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The original Speedy once stole one of DC’s most powerful weapons straight from Superman — and it almost helped save the world.
The Green Arrow family of heroes are often defined by their arsenals of trick arrows, each allowing them a different capability on the battlefield. While many of them are somewhat silly like the Boxing Glove Arrow, some contain enough explosive potential to be considered a miniature atom bomb. But even that arrow pales in comparison to the potential of the distinct Blue Arrow that the second Speedy got the chance to use during the events of Infinite Crisis. How did Speedy end up with a Phantom Zone Arrow — and which major villain did she almost defeat with it?
In Teen Titans #21 by Geoff Johns and Mike McKone, Mia Dearden — then known as Speedy — became the newest recruit to the Teen Titans. At Green Arrow’s suggestion, she quickly visited the team and proved herself — helping the team face off with the likes of a rejuvenated Doctor Light, Kestral, and Brother Blood. When she arrived at the Titans Tower, she was even given a gift, left for her by Roy Harper (aka the original Speedy). It turns out to be his quiver full of trick arrows, giving her a deeper connection to the legacy and potential of what being Speedy could mean. Notably, Mia noted that one of the arrows was labeled differently. Colored blue instead of the deep red that distinguished the rest of the set, Mia also noticed that it had the words “Use Emergency Only” written on the side.
Even Cyborg admitted he wasn’t sure what the arrow did, and Mia did her best not to use it (despite being tempted in various fights to bust it out). The day finally came though in Teen Titans #32 by Geoff Johns and Todd Nauck. The issue — which was a tie-in to Infinite Crisis — focused on Superboy-Prime confronting Connor Ken. Although Connor wasn’t a match for Superboy-Prime on his own, a rallying cry went out, resulting in the Teen Titans, JSA, and Doom Patrol rushing to assist him. But even with an entire army of heroes at their side, it became apparent quickly to the Titans that they couldn’t handle someone with the full power of a Pre-Crisis Superman.
With little other option, Mia revealed to her teammates she’d learned about what the arrow really did, and how Roy Harper ended up with it. While serving with the original Teen Titans, a teenaged Roy got the chance to visit the Fortress of Solitude — and his eye ended up drawn to a case full of blue arrows. Taking one and hiding it in his quiver, Roy would later reveal to Mia off-panel that this was actually a Phantom Zone Arrow, capable of trapping anyone struck with it in the parallel dimension used as a prison by Krypton before it was destroyed. With the fight still going strong, Speedy was able to fire the arrow directly at Superboy-Prime, who was caught off-guard and contained within the Phantom Zone. For a moment, it appeared to be enough to stop the villain once and for all.
But thanks to his sheer strength, Superboy-Prime was able to punch his way out of the dimension and back onto the core-DC Universe — where his rampage quickly turned violent as he began killing members of the Titans. Superboy-Prime was eventually stopped by the assembled Flashes working together to drag him within the Speed Force itself, containing him until the climactic events of the storyline. Although the Phantom Zone Arrow ended up being useless against someone who could punch their way through dimensional barriers, it was still a good attempt by Mia.
If nothing else, it gave the Titans the breathing room to get Doctor Mid-Nite towards a wounded Connor and help save his life — and allowing him to reenter the battle in the climax to help save the world from Alexander Luthor’s plans. And it all stems from the perfectly small character beat of Roy Harper naturally wanting to steal something from the Fortress of Solitude, and then wanting to pass down that element of his legacy to Mia along the way.
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