Nitros Oxide

Official artwork of Nitros Oxide

## Canon in Crash Bandicoot series

Nitros Oxide (Nitrous Oxide in Crash Nitro Kart, or N. Oxide or simply Oxide) is an alien from the planet Gasmoxia who serves as the main antagonist of Crash Team Racing. He is the final character that was created by the series' original developer, Naughty Dog. In the game, he challenges Crash and friends to a racing contest that he calls "Survival of the Fastest". He tells them that if they win, he will leave Earth alone, but if he won, he would turn it into a concrete parking lot and enslave all of its inhabitants to work for him. After he got defeated by the player's chosen character, he would leave for Gasmoxia in shame. During the end credits, it is revealed that after years of therapy, Oxide tried racing again. However, this time he chose the unicycle as his vehicle. Because he presumably was not very good at balancing himself, he landed himself into a grotesque accident, though the details of said accident were too gruesome to be written.

His next appearance was in Crash Bash, where he was the final boss once again. He was on his way home to Gasmoxia until running into this planet, and noticing Crash and his friends. He fights the player in his space craft during a chase section, and then lands on a world that much looked like the Futuristic levels of Crash Bandicoot: Warped, in which you must stop him in a challenge like the Ballistix levels.

After this, he would be a playable character in CNK, make a cameo in Wrath of Cortex and Twinsanity, as well as appear in a few mobile games. In one of the mobile games, CNK 2, he would try to turn Earth into a parking lot once again, however, this time the "Survival of the Fastest" contest would be skipped, and Cortex and Ripper Roo would assist him in the endeavor. After he got defeated by Crash, Coco, and newcomer Yaya Panda, he would once again leave the planet in shame.

He would also appear in CTR: Nitro-Fueled, serving pretty much the same role as the original, however, in the remake he is unlocked after the player defeats him for the first time. There was also a special version of the game where he could be unlocked from the start, along with a legendary skin that was exclusive to this version.

His next appearance was in Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, where he helped N. Tropy and his other-dimensional counterpart in trying to defeat Crash, Coco, and Tawna's other dimensional counterpart, despite being reluctant to do so. Before Crash and Coco fought N. Tropy and his other-dimensional counterpart, alternate dimension Tawna takes Oxide's hovercraft away, without him noticing until after Crash and the others are gone. He was not seen again in the game until the 100% ending, where it is revealed that he broke up with his unnamed wife and is currently in rehab. The ending also reveals that Oxide got hooked on caffeine and became the spokesman for a leading brand of energy drink.

His latest appearance is in Crash: On The Run! In this game, he is the theme character of season 1, appropriately titled "The Return of Nitros Oxide". Little to no in-game context is given for what Oxide is doing back on Earth or what he wants, however his dialogue implies that he is once again threatening the Earth with destruction. Rewards can be earned from Oxide by gathering trophies, and Oxide themed skins are available for both Crash and Coco by placing high on the team leaderboard. At the season's end, Oxide revealed that he was actually stranded on Earth while his hovercraft was being repaired. The gathered Ingredients were used to refuel his vehicle, the Parts to repair it and the Wumpa Fruits for him to snack on. Despite his apparent loss, he still counts his deception and escape from Earth as a win.

He later got another season themed after him in OTR, Survival of the Fastest. Once again, he has returned to Earth to battle Crash and Coco, however, he also brought 6 palette swaps of him from the Multiverse to participate in their annual speed competition, Survival of the Fastest, for which Earth was chosen as host. During the season, he can be battled by Crash/Coco, showing off his powers in the Crash series for the first time. He attacks by summoning a shield and charging down two lanes in his hovercraft, randomly shooting fireballs down all lanes, and by ramming into the left side of the path, creating dangerous rubble. Like all bosses, he is defeated by chasing him and throwing Boom Berries at him to reduce his health bar to zero, then using the Portal Weapons crafted beforehand to send him back to his own dimension.

