Staff of Merlin

The Staff of Merlin is a type of technology from the The Last Knight portion of the live-action film continuity family.

"You're welcome!"

A device of great power originally owned by Quintessa to wield control over the planet Cybertron, the artifact later became known as the Staff of Merlin. The Staff was a device created long ago, its original owner Quintessa could use it to literally drain the "Life Force" of other worlds into Cybertron. The Staff can be bonded to a particular being, and so at that point could only be used by that person, or someone of that bloodline. The Staff possess a myriad of other abilities, giving its user the ability to wield advanced science beyond the comprehension of "primitive" beings. Befitting an artifact of Cybertronian origin, it is capable of mass-shifting to accommodate its wielders and disguise its true appearance.

Fiction

The Last Knight film

In the distant past, the Staff belonged to Quintessa, the alleged creator of the Cybertronian race who used it to enhance her creation abilities. Upon rebelling against Quintessa, the Twelve Guardian Knights of Iacon stole the Staff and took it with them as they fled Cybertron. By the Fifth Century C.E., the Knights had landed on Earth where their existence would be kept secret by the "wizard" Merlin. However in the year 484, an invasion of Camelot by Saxon invaders had led to King Arthur requesting Merlin's help to win the battle. Merlin's pleas to the Knights, would help the Knights decide that humanity was worthy of survival with Stormreign granting ownership of the Staff to Merlin, the artifact bonding to his genetic code.

After Dragonstorm defeated the Saxons, Merlin would use the Staff's abilities in future battles. The young human race however perceived the Staff's powers as being magical in nature and inspiring the legend of the "Staff of Merlin". When Merlin died, the Staff was buried with him with his tomb being placed inside the Knights' Ship, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the 21st Century however, a knight crashed landed in Chicago, carrying the Talisman with him. The device ended up bonding to Cade Yeager which brought him to the attention of the Order of the Witwiccans. Sir Edmund Burton (via Cogman and Hot Rod respectively) sent for Yeager and Viviane Wembly, the last living descendent of Merlin, for their aid in tracking down and securing the Staff to spare Earth from destruction at the hand of the oncoming Cybertron.

Concurrently, Optimus Prime had returned to Cybertron where he was confronted by, and placed under the control of, Quintessa. Showing Prime the ignition chamber, the sorceress explained the history and purpose of the Staff as well as its necessity in reviving Cybertron. Brainwashing Optimus into "Nemesis Prime", Quintessa revealed that Earth was in reality the slumbering form of Unicron and that with the Staff, she would be able to drain the life from him and restore Cybertron before she sent him back to Earth to find it.

Viviane and Cade eventually tracked down the Knights' ship and found the Staff disguised as an inconspicuous piece of wood which Cade angrily grabbed and chucked aside. When the TRF, broke into the ship however and slew Skullitron, Viviane touched the staff in the resulting chaos causing it to shed its holographic disguise and reveal its true Cybertronian nature, an event which Quintessa felt. In a standoff, Viviane threatened to let the Staff fall into the bowels of the ship lest the TRF stood down before more Guardian Knights rebooted to try and secure the Staff. The Knights were quickly dispatched by Nemesis Prime who demanded the Staff, which a terrified Viviane handed over at Cade's behest.

Bumblebee, William Lennox and Cade followed Nemesis to the surface where the former was able to coax Optimus free of his mind control. In his disoriented state however, he was an easy target for Megatron and Nitro Zeus who promptly stole the Staff and flew off to Cybertron.

Megatron brought the Staff to Quintessa to begin the process. The Staff channeled Unicron's energies through the Knights' ship and itself which Quintessa then transmitted across Cybertron, healing the planet. Though the Decepticons fought to defend the chamber, the Autobots managed to enter where Viviane managed to remove the Staff from its resting place after Bumblebee had seemingly slain Quintessa.

In the aftermath, the Staff was seen in Optimus Prime's possession as the Autobots prepared to return to Cybertron. The Last Knight