| Larb | |
| |
| Homeworld | Irk |
| Assignment | Blorch, but was changed to Vort |
| Rank | Invader |
| Gender | Male |
| Eye Color | Ruby |
| Weapons | PAK lasers |
| Equipment | PAK |
| Affiliation(s) | Irken Empire |
| Notable facts | Has conquered his assigned world already. |
| First appearance | The Nightmare Begins |
| Voice Actor(s) | Andy Berman |
Invader Larb is an Irken Invader. He was almost sent to the planet Blorch, "Home of the Slaughtering Rat People." He then uttered his most well-known line "Why would you draw that?" when seeing a picture of himself being attacked by the Slaughtering Rat People.
However, due to his increased height since the Tallest last saw him, Red and Purple changed Larb's assignment to Vort, "home of the Universe's most comfortable couch", changing the picture to Larb resting happily, on a giant couch, when Larb was assigned Vort, he seemed very pleased and eager to get started, quietly cheering "Yes!" He was later seen getting his SIR Unit from the Tallest and ordering to warm up his ship's engines.
His last produced appearance in the series was in the episode "Walk for Your Lives", Larb was pummeled on Probing Day by the Tallest, presumably for not entertaining them with a puppet show, he was seem sliding off from the Universe's most comfortable couch in great pain, given the fact that he was called for inspection, it was implied that Larb had yet to conquer Vort at that point in time. Had the series continued, Larb likely would have made more appearances.
This however would change with time and despite Larb never making another appearance, his presence could still be felt in future episodes as in "Megadoomer" Zim himself hinted Larb succeeded in his conquest of the planet Vort and by the episode "Backseat Drivers From Beyond the Stars" it was confirmed by Dib that Vort is now under Irken rule.
Larb returns in Issue 18 of the comic series. Having apparently conquered several more worlds since he was last seen, he is lauded by the Tallest as their best Invader, and rewarded with a brand new Zhook Cruiser.
Later on in the issue, it's shown that on the way to his next assigned planet, Larb found a space burrito shop and conquered it, declaring himself "Space Burrito Emperor" (and unknowingly preempting Zim's plans to impress the Tallest by conquering a burrito restaurant on Earth).
Facts of Doom
- Invader Larb is voiced by Andy Berman, who also voices Dib.
- It is possible that while on Vort, Larb had a rivalry with Lard Nar similar to Zim's rivalry with Dib on Earth.
- Even though Zim claims that Irkens don't sleep in the unfinished episode "Roboparents Gone Wild", Larb is one of few Irkens to be shown sleeping, hinting that Irkens do have the ability to sleep but rarely do it since their PAKs can keep them awake à la consumption of coffee.
- He was the first Invader known to tear up and almost cry, as his eyes welled with tears when he saw the picture of him almost being devoured by the Slaughtering Rat People.
- He was the first Invader assigned to an enemy planet for Operation Impending Doom II.
- He is the only known Invader in the series to get reassigned to a different planet during Operation Impending Doom II.
- This unfortunately had a horrible outcome for the much-shorter Invader Skoodge as he ended up being assigned to Blorch instead. This in turn served as the first demonstration of height-based discriminatory behavior in Irken culture seen in the series.
- It is hinted that since Skoodge was the first Invader to conquer his assigned planet, Larb could've conquered Vort soon after.
- Larb is one of several characters named after a Thai dish, in this case ground meat served with seasonings, rice, and a sauce similar to a salad. In his case it's somewhat ironic as the dish he shares his name with is likely unsafe for Irkens unless the meat is from animals bred on Irken soil.
- Larb's first appearance in the comic series shows him in the same stripeless tunic as his appearances in the animated series, seeming to indicate that the lack of stripes on most Invader's tunics is canon, and not a coloring error.
- In Issue 18 of the comic series, Larb is deemed the "most successful Invader" by the Almighty Tallest.
- Oddly, one of the titles that the Tallest list as Larb having earned in Issue 18 is "Slaughterer of the Slaughtering Rat People", despite the fact that Skoodge was sent to Blorch instead of him, and Invader Grapa was given the credit for the subsequent conquest. This lack of continuity on the writer's part could be seen as a joke, seeing as both the series and the comic often disregard past events for the sake of making a plot go forward. An "in universe" explanation could be the Tallest continuing to disregard Skoodge's work and simply decided to do the same with Grapa, though it’s also possible that while Skoodge conquered Blorch and Grapa was given credit for the conquest, Larb was simply given credit for actually wiping out the Slaughtering Rat People.
- It may also be possible that it has something to do with Nickelodeon's refusal to have Invader Skoodge in the comics, creating the notion that the universe presented in the comics is in fact just another alternate timeline.
See also
Gallery
| Irken Invaders |
|---|
| Invader Alexovich • Invader Chin • Invader Dooky • Invader El • Invader Flobee • Invader Gooch • Invader Grapa • Invader Groot • Invader Jim • Invader Kim • Invader Koot • Invader Krunk • Invader Larb • Invader Lardnar • Invader Nen • Invader Pesto • Invader Poot • Invader Sklud • Invader Skoo • Invader Skoodge • Invader Skutch • Invader Slacks • Invader Slant • Invader Sneakyonfoota • Invader Spleen • Invader Sploodge • Invader Sqood • Invader Stink • Invader Tenn • Invader Tim •Tak• Invader Yoogli • Invader Yuli • Invader Zee • Zim |