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Mirage is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. After Optimus Prime and Megatron, and along with Prowl, Mirage is one of the single most re-used names in the Transformers series, and is almost entirely synonymous with characters possessing Formula One racing car alternate modes.
[edit] Transformers Generation 1
Some might say that Mirage (Ligier in Japan, Mistero in Italy, Miragem in Portugal) was created with a silver sparkplug in his mouth. On Cybertron, he was one of the planet’s elite upper class, preferring to spend his days hunting turbo-foxes instead of involving himself in conflict. When that became unavoidable, Mirage enlisted with the Autobot forces, although he is often unsure about his motivations for doing so, which leaves his fellow Autobots finding it hard to trust him – a problem not helped by the fact that Mirage can rarely hide that he is often unwilling to fight directly, or his contempt for the “commoners” he is now forced to interact with. He has no lost love for Earth, and would happily return to his old life on Cybertron if he could. It is ironic that, given his unwillingness to fight, Mirage is a superior hand-to-hand combatant, and a skilled sharpshooter, having honed his talents hunting game on Cybertron. He is armed with a rifle which fires explosive, armor-piercing darts, but the most important piece of his arsenal in his function as a spy is his shoulder-mounted electro-disruptor, which can bend photons to make Mirage invisible, or appear to be where he is not, or even alter his physical appearance, hence his name. [edit] Marvel ComicsFollowing the awakening on Earth, Mirage immediately made clear his desire to return to Cybertron, even going so far as to question where his loyalties lay, if a different alliance would allow him to return to his home world. Attacked by Ravage in an early battle, Mirage attempted to reason with him, seeing no reason that two Transformers should fight, viewing co-operation as the best way to get back to Cybertron. However, when he clashed with Ravage for a second time, and had his arm severed by the Decepticon’s fangs, Mirage came to the realisation that only by fighting on the side of the Autobots did he truly stand a chance of returning to the world he loved. Mirage did not play any major role in battles which immediately followed, but managed to avoid being among the ranks of the injured following the Autobots’ climactic clash with Shockwave. During the UK-only story 'Crisis of Command', Mirage hawkishly supported Prowl's party who advocated exploiting the Creation Matrix to animate dedicated war machines. However, Mirage and Hound (a bitter opponent of this ethically questionable strategy) put aside political differences to combine their special abilities and capture the Decepticon spy, Ravage. He remained largely absent from combat situations until the Underbase-empowered Starscream threatened the world; attempting to defend New York with a large number of his fellow Autobots, Mirage was deactivated by the Decepticon. His damaged body was stored in a stasis pod on the Ark, until he and his fellow fallen comrades were brought back online through the power of nucleon. [edit] Transformers: Generation 2After the end of their original Transformers comic book series, Marvel continued the story with its Transformers: Generation 2 series a few years later, accompanying the toyline of the same name. In the comic, Mirage was among a team led by Grimlock onto the Twilight, the flagship of the second-generation Cybertronians led by Jhiaxus. Overwhelmed by the troops on board, the Autobots were captured but eventually mounted an escape attempt. The first to rush into battle, Mirage was destroyed by a flamethrower to his neck; his death was soon avenged in battle by Ironhide. [edit] Animated seriesThe animated series opted to present Mirage’s desire to return to Cybertron as a genuinely sad longing, rather than as a result of any great dislike of Earth; and his unwillingness to fight was portrayed in "More than Meets the Eye" more as a semi-pacifistic nature. This shaped him into a more gentle character, not especially like the snob suggested by his profile. His actions immediately after the Transformers’ reactivation on Earth in 1984 were heroic ones, working with Hound on a plan to dupe the Decepticons, and using his invisibility powers to sneak aboard the villains’ space cruiser as it launched, sabotaging it from within and forcing it to crash back to Earth. Be it as a result of his own desire not to engage in combat or not, Mirage’s role in the Autobots’ battles on Earth was a distinctly minimal one, leaving him confined to the background on the battlefield, or not present at all. In early 1985, however, the spotlight shone on Mirage again when Cliffjumper suspected him of disloyalty. The discovery of a Decepticon installation in a sector Mirage had recently observed caused Cliffjumper to leap the incorrect conclusion that he was a traitor to the Autobots, having concealed the information. After a battle with the Decepticons, Mirage risked the trust of his comrades