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| Speedy | |
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.png) 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) #45 (February 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 |
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Mia Dearden is aDC Comicssuperheroine, the second character to take up the mantle ofGreen Arrow'ssidekickSpeedy. Created by writerKevin Smith and artistPhil Hester, she first appeared inGreen Arrow (vol. 3) #2 (May 2001). She is one of the fewHIV-positive characters incomic books.[1]
Mia Dearden appeared inSmallville, portrayed byElise Gatien. A loose adaptation,Thea Queen, appeared on theArrowverse television seriesArrow, portrayed byWilla Holland.
Mia 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. Dearden was rescued from one of her clients, a depraved local politician, by the heroGreen Arrow.[1] Green Arrow sent her to see Oliver Queen (his real identity) for help, but upon meeting him, Dearden saw through Queen's disguise and recognized him as Green Arrow. She became his new ward; eventually, he came to see her as a daughter. Dearden continued to work with Queen, who began to train her as an archer. In addition, she trained with Oliver Queen's sonConnor Hawke in martial arts and forged a close friendship with him. Dearden continually petitioned Green Arrow to allow her to serve as his sidekick, but Queen did not want to put another teenager at risk (having previously been the mentor of the first Speedy,Roy Harper).
As a result of the sexual exploitation she was subjected to prior to her rescue by Queen, Dearden isHIV-positive. After learning this, she redoubled her efforts to convince Green Arrow to let her become the newSpeedy.[1] After Green Arrow agreed and Dearden took up the mantle of Speedy, she joined theTeen Titans at the advice of Green Arrow. In order to earn her spot on the team,Cyborg had the new Speedy face off againstRobin. Although Robin beat Speedy, Dearden proved herself to be a very skilled fighter and was accepted onto the team. 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.
After the events ofInfinite Crisis, Dearden recuperated from injuries on an island with Green Arrow and Connor, returning approximatelya year later.[2] During her time on the island, Mia trained in new styles of fighting and healing, and developed her teamwork with Green Arrow.
While searching the world alongside Black Canary and Green Arrow for Connor Hawke, who was kidnapped by the League of Assassins after an attack on Green Arrow, Dearden met and became attracted to a young British vigilante known as Dodger. Throughout the mission, Speedy and Dodger worked together, this partnership culminating in Dodger asking Dearden out on adate. After Connor's rescue, Dearden moved to London to pursue a romance with Dodger; however, the two eventually broke up and Dearden returned to the United States. She returned in a black costume, visually differentiating her from Green Arrow and Red Arrow (the new alias of Roy Harper).
During theBlackest Night storyline, Speedy briefly traveled toCoast City with Connor in order to fight off theBlack Lantern invasion. She and Connor rescued Black Canary from Green Arrow, who had been transformed into a Black Lantern byNekron.[3] They returned to Star City following the end ofBlackest Night.
During the events ofJustice League: Cry for Justice, Dearden is babysitting Roy Harper's daughter Lian, but is called away when theElectrocutioner is sighted planting bombs, created byPrometheus, in 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 Dearden's horror, the bombs destroy their home and kill Lian.[4] This leads directly to the storyline ofRise and Fall.
InRise and Fall, Speedy helps out Green Arrow after the Justice League attempts to capture him for killing Prometheus. While Green Arrow distracts the League, Speedy kidnaps the Electrocutioner and brings him to their hideout beneath Star City.[5] Though Speedy begs Green Arrow for the chance to kill Electrocutioner, he convinces her that murder is not the answer, and takes Electrocutioner into custody.[6] Following Electrocutioner's arrest, Dearden 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 Harper, who angrily blames her for Lian's death. ThoughRavager intervenes and eventually causes Harper to leave, Dearden is left visibly shaken by his accusations.[7]
AlongsideDamian Wayne and a group of other ex-Titans, Speedy aids the then-current team of Teen Titans during their battle against Superboy-Prime and theLegion of Doom.[8] During the battle, she and Ravager work together to successfully take downPersuader.[9]
In September 2011,The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, the character is first mentioned in theGreen Arrow storyline"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.[10] She says that her father, John King, is after her.[11]
Mia Dearden possesses nosuperhuman powers and abilities but is an accomplished archer. UnlikeConnor Hawke, who relies on simple wooden shafts, Dearden employs trick arrows. In addition to a bow, Dearden is also proficient in the use of a crossbow. Although Mia is a skilled street fighter, Connor Hawke andBlack Canary also taught her many forms of martial arts such as Krav Maga, Kenjustu and self-defense prior to her taking up the mantle of "Speedy". One year afterInfinite Crisis, she expanded her training and is now an expert in sword combat.
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