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Quote1 You shouldn't rely on anybody. Nobody cares about us on the streets. We're invisible... Quote2
Mia Dearden src

Mia Dearden is the second Speedy and an ally of the Green Arrow. She is the daughter of the crimelord John King.

Origin

When Mia Dearden was a small child, she moved with her parents to Seattle so that her father John King could, unbeknownst to her, expand his criminal empire. When Mia's mother discovered the truth about King's plans, she confronted him, causing him to stab her to death on their kitchen table- an act Mia was witness to, forcing her to flee for her life, and disappear into the streets. Mia was able to provide for herself by stealing money from people and blending into crowds, often escaping using skilled gymnastics. Though she often used the money she stole to try and help her fellow street orphans have better lives.

In the original timeline, Mia became Oliver Queen's sidekick, the second Speedy. She also joined the Teen Titans and became good friends with Connor Hawke. Due to the changes to reality caused by the Flashpoint, her time as a superhero and relationships with Team Arrow were erased from history.[1]

New 52

When she was helping another such orphan, Trevor, try and kick his drug addiction, a group of her father's men were finally able to track her down. When they threatened her with tasers, Mia used Trevor as a human shield to allow her to parkour down an alleyway. There she was saved by Mack Morgan, who claimed to have been a friend of her mother, and volunteered to take her to safety. As they attempted a getaway, a vehicle filled with more armed men on King's payroll crashed into Morgan's car. Mia was once again saved, this time by Green Arrow, however, Morgan was wounded in the fight. He tried to tell Mia that her mother had been building evidence against King to finally convict him, and that they could finally bring her father to justice, but he was killed by Merlyn.[2]

Merlyn was able to temporarily overpower The Arrow and grab Mia, intending to bring her in alive to her father for an extremely handsome paycheck. Green Arrow caught up to him on the City-Center Monorail, and the two dueled until Merlyn recognized that his enemy was his old friend, Oliver Queen, and disengaged, leaving the hero to take Dearden to safety. Taking her back to his Green Arrow Warehouse, Oliver revealed his identity to Mia, and she explained what John King's nature truly was. Shortly before she escaped, Mia had stolen a flash drive from her father's computer, which Felicity Smoak was able to use to decipher a list of all the people in King's service. Deciding to confront King in-person, Oliver sent Dearden to spend the night with his girlfriend, Zehra Darvish, but King's men found and apprehended her.[3]

Having kidnapped her, King promised to give Mia the life she should have had, if she would only tell him what Mack Morgan had said to her before he'd had him killed. Angrily, she spat in his face, reminding him that he killed her mother. He warned that she would grow to love him again. Ignoring him, Mia demanded to know what he did with Zehra Darvish, who he showed on his phone to be bound, gagged, and hanging upside down. He admitted that he hadn't decided what to do with her - it would depend on how Mia treated her father.[4]

King dragged Mia to a build site for one of his projects, explaining that street kids like her would appreciate it once it was built. She warned that whatever he promised, she didn't trust him. He tried to ensure the deaths of a whole hospital's worth of sick people. He responded her that the deaths of the weak would help to ensure that those who remain are stronger. Mia reminded him that she was sick, too, so should she die as well?[5]

At the build site, Oliver found Mia tied to some scaffolding in the rain. Weakly, she warned him to look behind him as King came up behind him, brandishing a sword. Ollie barely dodged the blade, trying to get far enough back to loose an explosive flash bang arrow at his opponent, who dropped to his knees. As her father gestured to her, Mia, who had risen to her feet and taken King's gun, shot Ollie in the back. Despite following her father's orders, she then turned the gun on him, but was alarmed to learn there were no more bullets. King had anticipated this - and now he knew he couldn't trust her at all. Hardening, Mia responded that there was something he misjudged in all of this: Green Arrow wears kevlar, which allowed him to survive the bullet and defeat King with three well-placed arrows.

Before long, the news was reporting of how evidence had come to light demonstrating King's corruption and murder. Fortunately, many of the men who had been under his thumb had abandoned their posts, freeing Seattle of some of its corruption - but leaving it rather unbalanced. In the meantime, Oliver had offered Mia a place to stay and she accepted.[6]

Dawn of DC

The "unknotting" of history after the events of Death Metal restored Mia's tenure as Speedy to the timeline. When Arsenal was being coerced by Amanda Waller to retrieve the patient files from Sanctuary he recruited Mia; along with Arrowette, Red Arrow and Red Canary, to help him. She reunited with Oliver and Connor when they followed Roy to the facility where the files were kept.[1]


Abilities

  • Acrobatics: Mia is an extremely gifted acrobat able to perform complex acrobatic feats.[2]
  • Archery[1]
  • Thievery: Having lived on the streets of Seattle for some time Mia has become a skilled pickpocket.[2]


Weapons


Related

Footnotes


Green Arrow Vol 3 21 Textless
Team Arrow member
DC Bullet 2024

This character is or was a member of the Green Arrow family of vigilante super-heroes, who fight crime using archery and martial arts. They are a loose connection brought together through family bonds and shared experiences. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Team Arrow members."

Teen Titans 0002
Teen Titans member
DC Bullet 2024

This character is or was primarily a member of the younger superhero team known as the Teen Titans, in any of its various incarnations. This template will categorize articles that include it into the "Teen Titans members" category.

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