Who is Doctor Neo Cortex's assistant in the original Crash Bandicoot?

Doctor Nitrus Brio is Doctor Neo Cortex’s assistant in the original Crash Bandicoot. Brio is the scientist who invented the Evolvo-Ray, the device Cortex uses to genetically alter animals and build an army for world domination.

In the 1996 game, Cortex and Brio work together on the creation of Crash and the other mutated animals. Their partnership is already strained by the time Crash reaches Cortex’s stronghold. Brio confronts Crash as a boss, drinking a mysterious potion that transforms him into a giant green monster before Crash defeats him.

Brio’s role is easy to confuse with Doctor N. Gin’s. N. Gin becomes Cortex’s new assistant in Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, after Brio breaks with Cortex. Brio then contacts Crash and urges him to collect gems rather than crystals, hoping to destroy Cortex’s space station.

The rivalry between the two scientists develops beyond the original trilogy. Brio later reunites with Cortex in Crash: Mind over Mutant, where they invent the mind-controlling NV device. Thus, Brio is both Cortex’s original scientific partner and one of his eventual estranged allies.