Mina Mongoose

Mina Mongoose (dubbed Songoose for her singing talents) is a fictional character who appears in the Sonic the Hedgehog comic series and its spin-offs published by Archie Comics. She is a yellow, female, teenage, anthropomorphic mongoose. Mina has purple hair held back by a black headband, and green eyes.

She debuted in the comic series in issue #76 where she was captured by Dr. Robotnik and rescued by Sonic the Hedgehog. She is one of three girls (the other two being Princess Sally Acorn and Amy Rose) well known for competing for the affections of Sonic the Hedgehog.

Mina is the sixteen-year-old daughter of Isabella Mongoose and the late Arthur Mongoose. A schoolgirl in love with Mobius' most renowned hero, Mina is also a heroine in her own right. Recently she has enjoyed a highly successful singing career, and has become one of Mobius' biggest celebrities.

Originally, Mina's outfit consisted of a midriff-baring black tank top, brown shorts, and green boots and gloves. Later on, her tank top became violet in the front with black straps, and a skirt (Her shoes were green and violet, almost the same design) of matching design.

Concept and creation
Originally, former Sonic the Hedgehog editor Justin Gabrie wanted to conceive of a new potential love interest for Sonic to be introduced in issue #76. In order to make her viable threat to Sally, Gabrie specified that the new character have something in common with him that Sally didn't; Archie Comic's staff chose speed. Because the new character was supposed to be fast, it was decided from the start that she be a mongoose (as mongooses are fast creatures).

Once it was decided what sort of animal she would be, it came time to think of a name; The initial name that was proposed was Chloe. Writer Karl Bollers opted against it, however, since Chloe had the long "e" sound at the end of the name and made her blend in with the rest of the females already established (ex: Amy, Sally, Rosie, Dulcy, Hershey, Julie-Su). So, Karl decided to dedicate her name to his grandmother, Minerva. He took the name, shortened it and it went from Minerva to Mina. Finally, Patrick Spaziante (a chief Sonic artist at Archie Comics) finished a design of a lilac-haired mongoose with yellow fur and large green eyes.

The intended story following Mina's new-found super-speed would end up having to go on the back-burner for a few years; The artist Fry (who had been drawing various issues involving Mina Mongoose) had intended to grant Mina an "X-men-onstage-puberty-awakened" hidden power, but the Sonic Adventure game adaptation (ordered by SEGA in hopes of promoting their upcoming game) had taken all the time the writers needed to develop Mina's speed. She would later reveal to Sonic (and readers) of her power in Issue #98.

Introduction
Mina first appeared after Eggman's forces had captured her mother, and Mina wanted to go save her before she was roboticized. Soon she found herself under attack from Eggman's men, and was saved by Sonic the Hedgehog. Sonic told Mina it was probably too late and that she would probably risk the same fate. This response upset Mina because she didn't think Sonic understood how she felt, but Sonic explained that his own parents had been roboticized too. Having someone who understood how she felt seemed to calm her down for that moment and Mina would go with Sonic and the other Freedom Fighters to Knothole.

Once Mina arrived at Knothole she would mourn over the roboticization of her mother and dealt with moments where she wished she would be roboticized so that she be with her mother. Mina managed to head out of such times, by getting a job with Rosie babysitting orphans who had lost their parents like she did. Her sentiments towards Sonic, also changed during her stay in Knothole. While he explained that he understood the nature of Mina's loss, Sonic still seemed to her rather distant. It was only until she walked in on an intimate moment between Sonic and his parents, did she respect Sonic as a hero who had a soft side.

Regardless, Mina would not have an encounter he himself would recognize until much later. At this point, Mina's depression over the loss of her family led a desire to confront Robotnik herself. For Sonic, he was heading to Robotropolis to restore free will to his uncle using the Sword of Acorns he had stolen from the kingdom. After a brief argument over the motives one another had for going to Robotropolis, the two would deal with an ambush that would result in the loss of the Sword of Acorns.

After the incident, Mina would find herself trying to cover up Sonic's theft since she could finally bring herself to respect Sonic as a hero. This however didn't go on long as the Kingdom's Secret Service began to suspect Sonic of stealing it. By telling Mina they would avoid persecuting Sonic if she told them what happened, they received the confession from her that they desired and went forward confronting Sonic, whose knighthood would be removed due to this incident. She would also begin life as a school girl, and would be Sonic and Bunnie's classmate. Bunnie didn't take kindly to Mina due to noticing that she could very well end up as competition for Sally over Sonic's affections, so Sonic would be her only close friend.

