Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim “Groovy!” Gender: Male Type: Humorous Gunner (in the games/comics) Sassy Superhero (in the 90s cartoon) Species: Earthworm Portrayed by: Doug TenNapel (1994–1996) Dan Castellaneta (1995-1999) Scott Shaw (2010) Status: Alive Media of origin: Earthworm Jim

Earthworm Jim is the titular character and main protagonist of the Earthworm Jim series created by Shiny Entertainment. Originally a typical earthworm that lived in New Junk City, he is now an earthworm that lives in Terlawk in the cartoon or is seen going on many adventures in the first two games, who was given a super-suit by accident, and now his nemesis Psycrow vows to defeat Jim to bring the suit back to Queen Slug-For-A-Butt to destroy and/or cause mayhem in the galaxy.

Why He's Guh-roovy!

1. He is one of the funniest video game characters next to Crash Bandicoot and was one that was a satirical take on 2D platforming heroes that came before him like Sonic the Hedgehog and Mario.
2. Speaking of which, he was the real first video game character to have a voice-over in the 16-bit era with actually great voicing, unlike most other protagonists such as Bubsy and Awesome Possum having horrible one-liners.
3. His design is unique yet creative simultaneously (which gives him an iconic look).
4. He can whiplash his enemies from his super suit using Jim himself as the whip funnily enough and shoot any enemy and obstacle without fail.
5. He has saved many worlds, multiple times from numerous villains like Psy-Crow, his archenemy, and who was responsible for giving Jim his super suit by complete accident.
   • He always finds a way to defeat bosses, no matter how ridiculous or powerful. Often proving himself to be very competent.
6. While he has a gullible, headstrong (and sometimes clever) way of being determined enough to save the day by rescuing Princess What's-Her-Name, which usually results in incredibly silly endings, he enjoys going on adventures regardless of circumstance.
   • In his own 1995 comic book series, unlike the games and the cartoon version of himself, he was intelligent enough to read 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 is portrayed as a weirdo who can sometimes do stupid things, but when it comes to combat, he's incredibly skilled and capable.
7. His cartoonish characteristics in the games are based on Warner Bros' slapstick gags in their classic shorts in both games Earthworm Jim 1 and 2, which were enjoyable and flat-out hilarious.
8. Speaking of cartoony, his animated interpretation thereof showed how he was one of the funniest and most expressive worms ever. He was given so much personality and hilarious quirks in character, much to the point that it'd seem fascinating a la Darkwing Duck.
   • Not only was he a satirical take on platforming video-game characters, but he was also one of the most unforgettable idiot-heroes of animation that is on-par with Freakazoid and The Tick.
   • Where Jim is generally dense and naive. He can be clever and talented with his heroic actions from time to time, especially when he is proven to be very competent and fair-minded despite his manchild mannerisms and simple-minded moments.
     • Also, where Jim may be maniacal with tending to thwart his comically inept villains with violence, 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 likable.
9. Doug TenNapel and Dan Castellaneta both did a brilliant job at voicing him and portraying the character.
10. His catchphrases such as "Eat Dirt!", "Whoa Nelly!", and "Groovy!" are awesome and endearing to hear. Especially in the context that it's used that makes Jim very entertaining to watch.
11. 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.
    • In the 2020 comic, he may be the most naïve and inexperienced, but he still has a good heart, sees the beauty in the world, and is willing to attempt to be a hero despite the risks of a change of things when it comes to his current characterization.

Bad Qualities

1. He was horribly flanderized in Earthworm Jim 3D. While he was still heroic and enthusiastic like before, he became louder, much more forgettable, mostly unfunny, somewhat sadistic, and an punching bag who is excessively accident-prone.
2. He can be weaker than some enemies in the first game and rather the punching bag towards them like the muscular cats for example, but not as much as his 3D counterpart.
3. In the cartoon, he can be a bit self-obsessed, childish, and/or too simple-minded.
   • His creators, Doug TenNapel and David Perry, both disliked the changes to Jim's character and personality in this show compared to the games. Doug dislikes how the show portrayed Earthworm Jim as the sidekick in most of the episodes where Peter Puppy is depicted as the hero, and David disliked how the writers made Jim more of an "incompetent man-child with a hammy dialect" and less of a hero.

Trivia

• Earthworm Jim 1's idle animations were 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".
• In the cartoon, he is voiced by Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, and is noted to be a hyper-evolved, four-brained earthworm.
• He was once revealed to be making a comeback in 2021 (or some time in the future) in a future title called Earthworm Jim 4 after his 2 poorly done games in the past that had utterly killed the franchise, and were now attempting to recreate the series.
  • Recently, he's returning in a reboot of his new series that is now in development called Earthworm Jim: Beyond the Groovy.
• He has made an appearance as a secret character in the first Battle Arena Toshinden game for the PC.
• He spawned a placeholder meme based on the scene with his "four hyper-intelligent brains" to have a one-liner at the end, which is often said with something (in)appropriate, all done in a comedic context no less. These two videos are good examples.

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