Mirage (G1)


 * Mirage is an Autobot in the Generation 1 continuity family.



Mirage is what humans call "old money." Before the war, he was a member of affluent Cybertronian society, with his own large estate and high-priced friends. He enjoyed the finer things in life: vintage energon, swank evening events, and turbofox hunts on the grounds. But when the war started, he was forced to choose sides and found himself banded with a group of commoners he didn't really understand.

Some of the other Autobots don't trust Mirage. He feels the war, even after all these millions of years, is beneath him. War is not, after all, how civilized, erudite beings conduct themselves. He often questions the Autobots' violent means, and not-so-secretly hopes they and the Decepticons can get along. Because of this, he has been labelled by a few others as a Decepticon sympathizer. Still, he sided with the Autobots for a reason, and he is there for the Autobots when they need him.

Although the details vary by continuity, Mirage has the ability to create illusions which typically either render him invisible or make him appear to be somewhere he isn't.

He sounds like Dean Martin.


 * Hungarian name: Délibáb ("Mirage")
 * Japanese name: Ligier (リジェ, ri-je), Rijie (Robot Masters)
 * Italian name: Mistero
 * Portuguese name (Brazil comic): Miragem
 * Portuguese name (Portugal comic): Miragem

Generation 1
Mirage was one of the Autobots on board the Ark when it crashed, and was subsequently reactivated in 1984. At first, Mirage was reluctant to full-on attack his Decepticon opponents, instead trying to reason with them. However, after a battle with the relentless Ravage, Mirage learned that sometimes diplomacy is not an option.

''During an accident on the Ark, Brawn suffered an extreme neuro-shock, causing him to rebel and turn against his teammates. Mirage helped the Autobots hunt him down and tranquilize him. This same accident also amplified Mirage's ability to create illusions, which he later used to trick the Decepticons into believing that a duel between Brawn and Starscream ended with Brawn's death. The Decepticons felt totally stupid.''

In the wake of a disastrous mission to rescue Optimus Prime's captive head from the Decepticons, most of the Autobots were rendered inoperative. Mirage was one of a handful of Autobots who remained active, accompanying Optimus and various newer Autobots on several subsequent missions.

Mirage lucked out during the Dinobot Hunt -- he was assigned to B-Team, whose quarry, Snarl, was knocked out by the destruction of a human military base, leaving him inert and easy to capture.

Long after, he was blown to pieces by Octane during an Arctic battle arranged by Starscream. He recovered in time to be destroyed again in New York City by Starscream himself (empowered by the Underbase).

Generation 2
Disobeying Optimus Prime's orders, Grimlock led a covert team (which included Mirage) onto the Cybertronian Empire ship Twilight to defeat Jhiaxus and his army of "evolved Decepticons." Grimlock's plan was an utter failure, ending in Red Alert's death and the Autobots' capture. Mirage was destroyed by enemy fire during the following prison break.

American cartoon continuity

 * Voice actor: Frank Welker (US), Takurō Kitagawa (Japan)

Mirage was part of the bridge crew of the Ark when it crash-landed on Earth four million years ago. A volcanic eruption in 1984 awakened the Ark's inhabitants, including Mirage, who was reformatted by Teletraan I to have a terrestrial alternate mode of a Formula-1 racer. With the battle against the Decepticons now transplanted to Earth, Mirage still hated warfare. He longed to return to Cybertron and simply turn his back to the evil Decepticons, but his loyalty to Optimus Prime kept him in the fight.

Mirage was instrumental in stopping the Decepticons from returning to Cybertron after amassing enough energon from Earth. The Decepticons had constructed a new star cruiser and were in the process of flying home to tip the scales of the war in their favor. Mirage used his cloaking ability to sneak aboard the Decepticon ship. He uncloaked and opened fire, blasting away at the ship's controls. He then bailed from the doomed cruiser, floating back to Earth's surface on a parasail as the Decepticons crashed into the ocean. Optimus Prime asked Mirage why he -- homesick and war-weary Autobot that he was -- did not hitch the ride back home. Mirage responded, affirming his loyalty to the Autobots, "The ship was... full."

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 scouted caused Cliffjumper to leap the incorrect conclusion that Mirage had concealed the information and was a traitor to the Autobots. During a battle with the Decepticons at the site, Mirage was injured, but managed to rip a Decepticon seal off Skywarp. 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 apologized to Mirage.

Toward 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 Decepticon 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. Though the deception was soon revealed, they were still able to thwart the Decepticons’ plans.

Dreamwave comics continuity
When Shockwave came to Earth and announced that the Autobot/Decepticon wars were over and that the two factions had been united, Mirage was one of the first to fall in with the new regime. The rest of the Autobots were wary of this development, and so a few (especially Cliffjumper) considered Mirage a traitor.

