Merlin is a human figure from the Arthurian era who plays a pivotal role in the backstory of the film. Although widely believed by King Arthur and others to be a powerful wizard, he possessed no genuine mystical abilities. In truth, he was a drunkard and a womanizer, and he openly admitted to being a charlatan. When King Arthur and his knights faced a losing battle against the Saxons around 484 AD, Merlin took a detour while consuming large amounts of alcohol to visit a hidden Cybertronian ship. He was one of the few humans who knew of the Knights of Iacon, a group of Transformers stranded on Earth, and had kept their secret. He pleaded with the knights to help him change the world for the better, offering to give up wine and money but not women, and compared the bravery of Arthur and his men to the Cybertronians' own struggle and the loss of their home planet. Moved by his words, the knights entrusted him with a Cybertronian staff, which then combined into the mighty Dragonstorm. Merlin led this beast to the battlefield, where it swiftly defeated King Arthur's enemies. The staff bonded to Merlin's DNA, meaning only he and his bloodline could wield it. He was charged with protecting the staff until a great evil would come for it. The staff granted him access to highly advanced science beyond human comprehension, which people at the time perceived as magic. After his death, he was buried with the staff inside a Cybertronian ship at the bottom of the ocean, with the Knights of Iacon standing sentry over his sarcophagus. Centuries later, his last descendant, Viviane Wembly, an English literature professor, discovered his tomb and retrieved the staff, eventually fulfilling his duty to protect it and save Earth. Merlin's motivation was to aid King Arthur and secure a better future through the power of the Cybertronians. His key relationships include King Arthur, whom he served, and the Knights of Iacon, with whom he formed a pact. His development is minimal, as he appears only in flashbacks, but his actions set the entire plot in motion. His notable ability is the use of the Cybertronian staff, which allowed him to command Dragonstorm and perform feats interpreted as magic.