Mirage Retrospective - Can This Autobot Spy Be Trusted?

Sneaking up on Decepticons, this Autobot spy, Mirage has one of the coolest abilities ever - Invisibility and illusions. However, many have wondered, can he be trusted? He's now made his big screen debut in Rise of the Beasts. Perhaps he will see more time in the spotlight!
This video remasters the original Retrospective posted on Feb 14, 2020.
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[@geechie-don7157]

Sweet retrospective. And nobody but Cliff Jumper started all that “don’t trust Mirage” shit 😂. On another note, how freaking strong is Cliff Jumper to pick up and toss Mirage with such ease!!

[@texasbeast239]

With an original function of counter-intelligence, it doesn't seem like Mirage should be thought of as a spy, but more as a spy buster. His job would be to observe for Decepticon spies, and hunt them down. Or to jam their equipment frequencies. Or perhaps to stage decoy events to waste their resources and distract them from more sensitive operations. I like to think of him as a loyalist to the wealthy ruling class of Cybertron that Optimus used to defend and Megatron railed against. Mirage is like a Torry in the history of the American colonies.

[@MrPomelo555]

Cool analysis!

[@oya9984]

Mirage: *breathes* Cliffjumper: TRAITOR

[@GlitchanBlack]

The eponymous episode in a nutshell.

[@mariaisabelg4701]

Fully anticipated the "ship was full" joke and I still laugh at it lol. I liked that even among the Autobots, there's still nuance among them despite being the good guys. Mirage may be on the good side and his loyalty is no doubt always with the Autobots, his motivations are much more selfish as he wants nothing more than to return to Cybertron. The fact he almost joined the Decepticons in the Marvel comics is such a cool standout moment. With an op ability like invisibility, Mirage is such a unique character with the likes of Hound. What a funky formula race car that turns invisible and transforms with questionable motivations, I like him fr.

[@TheOneTrueDragonKing]

Yeah, that one's a classic. Even when you anticipate it, it still gives at least a chuckle.

[@PlatinumKnight-je3vy]

Mirage in ROTB was one of the best characters in the movie, hope that we see more of him.

[@twister107]

Relax. He’s Mirage, remember?

[@kaineshigaraki5253]

Mirage in ROTB is basically Jazz [>

[@mr.timusproductions116]

@@kaineshigaraki5253 I mean, sure if you just think Jazz is Porsche One Liner Guy then yeah Mirage is basically just Jazz

[@someonewhocommentsonyoutub3779]

*The best

[@kaineshigaraki5253]

@@mr.timusproductions116 Jazz has been a staple for the Transformers IP. He’s been a Porche for the majority of his time with the franchise. He’s also has always been the lighthearted fun Transformers. That changed once the live action film came out. Yes he was lighthearted, but he was a Pontiac. This new Mirage is lighthearted fun transformer who is a porche. He’s basically jazz. Sad. It would be like if Ironhide in the new film was the stoic leader of the transformers and was a diesel truck [>

[@davidbailey6917]

Fun Fact: Dino's Cemetery Card declares that he is still alive and well!

[@SilverStreak9841uoattob]

Of course, he can be trusted.

[@redalert923]

Same here

[@Traveler-cg7xe]

I agree too

[@obnoxiouslegofan]

In my story, Mirage had the ability to disguise himself as the Decepticon Drench to spy within the Decepticon ranks. When his cover of blown, Mirage escaped and rejoined the Autobots. Because of his role as spy, Mirage was not trusted by Cliffjumper. While his alt mode is a sports car resembling a Pagani, Mirage (just like his Rise of the Beasts counterpart) can assume different alt modes without scanning them.

[@dontemorgan1517]

The suspicious of Mirage being a traitor has become iconic and well known.

[@OhNyoCringe78]

There is an imposter among us

[@Blastertronus]

On the topic of Pete Davidson. In the 2021 Suicide Squad film, his character Blackguard, betrayed his team at the beginning of the film. And Mirage, whom Pete portrayed in the Rise of the Beast film, Is, as you said, often accused as a traitor in most media. I’m pretty sure that this is a huge coincidence.