Mirage quickly realigned himself with the Autobot cause when Shockwave's true plan was revealed, and Cliffjumper seemed to forgive him, as Mirage had saved Cliffjumper from Dirge by sneaking up on him invisibly.

Binaltech
Mirage volunteered for an experimental new Binaltech upgrade that boosted the power chip rectifier in his revamped body to the Nth degree, making him permanently invisible thanks to his electro-disruptor. This proved to be key in a special mission conceived of by Optimus Prime and Prowl. Having uncovered several secrets from the files of the time-traveling Ravage, the Autobots learned of a mysterious switch hidden away on Cybertron which, when pulled, would instantaneously immobilize all Transformers throughout the universe. Having lost Cybertron to Megatron's tyrannical rule and facing considerable odds in the Sol System as well, Prime decided it was necessary to activate the switch in order to end the war.

With Tracks and several Smokescreen GTs awaiting his signal as back-up, Mirage invisibly infiltrated Decepticon-controlled Cybertron and made his way to the switch. After throwing the switch, though, Mirage was surprised to find that he was still mobile. It seemed the Binaltech warriors (both Autobot and Decepticon) were significantly different enough from regular Transformers to be unaffected by the immobilization wave. With the Autobots now vastly outnumbering the Decepticons still in operation, the tide of the war had irreparably shifted.

IDW comics continuity
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.

Mirage was haunted repeatedly by dreams of being a Decepticon. Or actually is a Decepticon from another universe who, after helping kill the last Autobots, got blown back through time and space to the main universe. Or via Zodiac energy has gained flashbacks of an alternate Decepticon Mirage. God knows what's going on there.

Generation 1

 * Mirage (Autobot Car, 1984/1986/1991)
 * Japanese ID number: 07
 * Accessories: "Rocket-Dart Hunting Rifle", missile launcher, 3 missiles


 * Mirage was part of the original 1984 Autobot car assortment. His mold was originally used for a Diaclone F-1 Ligier JS-11 racer. The toy was specifically designed to work with the launcher mechanism contained in the Optimus Prime / Battle Convoy trailer. This toy is easily broken at the waist pivot. The labels on the toy are references to several real-world companies. The largest name, Citanes, is a deliberate corruption of Gitanes, a French cigarette company. (Quite unusual for a child's toy, but not the only cigarette reference in Diaclone.) The toy included Gitanes' logo of a dancing gypsy woman on what ends up as Mirage's belt in robot form. "Ligier" is the name of the company that manufactured the JS-11 chassis and fielded the team, traditionally wearing 25 and 26 on the F1 grid, while "elf" is a reference to a French oil company that has since merged with TotalFina to become TotalFinaElf.


 * In 1986, he was made available as a mail-away item (as he was no longer shipping to retail shelves) in multiple offers, including a Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction flier packed with most boxed Transformers toys. He cost $8 and two robot points. In Japan Mirage was also included in the 1986 Goodbye Convoy gift set. This was the final release of the mold, making Mirage the only one of the original Autobots not to have been reissued in some form.


 * Hasbro and/or Takara have announced that the mold for Mirage is either lost or damaged, so a reissue is unlikely. This presumably excludes the molds obtained by certain Chinese companies to produce several Mirage "perfect" bootlegs in a variety of flavors including original, clear, smoke, and red, based on the ultra-rare version from the Diaclone Powered Convoy giftset.

Generation 2

 * Mirage (Go-Bot, 1995)
 * Accessories: Gun
 * Mirage was released in 1995 as a black and yellow recolor of the Go-Bot Double Clutch. He was also planned to be released as a flipchanger, but the Generation 2 line was canceled to make way for Beast Wars. The unreleased mold was first used in Machine Wars.


 * This mold was also used to make Robots in Disguise Mirage.

Machine Wars

 * Mirage (Basic, 1997)
 * Accessories: Gun


 * Mirage's form in Machine Wars transforms into a blue and white Ligier JS39 Formula 1 race car. Like the other Machine Wars basics, the toy is a flipchanger (having a one-step, spring-loaded transformation), and his weapons are hidden in his alt mode. Unlike most of the Machine Wars toys, the head looks very similar to his G1 form. This is because the mold was originally designed as Mirage for Generation 2.


 * This mold was also used to make Prowl and Skid-Z.



Robot Masters

 * Rijie (Basic, 2004)
 * Japanese ID number: RM-03
 * Accessories: Gun


 * This toy used the Machine Wars mold, but in much more Generation 1 colors.


