Hologram
From Transformers Wiki
A hologram is an artificially created image using photons arranged in a manner to better display information... or trick people, depending on the situation at hand.
Fiction
In addition to physically changing form, Transformers across all continuities use holograms to maintain disguise in their alternate mode, especially when battle damage would otherwise make that difficult.[1]
Generation 1 continuity family
Generation 1 cartoon continuity
The Transformers cartoon
The Autobot Hound often made use of holograms. While guarding Ravage with Mirage, Hound came up with the idea to use a hologram to trick the Decepticons and lead them into an ambush. Optimus Prime agreed, and Ravage was allowed to escape, believing he had learned of a military base with large amounts of rocket fuel. Megatron, however, saw through Ravage's escape, sending the Decepticons to the real base, while he went with a group of shoddy constructions to rub it in Prime's face. The hologram of the base worked just fine, though... More than Meets the Eye, Part 3
Hound projected an image of a giant Autobot warrior to scare off the Constructicons. Heavy Metal War
Inside the Ark, Hound projected a hologram of Laserbeak so Wheeljack could demonstrate the Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer. Ironhide walked in and thought it was real and opened fire. This caused a minor cave-in which damaged the immobilizer. The Immobilizer
Hound used a hologram to trick the Decepticons into thinking Megatron was retreating from a battle. Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1
Lord Chumley used a holographic projection rifle to project an image of Astrotrain and Blitzwing in order to lure Tracks and Bumblebee into a trap. Prime Target
Shockwave was using a holographic projector to train with Sentinel drones when the Combaticons arrived and attacked them. Later, Shockwave and Starscream used the holographic projector to create various images of hostiles. This successfully distracted the Combaticons for some time, until Swindle discovered that their attackers were holograms. The Combaticons aren't really smart. That's why they let Onslaught do all the thinking. The Revenge of Bruticus
Super-God Masterforce cartoon
Diver used holographic scenarios to test the Autobot Headmaster Juniors' combat skills with. Shūta fared well against his three assailants. Cab did a good job extinguishing holographic flames, but was a little too slow in dealing with an opponent. And lastly, Minerva dealt with her adversary, but fell from a holographic waterfall, which made her objective of saving a puppy unmet. Rage!! Little Devils with No Need for Rules
Marvel The Transformers comics
Hound scared off Ravage with a holographic missile projected from his turret gun. The Transformers
Mirage used a hologram to make it appear as if Brawn had been killed during a Trial by Combat with Starscream. The Enemy Within! Later, he distracted Ravage with a hologram of himself as the Decepticon spy sought to escape the Ark. Crisis of Command!
Battle Drive
Hound made effective use of his Hologram Gun to permit Prowl and Sparkplug to escape a cave when a small group of Autobots were under siege by Megatron and his troops. He created two addition "Prowls" to temporarily disorient the enemy robots, allowing Prowl to get a head start on the evil robots. Battle Drive
Dinobot War
The time-travelling aliens used holograms of dinosaurs to keep intruders away from their flying saucer. It didn't work, as the Dinobots and the Decepticons Ravage and Laserbeak all saw through it, and ultimately the aliens' spacecraft wound up buried under present-day Disneyland. Dinobot War
Battle Beneath the Ice
The city-dwellers possessed advanced holographic technology, which they could use to simulate any kind of environment. Battle Beneath the Ice
2005 IDW continuity
Recognizing that the Autobots' lack of drivers would attract attention, they used Holomatter avatars to avoid detection. However, security measures can be devised specifically to detect holomatter, showing that organizations such as the Machination already anticipated Cybertronian interference. 2005 IDW continuity
To mask the true nature of his planet, the Necrobot masked his Cybertronian remembrance flowers as organic ones. The Not Knowing When he later used time travel to collect the Disappeared from history, he used more holographic trickery to disguise them as organics based on the same principles as the flowers. Do Not Gentle
Transformers/Ghostbusters
As part of an overcomplicated scheme to gain the AllSpark, the ghostly Starscream materialized on Earth and sent out a signal that drew the attention of the Ark. When Autobot scout Ectronymous Diamatron arrived on the organic planet, he mistook Starscream's spectral form for a holographic communication, Ghosts of Cybertron Part 1 and thought that Ray Stantz's ghost trap had merely disrupted the transmission, not realizing his error until he short circuited the trap and freed the Seeker. Ghosts of Cybertron Part 2
2019 IDW continuity
