Mirage (G1)/2005 IDW continuity
An elitist with a chip on his shoulder, Mirage was never the easiest Autobot to get along with. His function as a spy made him downright untrustworthy at times, not to mention his medical "condition" which caused him to hallucinate about lives not lived. Under Mirage's "holier than thou" attitude beats the spark of a loyal friend and he's a consummate professional in the field... but it's kind of hard to see past his obvious self-involvement most of the time. After Mirage signed up for the Lost Light's second launch, he quickly decided Swerve's bar was a dump, opening his own counter-institution called "Visages". Mirage demands certain high standards from life and he has little time for those who can't "rise" to his class.
- First Appearance: Megatron Origin #3; Spotlight: Blaster (modern era)
Fiction
Joining the Autobots
Mirage was forged as an Outlier, with the power to turn invisible. Before the war broke out, Mirage was in attendance for the funeral of Bumper and Fastback. Megatron Origin #3 He was one of the few Autobots who witnessed firsthand Sentinel Prime's lifeless shell be dropped off as part of a Decepticon intimidation tactic. Megatron Origin #4 Some time later, early in the war, Mirage was a guard at the New Institute, a place known to use brainwashing to keep Autobots with wavering loyalties in line. Hmm. Remembrance Day He and Tracks were members of the same institution (though it is unclear if it was a school, a place of employment, a military unit, or something else), where the motto was "Veritas". The Transgressors
Mirage lived with an ongoing medical condition, which periodically caused a build-up of gamma-cybrobuteric acid in his brain that led him to start having hallucinations. The Possible Light This condition flared up when he was damaged in an explosion; while recuperating in a repair station, he dreamed of another time and place where his life had taken a different course, and he had wound up a Decepticon mercenary in the employ of Megatron. In this dream, in order to finally end the war, and crush the last few remaining Autobots, Mirage used his holographic powers to disguise himself as Bumblebee and infiltrated the enemy base. Once he disabled their security systems, his fellow Decepticons swarmed in, and they proceeded with the subjugation of their long-hated foes. Though Optimus Prime was holding his own during the fight, Mirage took a disabled Jetfire hostage to force the Autobot leader to surrender. Mirage then contacted Megatron to inform him of his victory. Despite Mirage's protests, Megatron insisted he kill all of the Autobots, rather than take them in as prisoners of war. Mirage stabbed Hound through the spark, provoking an enraged Optimus to tackle him into a nearby container of Zodiac energy. The dream ended with an explosion, but Mirage was left to wonder if it had truly been a dream, or if the unearthly powers of the Zodiac had granted him a brief glimpse across the dimensions. Spotlight: Mirage
Mirage was a suspect in the assassination attempts on Blaster, as he was one of only four Autobots present on the Hub during both attacks. He and two of the other Autobots were cleared when it was discovered that a mind-controlled Beachcomber was the true culprit. Spotlight: Blaster
On Earth
A year later, Mirage joined Optimus Prime's crew on Earth to help root out the Decepticons they had been forced to leave alone on the planet. After months of searching, Mirage finally turned up some information that suggested there had been a schism in the Decepticon ranks—information that turned out to be false, and which drew the Autobots into a hideous ambush. Badly outmatched, the Autobots were soundly defeated and lined up to be dumped through a space bridge to Cybertron, but before they were sent through, Megatron revealed that there had been a willing traitor collaborator involved in his trap. All Hail Megatron #7 All Hail Megatron #1 As the one who had delivered the information, Mirage was the prime suspect, with everyone but Jazz and Prowl believing he'd betrayed them to the Decepticons. All Hail Megatron #4 All Hail Megatron #6