[@Karlos1234ify]

Because of 1 episode, the fandom hadn’t let Mirage live it down. Like Hotrod getting Optimus killed,

[@SilverStreak9841uoattob]

Yeah. Pretty much. And the ironic part is he wasn't even a traitor in that episode

[@RodimusPrimal]

Pretty much. My daughter talks about that episode ALL the time now too.

[@SilverStreak9841uoattob]

@@RodimusPrimal It also doesn't help that was his only Spotlight episode apart from his moment in MTMTE pilot

[@LiamDyC]

​@@SilverStreak9841uoattob Plus, he got sliced and diced by Star Saber in IDW

[@Rodsuper]

G1 Mirage is a true blue Autobot. He will never betray the Autobots as he knows that being a Traitor working for the Decepticons would never make him happy.

[@FTOEPextras]

ALSO. There was an after credits scene where mirage was shown repaired by noah.

[@RodimusPrimal]

That's why I said badly damaged body instead of dying when I talked about the ROTB character since he survived.

[@Nephalem2002]

“Sorry Prime, The ship was full.” *Filmed before a live studio audience!*

[@EclipseWarlord]

It was? How awesome!

[@darthrage1583]

Mirage can be trusted no matter the what. Rotb is the best version of the character I seen so far.

[@Ryder-a-Blaze]

Mirage was the best character in the movie without a doubt, I’m very glad he survived.

[@351cleavland]

DO NOT trust him! I let him stay in my garage and when I woke up the next morning my wallet was gone.

[@EuReeka23]

🤣🤣

[@RodimusPrimal]

Lol. Now you see your wallet. Now you don't!

[@theshadowlord]

Nice video as always. Since Mirage appeared in Rise of the Beasts, I don’t mind seeing Dino as a different character since I thought he was cool. Also with the reveal of some of Attinger’s cards in Age of Extinction, Dino’s doesn’t have an X on it so it might be possible that he’s still alive.

[@twistedgaming9185]

I doubt he'd ever appear again in the movies. His actor, Francesco Quinn, passed away shortly a month after DOTM came out.

[@LiamDyC]

​@@twistedgaming9185 Death by heart attack

[@TRivan-kx2bi]

I'm pretty sure that Rise of the Beast is set in a different continuity than the Michael Bay movies (since rotb is set in the 90s). So Dino and Mirage are basically different versions of the same character.

[@IoriMinaseKana]

What I find funny is in his file it says he can remaind invisable for 6 mins. but I think it was the one from the Golden Lagoon that he told Powerglide that he was there for the last 10 mins in invisable. So that is what I find funny about that.

[@RodimusPrimal]

Good catch!

[@autobotleane8621]

Mirage is my favorite character from G1😁😁😁👍👍👍

[@Jawmax]

That deleted movie scene was him getting pay back on Bombshell.

[@shalgiva]

Mirage was my first Autobot toy as a kid. Thundercracker was my first Transformer.

[@ssmc2112]

Mirage is one of my favorite Transformers characters hands down

[@TFfangeek]

Great video RodimusPrimal!! I know Mirage can be trusted, the problem is that he often times puts his love of Cybertron ahead of helping his teammates during battle. :D Keep on being amazing.

[@johnzillastudio]

Mirage has been my favorite character, the best one will always be G1 because he can turn invisible. Awesome redo Retrospective on my favorite character.👍👍👍👍😁😁😁😁

[@mantomailula4051]

Yaya mirage

[@ultra_marcus]

I was always a fan of Mirage for his heroics at the end of "More Than Meets The Eye". A neat little G1 toy too. Great work Rodimus.

[@sidearmsalpha]

He's always been one of my favorite TFs with his cool race car mode and even his bot mode is one of the best from Season 1. And he single-handedly took down The Nemesis. "The ship was full!" One of my favorite feel-good moments in the entire series.

