MirrorVerse (Transformers)
| Fanwork | |
|---|---|
| Title: | MirrorVerse |
| Creator: | Nightwind |
| Date(s): | 2001 - 2008 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Transformers |
| External Links: | later site earlier site TF MirrorVerse Forum (via Wayback) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
MirrorVerse is a shared universe in the Transformers fandom. The concept was proposed in February 2001 by Nightwind in The Padded Cell, a fan forum. It was inspired by Star Trek's canon mirror universe. The first fanfic, Closer Than They Appear, was written by Margaret C. Racine shortly after.[1]
Descriptions/Recommendations
Heh heh... Heh heh heh... Enter the world of Heroic Decepticons, Evil Autobots...and Human Characters That Don't Suck... It started out as a hare-brained idea of mine, but others ran with it so quickly that, alas, I couldn't keep up. It's a multi-author alternate continuity that's always looking for new vict— I mean, authors. :) . 'Tis fun. And addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you...Nightwind[2]
Such vicious fun! See the Transformers universe turned inside out, with the heroic Decepticons fighting against all odds against the ever-expanding Autobot Empire.
Reviews
I've loved mirrorverses ever since I first saw them in Star Trek, so I was looking forward to the TF version of them. While there are a couple of good stories on this site, there are also a few problems.The first is that the vast majority of the Autobots are irredeemably evil, down to the laser-core and probably deeper. While the Decepticons, without exception, are good, loyal and kind to humans. That doesn't exactly make for nuances or shades of grey (with one exception that I'll mention later).
As well as being painted in these broad strokes, many of the characters are a bit lacking in the fine details as well. I love fanfics that flesh out the characters who I've come to be curious about, or which provide a different perspective on those personalities. G1 did that for some of the Transformers - Scrapper's hobby of turning the corpses of his defeated enemies into art, for instance.
In contrast, the Mirrorverse didn't provide too many such moments. For instance, Dead End spends a lot of time polishing himself, so the Mirrorverse flips that 180 and says that he's too busy enjoying life to be very clean or pristine. That's okay, but it's the absence of a trait. What does he do instead? It's part of mirror-Dead End's nature to like everyone, but not all the 'cons are going to be similar. Whom do they get along with, and whom do they dislike?
While it's not easy to develop personalities fully in short stories, it's a little more difficult when there are too many characters competing for space, which brings me to the third problem of the Mirrorverse. As well as a full complement of humans and 'bots, there are numerous 'cons (including Megatron and Galvatron, though thankfully not in the same fic) and original characters.
One reason for the original characters is that the Mirrorverse excludes slash, so if the 'cons want romantic relationships they have to turn to the female OCs. But there are too many of these, and I pretty much had it when I encountered Onslaught's daughter. I like Onslaught as the cool, calculating leader of the Combaticons, not as a worried dad. He can still be a good and sympathetic character when he's plotting and planning against his enemies; he doesn't need a daughter to show another side of him.
That being said, there are a couple of fics in the Mirrorverse that I like very much. The first is Mind of a Menasor (it has Stunticons!), which shows the points of view of all the Stunticons and Menasor as well, who's often neglected. It's worth reading just for Breakdown's line about sedans, though Motormaster sort of fades into the background. I guess when you take away his controlling behavior, violent temper, cold sadism and possessive attitude, there's not a whole lot left. As for Dead End, it's as though he filled up on high fructose corn syrup rather than gasoline.
But I like Wildrider's quiet, contemplative approach to Earth and to his own past, and a Breakdown who enjoys being the centre of attention is fun too.
The other Mirrorverse fic I recommend is Cats' Cradle. This one's incomplete, but it's a heartbreaking read. You can see the betrayal coming and yet the characters don't, so it's got a lot of dramatic irony. Best part is, it's a parallel to what actually happened in the G1 cartoon, where the newly-created Aerialbots thought of leaving the Autobots, but Silverbolt managed to change their minds.
In this fic, the newly-created Aerialbots are just as high-spirited and naive (but good-hearted, unlike the other Autobots). Silverbolt alone knows the truth: that Optimus Prime will kill them rather than letting them go. So when they rebel, he feels he has no choice but to lie to them and manipulate them. The Prime/Silverbolt dynamic is pretty compelling too.