It is completely unclear as to whether Zim or Dib would have come out on top in the ending in the final version. Some fans believe that Dib would have ended up winning, overthrowing the Irken race; however, given that Jhonen wanted Dib to end up on Saturn, it’s unlikely that he would have won in the final version. Though there is the possibility, perhaps, that while Dib himself was totally successful, any allies he might have had at the time could still prevail. Another idea that is suggested was that Dib would ultimately lose and become “horribly scarred”, and become a test subject for Irken military weaponry (or sent to an Irken psychiatric facility), with Zim becoming the Tallest (or in his case, the Almighty Smallest). Interestingly enough, Dib may have inadvertantly won in the end, as the Irkens would surely be in for a horrible fate with Zim as their leader.

Jhonen also claims to have planned for Zim to begin to see a sublime beauty in life on Earth and thus lose the desire to destroy the planet. Additionally, Vasquez brought up the idea of Zim becoming a kind of legal guardian of Earth. He wanted to convey this in a way that would move the audience to tears. However, it may or may not have been a joke.