 * Because of legal reasons, "Ligier" could not be used for the name of the Robot Masters toy, so "Rijie", which has the same pronunciation in Japan, was used instead. Curiously, the toy's instructions still identify it as "Ligier".

Alternators

 * Mirage (Alternator, 2006)
 * Alternator ID number: 22
 * Accessories: Engine/tonfa weapons


 * Alternators Mirage transforms into a finely detailed 1:24 scale replica of a Ford GT, featuring opening doors, engine bay and trunk, with a realistic interior. As with most Alternators, his car body is mostly unpainted, but the metallic-flake deep blue plastic makes this hard to see.


 * Featuring an innovative, different robot mode, Mirage is not a straight re-interpretation of the original Mirage's robot mode, due to the completely different types of vehicles. But coincidentally the Ford GT's hood features a shape that echoes a F1-type racing car's nose and front spoiler. His engine's supercharger forms two separate tonfa weapons that can also be interpereted as guns.


 * Mirage was redecoed into Hot Rodimus for the Kiss Players line, which was further redecoed into Alternators Rodimus. Later in 2007, he was redecoed in clear plastic colours to represent his 'invisibility mode' as an e-Hobby exclusive in the Binaltech line.

Universe

 * Mirage (Spy Changer, 2006)
 * Accessories: Gun


 * For Universe, Mirage is identical to the last Kay-Bee exclusive redeco of Robots In Disguise Mirage, transforming into a translucent green Lola Indy car. He was available only on an individual card from discount chains like The Dollar Store.

Classics

 * Mirage (Classics Deluxe, 2006)
 * Accessories: Gun/front spoiler


 * Classics Mirage was released in November 2006 in wave 2, along with the shortpacked Grimlock. He transforms into a closed-canopy Formula racer concept car. Mirage's paint details contain a few Transformers in-jokes in the form of sponsor logos such as "Witwicky Sparkplugs" and "Lithonian Drivetrain."  Additionally, his racing number is still 26, as it was on the original toy.  Other logos, which include "Plasma Injection Energy" and "F.P. Racing," refer to "pie" and the initials of the deco artist's super-secret non-gay friendship cult, respectively.


 * His robot mode is a lithe upgrade of his original form, now capable of a wide range of agile motion; he is by far the "dancer" of the Classics line. The front detaches to become a handheld electro-disruptor weapon which is said to be able to create illusions and allow him to appear invisible. (This is a reconciliation of Mirage's illusion-creation ability from his original tech spec profile and his invisibility power from the animated series.)


 * Hologram Mirage (BotCon, 2007)
 * Accessories: Gun/front spoiler


 * A redeco of Classics Mirage in translucent and opaque blue, Mirage was available only as a "freebie" gift to attendees at BotCon 2007.

Binaltech

 * Rijie (e-Hobby exclusive, 2007)
 * Japanese ID number: BT-18
 * Accessories: Engine/tonfa weapons
 * Rijie is a redeco of Alternators Mirage using mostly transparent plastic. The toy was exclusively available from e-Hobby in September 2007.


 * Even though Takara had briefly contemplated releasing a Hot Rodimus (Hot Rod) remold of Alternators Mirage as the next Binaltech toy after Ginrai (both toys would ultimately come out as part of the Kiss Players line instead), they apparently never created any diecast molds for the Ford GT sculpt. To justify the absence of diecast parts from a Binaltech toy, Takara decided to use clear plastic parts to represent an "invisible" mode, officially called an "Electro-Disrupter" (sic!) mode on the packaging.

Henkei! Henkei! Transformers

 * Rijie (Deluxe, 2008)
 * Japanese ID number: C-04
 * Accessories: Gun/front spoiler


 * Henkei! Henkei! Transformers Rijie is a redeco of Classics Mirage. In an effort to make him appear more accurate to Mirage's cartoon appearances, Rijie lacks most of the sponsorship tampographs that appeared on Classics Mirage. As with all Henkei toys, he lacks the heat-sensitive rubsign seen on the Classics version, but features vacuum-metallized parts: his rear spoiler and his front spoiler.

Robot Heroes

 * Mirage Vs Starscream (2007)
 * Mirage is a two-inch-high robot sculpted in super deformed style with articulation at the head and shoulders.


 * Decepticon Sneak Attack (2007)
 * Hologram Mirage is recolor of the two-pack Mirage cast in transparent blue with slightly different paint details.

Trivia

 * Mirage is absent from the fictional events of 2005 and 2006 without explanation; a storyboarded scene from The Transformers: The Movie featuring Mirage was cut from the finished film. Amidst the transformation of Autobot City, Mirage was to ambush the Insecticon Bombshell and then be fired upon by Megatron. Whether or not this would have killed Mirage is not made clear, but given the film's casual body count, it seems highly probable.