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→Age of the Primes: added information about Mirror's limb kibble as it's odd I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet.
 
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{{toydesigner|[[Mark Maher]] (Hasbro), [[Tomoki Tatsumi]] (TakaraTomy)}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMdjxMNBa7k Footage of the joint Hasbro/McFarlane Toys/Iron Studios panel] at [[CCXP#2025|CCXP 2025]] with [[Nate Purswell]] and [[Emily Bader]], recorded at the "Oficina dos Joes" YouTube channel</ref>
{{toydesigner|[[Mark Maher]] (Hasbro), [[Tomoki Tatsumi]] (TakaraTomy)}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMdjxMNBa7k Footage of the joint Hasbro/McFarlane Toys/Iron Studios panel] at [[CCXP#2025|CCXP 2025]] with [[Nate Purswell]] and [[Emily Bader]], recorded at the "Oficina dos Joes" YouTube channel</ref>


:Included with ''[[Transformers: Age of the Primes|Age of the Primes]]'' Voyager Class [[Sideways (Armada)#AOTPArmada|Sideways]], "Mini-Con Combiner Mirror" is a somewhat faithful update of his original ''Armada'' design, formed by combining [[Rook (Armada)#Age of the Primes|Rook]] and [[Crosswise (Armada)#Age of the Primes|Crosswise]]. The same color discrepancies found on his two components carry over (including strangely Crosswise's yellow eyes despite Rook including red), and Rook's head (admittedly hilariously) ends up jutting out of his chest. Unlike the original toy, Rook's legs and Crosswise's arms [[partformer|must be removed]] for the combination. The leftover limbs can be stored on the sides of Sideways's legs/motorcycle mode. Undocumented in his instructions, Rook's legs have slots on the sides to allow Crosswise's arms to connect to them and form a single piece similar to the "weapon" mode of the original Crosswise. Of course, Mirror can still ride Sideways in motorcycle mode.
:Included with ''[[Transformers: Age of the Primes|Age of the Primes]]'' Voyager Class [[Sideways (Armada)#AOTPArmada|Sideways]], "Mini-Con Combiner Mirror" is a somewhat faithful update of his original ''Armada'' design, formed by combining [[Rook (Armada)#Age of the Primes|Rook]] and [[Crosswise (Armada)#Age of the Primes|Crosswise]]. The same color discrepancies found on his two components carry over (including strangely Crosswise's yellow eyes despite Rook including red), and Rook's head (admittedly hilariously) ends up jutting out of his chest. Unlike the original toy, Rook's legs and Crosswise's arms [[partformer|must be removed]] for the combination. The leftover limbs can be stored on the sides of Sideways's legs/motorcycle mode, or stored on Mirror's back via a 3mm port on the back of Crosswise's face. Undocumented in his instructions, Rook's legs have slots on the sides to allow Crosswise's arms to connect to them and form a single piece similar to the "weapon" mode of the original Crosswise. In another undocumented (and possibly unintentional) feature, Mirror is capable of holding this limb weapon as Rook's hands are 3mm-compatible. Of course, Mirror can still ride Sideways in motorcycle mode.  


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Latest revision as of 21:05, 9 May 2026

Mirror is a Mini-Con combiner from the Armada portion of the Unicron Trilogy continuity family.
I never knew how ugly I look from here

Mirror (ミラー Mirā) is the combined form of the Mini-Cons Rook and Crosswise, the partners of the enigmatic Sideways. Little is known about this tiny combiner's personality or abilities, as he is generally seen only as a passenger for the treacherous Bulk's vehicle mode, generally separating when his master transforms so that one of his halves can form Sideways's head.

Fiction

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Cartoon continuity

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Armada cartoon

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Voice actor: Paul Dobson (English){{#if: |, {{{2}}}}}

When Sideways arrived on Earth, Mirror was riding him wearing a holographic disguise to make him look like a human clad in biker gear. When Sideways transformed, the rider retracted the disguise and split in half. His top half became Sideways's head. His bottom half vanished. Gale From then on, Mirror usually transformed from Sideways's head to ride him in motorcycle mode, though he once vanished from the scene to allow Hot Shot to ride Sideways in battle. Later, as Sideways was speaking privately with Megatron without either Mini-Con head present, he spoke in two different voices, though it is unclear if one of the voices was Mirror's. Soon after, Sideways revealed his allegiance to the Decepticons by switching heads. Credulous

In another battle, Hot Shot caused Sideways to crash, sending Mirror tumbling. Hot Shot taunted the rider for not having a seat belt. Conspiracy

