PYSTON NITRO

pyston_nitro-rubens-facepyston_nitro-rubens-mainReal Name: Rhonda Rubens

Identity/Class: Human (source of abilities unrevealed; see comments)

Occupation: Fitness trainer;
    at least would-be car thief

Group Membership:  Rhonda Rubens Fitness

Affiliations: Robbie Reyes;
    her page on some social media had 4.2 million followers

Enemies: Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: East Los Angeles, California

First Appearance: Ghost Rider VIII#1/2 (January, 2017)

   

pyston_nitro-rubens-rr-full

Powers/Abilities: Rhonda can slow down time in her general vicinity while maintaining her natural momentum independently.

    She appears to travel at great speeds on her skateboard while giving off a glowing energy, although it is unrevealed whether she is actually traveling at superhuman speeds or if she is just slowing down things around her to make herself seem to be moving more quickly. Regardless, even the mystically-powered Hell Charger cannot catch up to her, and can be brought to a virtual halt if it gets too close to her.

    She is excellent body condition, lean and well-toned, with athletic level strength and agility. She is a highly-skilled skateboarder, and she wears goggles while skateboarding.

    She carries and is experienced with a pair of hand-held automatic weapons. 

   

pyston_nitro-rubens-rr-faceHeight: Unrevealed (approximately )
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately )
Eyes: Dark (likely brown; green spots were seen in one image, but these were presumably reflections from the phone glowing in her face)
Hair: Yellow with black patches (presumably dyed); wears hat with black wig
Other Distinguishing Features: She has "Pyston Nitro" written in script/cursive just below her hairline on her forehead
   

History:
(Ghost Rider VIII#1/2 (fb) - BTS) - Rhonda Rubens ran Rhonda Rubens Fitness with the slogan: "A body in motion STAYS in motion! STOP the effects of TIME" with my "LIGHTNING-SPEED" workout!" She at least considered herself to be a fitness guru and personal trainer to the stars..."or anybody with any hope of becoming one."

    Rhonda brought her car into Canelo's Auto and Body shop.

(Ghost Rider VIII#1/2) - As Robbie Reyes worked on her car, Rhonda told him he was kind of cute, although a little skinny. However, she guaranteed if he were to hit the gym, eat right and "get your swole on."

    Unfamiliar with his customer, Robbie asked who she was, and by the time she had introduced herself and shown him her card, the rest of the garage workers had gathered and were complimenting her, taking pictures and asking her for her autograph. She jokingly replied that they were all too much, but as she signed a poster, she was dazzled when she saw Robbie' black Dodge Challenger.

     As she rattled off its specifications, Robbie confirmed they were right and told her she knew her American muscle (cars). Jokingly blowing off her infatuation, Rhonda paid for her repairs and departed, after which she took off her wig and hat and told herself that the car would soon be hers.



pyston_nitro-rubens-warpfull     That evening, as Pyston Nitro, she arrived on skateboard outside of Robbie's apartment and proceeded to break into his car, which mystically alerted Robbie, who changed into Ghost Rider and confronted her.

     Shocked, she jumped on her skateboard, powering up, dodging his blasts, and then took off  at high speed. As the Hell Charger turned around, Eli Morrow, the ghost possessing the car, vowed that she would pay for trying to steal this car.

    Both Eli and Ghost Rider were shocked that they could not catch up to her with the accelerator floored, and Eli finally took a Hell portal to emerge right behind Pyston Nitro. However, they then found themselves to be moving at an incredibly slow pace, such that Ghost Rider thought they were standing still.

     Laughing at their confusion and asking "fire guy" if he was feeling stupid about now, Pyston then turned and launched herself right by the passenger side front window and wired a pair of Uzi-like automatic weapons at him. pyston_nitro-rubens-guns

    However, after finding him to be bulletproof, Pyston resolved that she was not going to get his car after all, after which he zoomed away in a blaze of blue light.

(Ghost Rider VIII#1/2 - BTS) - Eli subsequently explained that while she was not faster than the Hell Charger, she could slow down time in her general vicinity while maintaining her natural momentum independently.

    That evening, Robbie excitedly looked at Rhonda's card (it's not clear to me whether he knew Pyston Nitro was Rhonda or not).

(Ghost Rider VIII#1/2) - At the same time, Rhonda looked at a social media picture of Robbie and his car and gave a "love" to it.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Comments: Created by Felipe Smith and Tradd Moore.

    The source of her abilities is unrevealed. She may a mutant, a human mutate via various means, an extraterrestrial (and/or native to an alien dimension), a human variant or other "Hidden Race" member, a magic-user, an advanced technology-user, a magic-user, more than one of the above, or maybe something weird and unusual that we've never even heard of...

    I honestly don't know whether the cat mask was part of her costume, but that's what she was wearing when she first showed up to try to steal

    The image of Pyston skateboarding in front of the Hell Charger and warping time was too cool to shrink down and lose detail. I thought about cropping it to just be her and then having the full image down by the comments, but it would have been right below it, so not sure that would have been better. I also considered having a smaller image and then having a link to see the full-sized image...but, of course, this is what I went with...

   This profile was completed 04/15/2026, but its publication was delayed as it was intended for the Appendix 25th anniversary 's celebratory event.
    Thanks to Loki for suggesting Pyston Nitro to represent Ghost Rider (Robbie Reyes).

Profile by Snood.
 

CLARIFICATIONS:
Pyston Nitro should be distinguished from:


images: (without ads)
Ghost Rider VIII#1/2, pg. 1, panel 3 (Rhonda, full, with hat & wig);
       pg. 3, panel 5 (face, unmasked, no wig);
       pg. 4, panel 3 (full, skating);
       pg. 6, panel 1 (energizing);
       pg. 7, panel 5 (warping time on pursuing Hell Charger);
       pg. 9, panel 2 (with guns)
Appearances:
Ghost Rider VIII#1/2 (January, 2017) - Felipe Smith (writer), Tradd Moore (artist), Chris Robinson (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)

First posted: 09/07/2026
Last updated: 04/15/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
All other characters mentioned or pictured are ™  and � 1941-2099 Marvel Characters, Inc. All Rights Reserved. If you like this stuff, you should check out the real thing!
Please visit The Marvel Official Site at: http://www.marvel.com

Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

Back to Characters