| Earthworm Jim | |
|---|---|
 | |
|
Series |
Earthworm Jim |
|
Debut |
Earthworm Jim (1994) |
|
Console of origin |
Sega Genesis |
|
Species |
Worm |
|
Gender |
Male |
Earthworm Jim is the protagonist of the Earthworm Jim videogames. For most of his life, Jim was just an ordinary earthworm engaging in normal worm activities, such as eating dirt, crawling, and fleeing from hungry birds, until one day wherein fate should happen to smile upon him and his life was changed forever. A fearsome bounty hunter named Psy-Crow was en route to deliver the "Ultra-high-tech-indestructible-super-space-cyber-suit" to Queen Slug-for-a-Butt, but got in a confrontation with another space ship and lost the suit out of an airlock. The suit fell to earth landing on a farm somewhere in the southern United States. While fleeing from a flock of hungry crows Jim took refuge in the mysterious suit. The suit's powerful atomic particles affected Jim's wormy flesh and caused him to grow and evolve at a fantastic rate. Upon discovering his new-found powers granted by the suit, he overhears Psy-Crow talking to Queen Slug-For-A-Butt, and becomes interested in meeting the queen's twin sister, Princess What's-Her-Name, setting up the events of the first game. EwjsEwjnThrough the games, Jim travels to many planets and faces many villains who are after the suit. In Earthworm Jim 2, Jim must rescue Princess What's-Her-Name when she is kidnapped by Psy-Crow. In the television show, Jim (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) has an almost identical origin, but now resides in a home in the city of Terlawk (a play on Turlock, California, the birthplace of Douglas TenNapel) with Peter Puppy. Most of the villains from the game still show up from time to time to give him trouble.
Jim can be a bit naive, is somewhat of a degenerate and rarely thinks before rushing into battle, but on occasions can be very cunning. Jim is also very gullible, even trusting villains in not-so-convincing disguises. His motto is "When all else fails, start blasting!" Jim also has a rather large romantic infatuation with Princess What's-Her-Name, which usually confuses her in the cartoons, but he never falters in his resolve. Jim also appears to be childish, enjoying pop-up books, snow globes, and other childish things. In the games, Jim has a slight southern drawl and says phrases like "Groovy!" or "Whoa, Nelly!". In the animated series his drawl has all but disappeared, but still retains his "Groovy!" catchphrase. Jim has a tendency to use big words and long drawn-out phrases. It is not uncommon for him to yell something like "We are all doomed! From the Middle English meaning 'condemned to ruination or death'! DOOOOMED!!" or "By the Great Worm Spirit, whose mighty bristles strike the hammer-blows of justice". His battle cry is "Eat Dirt, (persons or things in question)!", which he usually follows up by laughing maniacally. This too can become long and drawn-out with phrases like "Eat dirt, everyone in the vicinity!" or "Eat dirt, evil banana-suited doofus!" He is also a playable fighter in Clayfighter 63 1/3 and an unlockable fighter in Clayfighter 63 1/3: Sculptor's Cut. Another little known appearance is in the game "Battle Arena Toshinden", but only in the PC version. There was also a clever reference to Jim in the PC game Sacrifice wherein you could choose to serve the god James, the earth god, in your quest. Your ultimate spell from James is Bovine Intervention, almost certainly a reference to the Earthworm Jim games running gag with cow jokes (a joke taken from a scene of Monty Python and the Holy Grail), particularly since Sacrifice was also developed by Shiny Entertainment.
Earthworm Jim was awarded Best New Character of 1994 by Electronic Gaming Monthly.