After Megatron had been tossed down a crevasse by Optimus, Sideways and his driver helped haul him out. Megatron had been gravely injured by his fall though, forcing the Decepticons to retreat nonetheless. Trust

When the last member of the Skyboom Shield trio, Downshift, became active on his own, Sideways and his rider were forced to give chase to the speedy little ‘bot. Though they were blown out of the race by Smokescreen, the Decepticons did manage to snag the Mini-Con. Reinforcement When Megatron challenged to a decisive clash, Sideways worried that the Decepticons would end the Cybertronians' war prematurely while both the Skyboom Shield and the Star Saber were in his hands. Sideways and his rider rushed Red Alert in the middle of the battle in order to feign defeat, so that they could sneak away, and Sideways could sabotage his own team's victory. Decisive Battle

Ia, ia! Cthulhu ftagn!

Sideways next planned to shake up the Decepticons' power structure. After planting the seeds of doubt on Megatron's competency within Demolishor's head, he and his rider sped off to allow them to take root on their own. They then came to Starscream to similarly goad him into challenging Megatron for leadership of the Decepticons. The plot was ultimately unsuccessful, though it did strengthen morale in the Decepticons' ranks. Rebellion

Shortly thereafter, Sideways tried to hack the Autobot base computer, only to encounter Rad, Alexis, and Carlos attempting to destroy the equipment to stop him. He transported them to a digital universe, where a digital manifestation of Sideways, complete with rider, greeted them. Sideways taunted the children by first telling them that the Autobots only ever humored them in letting them "help," and then by declaring that they would forever be trapped in cyber-space. The children did escape though, leaving Sideways to beg forgiveness from his true master... Unicron! Chase

Henceforth, Sideways settled with helping the other Decepticons on the battlefield in a more conventional manner, despite this only leading to more losses. When Thrust joined Megatron's unit, Sideways showed concern over this new addition... and with good reason; Thrust was the first to notice Sideways and his rider sneak off to converse with his unseen master. Tactician But Sideways had yet to notice that Thrust suspected he was up to no good, and participated in another of the tactician's ambushes on the Autobots. As soon as Optimus and Jetfire displayed their ability to combine, Sideways and his rider scampered away from the fight. Linkup


On the Moon, Sideways initiated a plan intended to turn the Decepticons against each other, then snuck off by himself into an underground cave. Mirror separated from his robot mode, and the two began to make a report to an unseen Unicron. They were interrupted, and Mirror quickly transformed back into Sideways's head. Sideways fled to the surface, where he was confronted by Thrust. They fought, but when Sideways started to lose, he turned into a cloud of static. This angered Megatron, who proceeded to chop up the cloud of static with the Star Saber. The cloud reformed itself into an image of Mirror's head, taunted Megatron, and floated up into the sky. Detection

Later, the ghostly head of Mirror briefly reappeared on the Moon. He began a conversation with Thrust while fully manifesting into Sideways. Mars

Later still, inside Unicron, the Mini-Cons broke the spell Unicron had over them. This enraged Sideways, and he transformed and attacked the Mini-Cons. Optimus Prime blasted Sideways and Mirror with the Requiem Blaster. The heavily damaged Mirror vowed revenge before the life blinked out of his eyes. Origin

Linkage

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Sideways and Mirror provided the Speed Chaser Team with Ravenus and the Doomstone in order to stop a group of rogue Mini-Cons from unlocking the Master Key. Mirror personally handed the Doomstone over to Top Gear. Linkage Part 8

Dreamwave Armada comic

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While Rook and Crosswise were capable of controlling their combined mode on their own, it was just as common for Sideways to somehow manifest his personality through it and control his Mini-Con partners directly. Using this method, Sideways performed spying and sabotage missions on the Mini-Con Moonbase without ever having to visit it in person. More Than Meets The Eye

Ask Sideways

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Known liar Sideways claimed he met his Mini-Cons on [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Tinder (app)|{{#if:Tinder|Tinder|Tinder (app)}}]]. Ask Sideways, 2015/06/28