Eventually, the time would come for Mina to go with Sonic as his friend and as a comrade. The mission was at Robotropolis, and originally the idea was to rescue Nate. However, with the Sword of Acorns found and wielded by Sally, the free will of the Robians (roboticized Mobians) was restored. Mina, on the other hand, would undergo a scouting mission for Nate. Though the mission was ultimately a failure, Mina received her first taste of being a team player, and would also aid the Freedom Fighters in safely helping the Robians out of the city. When everyone had reached Knothole, there were many reunions, including that of Mina's reunion with her mother, Isabel(la).

Mina the Freedom Fighter
Despite being officially friends, Mina did make attempts to get Sonic's attention. At first it started with a "thank you" kiss. Then, when it provided a reaction that was described as "more surprised than pleased" she'd move to asking for advice about her next move. She decided based on the advice provided to continue her attempts through other methods such as dressing up and trying to become a Freedom Fighter like Sonic. During her time as an official freedom fighter Mina had been trained in piloting, swordplay, physical endurance and computer programming. However when a giant robot of Eggman's attacked Knothole, Mina had no idea how to apply her trained naturally cultivated strengths to impress Sonic in such a dangerous situation.

Mina would settle on responding to a group of children (that she had babysat back in issue 78) that the bot endangered. She tried to get the kids out of harm's way, but was overwhelmed by panic. Luckily, when the robot was about to step on Mina, it stopped mid step thanks to Rotor reprogramming it. Mina realized after the ordeal that she at that time was trying to apply skills to impress and be near Sonic, not to save the world or to defend anyone (herself included). Realizing this job was too dangerous to apply her strengths to get Sonic's attention, Mina quit and began to focus more on a singing career (which Sonic encouraged her into after hearing her sing).

She has also been an occasional battlefield heroine, even after her stint as an official freedom fighter was over. Mina appeared a few times during the worldwide assault against the Xorda and has been a tactician for the "Sonic Angels" Team. Being that the editor has explained that Mina is trying to move away from Sonic, Mina is no longer trying to apply her skills to impress Sonic when working with the Freedom Fighters or the "Sonic Angels" team. Instead she's worked more to apply her talents to compliment the team's efforts, and without previous obstacle her performance on the battlefield has been more successful.

Singing career
Since Mina was recognized by Knothole as a talented singer, Sonic and Mina had shared a concert together that gathered a lot of success. Her solo concerts have also been very successful, and have been directed at lifting the spirits of the troops throughout their war with Robotnik. The band she's been known to work frequently with in Sonic's absence are known as the "Knothole Knuts", although it has not been clarified if they are Mina's band. Her singing career has also allowed her to establish a bond with the masses. Something she hadn't attained when she first arrived at Knothole when Sonic was her only friend. This can be noted in the story "Songoose", when Mina is set on continuing the concert, even though her life is in danger because she wants her fans to be happy.

Mina's career as a musician has also helped her establish a stronger bond with the people. So like her comrades, there is arguably a much more genuine desire to fight for the people than there was before. As a result of her hazardous occupation, she is often accompanied by bodyguards, an assignment that has fallen on Knuckles the Echidna and the Chaotix several times.

Her band performed in celebration for Dr Eggman's final defeat but was interrupted by Monkey Khan.

Mina and the Future Freedom Fighters
Mina Prower appears in the 30 years later storyline in Sonic Universe Issue 5. She appears with her husband Tails and her two children, Melody and Skye Prower. They meet Lara-Su and are present for King Sonic's speech. They are also present when the Dark Presence attack the royal family and for Silver's appearance.

Personality
Mina has demonstrated to being very kind and loving, especially toward Sonic. She also revealed that she fell in love with him because his parents were turned into Robians, just like her mother and was heartbroken when she saw that Sonic loved Sally; something she failed to see at the time. While Sonic was tossed into space, she entered a relationship with her band's manager, Ash, until Sonic returned, in which Mina had conflicted feelings. In the end, she realized that she loved Ash more. She can also be rather timid and shy, especially when she first appeared. One such place she suffered from nervousness was right before an enormous, sold-out concert in New Mobotropolis. The songs in her concert warned the people to look out for what might happen next, which made tensions between her and the Freedom Fighters even worse than before.

