|
| “ | Groovy! | „ |
| ~ Earthworm Jim. (1994 Game Version): (Cartoon Version): |
| “ | Plan A: "Senseless Violence", Ohkay muchacho, EAT DIRT! (maniacal laughter and shooting) | „ |
| ~ Earthworm Jim in the animated series, first heard in the episode "Sidekicked", and became his recurring catchphrase in battle scenes. |
Earthworm Jim is the titular main protagonist of the video game and cartoon series of the same name and was once an ordinary earthworm until a suit of advanced alien-armor fell from the sky and caused him to evolve into the anthropomorphic, mutated, gun-tottering hero that he is today. Even though he tends to be very humorous, dimwitted and reckless, but he can also show cunning when he needs to, and is a firm believer in truth and justice, albeit he delivers his heroic speeches in a very unorthodox manner and with a boisterous mannerism.
In the games, he is voiced by Doug TenNapel (the creator of Earthworm Jim himself), and in the animated series and Earthworm Jim 3D, he was voiced by Dan Castellaneta, best known for voicing Homer Simpson and Genie.
Biography[]
Earthworm Jim[]
Jim was a typical earthworm from Texas who struggled to survive. One day, a mechanical suit fell to earth and he wriggled inside, only to evolve eyes and a toothy mouth, as well as a somewhat heightened I.Q. He heard about Princess What's-Her-Name, and smitten, he traveled the galaxy to find her, utilizing a rocket he found along with the suit. The suit gave him strength, and he soon learned that it was intended to be delivered to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, by a sinister, birdlike alien called Psy-Crow, the cruelest and most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy, who, accidentally lost it on earth, had come to reclaim it.
Battling many never-do-wells along the away, and traversing bizarre worlds, Earthworm Jim arrived on Insectia, and having a lengthy battle with Slug-for-a-Butt, he encountered Princess What's-Her-Name. A cow he had launched into orbit from earth fell onto the princess, maiming her. Embarrassed, Jim cautiously backed off, but not before looting the princess' crown.
Earthworm Jim 2[]
After being seen playing the harmonica for Princess Whats Her Name (who seemed to have survived from the last game), she gets snatched by Psy-Crow, as Jim gets concerned and the game has him wondering through multiple worlds while using his pet Snott, to help him, as well as using different methods like inflating his head or making himself fly.
He gets into even more random worlds, even in a world of barbecuing or a game show! He, alongside Peter Puppy, prevent Psy-Crow from dropping baby puppies onto the ground in the level Puppy Love, they prevent this by the two of them using a bouncy object and Peter catching them with a tube upon them flying. Jim is then seen racing with Psy-Crow in the level See Jim Run, Run Jim Run, and at the end of the game, Jim finds out that his quest was pointless as Princess What's Her Name and Psy-Crow, both turn into cows. Where Jim presumably turns into one as well.
Earthworm Jim 3D[]
Taking place at during his own 1995-1996 cartoon series, Jim gets hit by the recurring flying cow that sends him into a coma, and was taken to the hospital. While Jim remains somewhat unconscious, Jim awakens within his own subconscious and discovers he has gone insane. His past villains have entered his subconscious and if something doesn't happen soon, Jim will be in the coma forever, and his evil feminine genes, Earthworm Kim, will take over his body.
In order for him to be freed from his coma, the story revolves around Jim travel around his own mind in order to restore his health (and more importantly, his sanity). The four areas in his mind; Memory, Happiness, Fear, and Fantasy, are the sections in his brain Jim must explore is also where he must collect his marbles, which, not only determines how smart Jim really is, but can unlock future levels by collecting a certain amount of marbles. With this in mind, Jim must travel deeper into his mind to get rid of his enemies.
Other Media[]
The Animated Series[]
Earthworm Jim, living in the world of Terlawk, was a average earthworm that was seen surviving from vercious crows, once until the robotic space suit gives him eyes and a superheroic personality that allows him to battle the forces of evil often taking place in intergalactic locations using a robotic suit, his ray gun, his inner strengths, and wacky shenanigans to defeat villains in a cartoonishly zany fashion, often to prevent them from causing trouble throughout the galaxy.
Despite being a bit of a gullible nutcase of a crimefighter, he always has the shtick of seeking to defeat villains with the thrill of foiling their plans as well as trashing them in violent ways, and his antics often have a sense of passion to them, especially when he yells "Eat Dirt" with a unfavorable description of his enemy as his antic to shoot his enemies.
