Mia Deardenis aDC Comicssuperheroine,the second character to take the mantle ofGreen Arrow'ssidekickSpeedy.Created by writerKevin Smithand artistPhil Hester,she first appeared inGreen Arrow(vol. 3) #2 (May 2001). She is one of the fewHIV-positivecharacters incomic books.[1]InThe New 52,a mysterious man is currently searching for Mia.[2]
| Speedy | |
|---|---|
 Mia Dearden as depicted inJustice League: Cry of Justice#7 (March 2010). Art by Ibraim Roberson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | as Mia Dearden: Green Arrow(vol. 3) #2 (May 2001) as Speedy: Green Arrow(vol. 3) #44 (January 2005) |
| Created by | Kevin Smith Phil Hester |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Mia Dearden |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Teen Titans Team Arrow Justice League |
| Abilities |
|
Mia Dearden appeared inSmallville,portrayed byElise Gatien.A loose adaptation,Thea Queen,appeared on theArrowversetelevision seriesArrow,portrayed byWilla Holland.
Fictional character biography
editMia Dearden is a teenage runaway who was abused by her father. Unable to survive on her own, she fell in love with a man who offered her shelter and food in exchange for exploiting her in his child prostitution ring. Mia was rescued from one of her clients, a depraved local politician, by the costumed heroGreen Arrow,who had just returned from the dead and toStar City.[1]Sent by the Green Arrow to see Oliver Queen (his real identity) for help, Mia saw through Queen's disguise and became his new ward; in time, he sees her as a daughter. Mia continued to work with Oliver, who was busy trying to reconstruct his own life, and after coming upon her crossbow, Ollie began to train her as an archer. In addition, she trains with Oliver's sonConnor Hawkein martial arts and forges a close friendship with him. Mia continually petitioned Green Arrow to allow her to serve as his sidekick, but Oliver demurred, not wanting to put another teenager at risk.
Mia appeared inGreen Arrowas a supporting character until 2004, when writerJudd Winickrevealed that she wasHIV-positive,a legacy of her exploitation. With this knowledge, Mia redoubled her efforts to convince Green Arrow to let her become the newSpeedy,and the Green Arrow finally relented.[1]Mia takes up the mantle of Speedy,[3]and subsequently Oliver decided that she would do well to join theTeen Titans.In order to earn her spot on the team,Cyborghad the new Speedy face off againstRobin.While Robin beat Speedy, Mia proved herself to be a very skilled fighter and worthy Titan. Shortly after her first official mission with the Titans, she revealed to the team that she was HIV-positive. They accepted her without question or fear.
The first Speedy,Arsenal(Roy Harper), gave Mia a set of his old arrows, including a mysterious blue arrow labeled: "Only use in an emergency". Not even Roy knew its power. Mia was tempted to use the arrow in her first mission againstDr. Light;against a possessedSuperboy,Indigo,Lex Luthor,andBrainiac;and again when they faced off against the demon servants ofBrother Blood.When she finally used the arrow, it turned out to be aPhantom Zonearrow, stolen fromSuperman'sFortress of Solitudeby Roy when he was Speedy. Mia used the arrow to attempt to trapSuperboy-Prime;however, he was able to escape almost immediately, apparently through his super-strength.
After the events ofInfinite Crisis,Mia recuperated from injuries on an island with Green Arrow and Connor, returning approximatelya year later.[4]In her time on the island, Mia trained in new styles of fighting and healing, and on working as a team with Green Arrow.
Jason Todd,the former partner ofBatman,kidnaps Dearden. Jason believed he and Speedy shared similarities, though he kidnapped her to retaliate against Batman's interference in his gun smuggling operation. By involving Green Arrow, he was trying to show Batman the price of enlisting others into their conflict. Jason took Speedy to Smith O'Neil High School, where the former Robin untied her so that they could fight. Jason commented on how alike they were, living on the streets and having to do bad things in order to survive. He was also aware of her past and situations with her family, as a prostitute, and her HIV status. Jason defeated Speedy, but allowed her to escape after telling her that neither Batman nor the Green Arrow would ever understand him, but that she would. Afterward, he blew up the school and left. Despite her vehement denial, Jason's words have apparently affected Mia on some level.
In the months since this event, things for Mia and the rest of her family have been in a constant state of upheaval. It all began when Green Arrow proposed to the Black Canary. After a ceremony inHappy Harborthat was then attacked by super-villains, it was revealed the Green Arrow never actually managed to marry Dinah. Instead, he was kidnapped and replaced with Everyman, who attempted to kill Dinah on her wedding night. Mia, Connor, and Dinah manage to save Ollie who was kidnapped byGranny Goodnessand the Amazons, but immediately after Connor is nearly killed by a gunshot meant for Ollie. The attack leaves Connor in a vegetative state, after which he is kidnapped by the supposedLeague of Assassins.Mia, Dinah and Ollie scour the world with Batman andPlastic Manin search of their missing family member. During this time, the group meet and work with a young British vigilante nicknamed Dodger, to whom Mia becomes attracted. Throughout the mission, Mia and Dodger work together, this partnership culminating in Dodger asking Mia out on adate.
