Transformers One's Post-Credits Scene Finally Explains One Of The Series' Biggest Mysteries

Spoilers for "Transformers One" follow.

The different robot factions in "Transformers" can be hard to keep track of, but at its simplest, the series is about good Autobots fighting evil Decepticons. That simplicity is because "Transformers" was never meant to be more than a commercial for action figures. Later attempts to add depth to the setting have to make do with the hokyness of the premise.

The names "Autobot" and "Decepticon" were coined by the advertising agency Griffin Bacal. Autobot apparently comes from "automobile," while Decepticon obviously comes from "deception." I'm sure the thought process wasn't much more than "robots turn into cars = Autobots" and "evil shape shifting robots = Decept-icons."

As luck would have it, it's easy to adjust the root of "Autobot" to "autonomous," meaning self-governed. That allows "Transformers" writers, if so inclined, to make the Autobots' name about their belief in freedom instead. But the Decepticons? The root of that name can't be anything but "deception." Who would call themselves such an obviously evil name besides paper-thin '80s cartoon villains?

That's a question "Transformers" has wrestled with. Sometimes it's with humor; in "Bumblebee," Sector Seven Agent Burns (John Cena) asks why they should trust beings literally called "Decepticons." In "Transformers: Prime," Megatron — true to his nature — spins an elegant lie that the "craven Autobots" gave the Decepticons their name and his warriors took it as a badge of honor.

"Transformers" comic writer James Roberts wrote that Megatron had first won the masses with this rallying cry: "You are being deceived." Brian Ruckley's "Transformers" comics say the Decepticons were once called the Ascenticons, until they appropriated a smear name used by their political rivals.

The new animated film "Transformers One" follows how Megatron became Cybertron's greatest villain. Along the way, it spins its own answer to this conundrum, one that's clear by the post-credit scene where Megatron gives his new army their name.

When "Transformers One" begins, Megatron (Brian Tyree Henry) is a simple mining robot named D-16. Unlike his best friend Orion Pax (Chris Hemsworth), D-16 prefers to keep his head down and follow protocol. He also idolizes both Sentinel Prime (Jon Hamm), current ruler of Cybertron, and the legendary Megatronus Prime, said to have been the greatest of the first 13 Primes. D-16 even wears a sticker decal of Megatronus' purple face on his shoulder.

Then, halfway through the movie, Orion and D-16 meet the last of the original Primes, Alpha Trion (Laurence Fishburne). They learn everything they've been told is a lie; Sentinel is no Prime, but a usurper. He sold out Cybertron to the alien Quintessons, and helped these invaders kill the true Primes. The reason Orion, D-16, and their ilk have to spend their lives toiling away mining the fuel Energon? Because Sentinel is giving all that fuel away to the Quintessons.

(Considering Alpha Trion's role is to rip off the wool pulled over the leads' eyes, I don't think it's a coincidence the filmmakers cast Morpheus of "The Matrix" himself.)

D-16, the one who most believed in the system, takes this revelation the hardest. As he amasses power and followers to take down Sentinel, he promises them that neither he nor they will ever be led astray by a false leader again. When Orion becomes Optimus Prime, Megatron sees Sentinel's face as his old friend stares back at him. Here "Transformers One" avoids the "villain is evil for trying to change the status quo" trope. Both Optimus and Megatron want to tear down Cybertron's current regime, but only Optimus has the vision for a better future. Megatron is just hurt, angry, and lashing out.

So there you go; D-16 was set on the path to becoming Megatron because he realized he wasted his life believing a lie — a deception — and refuses to let that happen again. In the film's post-credit scene, he declares Optimus Prime his new enemy and swears, "We will not be blinded by his deception, we are the ones who are — Decepticons! Rise up!" As the crowd of Decepticons echo Megatron's cheer, the scene tracks in on the purple Decepticon insignia adorning his chest.

Speaking of that insignia, what's the story there? Sentinel notices the Megatronus sticker on D-16's body and, as a mocking compliment, uses a blowtorch to brand it on the miner's chest. It's only after D-16 kills Sentinel that he proclaims himself "Megatron." He still believes in the myth of Megatronus and so co-opts his idol's face for his movement. In the post-credit scene, the Decepticons brand themselves with that same face to emulate their leader, turning what was supposed to be a painful mockery into a will to power. Despite how evil their name sounds, these Decepticons think they're as heroic as the face they wear is.

"Transformers One" is playing in theaters.