Fictional Character Biography
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 a child prostitution ring. Mia was rescued from one of her clients, a depraved local politician, by the costumed hero Green Arrow, who had just returned from the dead and to Star City. 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. 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. 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 in Green Arrow as a supporting character until 2004, when writer Judd Winick revealed that she was HIV-positive, a legacy of her prostitute past. With this knowledge, Mia redoubled her efforts to convince Green Arrow to let her become the new Speedy, and the Green Arrow finally relented. Mia takes up the mantle of Speedy, and subsequently Oliver decided that she would do well to join the Teen Titans. In order to earn her spot on the team, Cyborg had the new Speedy face off against Robin. 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 against Dr. Light; against a possessed Superboy, Indigo, Lex Luthor, and Brainiac; and again when they faced off against the demon servants of Brother Blood. When she finally used the arrow, it turned out to be a Phantom Zone arrow, stolen from Superman's Fortress of Solitude by Roy when he was Speedy. Mia used the arrow to attempt to trap Superboy-Prime; however, he was able to escape almost immediately, apparently through his super strength.
After the events of Infinite Crisis, Mia recuperated from injuries on an island with Green Arrow and his son Connor Hawke, returning approximately a year later. 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 of Batman, 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 in Happy Harbor that 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 by Granny Goodness and 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 supposed League of Assassins. Mia, Dinah and Ollie scour the world with Batman and Plastic Man in 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 a date.
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 actress Emma Watson. She returns just in time to save Black Canary during a battle, and to witness Ollie leaving. She returns in a costume of black with black arrows, differentiating her from the green costume that Ollie wears and the red that Roy sports as Red Arrow.
Read more about this topic: Speedy (Mia Dearden)
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