Mink

Origin

Mink lives on a parallel Earth-712 which is the home dimension of the Squadron Supreme, the premiere band of superheroes of that dimension. Mink is a bored rich heiress who became a criminal for the excitement and to feel special. She developed her skills and identity as a cat burglar, her modus operandi being to steal the most valuable gems. It seems likely that many of her capers were comparable to those of the Golden Age and Silver Age versions of Catwoman, though with a different obsession.

Mink's early history prior to the events of the Squadron Supreme maxiseries is not totally clear. As stated earlier, she went from heiress to cat burglar for kicks. She likely bought her gadgets using her wealth, and possibly paid someone to train her in martial arts. It was mentioned that she fought Nighthawk several times and was most likely part of his rogue's gallery.

Creation

Mink was created by Mark Gruenwald and Paul Ryan. Along with many characters in the Squadron Supreme's home universe, she was based upon a DC character, in her case Catwoman.

Character Evolution

Mink was shown to be somewhat playful and friendly to her enemies, sometimes flirting mid-battle with them. However, she obviously took her criminal ways seriously, as alongside Remnant and Pinball, she asked Emil Burbank for sanctuary in another dimension from the Squadron Supreme. Over time, Mink developed a genuine crush on Nighthawk from working alongside him, and loved him enough to kill Foxfire in revenge when she caused Nighthawk to have a heart attack.

Major Story Arcs

After the Squadron Supreme took over the world in her native of Earth-712 dimension, Mink felt threatened by them, particularly after they perfected their Behavior Modification, or "B-Modding", system, which would allow them to essentially brainwash criminals into renouncing their criminal inclination and thereby altering their behavior into wanting to do good. This worldwide forcible brainwashing in the criminal community caused Mink to go into hiding alongside her fellow criminal associates Remnant and Pinball. Mink than contacted Master Menace who was another criminal and major enemy to the Squadron Supreme and persuaded him to send them to another dimension, which coincidentally turned out to be Earth-616.

Unknown to the trio, the Nighthawk of their world was also travelling to Earth-616 around the same time as they were, having been told by Professor Imam that he would find allies for his crusade against the Squadron Supreme there. After contacting the Avengers, Fantastic Four, and X-Men for help and getting rejected, Nighthawk heard rumors of Pinball, Remnant, and Mink all going on a crime spree in order to establish themselves on Earth-616. He managed to track the three of them down and got into a fight with them which was broken up by Captain America. With things calmed down, Mink and her allies explained to Nighthawk why they had fled to Earth-616. Nighthawk convinced the trio to return to Earth-712 with him and aid him in opposing the Squadron. They agreed, and so a spell which Professor Imam had placed on Nighthawk automatically returned them to Earth-712.

Over the next few months, Nighthawk's team, which soon became known as the Redeemers, aided him in finding new superhumans with which to infiltrate the Squadron Supreme, capturing former members of the Institute of Evil for the Redeemers to de-brainwash after getting the schematics for the B-Modder, and training in preparation for the inevitable fight with the Squadron. During this time, Mink often trained with Nighthawk on purpose, as she had started to develop a genuine crush on him.

Upon the Redeemers confronting the Squadron Supreme, a fight erupted between the two teams, despite Nighthawk's protests and attempts to prevent it. Towards the end of the battle, with Hyperion too weak to even stand, Nighthawk was attacked by Foxfire, a member of the Squadron Supreme who had supposedly been working for the Redeemers but had never really changed sides as she had fallen in love with Doctor Spectrum. Foxfire's attack gave Nighthawk a heart attack which killed him almost instantly. In revenge, Mink stabbed Foxfire with her claws from behind, killing her instantaneously. After the battle, Mink mysteriously disappeared, and her whereabouts after this are unknown. It is possible that once the Global Directorate took over the world, that Mink was behavior modified, captured, or killed by them, but so far nothing had proved or disproved this.

Regardless, the Mink--like all denizens of Earth-712--was killed when this reality was destroyed.

Powers and Abilities

Mink is a particularly skilled cat burglar, with various related criminal skills and some scientific knowledge. She is a good practical chemist, an expert gemologist and a skilled acrobat and hand-to-hand fighter. Mink seems nimble, perceptive and to have good people skills. Nighthawk also taught her a bit of judo.

Her mink coat is reinforced to provide very light armor, and her bracelets can deploy two different weapon systems based on specific wrist movements. The first is a set of three claws, about an inch longer than her extended fingers. The second is a large jet of her own formula of tear gas called the “Mink stink” - thick, potent and ochre-colored.

Alternate Realities

The Earth-21798 version of the Mink appeared in 2021's Heroes Reborn. This Mink had much the same powers and abilities as her Earth-712 counterpart, though she was killed in battle with that reality's Elektra, the leader of the Squadron Savage.