Toys

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Armada

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So if Rook is good, and Crosswise is evil, then what the heck am I?
  • Sideways with Crosswise and Rook (Super-Con, 2002)
Available only with Armada Sideways, "Mirror" (unnamed in the Hasbro release, the name comes from the Takara version) is the combined form of Sideways's Mini-Con partners Rook and Crosswise. Rook forms the upper half, while Crosswise forms the lower half. In this mode, he can ride Sideways's motorcycle mode, secured by the tab on his hip, and even (loosely) grip the handlebars.
The initial run of Hasbro's Sideways toys gave both Mini-Cons red paint accents. A running change was made very early in the run to give Crosswise purple accents; Sideways was also altered to swap around which faction symbol each Mini-Con revealed in his chest-window when attached to him as a head, with now-purple Crosswise now revealing a Decepticon symbol, as depicted in the Armada cartoon.
All releases of the Takara Legends of the Microns "Double Face" and all releases of the Sonokong Eunha Yeongung: Cybertron "Double Face" use the animation-matching Crosswise/purple/Decepticon-head setup.
There is a persistent mis-assembly across all releases: according to the instructions (and animation model), Crosswise's thighs are on backwards, putting the molded tech detailing that is supposed to be on the front of the combined robot's legs on the back, leaving the detail-less backs of his legs up front. Luckily, it's easy enough to pop off the ball joints and swap them around so the detailing shows up on Mirror's front; Crosswise's lower legs are basically identical so swapping them changes nothing.
This mold-set was also used to make Nightcreeper.


  • Sideways with Crosswise and Rook (Super-Con, 2003)
In November of 2003, US Toys"R"Us stores had special bonus pack Max-Con toys, which came with a single bonus Mini-Con attached to the card over their sticker, for less than the price as a normal Max-Con, during their post-Thanksgiving-day sale.
Sideways could come with one of the Destruction Mini-Con Team members: Buzzsaw, Drill Bit, or Dualor.


  • Bonus Pack (2003)
Kmart stores offered "Bonus Packs" later in the line's run, which were basically just a normal-release Super-Con and Mini-Con Team pack clamshelled together for slightly less than the cost of the two individually.
Sideways has been found packed with the Destruction Mini-Con Team and the Street Action Mini-Con Team.


Age of the Primes

[edit]
Rook's head becomes a giant nipple. Now you can't unsee it.
  • Sideways (Voyager Class, 2026)
Included with Age of the Primes Voyager Class Sideways, "Mini-Con Combiner Mirror" is a somewhat faithful update of his original Armada design, formed by combining Rook and Crosswise. The same color discrepancies found on his two components carry over (including strangely Crosswise's yellow eyes despite Rook including red), and Rook's head (admittedly hilariously) ends up jutting out of his chest. Unlike the original toy, Rook's legs and Crosswise's arms must be removed for the combination. The leftover limbs can be stored on the sides of Sideways's legs/motorcycle mode, or stored on Mirror's back via a 3mm port on the back of Crosswise's face. Undocumented in his instructions, Rook's legs have slots on the sides to allow Crosswise's arms to connect to them and form a single piece similar to the "weapon" mode of the original Crosswise. In another undocumented (and possibly unintentional) feature, Mirror is capable of holding this limb weapon as Rook's hands are 3mm-compatible. Of course, Mirror can still ride Sideways in motorcycle mode.

Notes

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  • "Mirror" is the combined form's Japanese name, fitting in with his components' Japanese names—Shadow and Bright. For a while, this rider had no official English-language name; the closest he had being the descriptor "Rider" from the toy's instructions. Eventually, with the release of the Age of the Primes toy, the rider was officially dubbed 'Mirror' in English.
  • The cartoon version tends to present Mirror as a Triple Changer of sorts, transforming from the Crosswise head to the Mirror robot mode, and from there to the Rook head. In his first appearance only, he is seen separating to form Sideways's head—don't blink, you'll miss it!—but the extra Mini-Con that should have been left over is nowhere to be found. Neither Rook's nor Crosswise's individual robot mode is ever shown.
  • One scene in "Credulous" briefly shows Sideways not wearing either Mini-Con as a helmet. He speaks in two distinct voices—one is his normal voice and one appears low-intelligence. Immediately after, Crosswise appears from off-screen and becomes his helmet. Any significance this may have between Sideways and his Mini-Cons is unclear. The line was not present in the Japanese version of the episode. In another scene, Sideways in vehicle mode speaks normally even though his rider is absent.
  • While not entirely certain, it is implied in the cartoon (more so in the Japanese version) that Mirror is really Sideways, and the actual motorcycle's identity is unknown. This is evident by how Mirror is shown to deliver his lines, although it isn't easy to say for sure since he doesn't have a moving mouth. In Sideways's death scene, however, it is pretty clear that he is speaking in Mirror's body.
  • Mirror's combined form (or at least his toy) bears a striking resemblance to the original [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}Kamen Rider|{{#if:||Kamen Rider}}]] (the colors replicating the boots and helmet and the waist piece resembling the transformation belt), which is likely an intentional homage given Sideways' alternate mode is a motorcycle, which was a central aspect early on in the franchise.

Foreign names

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  • Korean: Mirror (미러 Mireo)

References

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<references />
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