Frustrated at being stranded on Cybertron, Mirage listened to Tracks tell a story to pass the time. Spotlight: Jazz Presently, when Kup's crew arrived on the planet, Mirage served as an invisible sentry, undetectably watching the group as they arrived. Kup scoffed at the apparent "lack" of a guard, allowing Jazz to get one up on the old 'bot by instructing Mirage to reveal himself. All Hail Megatron #5 Not long after, a raging Ironhide finally snapped and dragged Mirage into a corner, blamed the supposed "traitor" for the trap, which had nearly killed Optimus Prime. Mirage could only protest weakly as Ironhide beat him half to death and ripped off his Autobot badge. All Hail Megatron #7
It was eventually revealed that Sunstreaker had been the real traitor, and Ironhide tried to apologize to Mirage. Mirage wouldn't accept his apology, however, leaving his badge off out of spite and warning Ironhide against ever talking to him again. All Hail Megatron #9 However, despite his harsh words, Mirage came to Ironhide's rescue during a swarm attack, urging his comrade to save himself. Ironhide refused, and instead proved that he trusted Mirage again by staying behind to help him fight the monstrosities. All Hail Megatron #10 After the Autobots were saved by Omega Supreme, they returned to Earth and fought against the Decepticons in New York City. All Hail Megatron #11
Three years later, the Autobots were still squatting on Earth at Optimus Prime's insistence, keeping the humans "safe" from the Decepticons while being hunted by those very same humans. Mirage was present when Hot Rod finally went stir-crazy and demanded some action. That "action" led to Ironhide's death and Prime surrendering himself to the human robot-hunters, Skywatch. ...For All Mankind Along with Prowl, Red Alert, and several others, Mirage joined Hot Rod in breaking off from what remained of the Autobot forces to leave the planet of mud and water behind. At first, they tried convincing Omega Supreme to leave with them, but Hot Rod's speeches failed to overcome Omega's loyalty to Optimus Prime. Instead, they found unlikely allies in a pack of roving Decepticons led by Swindle. New Arrivals, Old Encounters With the additional manpower, and despite the unease they had for one another, the unlikely allies began construction of a new space cruiser to leave Earth forever, A Rude Awakening with Mirage working on the new flight control systems. Seasons in Flight Unsurprisingly, the Decepticons eventually betrayed Hot Rod's team and attempted to take the space cruiser for themselves. Mirage and the others fought against their new creation, Menasor, and eventually brought him down. Mirage was one of several Autobots who were injured in the battle, and was repaired by Skywatch technicians. Earthworks
Looking to make up for his mistake of trusting the Decepticons, Hot Rod (or "Rodimus") left Earth for some time, returning months later with a previously-presumed-dead Sunstreaker in tow. Mirage initially had trouble facing Sunstreaker, what with having been blamed for his betrayal years earlier, but his anger was soon overcome by the joy of being reunited with old friends. The Autobots then left Earth to return to Cybertron, which according to Rodimus had been restored but conquered by Galvatron. Orphans of the Helix Once back home, they fought against both Galvatron's Sweeps and Megatron's Decepticons. Kings
Post-War
After the battle ended with Cybertron restored to a primordial state and most Decepticons in captivity, Mirage witnessed the disastrous launch of Rodimus's Lost Light. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It He tried to return to a normal life among the unaligned Cybertronians who had returned home following the end of the war, The Autonomy Lesson but when the Decepticons rebelled and tried to conquer Cybertron again, Mirage was injured trying to sneak up on them and had to be carried to the local med-center by Jazz. Plan for Everything Following the attack and defeat of the Necrotitan, Mirage celebrated with Sideswipe and Sunstreaker, the latter having returned aboard the Lost Light, the group's differences with one another a thing of the past at last. The Becoming Mirage was displeased with the results of Megatron's trial, believing the former Decepticon should have been executed outright. Full Circle
Joining the Light
Mirage decided to join the crew of the Lost Light on its second departure from Cybertron; given a tour of the vessel by Crosscut, he was decidedly unimpressed by the much-lauded Swerve's bar. No Guns, No Swords, No Briefcases Once the ship was airborne and off on its way once more, Mirage and several others attempted to eavesdrop on Rung's psychiatric examination of the ship's unlikely new co-captain, Megatron himself. Towards Peace When the ship encountered a coffin floating in outer space, Mirage helped bring it in, Words Hang in the Air kickstarting a chain of events that caused the ship itself to disappear and forcing Mirage and the rest of the crew to evacuate. Predestination: A Beginner's Guide
