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I just watched The Incredibles yesterday, and realised something I hadn't considered before.

Mirage

image of Mirage from The Incredibles

Does Mirage have powers? She 'doesn't exist' as she says, according to the NSA, and seems to have a secret identity (unless her real name is Mirage...).

If she doesn't have powers, what is Syndrome doing hanging around with her? What does she lend to his operation?

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  • @Pureferret - So what do you think now that a week has passed? I think Richard's answer would make more sense as the approved one, since he found a definitive answer to your main question about whether she has powers, which Thaddeus' answer only addresses with the one line "Mirage is not revealed to have any super-powers", and the rest of his answer is solely about your secondary question "what is Syndrome doing hanging around with her? What does she lend to his operation?" (Richard's answer also addresses these, though more briefly)
    – Hypnosifl
    Feb 22, 2015 at 13:23

4 Answers 4

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Mirage has no superpowers.

This was confirmed in a tweet from the film's Executive Producer; Brad Bird

Q: “What was Mirage's super power?”

A: She's not a super, but her power is to threaten strong marriages in a single bound.

As such, Syndrome seems to employ her because she meets the three main criteria for a successful "Villain's Assistant" in that she's beautiful, intelligent and amoral.

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Mirage is not revealed to have any super-powers and is a supporter of Syndrome and his hero-killing agenda. Her reasons for lending technical expertise to Syndrome are never reported. She has killed heroes with Syndrome so she is not opposed to killing but did not believe in the indiscriminate killing of innocents or children.

Mirage and Syndrome have a cordial employer-employee relationship of sorts but it appears Syndrome would like it to be more. Mirage is a capable computer scientist (and possibly covert agent) and is the only other person to have access to the Kronos database outside of Syndrome.

Any respect Mirage had for Syndrome was lost after he threatened her life.

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    Minor point - Syndrome didn't threaten her life, he just displayed a complete lack of concern for it, calling Mr. Incredible's bluff when he held her hostage. In fairness, he knew Incredible wouldn't do it for reasons both practical and moral.
    – Jeff
    Jun 11, 2012 at 18:44
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    From her perspective, Mr. Incredible sold his threat well. Imagine having your head ripped off by a man who can lift a tank. And the fact that Syndrome was willing to go there, reduced her respect enough for her to see him for what he was, a shallow, egocentric SOB.
    – Thaddeus Howze
    Jun 11, 2012 at 18:47
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    Oh, agreed, him calling the bluff was the turning point for her (the kids being shot at, even initially unknowingly, was also a big deal) but from Syndrome's perspective it was an easy bluff to call.
    – Jeff
    Jun 11, 2012 at 18:52
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    Don't forget the last straw: his contempt for Incredible, for the very thing she could now see made him better than Syndrome. "He's not weak, you know. Valuing life is not weakness. And disregarding it is not strength."
    – Beta
    May 13, 2014 at 1:24
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It is hinted that Mirage may have powers, as she said,

According to the government, neither one of us exist

when speaking with Mr. Incredible. The government apparently hid heroes super identities from the public world.

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Well, Syndrome loves to kill the "Supers". If Mirage has power, I believe he would have tried to kill her (as he'd done to other Supers). I think she just happened to be his girlfriend and a trusted personal assistant.

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