At the end of the season, it was revealed that the entire competition was actually a test to see if the bandicoots are worthy enough to fully compete against Oxide and his counterparts. In spite of all this, Oxide treated this as a victory for him yet again, leaving Earth once more.

## Canon in Mushroom City Car Wash

### Past

Oxide is claimed by Toadettefan14. Before he came to the Mushroom Kingdom, he lived through a very tragic life. On the day he was born, his parents were killed in a mass shooting, leaving him to be an orphan during his youth. At the orphanage, Oxide was pampered a lot by the maids, who gave him lots of clothes, toys, books, and other things. However, no one wanted to play with him, and every adult who gazed into his eyes were met with fear and anxiety, not wanting to adopt him for how creepy he looked. Because of this, he had no one to teach him how to properly behave and survive, and had little to no friends at all. He was very lonely, and often hugged his teddy bear when he felt sad.

When Oxide was old enough to get educated, he was bullied a lot by the older students for his ugly and weird appearance. To stand up for himself, and because he did not know any better, he bullied them back. Even though he was bad when it came to social skills, he still had good grades in school, never failing any of his classes. However, after his 10th birthday, he was kicked out of the orphanage for good, having to fend for himself for the first time in his life.

During this time, he often wandered the streets, searching for anyone that could help him. Because he still had plenty of his belongings from his orphanage days, he was called immature and spoiled by most. However, he soon joined a gang of criminals, who looked after him during this time. These criminals taught him to to lots of bad things, which gave him his temper, mean-spirit, naughtiness, arrogance, and mischievousness. They also got him addicted to gaming and alcohol, especially champagne. However, the alcohol also had huge side effects on him, giving him his unusual mood swings and insane personality.

Eventually, the gang abandoned him, leaving Oxide to wander the streets once again. A few months later, a newly born Zem and his parents would find the alien, crying in the pouring rain, hugging his teddy. Zem's parents were very surprised to see him, and decided to adopt him so that their baby could have a brother that he could look up to. However, Oxide thought that his new brother looked like one of the kids from the orphanage who left him out of playtime. Because of this, he often played pranks on him for his own amusement, even though Zem's parents often told him to stop. He still went to school during this time, and like before, he was a very good student despite his bad social skills. However, Oxide eventually got tired of Zem’s parents telling him what to do, and on his brother’s 20th birthday, he shot them dead with his newly upgraded Plasma Gun.

After killing his brother's parents, Oxide turned to the dark side once again. He learned about a new hobby that was sweeping his planet by storm, racing, and wanted in on the action. He soon became so good at the sport, that very few could surpass him. Using this to his advantage, he, Zem, and eventually Zam conquered many planets, turning them into parking lots, one by one. However, Earth was always one step ahead of Oxide. The more he lost, the more depressed he became, and soon, he would walk the boulevard of broken dreams. During this time, he often wanted people to leave him alone when he got angry, and spent many hours by himself.

Eventually, he knew his life would not change for the better, and wanted to do something about it. He searched the internet for a potential female companion for himself, not picking anyone who was too old or too young for him. He eventually saw a picture of Toadette, and immediately wanted to date her, thinking that she was the cutest girl he had ever seen. After kidnapping her from the Mushroom Kingdom and taking her to his planet, the two had a great time together, with Oxide feeling happy for the first time in forever. However, when Toad defeated him in a duel, Toadette was taken away, and Oxide would not see her again until he decided to leave his home two years later.

### Present Day

Wanting to turn the Mushroom Kingdom into a parking lot and get his girl back, Oxide left Gasmoxia in pursuit of revenge. During his flight, he noticed Kirby, flying on his Warp Star, and immediately shot him down. However, White Lightning, Toadette, and the others soon fired their attacks at him, causing his spaceship to get destroyed, making him fall to the ground. After he got back up, he destroyed the barbed fence that Shadow set up, getting into the Car Wash. He immediately challenged Hank Williams Jr. to a race. However, the country singer declined the challenge, forcing Oxide to teleport him to the race track he chose. Soon after, the others took Hank away to the Jaws World, making the alien have to come up with a backup plan.

