| rdfs:comment | - Irken skin is hairless and green, with some slight variation in its shade from individual to individual, like Humans; for example, the skin color of both Tallests is ever so slightly lighter than Zim's, whereas Tak's is exceptionally pale in comparison. Their eyes have no whites or pupils (much like "Grey" aliens, which are the classic sci-fi aliens), and are only one color; ruby is the most common, but other colors such as various shades of red, pink, purple, green, blue and even yellowish-brown exist as well. It was also mentioned in "Walk of Doom" that Irken Invaders have surgically-installed ocular implants - since the eyes Zim was born with are not visibly different from subsequent appearances, it can be assumed that these implants are subcutaneous.
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| abstract | - Irken skin is hairless and green, with some slight variation in its shade from individual to individual, like Humans; for example, the skin color of both Tallests is ever so slightly lighter than Zim's, whereas Tak's is exceptionally pale in comparison. Their eyes have no whites or pupils (much like "Grey" aliens, which are the classic sci-fi aliens), and are only one color; ruby is the most common, but other colors such as various shades of red, pink, purple, green, blue and even yellowish-brown exist as well. It was also mentioned in "Walk of Doom" that Irken Invaders have surgically-installed ocular implants - since the eyes Zim was born with are not visibly different from subsequent appearances, it can be assumed that these implants are subcutaneous. Their tongues are long, segmented and almost worm-like, while their teeth are white like human teeth but with a barely-perceptible pinkish tinge (presumably due to there being more blood vessels and nerves than human teeth) and are interconnected to form what resemble two long bands or a zipper (smeets, however, have only one small tooth similar to a human child's baby tooth, suggesting that the other teeth grow and interconnect at a later time). Just like humans, Irkens grow taller. However, it was never conclusively explained how an Irken grows tall enough to be named the planet's ruler, though it is possible that young Tallest-to-be start the same size as the average developing Irken, and then suddenly go through a massive growth spurt that puts them at the forefront of the Irken Empire. Zim is first shown salivating in "The Nightmare Begins" as GIR is singing The Doom Song endlessly, driving Zim catatonic. "Door to Door" seems to confirm that an Irken's saliva is similar to that of humans, as Zim licks the camera lens during one scene. ("Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars" was going to also have a similar scene with Almighty Tallest Purple; he was going to lick donut crumbs off the "camera lens", likely salivating on the lens in the process.) Although Zim claimed in the cancelled episode "Roboparents Gone Wild" that Irkens do not require sleep, Larb's Great Assigning picture showed him sleeping on the Universe's Most Comfortable Couch; this seems to suggest that perhaps the Irkens hold sleep and dreams in a much different regard than humans do. The antennae on the tops of their heads are unusual in structure, bending back at the ends at a sharp angle; the manner in which they bend, however, differs between genders: males' antennae end in simple perpendicular angles, whereas female antennae curl at the ends (females also have eyelashes, and their lashes and antennae often vary in shape, size, and style). It is unclear if these are actual genetic differences or just socially acceptable fashion practices. It was never confirmed exactly what the Irkens' antennae are meant to do. They are mainly seen to be used in the same manner as eyebrows to convey emotion, but it is heavily implied in "Battle of the Planets" that they also pick up vibrations. These antennae also seem to be extremely sensitive, as Zim always seems to avoid touching them when placing on headgear. He also squirmed away uncomfortably when GIR poked at one in "Walk of Doom". As a show of respect to the Almighty Tallest, Irkens are to show respect by wiggling their antennae. The overall Irken appearance bears many similarities to the "little green men" stereotype that Earth's dominant species tends to use to represent alien life forms. In Issue 21 of the comics, much to Zim's surprise, when Gaz was in his body she showed that Irkens are apparently capable of producing a third arm at will. Gaz went on to say that Zim's body was "full of surprises" hinting she may have done some "exploring." Interestingly, an alien bearing a slight resemblance to an Irken appeared in Jhonen's comic Squee; this alien had an Irken-like outfit and appeared to be wearing part of Zim's human disguise. Its eyes and head structure, on the other hand, are more similar to those of the infamous Roswell Greys. As confirmed in the episode "Mortos der Soulstealer", Irkens apparently have souls and life energy.
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