Mortos Der Soulstealer

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Mortos Der Soulstealer is episode 22a of Invader Zim.

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 two planets line up, 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 phamplet, 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 MacMeaties and orders a massive amount of food but since he doen'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.

However, when Dib at last needs Mortos to grant his wish, Mortos mistakenly grants a feckle wish of a bystander to have ice cream.

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

Trivia

• Mortos in the Spanish language sounds like "muertos" which means dead, though it is most likely a derivative of Latin mort meaning death.

• The nose of the clerk who gives Mortos the rubber pants keeps disappearing.

• One of the fabled Bloody Gir frames appears in this episode during the introduction, as the cables burst from Zim's house. Carefull observation just before the scene changes to Dib will yield this [image.] This is achievable with a freeze-rame function on a DVD player. It can also be seen in the episode Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy and probably more.
• Jhonen has stated that this is his least favorite episode ever.