by sneaking away to perform a plan of his own, framing the Decepticons for stealing Energon Cubes from the Insecticons. Spotted carrying the cubes by Cliffjumper, Mirage’s guilt seemed all but confirmed, and before he could reveal his innocence, he was captured and brainwashed by one of Bombshell’s mind-controlling cerebro-shells. Under Bombshell’s control, Mirage led the Autobots into an ambush, but at the battle’s end, the assorted manipulations were revealed and Cliffjumper apologised to Mirage. Towards the end of the year, Mirage was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons, with Mirage’s alternate mode making him the perfect choice to masquerade as Drag Strip. Penetrating the Decepticons’ camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger’s magnetic powers and Mirage’s illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too, but the deception was soon revealed, though they were still able to thwart the Decepticons’ plans. Mirage was absent from the events of 2005 and 2006 without explanation; however, a storyboarded scene from The Transformers: The Movie featuring Mirage was cut from the finished film, in which, amidst the transformation of Autobot City, Mirage ambushed the Insecticon Bombshell, and was then fired upon by Megatron. Whether or not this would have killed Mirage is not made clear, but given the film's casual bodycount, it seems highly probable. [edit] BooksMirage was featured in the 1985 Transformers audio book Autobots' Lightning Strike. [edit] Dreamwave ProductionsDreamwave Productions’ 21st Century re-imagining of the G1 universe presented a Mirage much closer to the cold, snobbish character his tech specs originally suggested. As ever, when the civil war on Cybertron broke out, Mirage eventually sided with the Autobots, and even maintained his allegiance to them when the two warring forces split off into several smaller factions following the disappearance of Optimus Prime and Megatron. During this period of unrest, when The Fallen attacked the Autobot base in order to capture Blitzwing, Mirage was among the Autobots who tried to stop him. As one of the Autobots on the Ark, Mirage participated in the battles on Earth, awakening in 1984 and developing a loathing of the planet. It was no doubt a relief for him to head back to Cybertron in 1999 after the Autobots defeated and captured the Decepticons, but when an act of sabotage caused their craft to explode shortly after leaving Earth, Mirage was among the Transformers who were able to avoid having their bodies appropriated by the terrorist, Lazarus. He was reactivated by Optimus Prime in 2002 and participated in the ensuing battles against the Decepticons that culminated in a nuclear explosion above San Francisco. The following year, when Shockwave arrived on Earth to arrest Prime and Megatron’s forces as war criminals, the Autobots were naturally resistant to the idea. Mirage was among a squad who monitored Shockwave’s movements on Earth, but upon discovering that Ultra Magnus was under Shockwave’s command, surrendered himself and the others, recognising this as his chance to return to Cybertron. When Optimus Prime then overthrew Shockwave, who was revealed to possess sinister ulterior motives, Mirage was among the Autobots who voted to stay on the planet rather than return to Earth, even though he had discovered that Shockwave had divided up his old estate and holdings amongst others. [edit] Fun PublicationsClassic Mirage's biography was featured in issue 13 of the Transformers Collectors Club magazine. In the story Crossing Over by Fun Publications Mirage was among Autobot troops of Optimus Prime who responded to the sighting of Megatron and arrived in time to save the dimensional traveling Autobot Skyfall from Megatron's wraith. In the Transformers: Timelines story "Games of Deception" Mirage was captured by the Decepticons and rescued. [edit] IDW PublishingThere was a Spotlight issue on Mirage. This story addresses Mirage's conflicted loyalties, raising the prospect that Mirage is either insane, or has swapped places with a Mirage of different loyalties from an alternate time-line. While there has been no conclusive evidence either way, the events of "All Hail Megatron" seem to indicate that Mirage is simply conflicted about his loyalties, and not from an alternate time-line. Mirage was on the Autobot Orbital Command Hub in Spotlight: Blaster. He was present when Blaster was recovered and returned to the Autobots. In "All Hail Megatron", Mirage is accused by several other Autobots of being a traitor. Despite a lack of hard evidence, and his protests of innocence, Mirage was beaten and severely injured by Ironhide (issue 8). During the beating, Mirage's faction sigil, (printed on his chest), was damaged, mirroring art from the "Spotlight: Mirage" special. Despite waiting to have the sigil restored, Mirage apparently remained loyal to the Autobots, saving Ironhide's life in battle. (issue 10.) [edit] Toys
[edit] Beast Machines