After Connor's rescue, Mia moves to London to pursue a romance with Dodger, although she eventually returns from London, having broken up with Dodger since she found him 'snogging' the actressEmma Watson.She returns just in time to save Black Canary during a battle and to witness Ollie leaving. She returns in a costume ofblackwith black arrows, differentiating her from the green costume that Ollie wears and the red that Roy sports asRed Arrow.
During theBlackest Nightstoryline, Mia briefly travels toCoast Citywith Connor in order to fight off theBlack Lanterninvasion. She and Connor rescue Dinah from Ollie, who had been transformed into a Black Lantern byNekron.[5]They return to Star City following the end ofBlackest Night.
During the events ofJustice League: Cry for Justice,Mia is babysitting Roy Harper's daughter Lian, but is called away when theElectrocutioneris sighted planting bombs created byPrometheusin Star City, which are intended to move Star City to an alternate universe. The bombs, however, do not teleport the city but instead begin destroying it. To Mia's horror, the bombs destroy their home and kill Lian.[6]This leads directly to the storyline ofRise and Fall.
In theRise and Fallstoryline, Mia helps out Green Arrow after the Justice League attempts to capture him for killing Prometheus. While Green Arrow distracts the League, Mia kidnaps the Electrocutioner and brings him to their hideout beneath Star City.[7]Though Mia begs Green Arrow for the chance to kill Electrocutioner, he convinces her that killing is not the answer, and takes Electrocutioner into custody.[8]Following Electrocutioner's arrest, Mia attends Lian's funeral alongside a number of prominent heroes, including her former teammates from the Teen Titans. During the service, Mia is attacked by Roy, who angrily blames her for getting Lian killed. ThoughRavagerintervenes and eventually causes Roy to leave, Mia is left visibly shaken by his accusations.[9]
AlongsideDamian Wayneand a group of other ex-Titans, Mia aids the then-current team of Teen Titans during their battle against Superboy-Prime and theLegion of Doom.[10]During the battle, she and Ravager work together to successfully take downPersuader.[11]
The New 52
editIn September 2011,The New 52rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the character is first mentioned in theGreen Arrowstoryline"Kingdom"when a mysterious individual tortures a man for information on the whereabouts of Mia Dearden, whom he somehow considers to be more of a threat to him than the Green Arrow. She is only shown in a picture.[12]She says that her father, John King, is after her.[13]
Powers and abilities
editMia possesses nosuperhumanpowers and abilities but is an accomplished archer. UnlikeConnor Hawke,who relies on simple wooden shafts, like Oliver, Mia employs trick arrows. In addition to a bow, Mia is also proficient in the use of a crossbow, much to Oliver's dismay. Although Mia is a skilled street fighter, Connor Hawke andBlack Canaryalso taught her many forms of martial arts such as Krav Maga, Kenjustu and self-defense prior to taking up the mantle of "Speedy". One year afterInfinite Crisis,she expanded her training on an island with Connor and, like her mentor, is now an expert in sword combat.
Mia is HIV-positive and, as such, she takes antiretroviral drugs with all the attendant side effects. Due to her condition, she also has to be very careful when injured in combat.
In other media
editTelevision
edit
- Mia Dearden appears inSmallville,portrayed byElise Gatien.Similarly to the comics, this version is a brunette runaway who turned to prostitution before entering an underground bo xing ring. In the episode "Crossfire",Oliver Queenfinds Dearden and attempts to take her under his wing, but she betrays him to a criminal she owes money to. WithLois Lane's help, Queen rescues Dearden. In the episode "Disciple", Dearden is kidnapped byVordiganbefore she is rescued by Queen andClark Kent,during which she discovers the former's secret identity and becomes his protégée.
- Characters inspired by Mia Dearden appear inArrow:
- A loose interpretation namedThea Dearden Queen(portrayed byWilla Holland) appears as the daughter ofMalcolm Merlynand half-sister ofOliver Queen.Throughout the series, she used "Mia" as an alias and eventually goes on to join Team Arrow as Speedy.
- A separate character namedMia Smoak(portrayed byKatherine McNamara) appears as Queen's future daughter from 2040 who takes on the mantle of the Green Arrow while helping him avert a "Crisis".
Miscellaneous
editTheSmallvilleincarnation of Mia Dearden appears inSmallville Season 11.
References
edit- ^abcGreenberger, Robert(2008), "Mia Dearden", in Dougall, Alastair (ed.),The DC Comics Encyclopedia,New York:Dorling Kindersley,p. 143,ISBN978-0-7566-4119-1,OCLC213309017
- ^Green Arrow(vol. 5) #35 (October 2014).
- ^Green Arrow(vol. 3) #45
- ^Green Arrow(vol. 3) #64
- ^Black Lantern Green Arrow
- ^Justice League: Cry for Justice#7 (March 2010)
- ^Green Arrow#31 (March 2010)
- ^Green Arrow#32 (April 2010)
- ^Justice League: Rise of Arsenal#2
- ^Teen Titans(vol. 3) #99
- ^Teen Titans(vol. 3) #100
- ^Green ArrowVol. 5 #35 (October 2014)
- ^Green ArrowVol. 5 #37 (December 2014)
Sources
edit- Speedy (DC)(Post Crisis)(02 - Mia Dearden)at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)
- Mia Dearden (DC)(Post Flashpoint)at the Comic Book DB (archived fromthe original)