[@RodimusPrimal]

Well the ship was called the Victory. The Nemesis was later found in the episode Microbots.

[@gabrielchee8470]

I still don't get the lines meaning

[@PawPatrolxTransformers]

Relax, I'm Mirage Remember?

[@ChipmunkRaccoon3]

You're right about Cliffjumper's "apology" being strange.

[@twistedyogert]

He transforms into a vehicle that doesn't exactly blend in. In my opinion that means he's honest about who he is and has nothing to hide.

[@mjjumps]

I wish Mirage would’ve beat the breaks off of Cliffjumper in “Traitor”

[@BakerPrime20]

It was great not having bumblebee be the main Autobot this time and instead having Mirage someone who is not in allot

[@brandonandcharlene9527]

Another awesome retrospective video! Thanks RP. Original Mirage will always be my favorite.

[@Nathainel-oj7cl]

Me and my parents absolutely love mirage in the movie we're hoping he appears in the sequel And thank you for releasing your mirage retrospective reboot its one of my favorite videos of yours and were going through a tough time right now so this is a absolutely treat

[@marleyhenry5616]

He always has a place in my top five favorite autobots. I’d like Mirage,.

[@Ezrimustheblackconvoy]

Yes. The G1 Mirage should be trusted.

[@michaellombardi1620]

I finally got my first Mirage with the Earthrise G2 watermelon Mirage repaint

[@loutzenheiser6081]

Always loved Mirage. And he always proved himself worthy of the Autobot symbol.

[@kathryncampbell9564]

Amazing retrospective. Mirage truly is one of the best.

[@originaleddict]

One of my favorite autobots!

[@redalert923]

I'm hoping maybe mirage will appear in the next series or movie and im thinking maybe Issac Ryan brown will play him

[@javiersantanaaviles5885]

Mirage is the heroe we need and the one we deserve

[@DJDroz-gh5nt]

Didn't see this coming? Well except for your heads-up in the last video.

[@rwberger6]

Its weird seeing all these G2 go-bots as an adult and realizing how many of them I had as a kid.

[@g1optimusprime951]

Great video rodimus keep making transformers content stay safe till all are one

[@johnosbourn4312]

I'd trust Mirage any day.

[@dragonspear570]

Just wanted to point out as a certifiable motorsports freak that post G1 Mirage alt modes closely resemble IndyCars more than they do F1 cars, especially at 14:14 where the rightmost figure's alt mode looks near identical to a modern era IndyCar

[@gejamugamlatsoomanam7716]

When the plot of a single g1 episode becomes a characters best known attribute shows how good g1 was

[@leonigama5597]

good job abou Discussion and Review of Mirage Retrospective including Rise of the Beasts 2023 from Transformers

[@Robizoid]

E gad, no wonder Cliffjumper accused Mirage of being a traitor. But hey, he was ultimately the Autobot who saved the day in the end!

[@Steven-ip8xo]