The first truly new, different character to bear the name of Mirage appeared in the 1999 Beast Machines toyline, a portent of the frequent reuse the name would soon receive. A member of the evil Vehicons, with the requisite (albeit stylised and alien) racing car alternate mode, this Mirage did not appear in the accompanying animated series, but was characterised as an experiment by Megatron in bridging the intelligence gap between Vehicon drones and their generals. Mirage’s biography presents him as a trickster who enjoys playing cruel pranks on his comrades, making him unpopular with his fellow Vehicons. He is not particularly smart and would be entirely useless without Megatron's own supervision and orders. He possesses the power of teleportation, able to appear from nowhere to attack his foes, and is armed with a plasma blaster and dual missile launchers. Interestingly, with the exception of his weaponry, Mirage’s biography is a carbon copy of that of the G1 Decepticon, Skywarp. [edit] 3H EnterprisesThe Mirage Vehicon drones, as well as the original, made a cameo in the BotCon "Wreckers" comic. The original Mirage appeared being sent by Megatron to investigate a transwarp anomaly - which in reality bore the forces of Primal Prime. Mirage was caught up in a battle with the Wreckers, and he and Apelinq were sucked into the anomaly. While Apelinq survived, Mirage's fate is unknown. The Mirage drones appeared under the command of Quake and Blastcharge. They battled the Wreckers, but were largely destroyed in the ensuing battle. [edit] Toys
[edit] Transformers: Robots in Disguise
The parallel universe of the 2001 line, Transformers: Robots in Disguise introduced another new Mirage, known as Counter Arrow in the original Japanese version, Car Robots. Mirage is the fastest of the Spy Changers, which makes him the best choice for spying on the enemy – he’ll be in and out before anyone is the wiser. As an excellent marksman, he is fittingly armed with a sniper rifle, and, like the other Spy Changers, possesses optical camouflage powers that can make him appear invisible and is able to drive over any surface, including water, and even upside-down [edit] Animated seriesMirage made his debut with the rest of the Spy Changers rescuing a plutonium generator from the clutches of the Predacons. His most focal role, however, proved to be an unintentional homage to G1 Mirage's own biggest role, when the other Spy Changers inaccurately suspected Mirage of betraying the Autobots to the Predacons. After an incident where Mirage, fearing collateral damage, allowed the Predacons to get away, the others on the team accused him of failure. A furious Mirage walked out, realizing the Predacons had put a bug on him. His best friend Ironhide attempted to talk him out of it, but snapped and punched him when Mirage threatened to join the Predacons, much to the listening Predacons' delight. Slapper, Gas Skunk and Darkscream soon approached him, and he seemingly joined up with them. Mirage called the Spy Changers to Megatron's latest weapon, ostensibly to lure them into a trap. He managed to communicate his true intentions to the other Spy Changers, and they destroyed the laser. A guilty Ironhide demanded Mirage hit him to even things out between them - but Mirage simply prodded his friend, claiming they were now even before challenging him to a race back to base. [edit] Toys
[edit] Robots in Disguise Mirage GTWhen Hasbro imported the Japanese Car Robots line into Robots in Disguise they added many toys that did not appear in the animated series or toy line as filler. One was Mirage GT. [edit] Toys
[edit] Transformers: Armada
The alternate universe of Transformers: Armada introduced another Mirage (known in Japan as Indy) in 2002, this time a member of the diminutive Mini-Con faction and one third of the Race Team, alongside Dirt Boss and Downshift. In the early days of the war, his skills in stealth and speed lead him to prefer running and hiding to fighting, but upon witnessing the atrocities of war, he viewed his cowardice as the worst crime of all, and stepped up to a command position in hopes of doing something about it. Although smart, observant and direct, Mirage still carries with him the guilt from the earlier part of his life, when he ignored his principles in favor of his own self-preservation. [edit] Animated seriesAs a Mini-Con, Mirage possessed no given personality in the Armada animated series, communicating only in bleeps and spending most of his time onscreen in the merged form of the Skyboom Shield as the Autobots and Decepticons battled for ownership of it and the other Mini-Con weapons. Mirage appeared in episode #49, called "Alliance." He is among the Mini-Cons assisting the Autobots and Decepticons evacuating from Cybertron when it was attacked by Unicron. [edit] Dreamwave ProductionsMirage remained without any characterisation until Dreamwave Productions produced the character profile above, which presented Mirage to be the leader of the Race Team. Like his G1 progenitor, Dreamwave presented Armada Mirage to possess a light-bending invisibility power, capable of rendering himself and other objects imperceptible, which he used in defence of the Mini-Con's moonbase in the Dreamwave comic book storyline. In Transformers: Armada #9-11 by Dreamwave