Shimmer

For years unnumbered, even the bravestAutobotwarriors hardened in battle against the most gruesomeDecepticonweapons have lived in terror of the mysterious supernatural force known only as theShimmer.It is believed to be a harbinger of imminent and inescapable death, and those who see it often suffer severe psychological breakdowns and depression upon the realization that they are doomed. Apparently never captured on recording devices, the Shimmer allegedly takes the form of a fast-moving greenish optical illusion.

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

When Autobot psychoanalystRungattempted to evaluateFlattop,he found his subject to be morbidly depressed after a recent sighting of the Shimmer, which had so terrified him that he fainted. Rung attempted to reassure Flattop that the Shimmer was only a myth, and that what the poor unfortunate had thought he had seen could easily be explained: Flattop had recently had to upgrade to a new body after suffering the agonies of the unspeakable poisonous weapon known asGideon's Glue,and so the odd visual phenomenon could be caused by his new optic sensors not yet being properly integrated with his brain circuitry, or the psychological trauma from his horrific injuries, or both. Rung kept reassuring Flattop that he was not going to die—but Flattop didn't hear him, having just died at that moment.

Other Autobots also found themselves plagued by the Shimmer, includingGuzzle,Rotorstorm,Pyro,andIronfist,each reacting with varying degrees of shock, terror, and even violence... till in every instance the Shimmer actually resolved itself into a holographic projection ofSpringer,as he invited each of them to join theWreckers.

Springer had also attempted to reach out to Flattop, giving him a similar vision, but upon seeing how quickly Flattop was completely overwhelmed by fear Springer had terminated the connection and never explained himself. Later medical investigations concluded that Flattop died when some previously undetected remnants of Gideon's Glue in his system penetrated his brain.Bullets

Notes

• Given the similarity of the descriptions in the story, it is not clear whether there is a "real" Shimmer that is the basis for this macabre legend or whether it is the result of a misunderstanding about the Wreckers' summoning hologram. The latter explanation would require either that all prior Wreckers commanders had been green, or that the color of the Shimmer changes throughout the eras of retelling the fable, or that the two phenomena share colors out of complete coincidence.
• All who perceive the Springer hologram as the Shimmer die. Then again, that's true of most Wreckers, eventually.