The Big Picture
The action of Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is breathtaking, does justice to the Maximals, and introduces the villain Unicron. Mirage sacrifices himself but shapeshifts into armor for Noah, raising questions about Autobot autonomy and being used as a human’s body parts. The end-credits scene reveals that Mirage is brought back to life using regular car parts, challenging logic and raising horror movie implications.
As the first chapter of a new trilogy and a reboot of the Transformers cinematic franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts had to present new story elements that would keep fans hooked for many years. In addition, Rise of the Beasts was tasked with delivering a cinematic spectacle that would make the franchise enough money to ensure Hasbro and Paramount Pictures would keep funding the following films. Luckily, the movie succeeds on both fronts. The action of Rise of the Beasts is breathtaking, does justice to the fan-favorite Maximals, introduces the uber-villain Unicron (voiced by Colman Domingo), and even teases a mindblowing crossover with G.I. Joe. However, the movie’s single end-credits scene pales in comparison with the actual ending. And while the end-credits scene is played for fun, it will actually give us nightmares about Autobots’ physiology.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
During the ’90s, a new faction of Transformers – the Maximals – join the Autobots as allies in the battle for Earth.
Release Date June 9, 2023
Rating PG-13
Runtime 127 minutes
What Happens to Mirage in ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’?
One of the Autobots who fights at the side of Optimus Prime (voiced by Peter Cullen) in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is the show-stealing Mirage (voiced by Pete Davidson). Mirage is one of the main characters of Rise of the Beasts, and the Autobot responsible for bringing human Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos) to fight against Unicron, the planet-devouring Transformer. We learn much about Autobots’ physiology through Mirage and Noah’s friendship. For instance, Mirage takes off one of his parts to make a glove Noah can use to illuminate his path and shoot down enemies. So, it’s fair to assume Autobots’ parts are interchangeable.
Related ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Rolls Out Alternate Opening & Ending for 4K UHD, Blu-Ray, and DVD The upcoming release will include over an hour of special features and bonus content.
During the Rise of the Beasts’ final combat, Mirage sacrifices himself to protect Noah from Scourge (voiced by Peter Dinklage). However, instead of dying, Mirage shapeshifts his remaining parts to become armor Noah can use to kick some Terrorcon ass. It’s supposed to be the highest point in Noah’s hero’s journey. However, it raises many questions about what it means for an Autobot to be alive and if Mirage could still be considered an autonomous being even if he’s being used as armor by a human who gains complete control over his body parts. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ end-credits scene brings Mirage back but only deepens the mystery.
‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ End-Credits Scene Brings Mirage Back
In the end-credits scene of Rise of the Beasts, we learn that Noah has been working on a new car with parts his criminal friend Reek (Tobe Nwigwe) got him. It doesn’t take long for us to realize that this car is actually Mirage, whom Noah has slowly put back together. Once Noah’s work is done, Mirage returns to life, ensuring fans that he’s not dead. The end-credits scene should be a funny moment where we can laugh about Reek being terrified to learn the car is alive. Instead, this end-credits scene challenges logic regarding Autobots’ physiology.
While it’s great that Mirage survived the war against Scourge, it’s bizarre that Autobots can be healed with regular car parts. The robots in disguise are aliens who only pretend to be vehicles to blend in, so it doesn’t really make sense for Noah to put Mirage back together by using inert pieces of metal instead of alien ones. In addition, Rise of the Beasts uses Bumblebee to explain that only an Energon energy surge can bring an Autobot back to life, which doesn’t seem to be the case with Mirage. Finally, if Mirage was alive this whole time, did he feel Noah messing around with his internal organs and reshaping his body from the inside out? There’s a horror movie hidden in Rise of the Beasts’ end-credits scene, and we can’t stop thinking about it.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts is available to stream on Paramount+ in the U.S.
Watch on Paramount+