Productions the Race Team were among the Mini-Cons survived crashing on Earth's moon. Under the leadership of Dualor they built a fortress there and defended it from an attack by Megatron, Starscream, Thrust and Cyclonus. Once Megatron overpowered the base the Mini-Cons escaped to Earth. Mirage appeared among the Mini-Cons in issue #18 of the Transformers: Armada comic book who aided Over-Run using the Mini-Con Matrix in the defeat of Unicron. Mirage was brought to the Speed Planet under the protection of Hot Shot, where he quickly overcome his sadness at his separation from Downshift and Dirt Boss when he discovered the planet's perfect raceways. Now he and Hot Shot are a nearly unbeatable racing team. [edit] Cybertron storyMirage ended up on the the Speed Planet, where his damaged body was found by Override who recognized his potential and took him in. Repaired by her, Mirage became her willing parter, helping her win race after race. Upon discovering that Mirage's team-mate, Downshift, had been captured by Speed Planet native Dirt Boss (no relation to the Race Team member), the team have dedicated themselves to hunting down the villain and rescuing Downshift. [edit] Toys
[edit] Transformers: Energon
Main article: Tidal Wave (Transformers) Despite occupying the same continuity as Transformers: Armada and its Mirage, Transformers: Energon introduced its own Mirage (named Shockfleet in Japan) in 2004, an upgraded version of the lumbering Decepticon battleship, Tidal Wave. Unusually for a character bearing the name, he transforms into a high-speed gunboat. This Mirage has proved himself as much a threat on land as he is on water, turning destruction into an art form. [edit] Animated seriesWhen the unruly, treacherous Decepticon known as Shockblast joined Megatron’s forces, Tidal Wave warned against the idea, distrusting Shockblast as a result of some unspecified past conflict that had occurred between them. Ordered to aid Shockblast in battle, however, Tidal Wave was badly damaged when an Energon Tower collapsed on him, and Megatron used the power of Unicron to reformat him, recreating Tidal Wave as Mirage. Smaller and sleeker than in his original form, Mirage received an intelligence upgrade to go along with his new body, speaking more full sentences and losing his penchant for repeating his own name, though he still referred to himself in the third-person. By the climactic events of the series Mirage developed a fixation upon his leader, often making comments about his affection for him and, in one instance, contorting his body and generating a glowing pink heart while declaring Megatron's greatness. Tragically, Mirage’s sheer devotion to Megatron led him to follow his leader into oblivion when he flew into the Energon sun that had caused his leader’s demise, thus bringing an end to Mirage. However, Megatron and Starscream actually survived leaping into the sun as shown in Transformers: Cybertron. [edit] Dreamwave Productions Energon Mirage also made a brief appearance in the Dreamwave Energon comic book series. Here, after failing in a mission on Cybertron, Tidal Wave was punished by Scorponok for his misdeed, and was damaged so badly that Alpha Q used Unicron’s power to rebuild his shattered body as Mirage. Mirage proceeded to battle the Omnicons and Kicker, but the bankruptcy and subsequently closure of Dreamwave Productions has left its storylines unfinished. Like the Mini-Con Mirage, this Mirage also had the ability to become invisible for short periods of time, in homage to the original G1 Mirage. [edit] Pack-in mini-comicsMirage debuted in the third installment of the mini-comics included with Transformers: Energon figures, patrolling an Autobot island facility while his fellow Decepticons worked to penetrate it. When the Decepticons are caught by Bulkhead and Towline, Mirage rushes to provide backup but is confronted and taken out by Omega Supreme. Tow Line wounds Slugslinger in combat. Omega Supreme takes out Mirage, Sharkticon and Shockblast. Later, in the fourth mini-comic, Mirage was among the Decepticons aiding Megatron in battle against Optimus Prime and Hot Shot, who were defeated when Prime powerlinked with Wing Saber. [edit] Toys
[edit] 2007 Transformers filmMirage is among the characters which appeared in the Transformers 3D Battle Card Game by Wizards of the Coast. He is a blue and white Ford GT almost identical to his alternator form, with exception to Tf:2007 movie style exposed facial robotics and joints. The 3D battle card of CliffJumper is a similar style redesign of Alternators Swerve. [edit] Transformers: Timelines
An evil mirror-universe version of Mirage serves as one of Optimus Prime's Autobots in the Shattered Glass universe. Mirage is a former bank robber who was experimented on by Ratchet. He is now permanently partly transparent. [edit] Fun PublicationsMirage gets interviewed by Andromeda in Around Cybertron #6. [edit] ToysHis appearance is based on the Japanese exclusive Electron Disruptor Liger toy. [edit] References[edit] External links | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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