Tak (Invader Zim)
From Scratchpad
Tak is a character from the animated Nickelodeon cartoon Invader Zim created by Jhonen Vasquez. She was introduced in the episode Tak: The Hideous New Girl as an enemy of the main character Zim. Tak is voiced by Olivia D'Abo. Although Tak was only present in one episode, she was intended to return in at least one second-season episode, but the show was cancelled before this came about.
Contents |
[edit] Appearance
Tak is a female Irken and like Zim, she uses a disguise as a human when seen on Earth. She has purple eyes and an outfit similar to that worn by Jhonen Vasquez's comic-book character Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Unlike Zim, Tak uses a holographic generator as the base of her human disguise. Tak is accompanied by customized SIR unit named "MiMi" disguised as a cat. Tak also has a cybernetic implant that hypnotizes others to obey her commands, however it doesn't work on those who are too intelligent and the process can be interrupted. Indeed, it seems most, if not all, of Tak's equipment appear heavily modified from Irken standards, suggesting that Tak might be better at engineering than even Zim.
[edit] Motivation for her scheme
In Tak: The Hideous New Girl, Tak reveals her reason for wanting revenge against Zim.
It was 50 years ago, on the Irken military training planet Devastis. I had been waiting years to take my final test to become one of the Irken Elite Soldiers, and should the need arise, be one of the Invaders. You blew the power block for one half of the planet, but the testing went on uninterrupted on the other side. I pleaded with the control brain to let me take the test, but she said I had to wait another 70 years. I was placed on a janitorial squad, and then sent to planet Dirt! I escaped and began my long search for the mysterious person who caused the blackout...and ruined my life!But that is not her only part of her scheme she also plans to do what Zim can't, annex Earth for the Irken Empire. And to make it valubale for the Empire, so the Tallest will grant her the rank of Invader.
[edit] Tak's Ship
Tak's ship is notable as it reappears in other episodes. It is a customized Irken personal cruiser (made from a heavily modified Spittle Runner she found on Planet Dirt while she was assigned there,although she claims to have made it herself). After combat with Zim in space, Tak ejects from her ship, and its remains fall into the hands of Dib. He begins repair attempts, with varying degrees of failure, until Gaz repairs the ship in minutes in The Most Horrible X-mas Ever. Remnants of Tak's downloaded personality still remain in her ship's user interface and it is unclear how much this would have impacted the ship's use in future episodes. In the episode Dibship Rising, Dib attempts to overwrite this personality-data with his own, but the ship rejects his memories.
[edit] Trivia
- If the show had gone on longer, she would have made many appearances throughout the series trying to eliminate Zim, thus, making her the main antagonist of the show although she was originally supposed to appear in The Most Horrible X-mas Ever coming back to Earth to retrieve her Ship.
- She designed her ship by painting a spittle runner red.
- A great number of fan fiction stories have be labeled "ZATRs." "ZATR" stands for Zim and Tak Romance, which almost invariably contain Zim, being a defective Irken (discovered in "The Trial") beginning to have hidden and incomprehensible feelings for Tak, and vise versa. A ZATR, however, was never to be addressed in the series and is entirely fan-based. Jhonen stated openly that ZIM and Tak would always hate each other. To some, a DATR (Dib and Tak) is more plausible, yet Dib does realize that she is an alien and he also knows she wants to destroy the World so DATR seems unlikely also...
- Though she only appeared in one episode of Invader ZIM (TAK: The Hideous New Girl) she left a lasting impression on fans.
