Name: Mia DeardenAlias: Speedy II
1st appearance: Green Arrow vol. 3 #2
Modus Operandi: Teen-aged crime fighter, archer extraordinaire.
Power/Equipment: Access to same arsenal of trick arrows as Green Arrow, skilled acrobat and hand to hand combatant. Supremely talented archer.
Affiliations: Arrow Family, Teen Titans
Backstory: After running away from an abusive home, Mia found herself without support and easy prey for the dreges of society. She eventually found herself a "boyfriend," who also let other men have their way with her and collected money in return. Yup, little Mia had found her way into teen prostitution.
After a run-in with Green Arrow and his supposed ally Stanley Dover, Mia became part of the Arrow Family. After training herself in the use of the crossbow (and showing serious talent at it) Ollie finally relented and trained Mia to be the new Speedy. It was around this time that MIa also found out that her days as a prostitute came at a price: Mia is HIV positive.
After a recent run-in with a newly-resurrected Jason Todd, Mia finally gave in the Ollie's cajoling and joined the Teen Titans.
A classic hooker with a heart of gold, Mia has finally found herself a home she can be proud of.
3 comments:
Well, time to play some catch-up...
Ohh man.....I knew modern comics were dark...but teen prostitution? My lord, superhero books, I hardly knew ye. I have to say, I haven't really read anything with her in it. She may be a great character, and she may add a lot to the GA mythos, but there are just some things that I feel don't really have a place in comics.....
I don't that I agree. Comics really aren't kids entertainment anymore, and they've been dealing with serious issues since the late Silver/Early Bronze Age. Teen prostitution happens, unfortunately. Her intro was well done and I think she's added quite a bit to the Arrow Family, but I guess its not everyone's cup of tea, either.
Also, welcome back, and thanks for commenting!
Well, the fact that comics aren't "kid entertainment anymore" is a large part of what is killing the industry. It's part of the reason Pokemon and other prepackaged crap is all the rage. That stuff is inoffensive fluff, while comics have excessive sex and violence these days. Now, I am not really a fan of the bland, campy, and whitewashed stories of the Silver Age. They've laid the foundation for characters I love, and I respect them for that, but I have no desire to see comics return to that.
What I DO want is a balance. Take Batman:TAS or JLU, those shows told compelling, complex stories that could engage adults and kids. They were absolutely literary in their accomplishments, but still managed to be clean enough that I'd have no problem letting my son (if I had one) watch it. This is, obviously, a rather big issue for me, and it bothers me that our culture seems to equate "adult" entertainment with things that are either utterly juvenile or just plain foul. What makes something truly adult is complexity and depth.
That's not to say that I have a problem with comics dealing with real issues. Like I've said in your posts about the GL/GA stories, I think the ideas behind those, tackling things like poverty and corporate corruption are very fertile ground for storytelling. However, when Dr. Light rapes Sue Dibny, we've gone too far.
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