Fictional character biography
Mike
| Mirage | |
|---|---|
 Mirage as depicted in Detective Comics #511 (February 1982). Art by Rich Buckler (penciller) and Dick Giordano (inker). | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | Detective Comics #511 (February 1982) |
| Created by | Gerry Conway (writer) Don Newton (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Mike |
| Species | Human |
| Abilities | Illusion generation |
The first Mirage was a man named Mike (also referred to as "Kerry Austin") and appeared in Detective Comics #511 (February 1982). [1] He uses a gem that causes people to see elaborate illusions. He commits crimes while his victims are occupied fighting against these illusions. [2] This crime wave brings him to the attention of Batman. Batman faces Mirage several times before coming up with a strategy to beat him. During the encounter, Mirage's gem is destroyed. Batman is able to defeat him and send him to jail. [3]
Mirage was revealed to have been a graduate of the Academy of Crime. [4]
While in jail, Mirage manages to create contact lenses from fragments of his jewel. He proceeds to create the illusion of himself in jail and escapes to the circus he once worked for. Starting another crime wave, Batman is once again alerted to his actions. This time, Batman easily beats him and sends him back to prison. Mirage also fought Manhunter once using his illusions so successfully, he nearly killed the bounty hunter.
Following the Infinite Crisis event, Mirage is freed from prison again. In 52 (2006), Bruno Mannheim kills Mirage by bashing his head with the Crime Bible. Mannheim orders his minion Lazlo to prepare Mirage's body for consumption, revealing Mannheim to be a cannibal. [5]
Miriam Delgado
| Mirage | |
|---|---|
 Mirage as depicted in Team Titans #21 (June 1994). Art by Terry Dodson. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | The New Titans #79 (1991) |
| Created by | Marv Wolfman |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Miriam Delgado |
| Team affiliations | Team Titans New Titans |
| Abilities | Able to project illusions, and use a wall of illusion to alter her appearance. |
The second Mirage, Miriam Delgado, is a member of the Team Titans and part of a resistance against the dictator Lord Chaos. After Donna Troy, Chaos' mother, sacrifices her powers to prevent her son from inheriting them, Mirage and the Titans relocate to Donna's farm in New Jersey. She had to deal with Killowat's intense crush on her and the more malicious intents of another man. Mirage was raped by her former lover Deathwing and became pregnant with his child. She uses her powers to deceive her friends, making it appear as though she had had a miscarriage. [6]
Mirage is part of the honor guard that escorts Superman's body to his tomb. [7]
During Zero Hour: Crisis in Time! , Mirage learns that she was a runaway street urchin from Brazil, whom the Time Trapper had kidnapped and implanted with false memories. Mirage remained a member of Arsenal's Titans team. During this time, her powers fluctuated. She experienced uncontrolled illusions. She found she could project an image to a spot where she was not and remain hidden all the same. Eventually, she gave birth to a daughter named Julienne and left the Titans to spend time with her. [8]
She helps the Titans to save former Titan Cyborg in the Technis Imperative storyline. During a confrontation with the Justice League during this incident, she tricks the Martian Manhunter with an image of his dead wife and is violently subdued. She reappears again, alongside other former Titans, to help the new incarnation of the Titans defeat Doctor Light in the Lights Out storyline.
Mirage was one of the Titans who battled Superboy-Prime near Smallville, Kansas in Infinite Crisis #4 and Teen Titans (vol. 3) #32. She also rejoined the Titans for a brief period during the "one year gap".
In Teen Titans (vol. 3) #99, she was one of the former Titans who came to aid the Teen Titans in the battle between Superboy-Prime. [9]