Powers and abilities
Mina's most prominent ability is her singing talent. King Max recruited her to sing for the troops due to her voice. Since then, she's been on the road to becoming a famous singer. Also, she's a faster runner than the average Mobian, a skill that stems from the fact she's a mongoose, a naturally fast creature (Though it was later revealed that Mammoth Mogul gave her super speed that matched Sonic's). While she doesn't quite match up to Sonic or Tails in terms of speed, she is fast enough to require training from Sonic to keep from seriously injuring herself whilst sprinting. Mina has also demonstrated that she can be quite good with kids when she helped Rosie out by babysitting the orphans Sasha, Rory, and Snaggle.

Sonic the Hedgehog
Over time, a relationship with Sonic started to develop, and Sonic eventually began to think of her alongside Sally as girlfriend material (and said as much when asked about it by his best friend, Tails, in issue #111). The two would engage in flirting, and even an occasional gesture of affection in public, which in turn greatly wavered the confidence Princess Sally had in her future with Sonic. However, in Sonic the Hedgehog #123, the tides would turn. Sonic and Mina have a small concert together, but before Mina received the chance to admit her feelings for Sonic, and ask him out, Princess Sally was kidnapped by Nack the Weasel, and Sonic and Mina went to rescue her. When Sally was rescued by Sonic, Sally would be quicker than the mongoose to the punch and be the first to confess her feelings for Sonic. Sonic seeing Sally with interest and girlfriend material as well as Mina (according to issue #111) would return her feelings through a kiss. By chance, Mina walked in on the kiss, and like Sally, she would assumed that affections to another girl implied Sonic was never truly cared about her, unknowing what fans learned about Sonic's stance in issue #111 and similar struggles Sally suffered.

As Mina watched heartbroken, moments later Nack would attempt to shoot Sally in the head with his gun. While Mina had desired to be with Sonic, she sacrificed herself to save Sally so that Sonic could be happy. As she was falling unconscious, she said to Sonic, "I love you... ". She didn't die, and Sonic would respond with panic over nearly losing Mina, and was soon after rushed to the hospital. Afterwards, Mina would resolve to try distancing herself to get over Sonic so that he could sort out what he wanted with Sally. With Mina no longer presenting herself as interested, and Sally desiring to take their relationship to another level, Sonic and Sally would do just that and from that point Sonic would be Sally's consort until #134.

Ash Mongoose
The invasion of the alien Xorda occurred not long after, and Sonic apparently gave his life to save the planet. In reality, he had been flung to the far end of the Galaxy, and a year would pass on Mobius before he was able to find a way home. While believing he was dead, Mina began to date Ash Mongoose, the manager of her singing career. Upon learning that Sonic was alive and well, Mina begins to develop mixed feelings about her new relationship, making Ash feel insecure and hostile towards Sonic. In issue #144, Mina revealed that she had not been sure if she was in love with Ash. Realizing that she has been acting selfish with Ash, she wrote an anonymous letter to the relationship advice column in local newspaper (coincidentally, the writer of the column was Sally Acorn, working under a pseudonym). Following the advice given in the column, Mina decided to give Ash a genuine chance.

Not soon after, Dr. Eggman decided to target Mina for termination (having heard some of her songs on the radio, and choosing assassination as his form of critique). Sonic was placed as Mina's bodyguard, causing further conflict between himself and Ash. Ash felt that his position as Mina's boyfriend was being threatened by Sonic and repeatedly attempted to have Sonic removed from bodyguard detail. Ash and Mina later broke up just before Mina's concert when Ash asked Mina to tell him she loved him, as well (and tell him that she didn't love Sonic) and she couldn't bring herself to. However, before the concert was over Ash was injured by a bomb in his attempt to keep Mina from harm. In the hospital, Mina tells Ash what he's been waiting to hear. According to her, while she would always have a place in her heart for Sonic, she loves Ash, and not him.

Trivia

 * Mina's design may be based on a female mongoose that only showed up on one of Sally's communication monitors in the second story of Sonic the Hedgehog #52, twenty-four issues (or two years) prior to her debut.
 * While Mina's official age is given as 16 years old (the fact that she shared a class with Sonic and Bunnie would place her at about their age) this seems inconsistent for two reasons:
 * All of the comics artwork (up until #134) makes her appear considerably younger than Sally, possibly within the 11-14 age range&mdash;even though the official age would make her one year older than Sally.
 * On the cover of #94, Mina wears sailor fuku, which is most commonly worn by Japanese middle-school girls (although sometimes they are worn by high-school students).