Earthworm Jim

Originally, Jim was just an ordinary, defenseless earthworm who spent his days running from crows and eating dirt. Everything changed when an "ultra-tech cybernetic super-suit" fell from space directly on top of him. This suit—which had been built at the behest of the terrible Queen Slug-for-a-Butt and stolen by the bounty hunter Psy-Crow—ended up modifying Jim's body. The spacesuit gave him human intelligence, colossal muscles, and the ability to act as an improvised superhero. Knowing that a princess was in danger (Princess What's-Her-Name), Jim decides to embark on a rescue mission across the galaxy. The Earthworm Jim games stood out for their absurdist humor, surreal art direction, and fluid, hand-drawn cartoon-style animations. The game mechanics were as unusual as the premise: His own body as a weapon: As Jim is a worm inhabiting a robotic suit, he can pull his own head out of the collar to use it as a whip, either to whip enemies or to attach himself to hooks and swing. Plasma Blaster: His main firearm is an iconic futuristic red pistol with heavy ammunition. Helicopter-Worm: He can spin his head rapidly like a propeller to slow his falls and glide between platforms. The success of the first game was so resounding that the franchise expanded rapidly. In addition to memorable sequels like Earthworm Jim 2, the hero got his own animated TV series in 1995 (which was very successful in Brazil in the 90s), comic books, and a line of action figures. Jim remains one of the greatest symbols of the golden age of 16-bit consoles, remembered for his nonsensical look and for not taking himself seriously at all.