RITA
Earth-95132

Real Name: Rita (last name unrevealed, presumably Diamond)

Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-95132) human

Occupation: Criminal

Group Membership: Formerly Marcello's gang

Affiliations: Formerly Lord Pumpkin, Marcello, Pistol, Prototype (Jimmy Ruiz)

Enemies: Lord Pumpkin, Marcello, Pistol, Prototype (Jimmy Ruiz)

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Los Angeles, California, USA

First Appearance: UltraForce cartoon episode "Lord Pumpkin's Pie" (November 19, 1995)

Powers/Abilities: Rita possesses no superhuman abilities but she is manipulative and skilled at lying convincingly and ingratiating herself with others.

Height: Unrevealed (approximately 5'6")
Weight: Unrevealed (approximately 119 lbs.)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Red

History:
(UltraForce cartoon episode "Lord Pumpkin's Pie" (fb) - BTS / UltraForce cartoon episode "You Can't Go Home Again" (fb) - BTS) – Rita was Jimmy Ruiz's sweetheart when he lived in a rough neighborhood with his mother. They broke up when Jimmy left the neighborhood and became the superhero Prototype, leaving Rita filled with anger and resentment. Seeing Jimmy achieve fame as a hero, Rita also longed for the "top spot" but unlike her ex, she turned to crime. As the criminal Marcello's influence grew, Rita eventually joined his gang and became close to him. She had selfish interests and was looking for an opportunity to betray him and take his place.

(UltraForce cartoon episode "Lord Pumpkin's Pie") – Hearing that Jimmy Ruiz had visited the neighborhood, Rita headed to Marcello's office to inform him. There, she encountered Jimmy, who had come to Marcello to inquire about a mysterious drug called Zuke that was circulating on the streets. Rita was surprised and Jimmy, in turn, was surprised that Rita was at Marcello's. She watched as Ruiz rejected Marcello's offer to eliminate Lord Pumpkin and left, and was tasked with persuading Prototype to accept the offer.

    Rita caught up with Jimmy on the street and tried to gain his trust, hugging him and telling him that she thought he'd never return. Jimmy took Rita to his mother's apartment to show her the Prototype armor and she listened with interest to Ruiz's explanation of the armor's characteristics, adding that he could easily take out both Lord Pumpkin and Marcello. Rita asked if she could wear the armor but Jimmy replied that he was the only one who could control it due to the fact that he had been surgically implanted with cybernetics linked to the armor. He then donned the armor to fly Rita home. Prototype dropped Rita off at her house and they kissed at the entrance. Rita said that she was glad Jimmy was back but their romantic moment was interrupted by a boy (secretly Pistol, one of Lord Pumpkin's men sent to lure Prototype into a trap), who emerged from an alleyway gasping for breath. Before rushing toward the boy, Jimmy told Rita to call the police. She ran inside and emerged minutes later as Jimmy lost a fight with Lord Pumpkin and his goons, Pistol and Sludge. She found Prototype's helmet and determined that Jimmy was in a dumpster under the rubble but she wasn't interested in Jimmy's condition after the encounter with the villains, rather the armor itself, and right after, she wondered out loud how to get the armor out of there. Jimmy got out alive and well but he didn't hear that Rita wanted to take the armor.

    Rita let Jimmy into her apartment, where she brought him a hot drink and told him that he would have suffered greatly if not for the Prototype suit. Ruiz wasn't satisfied with these words and he replied that he was good with or without the armor. Rita, continuing to ingratiate herself, insisted that he was the best and claimed that she didn't like it when others said Prototype was nothing without his armor. Jimmy Ruiz insisted that he would free the neighborhood from the criminal activities of Lord Pumpkin and Marcello, first and foremost putting an end to the drug Zuke. He then left the room, leaving Rita alone with the armor.

    Marcello soon picked up Rita in a limo and watched the footage of Jimmy Ruiz standing outside Lord Pumpkin's place without his armor, preparing to order his men to take the opportunity to kill them both but was stopped by Rita, who explained that they needed Jimmy alive to find out where he got the armor and reminded that there was a lot of money could be made from it.

(UltraForce cartoon episode "You Can't Go Home Again") – As Marcello was packing things up in his office, Rita mockingly asked if he was running away scared, to which Marcello replied that there was soon going to be a gang war that he needed to prepare for. Members of Marcello's gang then entered the office and told him about Ruiz's recent encounter with Sludge. Rita found it odd when they claimed Ruiz had caused an explosion in the sewers despite Ruiz being without his armor when that happened. Marcello revealed that he had started cultivating Zuke himself and arranged a meeting with Lord Pumpkin, where he planned to eliminate him. He asked Rita if she would go with him but she declined, telling Marcello that "senseless violence was his department."