He immediately decided to kidnap Toadette and take her away. However, during his flight back home, Cream, Rosalina, Shadow, and the others caught up with him, eventually saving Toadette, forcing the alien to backtrack to the Mushroom Kingdom immediately. After Oxide came back, he teleported Toadette to the same race track that he took Hank to. Once they got there, the two raced each-other, with the others cheering Toadette on. After she won the race, Oxide left again until he saw that Cecilia II was in pursuit of Gasmoxia. Not wanting to lose his planet to her, the two had an intense duel. Eventually, Toadette, Ernest Tubb, and the others were summoned to help her, killing the alien in the process.

After Oxide was killed, he left his genetic data on several sheets of paper, causing Dr. Cortex to revive him. After Oxide got revived, the doctor gave him a baby disguise before getting killed by Flora and the others. Using this, Oxide would eventually fool Rosalina into joining his side for a while. After she and her Lumas got thrown into jail, he eventually fooled Toadette and Cream into the same thing. However, when Luigi, Dr. Mario, Toadette and the others escaped to Sarasaland, Oxide revealed his true intentions, pulling out a machine filled with chemicals that could finally get him his wish of conquering the Mushroom Kingdom. After he turned it on, Toadette, Cream, Mr. L, and Luigi all tried to stop him, to no avail. Soon after their attempts failed, Zem, Zam, and Emperor Velo XXVII would come to help the heroes, with Velo destroying the machine with his staff, and stopping Oxide once and for all.

After Oxide was stopped, he would continue to stick around Toadette, trying to impress her in many ways. However, his behavior got on Velo's nerves, and the galactic ruler began to supervise his every move, punishing him whenever he did something wrong. Eventually, Oxide wanted to be free from his control. After he won a legendary party cruise from Host Toad, Oxide would force Toadette into joining him. However, after Toad was persuaded by her friends to let her go, he began to cry his eyes out until Toadiko saw him, telling the alien that she would love him if her sister would not. The two were guided by Toad, travelling through the boards of Mario Party 1, eventually making new friends with Wario and Waluigi. After the group defeated Bowser and Bowser Jr., they would return to the Car Wash.

After Velo, Zem, and Zam left the Car Wash to work for the Mushroom City Police Department, Oxide was finally able to live his life his own way. He would continue to help Toadette and co. whenever possible, though he still was not considered a hero by most. After Zem and Zam came back into the group, he began to fight for the good side, making lots of new friends, including Toadia, Vanilla, and the Pokémon. He also reunited with N. Trance, as well as got himself into lots of trouble. However, after the Christmas play, he decided to steal presents from everyone in Mushroom City, with Zam helping him in his endeavor. This plan went smoothly until the day after the two stole everything, finding that the residents were still happy despite the fact that they were not receiving anything. However, after the two gave everyone their presents back, Joe Kenda took Oxide to the US, wanting to settle his crimes.

While Oxide was gone, he left a request for Tails, telling him to create a clone of him so that he could finally have a kid. After Oxide was brought back into the Mushroom Kingdom, he went back to the Car Wash, checking on the fox to see how well his clone was going. Once Oxide entered the stasis pod, the cloning process began, and Jason was created. After he was created, Oxide soon found out that if he wanted to have a good relationship with his son, he would have to improve his parenting skills, as his previous experience with the Pokémon was a disaster. During this time, he learned a lot from his mistakes, and although he and Jason sometimes did not get along, they had a great bond with each-other.

Oxide would still continue to help out Toadette and co., however, after he and the other aliens helped them rebuild Gasmoxia, he, Zem, Zam, and Jason were instructed to stay on the planet for three weeks by General Speed. During this time, Oxide pressured Jason to make at least one new friend in his new home. However, Oxide soon realized that if his son stayed here, he would grow up to be exactly like him, and eventually told Jason that they must leave their planet as soon as possible if they want happiness again. After Oxide, Zem, and Zam signed a document, ending their citizenship with the planet, they, alongside Jason and N. Trance, boarded Oxide's spaceship, leaving Gasmoxia for good.

