Origin
The adoptive mother of Opal Tanaka, one time girlfriend of Iceman, Bobby Drake of the X-Men.
Creation
Created by Louise Simonson.
Major Story Arcs
Rita Tanaka is the wife to a distant cousin to Shizuko who fell in love and conceived a child with the heir to the Tatsuo Clan. To protect her daughter Opal from her grandfather, Shizuko entrusted Rita and her husband George Tanaka to adopt and bring her to the United States.
She assisted X-Factor in their search for Opal when she was abducted by Lord Tatsuo, her grandfather, who intended her to marry one of his Cyburai to keep the criminal empire within the family.
Alternate Universes
Rita Tanaka exists in the X-Factor Forever Universe, identical to the character found in Marvel 616.