Hi Rodimus,Great video about Mirage Retrospective-Can This Autobot Spy Be Trusted? Keep them coming, Also your latest Video being Remastered is also magnificent, Also Mirage in ROTB was one of the best characters in the movie, I hope we see more of him.Sweet Retrospective And nobody but CilffJumper started all that "don't trust Mirage" shit 😂. On another note, how freaking but awesomely strong is Cliff Jumper to pick up and toss Mirage with such ease! Also my favorite version/Variant version of Mirage is the G1 Cartoon Version of Mirage, Also The G1 Cartoon Version of Mirage is always been one of my favorite TF's with his cool race car mode and even his bot mode is one of the best from Season 1. And he single-handedly took down The Nemesis. "The Ship was full" One of my favorite feel good moments in the entrie series. Also the ship was called the Victory. The Nemesis was later found in the episode Microbots.Also Mirage is not only one of my favorite Autobots but also one of my favorite Transformers of all time, Also Mirage is one of my favorite Transformers characters hands down, When The Autobots disguised themselves as Decepticons, their chosen identities were very fitting. Also Nice Video as always.Also Amazing Retrospective. Mirage truly is one of the best. Also He transforms into a vehicle that doesn't exactly blend in. In my opinion that means he's honest about who he is and has nothing to hide. Also Mirage can and will be trusted no matter what. Besides the G1 Cartoon Version of Mirage, The ROTB is The best version of the character I seen so far.Also Great video Rodimus! I know Mirage can be trusted. The problem is that he often times puts his love of Cybertron ahead of helping his teammates during battle. Keep on being Amazing. Also Mirage has been my favorite character, the best one will always be G1 because he can turn invisible. Awesome but superb Retrospective on my favorite character.👍👍👍🙂🙂🙂 Also G1 Cartoon Mirage is a true blue Autobot. He will never betray the Autobots as he knows that being a Traitor working for the Decepticons would never make him happy.Also the following information is from 1.Transformers Universe(limited, mini-series)#2(of)4(January 1986,1987),2.TransFormers More Than Meets The Eye(limited maxi-series)#4(of)8(August,2003), 3. Transformers The Ark Volume 1 Trade PaperBack(2007), They are: Allegiance:(as of 2023): Autobot, Function/Primary Function:(as of 2023):Counter Intelligence,Autobot Spy, Transformation:(as of 2023): Race Car(Ligier JS-11 Racer) Mirage is also an Autobot Freedom Fighter an Effective fighter. Effective intelligence gatherer and one of the best hand to hand combat guys ever and also has a shoulder mounted electro-disruptor, as well, Also thank you Rodimus not only for sharing but also thank you for releasing your Mirage Retrospective reboot, All I can say is: keep up the good work stay safe out there in Florida, have a good night have a Happy labor day and until next time TILL ALL ARE ONE.🙂🟢💪🦸🏋️🇺🇲👍🙂✌️🤓🤩 10:53 pm.

[@scottdoesntmatter4409]

the davidson version certainly didn't ACT like mirage! Or sound like him.

[@isaacmm1407]

Mirage, one of my favorites, I think he is just highly misunderstood and probably one single misfit battling for a cause that he embraces well in his own peculiar way, the Autobot cause.

[@RyanHipp]

Still gives me ocd to this day that Prowl is a military strategist and not Hound. That Hound creates mirages and not Mirage. And Mirage turns invisible and not Prowl.

[@KamenRiderSeiryuXV0]

Mirage was my fave and Ligier JS11 F1 first toy my mother bought while my sister wanted Convoy/Optimus during G1 era. In Japanese version name is Rije.

[@matthewreynoso6904]

I think Mirage was definitively done justice in Rise of the Beasts compared to Dark of the Moon!

[@jeffreyseay7707]

I'm still wondering if there will be a Studio Series 86 Mirage toy, as well as how soon with respect to the cashless society. Studio Series 86 and vintage 80's are the only kinds of TF toys I am interested in, as I'm big enough on the G1 style to buy it exclusively and do not possess the income necessary for MasterPiece toys. At least SS 86, like MasterPiece, has most small parts eliminated with respect to vintage 80's, although not as many as MasterPiece. I know this because I've seen quite a few MasterPiece transformation instuction tutorial videos, at least. And I must say they're fun to watch

[@RazyelKayneReviews]

Great Remaster, you've added all the news stuff and I even noticed your pronunciation of Gitanes was perfect. I remember you telling me people wrote comments about that on the original retro. People have too much time on their hands. Great work again, you nailed it!

[@cjparks7881]

I definitely gotta buy his toy.

[@antoneydilley1670]

I think Mirage is just misunderstood & actually is a true fighter when it comes to it able to outdo prime or megs & more than capable I could understand why what ever side he could be on Autobot or Decepticon he could be just a problem but his loyalty to which could be questionable? He could become a problem or the one you count on, that's just my take on him?