    Rita had her own plans and chose the perfect moment to betray Marcello. When Lord Pumpkin arrived with Pistol, she told them through the window that Marcello and his men had set a trap for them. She was later in the office when Lord Pumpkin and Pistol teleported there. Rita proposed a deal, revealing Marcello's plans to organize the southside gangs and take over Lord Pumpkin's Zuke business, claiming she could convince Prototype to help defeat Marcello. The price she offered was all of Marcello's holdings and half of Pumpkin's. When Lord Pumpkin asked about Ruiz, Rita replied that she didn't care about him, even if Pumpkin fed him carnivorous Zuke plants. They decided to trick Jimmy into thinking Rita had been taken hostage by Lord Pumpkin. Jimmy, who was in Pumpkin's lair at the time, was contacted through a special device and shown Rita tied up and screaming for help.

    The car carrying Lord Pumpkin, Pistol and Rita was attacked by Marcello's men and Marcello fired a rocket launcher at it but they were saved by an energy field conjured by Lord Pumpkin. When the energy field was destroyed, the three of them fled the car. At that moment, Prototype arrived to rescue Rita and scared off Marcello. Seeing Prototype, Rita continued to play hostage and Pumpkin bound her using his magical powers, saying that he would release her only after Prototype defeated Marcello's men. To save Rita, Jimmy agreed and rushed into battle. While Prototype, later joined by other superheroes Prime and Hardcase, battled Marcello's men, Rita and her new allies fled to Pumpkin's lair but Pistol returned to the streets, eager to join the fight. Jimmy, having subsequently captured Pistol, arrived and offered to trade Pumpkin for Rita, which Lord Pumpkin accepted. Rita, realizing Pumpkin wasn't going to keep his end of the bargain, ranted and revealed to Jimmy that she'd been in league with the villains all along but Pumpkin wouldn't let them go easily and set a Zuke plant, obtained the drugs he sold, on them. The Zuke plant captured Rita but Jimmy saved her and Jimmy himself was saved by Sludge, who had defected to his side. When Lord Pumpkin was defeated, the police arrived and arrested Marcello and his gang, including Rita. Before she was put in the police car, Jimmy approached her and tried to learn her motives. She, declaring that she wanted to be "on top," burst into tears and accused him of abandoning her when he moved out of the neighborhood.

Comments: Created by Dennis O'Flaherty and DiC Animation (see Appearances list for detailed list of those involved).

    Rita is a composite of three Ultraverse characters: Rhiannon, who used the alias Rita Diamond, Angella Santiago (Jimmy Ruiz's girlfriend) and Tabitha (Lord Pumpkin's associate). She has little in common with Angella Santiago, except that she was Jimmy Ruiz's girlfriend. Her name is taken from Rhiannon, her appearance is based on both Rhiannon and Tabitha, and her role in the plot is inspired by Tabitha's. She was voiced by Sally Cahill.

    Episodes "Lord Pumpkin's Pie" and "You Can't Go Home Again" of the UltraForce animated series are based on the Sludge comic book series and use characters from there, with Prototype, who was absent from the comic, being made the main character.

    Rita's last name is not given but we can assume it's Diamond, or Santiago since that was the name of Jimmy Ruiz's girlfriend in the comics? We'll probably never know. Marcello is identified only by his last name but it's possible his full name is John Paul Marcello, as in the comics.

    This profile was completed 08/30/2026 but its publication was delayed, as it was intended for the Appendix's 25th anniversary celebratory event.

Profile by Mike Castle.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Earth-95132's Rita should be distinguished from:

images: (without ads)
UltraForce cartoon episode "You Can't Go Home Again" (all images in the profile except the one mentioned below)
UltraForce cartoon episode "Lord Pumpkin's Pie" (Rita with Jimmy Ruiz)

Appearances:
UltraForce cartoon episode "Lord Pumpkin's Pie" (November 5, 1995) - Dennis O'Flaherty (writer), Rick Del Carmen (character design, storyboards), Tec Cornello Manalac, George Perez, Rick Holberg (character design), Sung Hwan Choi (character design, prop design, storyboards), Vadim Sokolov, Jeff Starung, Ricardo Abrines (background design), Chuck Puntuvajana (prop design), Francisco Barrios, Jim Craig, Canuck Creations, Nicholas Filippi, Romeo Francisco, Adrian Gonzales, Tom Nesbitt, Scott Jorgeson, Dave Simons, Jason So, Michael Swanigan, Thom Tholen (storyboards), Martha Moran (story editor), Mike J. Smith (art director, character design, storyboards)
UltraForce cartoon episode "You Can't Go Home Again" (November 12, 1995) - Dennis O'Flaherty (writer), Rick Del Carmen (character design, storyboards), Tec Cornello Manalac, George Perez, Rick Holberg (character design), Sung Hwan Choi (character design, prop design, storyboards), Vadim Sokolov, Jeff Starung, Ricardo Abrines (background design), Chuck Puntuvajana (prop design), Francisco Barrios, Jim Craig, Canuck Creations, Nicholas Filippi, Romeo Francisco, Adrian Gonzales, Tom Nesbitt, Scott Jorgeson, Dave Simons, Jason So, Michael Swanigan, Thom Tholen (storyboards), Martha Moran (story editor), Mike J. Smith (art director, character design, storyboards)

First Posted: 09/14/2026
Last updated: 08/30/2026

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

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