Five Merit Badges That Would Be Perfect for the Transformers

By Aaron Derr

Scene from Transformers One — Orion Pax (in red) and D-16 (at right) are best friends in Transformers One who eventually become sworn enemies Optimus Prime and Megatron. Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

If you’ve ever seen a Transformers movie or watched a Transformers TV show or read a Transformers comic book or novel, you already know the basic idea.

There’s the Autobots — the good guys — and the Decepticons — the bad guys — and they don’t like each other a whole lot. Their conflict has spanned many years across multiple planets, including Earth.

But do you know why, exactly, the Autobots and Decepticons don’t like each other? It turns out, there’s more than meets the eye.

Transformers One is the origin story of the Autobot-Decepticon fight. It tells the tale of a robot named Orion Pax, who desperately wants to make life better for his fellow robots living and working on the planet Cybertron.

Orion Pax’s best friend is a robot named D-16, and when the two of them discover a way to transform life on Cybertron for the better, they embark on an adventure that will not only change their own lives, but the lives of many lifeforms across the galaxy.

It’s not a spoiler to reveal that Orion Pax will eventually become Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, and that D-16 will eventually become Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons.

How did these best friends become sworn enemies? That’s the story of Transformers One, and it’s pretty much the best Transformers movie in years.

(By the way, if you’ve never seen a Transformers movie … Transformers One is a great place to start!)

Here are five merit badges that would be perfect for the characters in Transformers One.

D-16 from Transformers One — Before he became Megatron, D-16 was actually a pretty good guy.

Automotive Maintenance

Transformers are extraterrestrial lifeforms that are part robot, part organic. As their name suggests, they can transform as needed into cars, trucks, planes and other methods of transportation to get around faster.

I’ve never found a scene of a Transformer getting an oil change, but it’d be pretty funny if that ever happened.

We’re just going to have to assume that Transformers know the basics of Automative Maintenance to keep their engines running smoothly.

Digital Technology

Early in the movie, Orion Pax discovers some information in the Cybertron archives that could change everything.

Based on the way Orion is able to hack into the archives’ advanced security system, we’re going to bet that he’s earned the Digital Technology merit badge, which helps Scouts learn how digital devices work.

Cool alien technology — The movie features all kinds of cool alien technology.

Citizenship in the World

When Orion Pax tells D-16 what he’s learned, the two friends must decide if they’re going to put themselves at risk for the chance to make their world a better place.

Another non-spoiler: They decide to go for it!

The Citizenship in the World merit badge teaches Scouts what it means to be a good world citizen.

Exploration

One of the most daunting aspects of the journey that Orion Pax and D-16 must take is the fact that it will take them to parts of the world where they’ve never been before.

This is what Exploring is all about!

Along the way, they make two new friends: Elita-1, formerly Orion and D-16’s boss, and B-127, the Autobot that will eventually be known as Bumblebee.

B-127 is the funniest character in the movie and kind of steals the show, if we’re being honest.

Transformers exploring the world — As the Transformers explore more of their world, they learn new ways to save it. Just like explorers on Earth!

Sustainability

The main problem the citizens of Cyberton face is that there isn’t enough Energon to go around. Energon is the preferred fuel of the Cybertronian race, and robots like Orion Pax and D-16 have to work very long, difficult hours to produce enough of it for everyone to survive.

But, if they’re successful in their quest, they just might find a way to get enough Energon for everyone.

The Sustainability merit badge teaches Scouts to be good stewards of natural resources. It doesn’t cover Energon, but it does cover energy sources such as fossil fuels, solar, wind, nuclear, hydropower and geothermal.

Is Transformers One a good movie?

Yes! Transformers One is a very fun, funny science fiction adventure. You’ll laugh a lot and you’ll also be on the edge of your seat for many of the action sequences. If you’re already familiar with the Transformers, most of your favorite characters are in this one. If you aren’t … now’s the time to learn.

There is a LOT of Transformers content out there. Much of it is … not good. We’re happy to report that Transformers One dares to be different and is actually very entertaining.

And if you think you’re too old to see an animated movie, we’ll just say this: We hope the people behind the Transformers movie franchise make more animated movies like this one. It’s way better than most of the live-action films.

Transformers One is rated PG for animated action and language. It is in theaters now.