Comic Books[]
Earthworm Jim (Shiny Entertainment)[]
As of 1994, this was the graphic novel that showcased the early days of Earthworm Jim, evading crows and becoming powered on with the super-suit before his game ever came out at the time. Which also included some versions of the first Earthworm Jim video game, or within the game manuals, this served as an origin story for Earthworm Jim.
Earthworm Jim comics (Marvel Absurd)[]
Earthworm Jim faces Evil the Cat since there are three volumes that covered the "Heck Hath No Fury" story-arc, in which Evil the Cat gathers together all the greatest villains in the universe on Heck. This is done in an effort to pool their resources and finally defeat Earthworm Jim, with the Super Suit, once and for all. When they fail repeatedly, Evil the Cat unveils his ultimate weapon - the lawyers of Heck - and gets them onto the case to sue Earthworm Jim for collective damages done to the villains.
Earthworm Jim The Comic (2020)[]
Launch The Cow![]
The first chapter of the 2020 comic book series, Earthworm Jim and friends face the evil Queen of Insectica, who has a super-suit invented that is capable of altering the universe when it is stolen by her ugly sister, Princess What's-Her-Name.
Fight The Fish[]
The second chapter of the 2020 comic book series, Earthworm Jim and friends fight Bob the Goldfish all the way down the tubes. Where the bad guys, Bob and #4, kidnap Princess What's Her Name and it's up to Earthworm Jim, Peter Puppy, Snot and Farmer Jim to go to the Planeta De Agua and save her.
Personality[]
In the games, he is very much a gunning thrill-seeker who is goofy and comedic, but enjoys roaming through worlds and shooting anyone that antagonizes him like crows, vicious bulldogs, sentient tires and a trash can combined, and a fat guy in the realm New Junk City, the place he originally lived in. He seeks to defeat Psy-Crow and any enemy he comes around, and at the end of the game, he nearly earned love from a woman named Princess Whats Her Name, someone who got crushed by a cow and Jim sadly walks away, when the cow and the princess fall into the lava, Jim seems to be greedy and sneaky when he stole the princesses crown for no reason. In the second game, he's more energetic and adventurous, looking energized and ready for anything.
In the 1995-1996 cartoon series, Jim is portrayed as ditzy, childish, short-fused, ballistic, caring, savvy, unstable, boisterous and highly-strung. Unlike his appearance in the games, Jim actually set out to be a hero from day one. Sometimes he appears to be absent-minded and incompetent, but often, he is very resourceful and despite often being violent and aggressive, he is also helpful, friendly, and loyal. He is also prideful, and hates losing. He also hates drinking orange juice after brushing his teeth and loves shopping, finds printers amazing, and enjoys frozen yogurt despite suffering brain freeze from it. It is in the animated series that he accidentally creates an evil doppelganger of himself called Evil Jim; who loves everything Jim hates and visa-versa.
Where Jim may be maniacal with having a tendency to thwart his comically inept villains with violence and mayhem, the episode "Sword of Righteousness" was a prime example of how he didn't want to get carried away with defeating the villains he fights after seeing how painful the defeats were. Especially where his sidekick Peter was having too much fun torturing Evil the Cat with the remote that allowed Evil to be skulled countless times as Jim smartly told him to stop with the senseless violence, which makes him pretty honorable.
He genuinely cares about his friends such as Peter Puppy and Princess What's-Her-Name, he will stop at nothing to protect the world and his people, even if the bad guys do pose a credible threat to Jim himself. He also gets into a strange romantic relationship with Princess What's-Her-Name, with Jim being obsessed and love-struck about her, and the Princess being perpetually confused and still accepting of him.
Unlike the games and the cartoon version of himself, his 1995 counterpart in the comics was intelligent enough to do stuff like reading the manual that allowed him to take the suit and use it to his advantage to become a superhero. This is especially shown by how he was rather portrayed as a weirdo who can sometimes do stupid things, but when it comes to combat, he's incredibly skilled and capable. As of the 2020 comic, he may be the most naive and inexperienced person in the series, but he still shows to have a good heart, sees the beauty of many things in the world, and is willing to attempt being a hero despite the risks he throws himself into.
Audio Samples[]
- (Video game lines)
Trivia[]
- His idle animations in the first Earthworm Jim game were directly based on Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, as revealed in the video "Earthworm Jim - Did You Know Gaming? Feat. TheCartoonGamer".
- He has made an appearance as a secret character in the first Battle Arena Toshinden game for the PC.
- He is noted to be a hyper-evolved, four-brained earthworm in the cartoon. That, not only became a internet meme with placing a (in)appropriate one-liner at the end during the visual gags (this video and this video; both being prime examples of this), but it also became a direct use of the story in his 3D title, Earthworm Jim 3D.