Mina Mongoose

Mina Mongoose is a fictional character introduced by Archie Comics in their comic-book adaptation of the popular Sonic the Hedgehog video games.

Appearance
Mina is a yellow-furred mongoose. Her age is up for debate, but is widely considered to be between 13 and 16. Her clothes vary throughout the series, ranging from casual dress to battle armour.

Role in Sonic the Hedgehog
Mina first appeared as a character saved by Sonic from Eggman. Mina later joined the Freedom Fighters to cope with the loss of her mother.

During her time in the Freedom Fighters, Mina acquired the power of super-speed from Mammoth Mogul, although Mogul erased her memories of this. Mina can rival Sonic in speed, but she cannot control her power as Sonic can.

Mina was also discovered to be a talented singer, and became famous for her songs that kept up morale in the fight against Eggman (much like the British singer Dame Vera Lynn, whose songs kept up morale during World War II.)

Orphan
The daughter of Arthur Mongoose and his wife Isabella Mongoose, Mina was discovered inside Robotropolis during Dr. Eggman's's siege, hopeless and panic-stricken, following her mother's capture. Her father had died during the Great War, and her mother would be subjected to Roboticization. During her time in the city, Mina met the ancient villain Mammoth Mogul, who used his Chaos powers and Ixis Magicks to grant her super speed while erasing her memory of their encounter, planting a post-hypnotic suggestion as a precaution for the future and then leaving her. Mogul, who at the time was trapped in the Master Emerald, appeared to Mina as an astral projection, and marked her because he sensed she and Sonic would one day share a connection. Sonic and Sally met her among a group of Mobians that were being rounded up by Shadowbots whom they rescued from capture at the last moment. Despite being told to flee, she attempted to get into Robotnik's headquarters, only to be stopped by the hedgehog at which point she finally broke down in grief. However, Sonic and Sally both comforted her, and Sonic attempted to make her realize that those who had been captured were likely already roboticized, and that only by remaining free would they have a chance at attempting a later rescue. Mina finally agreed to leave with the group.

Barely evading patrols of Shadowbots in the Badlands, she eventually arrived in Knothole via the Great Oak Slide. While there, she found some meaning by helping Rosie at her orphanage to babysit other young orphans including Sasha, Rory and Snaggle, who seemed to take a liking to her as they could relate, having also lost their parents to Robotnik. Even though she was supposed to stay in Knothole where it was safe, there was at least one time that Mina wandered outside its boundaries into the Great Forest. It was there that she encountered Prince Elias who had snuck back into Robotropolis for some medical supplies to heal Queen Alicia, and passed them on to her before being captured by Shadowbots. Per the Prince's instruction, Mina brought the supplies to the Queen, and then informed King Acorn of what had befallen his son.

Chasing Sonic
As Sonic's parents were also roboticized, Mina felt he was someone she could relate to, but still continued to feel lonely and even considered allowing herself to be roboticized if only to be with her mother. Confused and wishing she'd be caught and brought before Robotnik to get answers for his actions, she headed into the Great Forest again, only to be confronted by Sonic once more. While arguing over what each was doing there, they were attacked by a group of Combots with cloaking devices, intent on bringing the Sword of Acorns that Sonic stole to Dr. Eggman.

During the fight, Mina was caught only to be saved by Sonic a second time, but at the cost of losing the sword, and having her rescuer knocked unconscious. In the end, Mina got Sonic to safety when she discovered she had enhanced speed, which she attributed to her being a mongoose (a naturally quick creature), and allowed Sonic to recover before pursuing the Combots. While Sonic went after the sword, Mina stayed behind and ran into Rotor, who had just returned from the Northern Tundra and was surprised by the reappearance of Sonic who told them to head back to Knothole. Once they returned though, Mina learned Geoffrey St. John was looking for who stole the Sword of Acorns. She tried to cover for Sonic’s actions, but St. John saw through it and she was questioned by him and Hershey, to whom she reluctantly confessed.

