself. The first one was seen in the opening of "The Nightmare Begins"; it can be found below a Ripper and at Conventia's docking ring.
Ripper[]
Rippers are another powerful military vessel of the Irken Armada; they are not seen much in combat, but during the space battle above Earth in "Dib's Wonderful Life of Doom", a Ripper could be seen firing one laser from the top of its prow. It appears to be the only fleet ship without a viewport, so it is unknown how the ship's pilots can see. The Ripper was the very first ship seen in "The Nightmare Begins".
Shuvvers[]
Shuvvers are one of the most common ships in the Armada; they assist in performing the Organic Sweep over a planet, as seen in "Battle of the Planets".
Ring Cutters[]
Ring Cutters are the second most common ships in the Irken armada. They tend to be seen more often escorting/defending the armada flagship, the Massive.
Spittle Runners[]
The Spittle Runner is the smallest and most fragile ship in the Irken Armada, and also possibly the most common. Tak managed to repair and strengthen one she found in a garbage pile on planet Dirt, which later fell into the hands of Dib. They are extremely fast ships in speed; in the Nightmare Begins one could be seen speeding past all the other Irken ships towards Conventia.
Voot Runner[]
- Main article: Voot Runner
The Voot Runner, also called the Voot Cruiser, is a standard-issue military transportation, scouting, and combat vehicle. This is the vehicle that Zim takes from Conventia to Earth on a six-month-long journey. The Voot Cruiser is one of the most outdated Irken military ships, and is no longer used in the Irken Empire.
Zhook Cruiser[]
The Zhook Cruiser is a new kind of Irken ship that made its debut in Issue 18 of the comic series, the first one of its model being presented to Invader Larb by the Tallest.
It's a personal spacecraft, which shares a similar design to the Voot (possibly being an upgraded model of the same series), but with backwards-facing tendrils that are more reminiscent of Tak's Ship (itself a modified Spittle Runner).
Cannon Cruiser[]
The movie Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus introduced a new ship class that was added to the Armada at an unspecified time. It is a very thin, very long, gun-shaped cruiser that seemingly only functions as a giant mobile particle beam cannon. It is not known if this type of ship is manned by an onboard crew, controlled from nearby ships, or autonomous.