Mortos Der Soulstealer

"Mortos Der Soulstealer"

Mortos Der Soulstealer is episode 22A of Invader Zim. This episode did not air on Nickelodeon in the United States, but did air on Nicktoons in the USA on June 17, 2006.

Plot

The episode opens with a shadowy figure standing in a cemetery. The figure watches as a portal opens in the ground and a large monster falls to the ground. The figure, stepping into the light to be revealed as Dib, asks the monster if he is, in fact, Mortos Der Soulstealer. Mortos yells that he is and launches into a lengthy description of where he came from. Every thousand years, when Taoola aligns with Charcunga, the door to the place beneath the overworld is opened, allowing Mortos to walk among mortals for one day.

Dib asks Mortos to help him by stealing Zim's soul, as Zim is doing something with an evil-looking box labeled mutant vermin, and then throwing the mutated creatures into various places, but Mortos says he does not want to waste time "stealing life juice from bug man from outer space" and begins to walk away. Dib stops him, saying that according to the ancient pamphlet, Mortos must grant one mortal a wish before he can return to the spooky realm. Mortos reluctantly agrees to go along with Dib, but after being away for so long, Mortos must first recharge his powers.

Mortos takes Dib to McMeaties and orders a massive amount of food but since he doesn't carry cash, Mortos makes Dib pay. Then throughout the episode, Mortos mooches off of Dib to recharge, buying rubber pants and bothering puppies in pet stores. While Mortos is running off, Zim is seen throwing mutant rodents into windows. Dib calls Zim's name a few times, but from across the street, Zim cannot hear him. Dib says he has a secret weapon. Due to not hearing this, Zim says, "That's very nice of you!" Dib repeats that sentence and Zim has GIR launch a "sammidge" (sandwich) from his own head, which smacks Dib in the face and also has enough force to make Dib crash through a wall.

Dib gets up and says "Laugh now, space monster! My weapon is so powerful, it.....buys rubber pants." Dib believes he hears Mortos' rubber pants and he is led to a nearby carnival, where Dib sees Mortos flirting with a girl he calls "Irene." Dib calls Mortos a "mooch" which upsets Mortos, and shows Mortos showing his powers to Dib by making 2 different mechanical rides start wrestling. Dib is impressed and tries to drag Mortos to Zim, but Mortos claims all of his power was taken to do that. Dib yells out "No! Mortos, don't leave!" and Mortos decides to stay, shaking Dib's hand, which subsequently and strangely makes Dib age to an old man. (No reason for this has been found.)

Mortos is then seen playing with puppies at the pet store. The clerk claims that he was loitering and had called the police. Dib manages to get Mortos outside after seeing Gir and Zim outside the door.

Zim and Dib meet on the sidewalk. Zim tells Dib that he was infesting the city with genetically enhanced vermin, but that he "would never know." Dib says to Zim that he had just told him his plan, with which Zim responds to by saying, "YOU'RE LYING!" Dib asks Mortos to grant his wish now, and Mortos almost "charges up" but fails. Zim, unimpressed, walks away, still looking back at them. Dib starts to attack Zim to "hold him down" for Mortos.

However, when Dib at last needs Mortos to grant his wish, he is busy fighting with Zim. Mortos, who is ready to grant Dib's wish mistakenly grants a feckle wish of a bystander to have ice cream. The bystander then says "ew, raisins!" and throws it onto the ground.

Mortos then returns to the place beneath the overworld, leaving Dib defeated and in trouble with the pet store owner.

Trivia

• Mortos' name sounds similar to the Spanish language word "muerto", which means "dead", though it is most likely a derivative of Latin "mors" (stem: mort-) meaning death, with the Greek singular nominative second declension ending -os to add to the mystery. "Der" is a form of the German definate article (English "The")
• The nose of the clerk who gives Mortos the rubber pants keeps disappearing.
• Two of the fabled Bloody Gir frames appears in this episode, one during the theme song and the other within the episode. One can be found as the cables burst from Zim's house. Careful observation just before the scene changes to Dib will yield this image. Another is just at the very beginning when the camera sweeps over various tombstones. These are both achievable with a freeze-frame function on a DVD player.
• The original design for McMeaties (from "Germs") is used in this episode.
• Originally when Dib spots Zim for the first time, he calls out his name over a busy highway. When the scene was animated, the cars were not included, but the scene still remains.