Upon observing Sonic's heroics and the way he interacted with his friends and family, Mina developed a crush on the hedgehog. They became close friends and began hanging out more with due to attending the high school that had been built as part of turning Knothole into a true city, though some, like Bunnie, didn't seem to appreciate Mina's advances on Sonic. With the discovery of Mina’s super speed, she and Sonic spent even more time together as he tried to improve her control at her request. After hearing him say she potential for being a Freedom Fighters, Mina attempted to kiss Sonic in thanks and was surprised by his shock and confusion. This also started an awkward period for Sonic’s relationship with Princess Sally who witnessed the kiss and believed that Sonic was starting to fall for Mina. Despite this, Mina still attempted to help Sally and the others when she informed them that Nate Morgan had gone to Robotropolis to aid the Overlanders that had taken up residence there. Her actions along with the recovery of the Sword of Acorns resulted in unexpected benefits for everyone as all of the Robians in the city were freed with their free wills restored, and Mina was joyfully reunited with her mother even though she was still roboticized.

Even though she knew she had strong feelings for Sonic, Mina found keeping up with him to be confusing and frustrating not only due to his speed but also from his personality. At one point she was approached by Sally and took the opportunity ask the Princess how she dealt with him (much to her surprise). Sally’s explanation that she was still trying to figure him out herself made it dawn on them they had more in common than they thought and Mina felt more encouraged to keep trying from her words. Deciding she'd taken the wrong approach, she asked her mother for advice, which through a slight misunderstanding of how Isabella met her father, resulted in her trying to catch Sonic's eye by donning a fancy outfit. While impressed, he soon left afterward on a mission, frustrating the mongoose.

Eventually she decided to become a Freedom Fighter herself, so as to spend more time with Sonic. While her mother was wary of this reasoning, Mina began training in various aspects with the core Freedom Fighters. However, when a giant robot sent by Eggman attacked, Mina attempted to save Sasha, Rory and Snaggle, only to be overwhelmed by panic; she froze in place. Having only been saved by Rotor's timely disabling of the machine, Mina realized that her priorities had been skewed; she had not joined the Freedom Fighters with the intent of defending others, only to impress Sonic. Mina then decided to resign from the Freedom Fighters, but finally caught Sonic’s attention with a skill even she didn’t expect&mdash;her voice. Mina proved to have quite a natural singing talent that impressed Sonic so much that he volunteered her to put on a stage performance with a local band called the Knothole Knuts to bolster her confidence. The plan worked and Mina came to enjoy her new-found voice so much that she started becoming quite popular with Knothole’s residents as a local celebrity, even catching Princess Sally’s attention.

Despite this, she still occasionally aided in missions, and with her priorities in order, became more efficient. When Sally was kidnapped by Nack the Weasel, Mina followed Sonic in an attempt to help out, and the two entered the weasel's hideout separately. Sonic found Sally first, and the two kissed. Mina walked in at that moment and realized that Sonic truly loved Sally. Extremely heartbroken, she turned away, only to notice Nack aiming at Sally with a gun. Using her speed, Mina rushed in to intercept the bullet, thinking to save Sally for Sonic's sake. As she collapsed in Sonic's arms, she told him she loved him. When she later awoke in hospital, Sally asked if she'd be okay. Tearfully thinking of her heartbreak, Mina replied that she'd get over it. Though still dealing with this hardship, Mina was able to recover by the time the Xorda invaded Mobius, and joined the front lines in the massive assault against the Quantum Dial in the Southern Tundra.

Songoose
During Sonic's year in space, when he was thought to be dead, Mina continued working with the Knothole Knuts as their lead singer and key figure, which caused her popularity to soar to pop-star status. She began to throw concerts to support the troops and became romantically involved with her manager, Ash Mongoose. Recognizing Ash's troubled past, which led to him finding comfort in her music, Mina was able to find and awaken his more sensitive nature. When Sonic finally returned from outer space, Mina was quick to introduce Ash to him, who informed the hedgehog that he was dating Mina, knowing of her past crush on him. Despite repeated efforts by Mina to get him to realize Sonic was in the past and that he had no reason to be insecure, Ash remained antagonistic towards Sonic with the two of them egging each other on at the slightest provocation.

