Dib (Invader Zim)
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Dib is a fictional character from the Nickelodeon animated television series, Invader Zim. He is Zim's rival and is highly unpopular at school (where he shares a class with Zim) and at home for his broken record obsession with the paranormal, aliens, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and other phenomena. Dib has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural since an early age, as seen in the episodes Bad Bad Rubber Piggy and Mysterious Mysteries. He is voiced by Andy Berman.
His obsession has made many of the people around him deem him crazy and/or stupid, including his classmates, his teacher Miss Bitters, his sister Gaz and his father, Professor Membrane. A running gag in the show is the fact that everyone insults Dib for his supposedly-large head (though his head is more or less equal in proportions to everybody else). This joke was started by Gir in the episode Door-to-Door, and has occurred in almost every half an hour episode since.
Not surprisingly, Dib dreams of becoming a paranormal investigator when he grows up. He seems to regard this field as a legitimate one, though most people he knows do not; and, despite his fascination with many paranormal legends, he nevertheless is being shown critical of others, such as "Chickenfoot" (a supposed half-man, half-chicken that turned out to be a crazy man in a chicken suit) and a chocolate vampire, Count Cocofang (a parody of Count Chocula). He believes that paranormal study is as much about disproving frauds as pointing out the legitimate occurrences. (The Sad Sad Tale of Chickenfoot , episode 18B)
Apart from his sister, Dib is the only child at the School who realizes, or more likely, seems to care that Zim is an alien. He is a member of the "Swollen Eyeball Network" conspiracy theory group, where he is known as Agent Mothman (possibly a reference to the Mothman of West Virginian folklore). Prior to his discovery of Zim, Dib was already heavily involved in the paranormal, and people often throw his earlier ideas of 'ninja ghosts' and 'finding bigfoot in his garage' (where he was using the belt sander) back in his face when he asks for help. Dib's hair is pulled back in a scythe-like manner, and he is never seen without his trademark trench coat.
Dib was originally scripted to be killed off in Bad Bad Rubber Piggy, and replaced by a character called Lewie, played by Shaun Cassidy, however, Nickelodeon refused to have a character killed, and Shaun Cassidy requested much more money in payment than was in the budget. This is known from the commentry in the episode.
[edit] Origins and Theories
In the episode Dark Harvest Dib mentions to his classmate, Torque Smacky that he has memories of being abducted as a baby "... Perhaps to create some kind of genius super baby?", though he also states his memory on this is unclear. Based on his previous comments, he is not a reliable witness and what he says cannot always be taken as fact.
Eric Trueheart, one of the series writers, has stated in a commentary on the final Invader Zim DVD that, if the series had not been cancelled, a potential storyline might have included Dib discovering he was an artificial creation of Professor Membrane's making.
[edit] Trivia
Dib and The Postal Dude (From the Game, Postal2) share the same wardrobe- black trenchcoat over black shirt with a grey head on it (Though the head on Dib's shirt appears to resemble Happy Noodle Boy, while the head on The Dude's shirt is that of an alien).
Dib has a pseudo-catchphrase, seethingly saying "You Jerk" to a target of his frustration, usually Zim. It is only said in a few episodes, always as the last line of the episode, after the other character does something completely idiotic. It first appeared at the end of the episode Bolognious Maximus directed at Zim, and then wasn't used again until the episode Career Day, after which it begun to be used more frequently.