[@thehoopsobserver9078]

Bro that Cliffjumper “apology” was even random to me back in the day haha

[@thehoopsobserver9078]

Great video. I like this new more youthful take on Mirage that has been on display recently (NETFLIX WFC & ROTB). The OG will always have a soft spot. Especially after the “ship was full joke”, but as far as new takes on the characters go, this was a good idea.

[@A-0-K-GAMER]

I found it weird that title wave and Mirage are the same person that Mirage is a decepticon in that continuity

[@shebakoby]

Interestingly enough, the ability Shrapnel (Metal Cutter in the GBA version) in Final Fantasy VI (III for SNES), can go through and cancel the invisible status (while doing damage), which makes sense given that Shrapnel's shrapnel nailed Mirage while invis AND forced him out of Invis.

[@marleyhenry5616]

I love that guy that’s like me sometimes I question where my loyalty lies and I get home sick to

[@robertfrazier6563]

Despite some of the Autobots thinks of him Mirage can be trusted

[@mindwipe8788]

I renamed the G2 Mirage into Night-Runner, which I think might be a more appropriate name for a bot with such a neon color scheme. His catchphrase would be “ Night racing a cinch when I’m on the track”, His bio reads “Amongst the other bots on Velocitron Night-Runner is the one who runs his fastest in the night races and whoa to any Decepticon that thinks otherwise”.

[@g1optimusprime951]

Mirage some time make mistakes but he never betade he's fellow autobots

[@blueraccoon1088]

19:11 i do agree but why didn't they give him the alterators form?

[@frankiefingerz8047]

I feel mirage is to b trusted he just wanted to get back to cybertron more than the rest of em he can teleport so he appears sneaky if another autobot had that ability they would appear the same so mirage gets a bad rep

[@reaperstalkerpeeperleviath7324]

Mirage can be trusted I don’t know if he can be trusted

[@bobsav76]

Mirage is a great character, like James Bond but a robot.

[@diegos7337]

I think he is not a traitor... But he deserves more screen time!

[@MarkDemeo]

I get in the movie wanting his alt mode to be a street legal car. However why a Porsche,of all the cars in the world, there's tons of other options they could have chosen. Jazz is a Porsche not Mirage. This movie takes place before the Bayformers,so you could have just brought Jazz back.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

And the friendship with a Hispanic male human was Tracks' thing, not Mirage's

[@MarkDemeo]

@@KasumiKenshirou it's annoying that they just use character names and don't bother making the cartoon character and movie counterpart anything alike. Also what's with the character that was a VW van,why wasn't that Ironhide, another missed opportunity.

[@anthonysanchez8630]

He is one of the original ones and A good looking bot once again thanks for the review

[@alexanderstrauch5531]

Good to know that the random vehicon I had was Mirage all along lol

[@LorenzoDoesntExist]

RotB pretty much get nothing right about Mirage and made him the human's BFF like Bumblebee for marketing to children. It would've made much more sense of RotB Mirage were Jazz.

[@RodimusPrimal]

Apparently he was a bit more straightforward in the script but this was changed when Pete Davidson was cast in the role.

[@kendrickvieraramos]

Well in the new transformers cinematic universe I’m planning is that in the early days of the war mirage was a decepticon but due to mirage seeing many corpses of dead cybertronians so he opened his eyes eventually it was too late so one of the decepticons shot mirage thus severely injuring mirage and he was thrown into a pile of dead corpses but there was hope he was taken to autobot base by wheeljack and he was on life support thus waking up from injury and he was he tried running away thus bumping to bulkhead and he scratched his head well that is just part 1 of the origin story

[@shebakoby]

I had a theory that the reason Mirage wasn't trusted is because somewhere in his lineage/makeup there's Decepticon. I mean look at that headsculpt, it just screams "Decepticon Jet".

[@gabrielchee8470]

Nah, it's just the original profile and the episode "Traitor". I mean the latter also kinda made people think, according to Chris McFeely, that cliffjumper is "surly, short tempered" which he wasn't in most of G1 apparently.