After the Tether had fallen, Megatron used a dubiously legal hologram to project his image over Iacon and deliver his latest anti-Autobot rant. Tremors After taking over the Senate, he used the hologram to delivery a bombastic victory speech. War World: Prime
Elsewhere in the galaxy, Alpha Trion and Soundblaster projected a hologram of themselves from the latter's ship to the planet Obsidar to communicate with Ultra Magnus. Storm Horizon Part 2
War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon
Mirage possessed the ability to create holograms. When the Autobots were seeking out Ratchet, for aid in repairing a disused space bridge, he used a hologram to pass off as a Decepticon only for the disguise to give out. Siege episode 3 After Ratchet had repaired the portal, Mirage poured all his energy into a massive hologram of the space bridge compound above the actual compound, shielding it from detection by the Seekers. Siege episode 5 Siege episode 6
Beast Era
Beast Machines cartoon
By the Beast Era, holograms were in more wide scale use, including such applications as entertainment and military use. The Axalon and the Darksyde both made extensive use of hologram technology to run simulations and observe events in real time. On Cybertron, there were holo-chips which allowed Transformers to interface with them and see things virtually—some of which were not always virtuous, if you get our meaning. Sparkwar Pt. II: The Search
The Oracle was known to use holograms to scare away the unworthy and/or conceal its true nature. The Reformatting
Beast Wars: Uprising
The artificial intelligences that served within the Confederated Terran Colonial Fleet often manifested holographic avatars to interact with their fellow crew-members. When The Problem of Infinities came under an embarrassingly one-sided attack from a Shi-Lai fleet, the local AI, Pox, punctuated the seriousness of the situation by manifesting as a six-year-old child wearing footie pyjamas. The Inexorable March
2021 IDW Beast Wars comic
In the era of the Maximals and Predacons, their ships and facilities made large-scale use of holographic technology for consoles and communication arrays. Savage Landing Part 1
The Child of the Vok Saberback had the ability to manipulate holograms. Children of the Vok He first used this ability to pass off as Waspinator to abduct Megatron, Primal Rage later using it set the stage for an ambush against the Predacon and Optimus Primal. In the battle that followed, Saberback used his projections to cloak himself and Inferno so they could ambush the Predacon leader only for Megatron, having gotten wise to the trick, to reach through the hologram and kill Saberback. Children of the Vok
2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon
T-AI, the Autobots' computer, uses a holographic avatar in the form of a human girl to interact with Autobots and humans. An Explosive Situation
Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity
Armada cartoon
An ancient highly advanced human civilization had left holograms of themselves behind to warn those who came seeking for Mini-Cons. Ruin
Cybertron cartoon
Transformers were capable of creating holographic illusions of car interiors and drivers. A great many of these holographic drivers were based on Bud Hansen, with others presumably being based on Bud's brother Coby and his brother's (soon-to-be) girlfriend Lori. Hidden
After a joy-ride had gotten the two pulled over, Reverb and Six-Speed used holograms of the President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, to have the local police stand down. Collapse
During Starscream's invasion of Earth, Hot Shot randomly crossed paths with Cody and Bud's elder brother, Tim Hansen, while looking for their human friends, using a holographic driver to communicate with Tim. Retreat
Live-action film series continuity
All Cybertronians are capable of projecting holograms, sometimes as drivers to avoid causing suspicion when in vehicle mode.
Shatter and Dropkick used several holograms as control interfaces when they created an interconnected web of Earth's information. When the two interrogated B-127, they triggered a holographic memory of Optimus Prime telling the scout that Earth was to be the fallback position of the Autobot resistance, prompting the two to try and summon the Decepticon fleet and wipe out their foes for good. Bumblebee
After introducing the Autobots, Optimus showed Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes a hologram of the devastation Cybertron suffered during the war with Megatron. The Decepticons also made use of holograms, using a single, mustached male as a display to avoid attracting attention. Oddly enough, the Decepticon holograms appear to have solid machinery underneath them, but when activated they appear to be a projection with nothing under the surface. Transformers
While on a mission chasing down Decepticons in the Australian outback, a NEST team mistakenly raided a party of humans. When they realized their mistake, the Autobots had to urgently try to keep their cover, so they rezzed up some driver holograms in a rush. They were in such a hurry that Optimus Prime and Ironhide copied Salvage's driver exactly. Fortunately none of the humans noticed the triplet drivers.