Unfortunately Mina entered a period of uncertainty in her relationship with Ash when she believed she was falling for Sonic after thinking he was making moves on her. Mina had to remind herself that she was still with Ash at that point and turned him down, which was much to her benefit as it was actually Scourge hitting on her at the time. Though Sonic was able to mostly clear up the confusion, Mina somehow still found herself as part of the infiltration team for an operation to investigate a city made up of nanites that was suddenly consuming the countryside. When in the City group meets Snively, Mina easily takes Fiona by the hands and leads her to Sonic. Snively explains that he was setting up E.M.P. detonators intended to disable the nanites and that his attempts to set them off all at once were disrupted by Sonic. After learning of Snively's plan to disable them with E.M.P. detonators, Mina easily takes Fiona by the legs and carries her to one of the further away units with her speed in order to set it off manually. But the nanites' spread was stopped without using the E.M.P.s and they returned to Knothole.

At the King's request, Mina launched a worldwide tour, leaving Knothole to support those who opposed Eggman. Her music infuriated Dr. Eggman, who launched at least two assassination attempts against her using first Nack the Weasel and then Heavy and Bomb. Before the second attempt, Ash confronted her over still having strong feelings for Sonic due to the lyrics she had been writing and he decided to break up with her. However he was severely injured when he saved her from a Bomb found in her dressing room and as Ash recovered, was visited by Mina. She told him that, as she had feared he'd been killed, she realized how much she truly loved him and the two then resumed their relationship. With both these attempts thwarted thanks to the Freedom Fighters and Ash, Mina would be accompanied by other bodyguards afterwards, including the Chaotix.

After Knothole's destruction, Mina would make her first visit to New Mobotropolis, moving in to Freedom HQ to help repair the base after Robotnik's attack. It was then that Mina was caught by a spell unleashed by Mammoth Mogul, who had at last come to collect on the debt she owed him for granting her enhanced speed. Brainwashed along with Tails and Mighty the Armadillo, Mina attacked Sonic but was unable to defeat him. She was then forced to run out on the ocean, where Mogul would have had her stop and drown had Sonic, with the help of Ash Mongoose not given in to his demands and delivered to him a Chaos Emerald that allowed him to escape. Freed from Mogul's control, Mina was soon after cleansed of it by Merlin Prower, though she retained her super speed.

Recovering from the traumatic experience, Mina decided to reform her band with new members-Sharps the Chicken, Max the Money, and Mach the Rabbit-and renamed the group as the Forget Me Knots in memory of the fallen city. Mina later witnessed the defeat of the Eggman Empire via a live data-stream set up by the Freedom Fighters and watched it in New Mobotropolis with Ash. She then sung at a concert with the Forget Me Knots to celebrate their triumph, but it was cut short when Monkey Khan interrupted and blasted Mina off her feet, though she didn't suffer any injury.

A "Change In Tune"
After the fall of the Iron Dominion, Mina began to suffer recurring nightmares stemming from the occupation of New Mobotropolis, the Legionizing, and the role Nicole had played in it. The experience left her deeply shaken and traumatized, as while she had participated in helping people evacuate via Warp Rings, many had still been left behind. Feeling she needed to take a break from the city, she and Ash headed to Freedom HQ where Sonic told her she could stay as long as she needed since she had still been a Freedom Fighter at one point. As Ash tried to comfort her, she burst into tears-reiterating her fears of the city, NICOLE herself, and how she felt frustrated that the Freedom Fighters seemed unaware of the potential danger should the A.I. lose control again. As they talked, Ash suggested that Mina use her music to send a message to New Mobotropolis populace as a whole. Mina eagerly took to this idea, feeling that she had wanted a good opportunity to try a new direction for a while, and began to work on a new album. Later, the band met at Mina's house, not too happy with the mood change proposed in the new songs. However, Mina explained to them even their instruments were made of nanites and if Nicole would be compromised again, the very house could prove a threat. This convinced the others, and they began rehearsing for their next concert.

Right before the show three weeks later, Mina hyped up the other band members backstage, confidently telling them they were making a difference. Despite this, Mina admitted she felt she was about to throw up, though Ash assured her the people loved her music as much as herself, encouraging her to get out there and "blow them away." Once onstage, Mina met the roaring crowd with a strong, passionate performance, expressing a desire to live without fear and for the people to be able to "save themselves" when the heroes couldn't. After roaring applause, Mina thanked the crowd for their passion and motivation. While she rallied a call against fear and a cry for change, Mina explained it was up to the people to take care of things inside the city while the Freedom Fighters were busy protecting them from outside forces. Unknown to everyone, the wizard Ixis Naugus had been observing the concert and using his magic to amplify any feelings of fear and anger to serve his own goals; the concern over NICOLE and her nanites began to get blown out of proportion.

