Actually, IDW's take on Cybertronian history really works well with Mirage's questionable motivations. Being a rich snob, Mirage sided with the Autobots for the "wrong reasons"... because the Decepticons were dismantling the old social order and he wanted to maintain the elitist status quo. Now, after all these years, he finds himself in an informal faction of populists and freedom fighters that he has little in common with. He's essentially stuck with the same kind of riff raff he wanted to see relegated to slums and mining colonies back before the war. That could put some serious doubt on his loyalties.

zmog

 

That'd be a great take on him! Wish Roberts or Barbers would give him some exposure after Dark Cybertron!

 

Actually both ideas and the fact can work together. Also would explain his involvement in the New Institute or even Shadowplayed. It was his questionable Mirage loyalties to the Autobots could cause him to be Shadowplayed. Remember that Shadowplay was done on members of the Autobots who were loyalties are in doubt. Roberts hinted that with a panel showing bot Pharma and Mirage.

Either way I would like to see Mirage more in the comics either with Roberts or Barbar.

 

I wish Barber would hurry up and do something with him. Mirage has never been really used well in any comic.

 

It's a shame too since he really is a colourful character that could be used really well in most stories.

 

How about mirage is never invisible but shadowplays other bots memories of them seeing him or sometimes he alters others memories to make himself look really heroic like say when he single handedly stopped the decepticons flying to cybertron in the g1 cartoon (now that's what I call a retcon)

 

I think we need to retcon shadowplay. And attention deflectors.  

zmog

 

I wouldn't say retcon Shadowplay, more draw a line under it and move on, but we know what James is like for hanging onto things.

 

Attention deflectors are hyper bullshit though.

If you want an out for keeping the Minimus/Magnus reveal intact? Patient/Doctor Confidentiality. That's a thing.

Or if you want a more sinister bent, you're the Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accord. Its probably within the realm of your power to disappear someone super easy if you worry you're gonna get made.

Equally as hand-wavy, I'll admit. But easier to digest, in my opinion, than attention deflectors.

 

Guilty of extreme details. It like the Scavengers we first see them in issue 7-8 and they reappear after 12 issues with one page. It that detail with Skids and his gun started issue 2 then finally explain in issue 19-20 makes agree with Sarnian.

All honesty I would love to see Mirage taking a bigger role in IDW universe of Transformers.

 

The only reason Attention Deflectors don't bug the shit out of me is two reasons:

1. They haven't been used much so far.

2. For the same reason I like the Thought Warfare and "nudge guns" stuff, I don't mind ADs because they work on a very practical principle we often forget: these are robots. Attention deflectors could omit a jamming frequency that creates blank zones in their vison they don't even register. Or something more complicated. But I buy it because it kinda makes sense with them being machines. They may be highly emotive and act just like people, but like people they are ultimately a collection of parts and mechanisms, ones that advanced science can fool.

There's no reason to retcon Shadowplay. Just don't abuse it or make it into something it isn't.

 

this


Would be funny if Mirage's invisibility would work the same way. Especially in a story involving humans. Cybertronian's would not see Mirage anymore, Mirage walking gently through the crowd and all the people still looking at him, because it does not work on them  

 

See, that would be more fun... to actually break down the mechanics of how his powers work, kind of like the old Specs did.

Of course, Split Lip right notes that Transformers are machines... like us.
It's easy to forget sometimes that we're just organic machines, but we're wired for electricity too (that's a bit part of how our brain and central nervous system works, after all). In that sense, I'm not sure how making that point makes attention deflectors MORE credible in Transformers than it would be in humans, though...

However, despite the similarities, obviously the human and cybertronian electrical/cognitive processes are very very different, so it's unlikely that Mirage's Electro Distrupter would work the same way on humans.

It does remind me of Blaster's old bio though, where they discuss how his Electro-Scrambler works...
"In robot form he carries an electro-scrambler gun, which emits powerful waves of electromagnetic energy that disrupt the operations of all but the most heavily shielded electrical devices. In theory, the gun should interfere with the minute electrical impulses of the human nervous system, but Blaster has never used the gun on a human."

zmog

 

I'm just re-reading the whole story, and I was wondering, did not Brainstorm's briefcase have attention deflectors as well? Then why did Red Alert ask him to check his briefcase?

 

He didn't install them yet?

The dialogue made it sound like they were a recent addition. That or if the individual has knowledge of it, the ADs don't work. Afterall, his briefcase is famous.

 

I've been rereading MTMTE recently and I just got up to the part in the Annual where Rodimus and co. Are inside Ultra Magnus and Skids says something along the lines of "Classic Wreckers it's all bang bang reload bang, close quarters combat is a fine art observe" and I instantly thought of Getaway's "Wreckers done right" line

 

Or maybe Brainstorm added the ADs after he found the ADs in/on Skid's binary gun...

 

There were no AD's on, or in, Skids gun, ever. The only attention deflectors that are in the story are in Ultra Magnus's armour, and Brainstorm's briefcase. The one's in the briefcase were fully activated before they landed on Luna One, that's why it wasn't taken off him when they were captured,as Brainstorm points out at the very point we learn of the existence of such a thing. As to how Getaway can see it, it's not hard to deduce really. The AD only works if you don't know it's there. Getaway and Brainstorm both work for Prowl, they both have ties to the new Institute, it's not a massive stretch to assume they know each other. If they've met before then Getaway will know that Brainstorm always carries his briefcase. Since he knows that Brainstorm always carries his briefcase the attention deflectors that stop you seeing the briefcase unless you know about it's existence, simply won't work.

Ipso facto.

 

I thought Skid's gun did have attention deflectors...which was why he never noticed it. Either that or Getaway has AD-resistant equipment.