After Oxide and the others returned to the Car Wash, he would begin to join Toadette and co. on their adventures again. He continues to keep a close eye on Jason, making sure his son does not get himself into trouble. Soon after the Christmas season ended, he noticed that Jason was missing and set out to look for him. During the journey, he stayed at Kirby's house, not noticing that the pink puffball was sleeping alongside him. After the two woke up, Oxide apologized to Kirby for his actions towards him on the first day the former was in the Mushroom Kingdom. After making up, the two went to Castle Dedede and fought King Dedede and Escargoon, using his Poison Gas Gun for the first time and saving Jason. After this, the five travelled to Pufftop to refill Jason's bottle. After Starfy broke the bottle, the five went back home and parted ways, with Oxide and Jason heading back to the Car Wash.

After this event, Oxide continued adventuring with Toadette and co. However, after the Mario Party DS arc, he was certain that Velo had a change of heart, as the emperor and his group played Triangle Twisters with them after they lost a battle with Zem and Zam. Once Oxide was shown one of the many signs for Velo's circus by Toadette, he really wanted to help the emperor out, even if it meant he had to betray his friends, his adoptive sibling, and his son. After Oxide and the rest of the aliens went to the bike shop to buy the former a unicycle for his act, Oxide was told not to leave by Toadette and co., as they thought Velo and his group was planning another evil trap and that he did not change sides. However, Oxide went against the group's wishes, and sneaked out of the Car Wash in the middle of the night, taking a few of his possessions, along with the unicycle, to Velo's circus tent.

Once Oxide arrived at the tent, he fell asleep. After the advisors woke him up, he thought he was in a nightmare until he realized that he himself chose to go here. After a conversation with Velo, Oxide began thinking up an idea for his act. Once he thought of an idea that combined unicycling with tightrope walking, Oxide began to practice his act. However, he was given lots of pressure from Velo, Vivica, and the Advisors during these practice sessions, as the advisors did not allow him to take breaks and increased the height of the tightrope by 5 m every time Oxide was successful.

Once the day of the show arrived, Oxide's act was at 150 m high, and he was unsure if he would fail Velo and the others during it. During the show, Oxide's act started out strong, but once the unicycle reached the end of the tightrope, it did not want to turn around. Oxide tried his best to convince the unicycle to turn around, but after a few minutes of wobbling, Oxide fell off the unicycle, breaking all four of his legs once he reached the ground. After the show ended, Velo thought he was victorious, and that he had finally killed his worst enemy, until Jason defeated him and Vivica during a battle.

After the fight, Oxide got up, but his legs stopped functioning, and he started to feel lots of pain inside them. Once Jason called the ambulance and carried Oxide onto it, the latter went to the hospital to start his recovery. After he left, the possessions Oxide toke to the circus, minus the unicycle, were brought back to the Car Wash. After a while in the hospital, Toadette and co. came to visit him for a day. During this visit, Oxide was surprised at their presence, as he thought that he would not see them again until his recovery finished. He told the group that his old legs were going to be replaced with prosthetic ones, as Oxide did not want a wheelchair like the one General Speed received during his recovery. Toadette and co. also drew pictures on the casts that were covering Oxide's legs, which he would keep as souvenirs after he recovered completely.

After the visit, Oxide's legs got replaced one by one. Once all of them were replaced, he waited until the doctors told him that he was free to go. After 3 days, he left the hospital and returned to the Car Wash, where he stills hangs with Toadette and co., though he is being a lot more careful now that his legs have been replaced with prosthetics.