The next site the NEST team came to, they were more cautious to prevent making the same mistake. They discovered three construction vehicles later revealed to be Kickback, Tread, and Trample. Their holographic drivers were realistic and able to carry out casual human conversation convincingly enough that they very nearly fooled even the human members of the NEST team. Just to make sure, Kaminari Ishihara tossed a rock to one of the miners that was standing around outside of the Constructicon's cab. When he let it drop at his feet, William Lennox threw another rock, this time intending to hit him. The rock passed right through him, blowing the Constructicons' cover, and a fight ensued. The Veiled Threat
Barricade used his driver hologram to fool a face recognition scanner at a secure facility in Scramble City. Cyber Missions 6
Ironhide activated a hologram resembling the human Jack intending to talk himself out of a speeding ticket. The police car pulling him over turned out to be Barricade. Cyber Missions 11
Gears projected holographic images over top of Kevin Bowman which were able to track his movements. The first was an image of Kevin as an old man. This was then adjusted to be an image of Kevin at seventeen or eighteen with a mustache. Later, a hologram of Tailgate was projected over Kevin to distract Reverb. Transformers Classified: Switching Gears
Rise of the Beasts film
Mirage had the ability to project holograms. Rise of the Beasts
Shattered Glass continuity family
Fun Publications Shattered Glass continuity
The auto-combatants were composed of solid light and generated by a computer in rooms designed for battle training. Shattered Glass
IDW Shattered Glass continuity
Ultra Magnus wore a hologram to conceal his skull-like face, though strong bouts of emotion caused the hologram to collapse. Shattered Glass II #1
Animated
The busts in Yoketron's dojo were holographic images of various members of the Cyber-Ninja Corps. Yoketron's last pupil, Prowl, had the ability to create holograms. Five Servos of Doom
Lockdown's ship, the Death's Head, used holograms to conceal itself as Detroit warehouses. The Thrill of the Hunt A Fistful of Energon
When on Earth, Prowl used a large scale hologram to conceal the inhabitants of Dinobot Island from any gawkers. Blast from the Past When he lated duelled Starscream in the wreckage of the Nemesis, he used his holograms to get the drop on the Seeker. A Fistful of Energon
Aligned continuity family
War for Cybertron
When Megatron infiltrated the Trypticon Space Station, Starscream communicated with the Decepticon via hologram. When Megatron won Starscream's allegiance and set him to reactivate the Geosynchronous Energon Bridge, the Seekers witnessed Zeta Prime communicate with Autobot troops via a hologram. The Autobots had a holographic projection of Cybertron's solar system in Iacon's stellar archives. When Megatron breached the room for the Omega Key, Zeta Prime appeared to his opposite via hologram to mock how predictable his plan was. War for Cybertron
Rise of the Dark Spark
Megatron used a gigantic hologram of himself to mock Optimus Prime when his rival was baited into the dungeons of Kolkular. Rise of the Dark Spark
Fall of Cybertron
When the Decepticons invaded Iacon to try and claim the Ark, Megatron used another giant hologram to communicate with some frontline grunts who'd secured a portion of the industrial district before Metroplex bombarded the area, destroying the hologram.
When Grimlock had broken free of his cell, Shockwave frequently appeared to his experiment via hologram to taunt him. When Grimlock confronted the scientist, he was casually restrained while Megatron and Shockwave spoke via holograms about the launch of the Nemesis and how Shockwave would be staying behind on Cybertron to monitor things. Fall of Cybertron
Prime cartoon
Arcee used a hologram of a human female, which she affectionally named Sadie, to conceal her true nature. Darkness Rising, Part 1 Convoy When trying to score with Sierra, Jack Darby claimed that Arcee, who'd arrived to pick him up from his shift at KO Burger, was his mother. Upon seeing the hologram, Sierra was unconvinced. Orion Pax, Part 1
When Bumblebee entered Megatron's mind via a cortical psychic patch, the tyrant, upon being unable to touch the scout, dismissed the possibility that the Autobot was a hologram on the basis that his eyes tracked Megatron's movements. Sick Mind
Rescue Bots cartoon
As part of Griffin Rock's tricentennial celebrations, Elma Hendrickson and a number of other prominent citizens from the town's history were recreated as holograms. The Haunting of Griffin Rock A hologram of Chester A. Arthur welcomes visitors to Hall of Inspiration Flobsters on Parade Christmas in July Small Blessings Doc Greene invented a handheld hologram projector which Chief Burns used to project a hologram of himself and Cody to fool a bear. Rules and Regulations
The holograms created for the tricentennial were reused by Myles and Evan to create an epidemic of "ghosts", so the pair could escape their jail cells and rob the people of Griffin Rock. They turned out to be susceptible to Doc Greene's Spectral Vapor Filter, though only temporarily. The Haunting of Griffin Rock The Nightmare Imaging Device created entities similar to solid holograms. Blame the Gremlins
A hologram of a rock wall was used to conceal the building containing the Beam Box. The Island of Misfit Tech The Elma Hendrickson hologram was later installed as part of the Rescue Bot Training Center supercomputer. The More Things Change...
2015 Robots in Disguise cartoon
When Starscream learnt that Bumblebee was on Earth, he contacted the Vintage Salvage Depot for the Discriminating Nostalgist via hologram, threatening the Autobot into surrendering himself. Mighty Big Trouble
IDW Robots in Disguise comic
When Steeljaw chanced across a trio of left behind Vehicons, he duped them into following him. At his command, the Vehicons lured the Autobots away from the Alchemor so Steeljaw could infiltrate it, the lupine Decepticon projecting a hologram to the Autobots to announce his success. Robots in Disguise #5
Cyberverse cartoon
Shockwave used a hard light hologram to fool Wheeljack into believing Bumblebee was his hostage, forcing him to continue working for Shockwave to keep "Bumblebee" safe. Upon discovering the ruse, Wheeljack returned the favor by using the same hologram projector to create a double of himself, distracting Shockwave while he made his escape. Secret Science Shockwave later used a hard light hologram to fake a space bridge explosion, tricking the Ark into taking the long way back to Cybertron while the Nemesis continued through the space bridge unabated. Escape From Earth
EarthSpark cartoon
To capture Megatron, Mandroid used holograms to disguise himself and his Arachnamechs as G.H.O.S.T. agents. Age of Evolution, Part 1
References
External links
- Holography and Volumetric display on Wikipedia
