Mirage (G1)

Mirage is any of several distinct fictional characters in the various Transformers series. 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.



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.

Animated series
The 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 theInsecticon Bombshell, and was then fired upon by Megatron. Whether or not this would have killed Mirage is not made clear.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Mirage appears in Transformers: Dark of the Moon as a red Ferrari 458 Italia. In the film, he is known as "Dino" and he speaks in an Italian accent. He also wields two wrist blades that can be detached onto a length of cable.[16]

[edit] Development
Film concept art of Sentinel Prime by artist Josh Nizzi named the character who would become Mirage as "Rush".[17]

[edit] IDW Publishing
Mirage appeared in the graphic novel version of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Mirage's head was severed by Soundwave during the Decepticon occupation of Earth.

[edit] Books
Mirage appears as a character in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon The Junior Novel. In it, he is decapitated by Starscream. His remains were used by Soundwave to taunt Bumblebee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Sideswipe before preparing to execute them.[18]

[edit] Movie plot
Mirage appears in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, where he is referred to as "Dino." Despite appearing prominently throughout the movie Mirage/Dino primarily serves as a background character. He first appears at the Nuclear facility with Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Que/Wheeljack. He later appears when he battles Hatchet on the highway and kills him with help from Bumblebee and Sideswipe. He is among the Autobots that are exiled from Earth on the Xantium - and though having been thought to have been killed by Starscream, he escapes with along with all the other Autobots.

Mirage participates in the final battle and is among several other Autobots who are being held captive by Soundwave, Barricade and several other Decepticons. After witnessing the death of Wheeljack and the Decepticon ships raining down on them, Mirage escapes and battles the Decepticons whom held him captive. Mirage is one of the surviving Autobots at the end of the film, alongside Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and the three Wreckers.