User:Mathewignash/Mirage (other incarnations)

Mirage is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. This page is for later characters named Mirage. For the initial character named Mirage see Mirage (Transformers).

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.

3H Enterprises
The 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.

Toys

 * Beast Machines Basic Mirage (1999)
 * Beast Machines Mirage features pressure-launching missiles, and was later repainted and released in as part of the Robots in Disguise line, as an Autobot named Mirage GT (see below).
 * Plans existed to remold and redeco the toy into the Autobot bounty hunter, Devcon, to be released as an exclusive for a future BotCon. By extension, the toy would have been a Transformers: Universe figure, but plans were abandoned when 3H Enterprises lost the license to the hold the convention. Although the toy was not produced, the character did appear in the Transformers: Universe - Wreckers comic series.

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

Animated series
Mirage 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.

Toys

 * Car Robots Spy Changer Counter Arrow (2000)
 * A redeco of the toy previously released as Generation 2 Mirage released as part of the Car Robots line in Japan by Takara. Instead of a standard Autobot logo on his chest it features a heat-sensitive rub-symbol of the logo.


 * Car Robots Jusco Clear Counter Arrow (2000)
 * A Jusco store exclusive of Counter Arrow redone in clear blue and green plastic.


 * Spy Changer Mirage (2001)
 * A slight redeco of Counter Arrow, particularly change to a painted Autobot logo to his chest.
 * The toy, originally sold in a two-pack with Ironhide and packaged with a Tiny Tin.


 * Kaybee Clear Mirage (2001)
 * A Kaybee store exclusive with clear plastic replacing the white, representing Mirage as he turns invisible.


 * Kaybee Clear Mirage Recolor (2001)
 * A Kaybee store exclusive with green and blue (the opposite of the Jusco Counter Arrow) clear plastic replacing the white, representing Mirage as he turns invisible. This toy was later repackaged in the Transformers: Universe line as a new form og Generation 1 Mirage.


 * Car Robots Super Counter Arrow (2003)
 * A red recolor of Counter Arrow available only in blind packaged boxes in Japan which represent Counter Arrow powered up by Ultra Magnus. Addly, this and all following Takara versions of Counter Arrow would have the painted Autobot symbol added by Hasbro for Mirage.


 * Car Robots Clear Super Counter Arrow (2003)
 * A recolor of Super Counter Arrow available only in blind packaged boxes in Japan which represent Counter Arrow powered up by Ultra Magnus and going invisible.

Transformers: Robots in Disguise (Mirage GT)
When 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 of which was Mirage GT.

Toys

 * Robots in Disguise Mirage GT (2002)
 * A yellow/black redeco of Beast Machines Mirage as an Autobot named Mirage GT, sold in a three-pack with Nightcruz and Scavenger (also repaints of Beast Machines vehicon toys). The toy was exclusive to the Robots in Disguise line, not having been a part of Car Robots and hence the character did not appear in the animated series; and without a profile, it is unclear whether or not Mirage GT is intended to be the same character as the existing Robots in Disguise Mirage or any other character by that name.

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.

Animated series
As 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.

Dreamwave Productions
Mirage 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.

Cybertron story
Mirage ended up on 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.

Toys

 * Armada Race Team Mirage (2002)
 * Packaged with Dirt Boss and Downshift as the Race Team, Mirage's mold is based on an earlier figure, Swindle – the transformation of the toy is identical, aside from an additional waist swivel, but every piece is molded differently – and, naturally, transforms into a Formula One racing car. He can combine with the rest of the Mini-Con Race Team into the Skyboom Shield.
 * Mirage was recolored in green and black to become the Japanese exclusive figure, Topgear, available only with the third DVD volume release of the series. His teammates were also released in such a manner, as "Midship" and "Tailside", and together, the "Speed Chaser Team," as they were dubbed, could combine into the "Magnawing," and featured in the Linkage manga included with the DVDs as servants of Unicron.
 * The original version of Armada Mirage (and the rest of the Race Team) was repackaged individually with a collectible Tiny Tin.


 * Armada Road Assault Mirage (2003)
 * The Race Team was later redecoed in red and white as the Road Assault Team. In Japan, Mirage was later redecoed in blue and white.
 * The Road Assault Mini-Con Team was repackaged with the Space Team as a discount six pack of Mini-Cons under the Energon label. These toys were identical to the Armada version.


 * Cybertron Mirage (2005)
 * A recolor of Armada Mini-Con Mirage in a Tiny-Tin was released as a promotional item inside the boxes for Hot Shot and Override as a Wal-Mart exclusive promotion. While this seemed like a novel way to keep Mini-Cons in the Unicron Trilogy toy and story lines, neither Cybertron’s Hot Shot, nor Override had Mini-Con powerlink points on them.

Transformers: Energon
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.

Animated series
When 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.

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.

Pack-in mini-comics
Mirage 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.

Toys

 * Transformers: Armada - Tidal Wave (2002-2004)
 * The original form of Mirage, the massive Decepticon battleship, Tidal Wave, was available in a variety of colors. As originally designed for the Transformers: Armada toyline, he was purple and grey, but large amounts of green were later added to the toy. The animators of the television series, however, did not learn of this change until they had rendered Tidal Wave in his original color scheme for the series, so while the American toy had the green components, the Japanese release of the figure chose to use the original design in the name of show accuracy. When re-released in the Transformers: Energon toyline, he was now rendered in whites and translucent greens, with lightning-bolt scars that the animated series blamed on exposure to raw Energon.


 * Tidal Wave is formed of three separate ship components - a troop carrier, an aircraft carrier and a twin-bowed gunboat. These three vessels can link together to form one giant battleship, which can then transform into Tidal Wave, or they can individual merge with the Armada Megatron or Galvatron toy. Tidal Wave has two firing missiles in his gunboat section, and his Mini-Con partner, Ramjet, activates rotating gun turrets.


 * Transformers: Energon - Mirage (2004)
 * Mirage is one of the more complex toys of the line, and features spring-loaded hyper-power cannons with accompanying electronic sounds. The figure was later recolored into Dreadwing, his own clone, as part of the Energon line.

Transformers
Mirage 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 the movie-style exposed facial robotics and joints.

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.

Fun Publications
Mirage gets interviewed by Andromeda in Around Cybertron #6.

Toys
While no toy of this Mirage was made, his appearance is based on the Japanese exclusive Henkei! Electron Disruptor Ligier toy.