Basic Trope: Character assumes a super identity that normally belongs to villains, but acts as a hero instead.
- Straight: Dark Magical Girl Mirage is the daughter of the previous Mirage, a villainess with shadowy-based powers. Rather than use her powers for evil, she joins the heroes' side.
- Exaggerated: A long line of Mirages have existed; save for this latest one, all have gleefully used their powers to spread chaos For the Evulz.
- Downplayed:
- Dark Magical Girl Mirage is the daughter of the previous Mirage, a villainess with shadowy-based powers. She's technically a Noble Demon, but works with the heroes more often than not while remaining nominally villainous.
- While the previous Mirage was a Token Evil Teammate, her daughter and successor is unambiguously good.
- Justified:
- They're all powered by The Corruption, but only the latest one has the willpower to hold it off.
- A new superhero decides to that up the name of a recently deceased supervillain. Everyone knows the Joker always comes back, but if he takes the identity than an actual supervillain can't take it without looking like a tool.
- The previous Mirage was already Well-Intentioned Extremist. Her daughter takes up the name because she believes in her mother's cause, but she's a lot more reasonable about it.
- Inverted:
- The current Mirage is a much darker and more brutal character than the previous one, a straight hero.
- The current Mirage is an outright villain in comparison to the previous Mirage being a hero.
- Subverted: The current Mirage joins the heroes and seems like a good character until she turns out to be a Fake Defector.
- Double Subverted: Mirage's evil turn was actually her being a Fake Defector, using her mother's reputation to make the villains more readily accept her.
- Parodied: The character took on the mantle of The Molester who was well... Exactly What It Says on the Tin. This leads to a lot of Black Comedy and Not What It Looks Like.
- Zig Zagged: Mirage defects to the good guys, but is later revealed to be the Mole, then is later revealed to be acting under mind control, but it later turns out that the villain controlling her was a Well-Intentioned Extremist...
- Averted:
- The original Mirage never dies.
- The new Mirage is just as evil as the old one, and makes no claims otherwise.
- Enforced: The new head writer always loved the old Mirage, but feels that they'd fare better as a superhero. However, the original seems irredeemable, so he takes a shortcut and creates a Legacy Character.
- Lampshaded: "Wait, Mirage is a good guy now? When the hell did that happen?"
- Invoked: The original Mirage was a Well-Intentioned Extremist who had a Heel Realization late in her career, and taught her daughter to use her powers for good so she could save both their legacies.
- Exploited: As part of a plot to incite internal strife, Manipulative Bastard uses Mirage's dark legacy to convince her allies she's planning to betray them.
- Defied: Mirage's daughter takes a different name since she doesn't want to be associated with her mother.
- Discussed: "It'd be easier if you made a new name for yourself, you know. You wouldn't have to carry your mother's sins everywhere." "What I share with Mother is her goal, not her methods. Wasn't it you who said it's not so much what we can do as what we are doing?"
- Conversed: "Wait so Rage is a hero now? I hate it when replacements change teams."
- Deconstructed: While she means well, Mirage can't escape the specter of her mother's horrible reputation. The public and her heroic peers judge her based on the actions of her predecessors, pressuring her to make a Face–Heel Turn — something that, if she falls to the temptation, will only cement their belief that they were right about her all along.
- Reconstructed: Despite the adversity, Mirage slowly manages to prove herself to her peers and shift public opinion to a more favorable view. Though aware she will likely never be able to fully escape the weight of her mother's misdeeds, that knowledge drives Mirage to fight even harder, so that her children will have to face less adversity and have a better legacy to bear.
- Played For Laughs: Mirage is clearly trying too hard to rebel and act "edgy" by being a hero and often monologues about it. Thus she ends up rebelliously doing perfectly wholesome actions.
- Played For Drama: The current Mirage is a clone of the original who cloned herself before to stay young but messed up the transfer procedure. The new Mirage has her powers and possessions but not her memories. Everyone else is suspicious about Mirage suddenly acting good and apologizing when she binds heroes trying to capture her.
- Implied:
- The current Mirage is a straight hero, but many are unjustifiably afraid of her, and she doesn't like to talk about her family.
- The old Mirage resents her child for unknown reasons.
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