Mirage/Cartoon continuity

Mirage. Definitely not a traitor since 1984.

The Transformers cartoon
Mirage was part of the bridge crew of the Autobots' spaceship when it crash-landed on Earth four million years ago. A volcanic eruption in 1984 awakened the ship's computer Teletraan I, which reactivated and reformatted the craft's slumbering occupants with terrestrial alternate modes—in Mirage's case, a Formula-1 racer. His first mission came when the Autobots rolled out to stop the Decepticons attacking an oil rig. After the battle, he got to show off his invisibility power to Spike Witwicky. Following another failed battle at Sherman Dam, he suggested they simply leave Earth to the Decepticons and return to Cybertron, a suggestion soundly rejected by Optimus Prime.

At the ruby crystal mines of Burma, when Optimus was caught in an explosion, Mirage helped right him. He expressed hope that with the Decepticons perished in the explosion, they'd be able to return to Cybertron, but his optimism was quashed a few moments later when their foe emerged, functional and with more energy to fuel their new star cruiser. While guarding Ravage, Mirage gave Hound the idea to spring a trap on the Decepticons using a holographic rocket base. Unfortunately the Decepticons saw through the plan and raided the real rocket base, attaining the rest of the energy they needed. During the final Autobot operation to try and prevent the launch of the Decepticon cruiser, Mirage used his cloaking ability to sneak aboard. While the Decepticons were squabbling, 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.

After Chip Chase was kidnapped by the Decepticons who were after the antimatter formula the boy had memorised, Hound and Mirage utilised their respective powers to sneak into the antimatter laboratory. They were able to rescue Chip, but the Decepticons had managed to get the formula and use it to create Energon. Mirage subsequently helped defend Autobot Headquarters. Mirage again rolled out to protect Autobot Headquarters while Wheeljack and Ratchet worked to save Prime's life, after the Autobot leader was badly damaged in a Decepticon attack. He took part in the construction of the Dinobots... and then had to try to stop them when they ran wild. He, Bluestreak and Jazz sealed the three Dinobots in a cave, but were mighty grateful when, after almost all of the Autobots were captured by the Decepticons, the Dinobots were released to come to the rescue.

When Megatron was using hypno-chipped humans to load Energon onto their shuttle for transport to Cybertron, Mirage used his invisibility to sneak on board and order the humans to start unloading the Energon again. He was blasted in the back a short time later by Rumble. When the Autobots were caught in quicksand while pursuing the Decepticons, Mirage used his shoulder missile to shoot down Laserbeak. Mirage turned out with the other Autobots to watch Optimus and Megatron engage in single combat as per Cybertronian law. To their horror, Optimus lost, but they later discovered that Megatron had cheated, so the results were nullified.

Mirage rolled out to attack Megatron's Solar Needle and rescue Gears, but didn't play much role in the battle. He was on Ratchet's team, entering the sewers of New York City in an attempt to rescue Optimus. After tangling with an Alligaticon, they found Prime... in pieces. The Alligaticon had been built from Optimus's parts, and Mirage, Ratchet and Hound had to capture it so Ratchet could rebuild their leader. Once Optimus had been put back together, they proceeded to the surface and battled Decepticons, battle taxis and Prime's own severed arm.

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.

Mirage took part in a charity race organised by the Autobots. While they raced and performed stunts, the Autobots were affected by Megatron's latest invention, the Transfixatron, which locked them in their vehicle modes. They were herded by the Decepticons to a ghost town, where the Constructicons had created a machine to destroy them. It was only through an intervention of Ratchet and Wheeljack's counter invention that they were saved.

Mirage came with the other Autobots when they were hired by Doctor Fujiyama the Famous Scientist to protect his latest invention when it was being unveiled. When Decepticons attacked, Mirage became invisible and attacked Soundwave. Megatron offered to make Mirage disappear for good, but Optimus Prime saw to it that it wouldn't come true. After the Decepticons made off with Nightbird, Mirage and Ratchet insisted that Brawn stay behind at Autobot base for repairs. As Brawn and Ironhide were being repaired, Optimus detected an intruder. Mirage went to investigate, only to be beaten up by a Decepticon-reprogrammed Nightbird. Mirage pursued her with the other Autobots. When they caught up with her, Mirage became invisible in order to return Optimus Prime's laser rifle undetected, giving him the advantage.

When Mirage and the other Autobots found they mysteriously had two Optimus Primes, the duo were subjected to a series of inconclusive tests. Before any further testing could be done, they had to roll out to a crevasse filled with korlonium crystals to investigate strange readings. During the battle with the Decepticons that followed, the real Prime's identity was soon revealed. Mirage was part of Sunstreaker's team when they stumbled on the Decepticons' drilling operation. As Devastator blasted him off a cliff, Mirage became invisible so the Decepticons would "never find [his] pieces". Of course, he survived and he and Sunstreaker used his grappling hook to take down Devastator. Back at Headquarters, a plan was hatched to plant dominator disks on the Constructicons. Mirage took part, planting two of the disks at once, and Devastator was soon under Autobot control. Alas, it didn't last long — while they were trying to stop the Decepticons drilling to the Earth's core, Megatron retook control of the combiner.

Mirage was at Headquarters when Powerglide and Bumblebee reported the discovery of Dinobot Island. Through a cunning plan on Megatron's part, the Autobots were found guilty of stealing energy and forced to leave Earth in a spaceship supplied by Shawn Berger. They soon discovered that the spacecraft was locked on course to the Sun. Through the heroic efforts of Chip Chase and bungling of Thrust, as well as the use of Cosmos and Trailbreaker's force fields, the Autobots returned to Earth, where the Decepticons had already revealed their true nature.

During an attempt by the Decepticons to steal the plans to the Ultra Plane, Mirage used his invisibility to steal Megatron's fusion cannon right off the Decepticon leader's arm. A brief tug-of-war ensued over the weapon, which Mirage lost, but Megatron retreated in the end anyhow. Later, as the Dinobots were being repaired after another battle, Mirage reminisced about how great Cybertron was. When cybertonium depletion started affecting all of the Transformers, Mirage's invisibility power went on the fritz — instead of making him invisible, it merely altered his color scheme slightly. Unfortunately he didn't find this out until after he tried to sneak up on Thundercracker and was promptly blasted into a wall. The Autobots' condition worsened, until they were unable to move. They remained this way until the Dinobots, Spike and Carly managed to retrieve more Cybertonium from Cybertron.

Mirage rolled out for Haley Observatory when Megatron stole the Voltronic Galaxer, but went missing somewhere along the way, and didn't arrive with the rest of the group. He was part of an Autobot team who faced electrum-plated Decepticons with little success. He had to retreat back to Omega Supreme's position for reinforcements. When even Omega fell before the Decepticons, Mirage returned to Headquarters to break the news, and Teletraan I soon worked out how the Decepticons had become invincible. Soon the Autobots had found the electrum pool and, coating themselves, were able to defeat the Decepticons. After a number of Autobots were abducted by big game hunter Lord Chumley, Mirage was present at Headquarters when Cosmos finally located the missing Autobots. He also helped coat the Statue of Liberty with corrostop, Perceptor's latest invention.

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.