After Toadette and co. left for the olympics, Oxide and the other aliens were left in charge of the Car Wash until the event was over. He and the others were told to clean after themselves, so that the Car Wash would look spotless when Toadette and co. came back. However, Zem, Zam, and N. Trance got kidnapped by Iggy and Spike three days after Toadette and co. left, forcing Oxide and Jason to leave the Car Wash and go to Dinohatten with Peach's permission. Before they left, Oxide made five robots so that the Car Wash would still be looked after while he and his son were on their mission. Once they left the Car Wash, they headed for Brooklyn via a Warp Pipe. After they got a map and a room at a hotel, Oxide and Jason began their mission. However, their first encounter with President Koopa was not successful, forcing the two to come up with a new rescue plan. Once they finalized the new plan, they headed out again and got some help from Iggy and Spike, even though they were not asking for it. President Koopa tried to merge the dimensions together using a metorite, but fortunately, their plans were put to an end by the two aliens. After Zem, Zam, and N. Trance were released, the five headed back to the Car Wash and resumed looking after it once Oxide's robots were deactivated. However, Oxide was afraid that Tails would be jealous of him for his invention, and unfortunately, his prediction was true. As soon as Toadette and co. came back, Tails was fixated on the basement as Oxide showed them what he made. After failing to serve a customer, Tails left the Car Wash. During this time, Oxide made six more robots. However, when Tails came back, he became even more jealous before telling himself to calm down. Once he entered the basement, he apologized to Oxide for how he acted, and the alien told him that he would not access the basement again unless Jason needs maintenance.

## Personality

Oxide is a very mean-spirited person, and likes to play tricks on people. He is somewhat of a narcissist, and enjoys having power for himself. He gets filled with determination when battling his foes, and hates to lose. He also has a huge temper, making him prone to getting flustered or frustrated when things are not going the way he wants, often causing him to complain and throw tantrums a lot. He is also quite insane, often doing things that the other Car Wash workers might think are weird or unusual.

Oxide is also very childish, often playing with his toys and hanging around the younger Car Wash workers, as well as taking his teddy bear to bed with him every night. He is easily excited when something special is happening, and loves to have fun. He's very fond of Toadette and Toadiko, often calling them by the word cutie instead of their actual names for affection. When he's around Jason, he tries his best to act mature and responsible, though he still has a lot to learn about parenting. However, he cares about his friends and his son a lot despite his shortcomings.

## Abilities

Oxide's most well known power is his incredible speed. He can move much faster than most other characters, only being bested by Sonic. This allows him to travel to areas in a short amount of time. In battle, he mainly attacks by firing shots from his Plasma Gun, which can paralyze his enemies. He also has a spare Poison Gas Gun that he keeps handy in case the other gun runs out of ammunition, though he doesn't use it very often. He can also use his claws to deal some physical damage, though they are very weak.

## Alternative Outfits

Dapperly Oxide: This outfit adds a purple top hat and cane to Oxide's default outfit. He wears this when at special occasions.

Hot Rod Oxide: This outfit is inspired by what the greasers and gangsters wore, giving Oxide a black wig and fake moustache, a pair of yellow and orange sunglasses, a black shirt with white in the middle and flame designs on the sleeves, and some blue jeans. He wears this when he's in a street gang.

Shower Cap Oxide: This outfit is the most outlandish of Oxide's wardrobe, giving him a blue shower cap, a brown scrub-brush in his hands, a white towel around his waist, and a pair of pink flip-flops. He wears this whenever he's bathing, though he does not like it when other people are looking at him when he wears it.

Star Oxide: This outfit has a space themed vibe to it, giving Oxide a purple helmet with yellow stripes, a pair of green goggles, a purple spacesuit with yellow lightning bolt designs, and some purple gloves, also with yellow lightning bolts. He wears this when travelling through space.

Metal Head Oxide: This outfit is inspired by heavy metal musicians, changing Oxide's skin color from green to white with black and grey designs, and giving him a black shirt with a silver badge, metal cuffs on his arms, a pair of black pants, and some boots with metal buckles. He wears this when playing heavy metal music.