Why Thea Needs to Become Speedy

By: Kat

Arrow has become one of my favorite TV shows on television. So, I love speculating and digging a little deeper into the show. I wanted to dig a little deeper into Thea's character and her destiny to become Speedy.




Thea in season 1 of Arrow could have been labeled the "annoying little sister" that never progressed the plot, but was just filler to motivate the main character. Thea's character took a major turn when she met her current boyfriend Roy Harper. She realized money isn't everything and she started to develop as a character. Now in season 2 she is a likable character that is pushed to the background, when more fans want to see her have an arc of her own.

When the show was first announced I was extremely excited to see Thea's character. Oliver would be getting a sister, which never really happened in the Pre-New 52 Green Arrow stories. In the character description that was released it said that Thea would be nicknamed Speedy. This automatically made me think of Mia Dearden.

Mia Dearden is the second Speedy from Judd Winnick's run, my favorite run of Green Arrow. Mia Dearden is one of my favorite DC characters. Loved the potential Thea had because of her connection with Mia. The connections with Mia started from the very first episode of the show.

There are a couple of connections with Mia and Thea in the pilot episode. First connection was a similarity in name. One of the most obvious connection is when Oliver comes back from the island he calls Thea, Speedy. She thinks she has grown out of the name, but Oliver calls her Speedy throughout the course of the series. A connection that I just recently noticed was that Thea has archery trophies all around her room. SHE ALREADY KNOWS ARCHERY! She doesn't need that much training if she joins the Arrow team. She would just have to sharpen her skills. It will make her process to become Speedy that much quicker.

References to Mia Dearden are scattered throughout the course of the show. When Thea was in court for possessing Vertigo we found out that her middle name is Dearden. Her full name is Thea Dearden Queen.

In the Season one finale, Thea rushes out to save Roy's life during the Glades' earthquake. She rushed out to be a hero. When she rescues Roy she throws a bottle at the perp fighting Roy. She is able to knock the perp down because of her good AIM.

Thea shows more heroism in season 2 when she wants to team up with Roy and Sin to do some detective work, I personally call them the mini Teen Titans. She doesn't hesitate and wants to help Roy when he starts to hide things from her.

Even though we see her team up with Roy and Sin in season 2. She actually used her detective skills a lot by herself in season 1 when she becomes curious about Oliver. I am sure we will see more of this in Season 2.

There are so many signs that Thea will become Speedy and could actually be a good hero. Some people believe that Roy will become Speedy instead. This is a valid speculation since both Mia Dearden and Roy Harper were Speedy at one point in the comics. Fans believe that Thea will die and Roy will take over the Speedy name to honor her. That is a good assumption, but I believe they are dropping too many Mia Dearden hints to just kill her off. Roy also has so many other aliases he can use in the show, like Arsenal and Red Arrow.

"Why Thea needs to become Speedy" is the title of this article. I believe that Thea has a lot of potential in this show. She is a well developed character that has been pushed to the background most of the season.

Here is my theory on how she can start her journey as Speedy in this season. One of the big reveals this season we learned was that Malcolm Merlyn was Thea's father. Everybody knows that she is the daughter of Malcolm except Thea herself. This can lead Thea to a dark place, and go against her brother and mother. I have a feeling that Malcolm will tell her the truth and this will lead Thea to trust him.  Malcolm will train Thea by the season finale and in season three she can become a villain. Thea will realize that her brother loves her and learn that he is the hood. She will then become a part of team Arrow and also become Speedy.

Do you think Thea will become Speedy? How do you think it will happen? Tell us in the comments below.