After the concert, Mina made her way through the fans to the band's trailer with Ash, and found to their surprise Sonic and Sally waiting inside. The conversation quickly turned tense as Mina tried to explain to Sonic that she felt her message was one that needed to be heard&mdash;especially by him and the other Freedom Fighters. Concerned, Sally told Mina that she had to be careful with the influence of her popularity, but when she mentioned responsibilities, Mina heatedly retorted she felt Sally and the others were being irresponsible, citing Nicole's continued control of the entire city despite what had happened with the Iron Dominion. Growing angry, Mina pointed out they hadn't even been in the city during the occupation, and that while they were "talking politics" on the other side of the world, people were being imprisoned by their homes and Legionized. Sonic was indignant, but Sally cut him off and pointedly informed Mina that NICOLE had been undercover when they were gone, and done all she could to protect people without giving herself away while witnessing all the Legionization. With the added mention that Nicole had been present for Mina's concert and thus just experienced the fear and hatred of her it generated firsthand, Sonic and Sally left, leaving Mina feeling unsure.

In the time following the concert, Mina began to see an undesired effect of her new message. During dinner with Ash at Crème de la Crème one evening, she saw Sonic and Sally arrive on a date, but the atmosphere was spoiled as a waiter began to pester them over the issue of NICOLE, which soon lead to staff and patrons loudly bickering over the entire issue. Mina suddenly decided that she wanted to leave, saying she couldn't enjoy the meal with "that" going on in the background. The two left, Mina mumbling that this wasn't what she wanted her music to create. It was for this reason that Mina decided to hold a free concert in front of the community center in order to get the public to relax. While she hoped to lighten the mood she had created, her efforts were ruined when Geoffrey St. John stormed the band area, proclaiming it was time for the people to act. With the sudden added appearance of Ixis Naugus before them, Mina and the rest of the band ran for safety as the Freedom Fighters went to confront the rogue agent and his wizard master. (StH: #222, #223)

Forgiveness
Preying off the artificially increased fear of NICOLE brought about by Mina's concert, Naugus succeeded in winning over the public and becoming king. Mina attended Geoffrey St. John's trial, where he was declared guilty of treason but immediately pardoned by the new king. Her unease towards the situation continued to grow from this as well as the loss of Princess Sally, and when public opinion eventually resulted in NICOLE's exile, Mina felt guilty; she had wanted to raise awareness concerning possible problems with NICOLE, but never intended for fear to take over the city. Eventually, despite her own concerns, she built up the courage to confront NICOLE directly. She became distressed upon seeing NICOLE's pain firsthand, and spoke of her own fears and failings, admitting that she hadn't fully understood NICOLE's situation in the path. With a lot of encouragement, Mina eventually convinced NICOLE to stop hiding from her problems, and begged for her forgiveness. She told NICOLE that she could count on her as a friend, and swore to attain her original goal of inspiring the people and set them on the right path.

To make amends to NICOLE, she held a concert with her band with the theme of love, understanding and forgiveness and dedicated the song and the concert to NICOLE, much to the dismay of Ixis Naugus. As they were about to start, Tails Doll snuck under the stage and caused it to collapse under her and the band. Teem Freedom raced onto the stage and Mina was saved from the destruction by Rotor. Ash rushed to Mina's aid after she was rescued by Rotor. She addressed the audience to thank Team Freedom for saving the day. She gave the stage collapsing as another reason why they need NICOLE and that the city has to show their support to Team Fighters, Team Freedom and NICOLE.

Relationships
Like most of the characters in the series, Mina has had many loves. She once had a crush on Sonic shortly after meeting him, although these feelings were not returned. She later dated her manager, Ash Mongoose, a relationship that continued as the series progressed.

However, in the Mobius: 25 Years Later story-arc, Mina was shown to have married Miles "Tails" Prower, and that they had two children together - Melody (a mongoose) and Skye (a fox).