[@skuffy4930]

Something you forgot to mention about ROTB Mirage: In a post credits scene it was revealed that he had been rebuilt.

[@RodimusPrimal]

Didn't mention it because it was technically a spoiler. However I said badly damaged body and not killed as others say to allude to that.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

G1 Mirage can make himself invisible but I doubt he can hide the noises of his heavy walks.

[@DavidSamuelBl10]

1:01 -Cybertronian delightful, *RodimusPrimal.😄*

[@MrPomelo555]

« Cliffjumper gave Mirage the strangest of apologies » 😂😂😂

[@Traveler-cg7xe]

Cool video, love how people giving him the love he deserves. But I notice nobody talks about animated mirage.

[@dalemcconnell-zt4dn]

I was the first one to like

[@DeconvertedMan]

I could have sworn I saw this one in the distance, but as I got closer, turns out it wasn't even real! O_O;

[@RodimusPrimal]

Now you see me. Now you don't.

[@DeconvertedMan]

@@RodimusPrimal ya know what would help to see him? A mircoscope! :D :D :D (hint hint) ^_^

[@PRIMUS37K]

A awesome review! 👍🏾❤️

[@blueraccoon1088]

I'm gonna be honest I made my oc stealthief with a cloak, holoshifter for disguise, decoy holograms and emp who is not autobot nor decepticon. But a mutual thief. A sly Cooper tried

[@shebakoby]

someone online suggested that Mirage's voice sounded like Gregory Peck. Maybe someone should ask Frank Welker if voice director Wally Burr did in fact give him voice direction to this effect, similar to how Wally instructed Hound (Ken Sansom) to sound like Jimmy Stewart, and Tracks (Michael McConnohie) to sound like Thurston Howell III.

[@captainfantastic9158]

In The Transformers Trilogy, the Hardwired/Annihilation/Fusion series set in the Dreamwave Universe, Optimus is talking to the Bots in the Ark. I don't have the books in front of me, but I believe there was a heated discussion about either the Cons or the series' humans trying to control them, and Mirage - snobby, attitudey, rich bot Mirage - was blatantly disrespecting Prime, threatening to quit and storm out. At which point Prime grabbed him and threw him up against Teletraan-1 and told him to get back in line! I remember thinking, "You've got to be some kind jerkbot to upset Optimus Prime so much that you've got him acting like MEGATRON!" XD

[@dzanannovalic5166]

This has nothing to do with the video, but fun fact: There's an official transformers character called ' Rodimus Primal' , he was originally meant to be an Optimal Optimus recolour exclusive to Botcon 2000, but was scrapped, later being canonized by an Ask Vector Prime post explaining him to be from an alternate universe where the ghost of Starscream defeated BW Megatron during the Beast wars.

[@hendrix7948]

Mirage is the GOAT!

[@mattwarner3611]

If Mirage and Dino characters were separate like Que and WheelJack? I'll be awesome.

[@bradleyconrad2141]

Mirage is actually my second favorite character in Transformers G1, as his character in the very first episode was absolutely fantastic and his other appearances were memorable. It was also really cool he was in the War For Cybertron Netflix series, though it did bother me he had not only his invisibility, but also the holograms and force field powers that Hound and Trailbreaker have in the G1 show, but again, I say one cool thing was his Decepticon disguise. Overall a fantastic character nonetheless.

[@phillyman2837]

When the Autobots disguised themselves as Decepticons, their chosen identities were very fitting 👍

[@Fenrir72]

Mirage is the robot version of Oliver Queen! Rich liberal with a heart(spark) of gold or electrum!😉

[@Deathfights5x]

Actually Dino/mirage is still alive because there is a kill card but it doesn’t have a x or eliminated so he is still alive

[@floydlawton288]

This whole time I thought Mirage in the movie was using headmaster technology right here 19:23

[@JGreen-le8xx]

Seeing as he's voiced by Megatron, the answer is NO!