A while after the event was all sorted out and Brainstorm's plans to change the past were stopped, Mirage addressed the issues he felt with Swerve's by opening his own bar named "Visages". Because of an incident that had occurred at Swerve's when Brainstorm poisoned everyone's drinks, Mirage's bar flourished, but Swerve got his own back at the upper-class Autobot by suggesting that Megatron read some of his poetry at "Visages"—which caused its patrons to abandon it in droves, flooding back to Swerve's. Our Steps Will Always Rhyme Mirage joined may other Autobots, when Rodimus gave news of Thunder Clash's prewake The Sensuous Frame At some point, Getaway and/or Atomizer approached Mirage and asked whether or not he would stand with them in a mutiny against Megatron. Mirage responded that he would. Full Circle
Bar management soon became the least of Mirage's concerns, however, as his old condition reared its head again, and he fell unconscious, tormented by dreams of Cybertron, Earth, and the colony world of Caminus burning, scoured by giant figures of flame. Rodimus considered this serious enough to have Mirage sent back to Cybertron, and had the "Protectobots" take a shuttle and escort him back home. The Possible Light Mirage had awoken by the time the group arrived on Cybertron, and he immediately attempted to warn Optimus of what he had seen in his visions, but an attack on Caminus by the renegade Prowl and Devastator tabled the conversation. Mistakes and Mayhem Once the combiner's assault was stopped, Mirage retired to Maccadam's Old Oil House with Ironhide and Sunstreaker, where they talked out their old differences, made amends... and realized that Ironhide had also had the same vision Mirage had experienced. Realizing the danger was not yet over and that the destruction they had foreseen could yet come to pass, the trio tried to bring their information to Optimus Prime as he was visiting Prowl in prison. There, however, they were all caught up in Prowl's activation of the stolen Enigma of Combination, which merged all five Autobots present into "Optimus Maximus". You, Me, and the Universe Within the newborn combiner's shared mindspace, Mirage and the others overcame Prowl's cold logic to unite their way of thinking, and Optimus Maximus put down Prowl's rebellion, then separated so Prowl could be taken into custody. All That Remains Soon after, Mirage and the Protectobots boarded their shuttle to head back to the Lost Light. The Transgressors
Months later, their shuttle finally caught up with the Lost Light where it made a smart crash-landing in Shuttle Bay 4 to discover Getaway was now in command. After a rather tense reunion, Mirage comfortably slipped back into his bartending role at "Visages" selling overpriced and pretentious drinks. Soon after, First Aid called the returnees to "Swerve's" for a private meeting where he confessed his suspicions about the crew's attitudes. Mirage violently defended the crew, noting that the real problem was Megatron dodging his execution before Riptide arrived and explained the truth regarding the mutiny against Team Rodimus. When Getaway's inner circle arrived, Mirage cloaked himself only reappearing to smash a glass against Getaway after Streetwise discovered life cords suspended in engex. Using a table as cover, the returnees ran back to their shuttle only for their ship to be crippled by a proton missile and towed in with a tractor beam before they were all placed in memory loops. Full Circle
Along with Thunderclash, they were soon freed by Riptide. After making a quick trip to the morgue for Ambulon, Mirage acted as forward scout, using his invisibility to scope out the shuttle bay. Finding Getaway there along with a group of security guards, Mirage reported back to the group prompting the Protectobots to form Defensor. When new arrival Star Saber gunned down Thunderclash, Mirage tried to reason with the enforcer and explain the situation only to be gruesomely cleaved in twain by a backhand swipe of the zealot's sword. His death was the final straw for Atomizer who subsequently gave his life to allow Riptide, First Aid, and Thunderclash to escape. Journey's End
