Franklin Badge

The Franklin Badge is an item that appears in all three titles of the Mother series. It is a unique badge famous for its reflective properties that protect its holder from specific PSI abilities. Its specific purpose and method of obtaining it differs between games. Unlike similar items, it does not need to be equipped; merely having it in a character's inventory is enough to activate it.
== In EarthBound Beginnings ==
EarthBound Beginnings is the first and only game to feature more than one Franklin Badge. The first Franklin Badge is gifted to Ninten by Pippi after rescuing her from the Podunk Cemetery, if the answers given to her questions are no and yes, respectively. The second is hidden in Duncan's Factory, north of Merrysville. Franklin Badges in this game, unlike the rest of the series, reflect the lethal PK Beam γ back at its user.
It is recommended to give the two badges to Ninten and Ana, with Ana taking priority over him if the player only has one Franklin Badge.
== In EarthBound ==
In EarthBound, the Franklin Badge's purpose is to reflect any thunder-based ability such as PSI Thunder back at its user, most notably during Ness's encounter with the Happy Happyist cult leader, Carpainter. It can be obtained from Paula while she is under the cult's captivity. The item's description tells that it is said to have been used by Benjamin Franklin when he experimented with electricity.
Because it reflects any thunder-based ability, it is not limited to protection from PSI Thunder alone, but also from other similar enemy attacks, such as "Crashing Boom Bang" or "Electrical Shock" attacks (Both being generic versions of PSI Thunder β), making the badge a useful key item.
== In Mother 3 ==
The Franklin Badge sprite in Mother 3.
It is first received from Flint as the Courage Badge during Chapter 7. After pulling the fourth Needle, a Mr. Saturn in Saturn Valley begins polishing it. Before pulling the sixth Needle, the Mr. Saturn returns with the polished Franklin Badge, its lightning-reflecting ability restored.
The Franklin Badge is integral to both encounters with the Masked Man; during the first encounter, he will attempt to strike Lucas with lightning, only for the badge to reflect it back at him. The Masked Man then regains his composure and strikes back, starting the battle.
During the second encounter at the end of the game, the Masked Man will incapacitate Lucas's entire party, save for Lucas himself (due to the Franklin Badge), turning the final boss fight into a one-on-one duel. Once he finally regains his identity as Claus, he then fires one last lightning bolt, reflecting it off the badge and intentionally killing himself in the process.
== Trivia ==
* In the companion guide, it is called "Franklin Badge" in all versions of EarthBound Beginnings (Mother and Mother 1 + 2). Its abbreviations are "FranklnBdge" in EarthBound Beginnings and "Frank.Badge" in Mother 1 + 2.
** Its description reads, "Just holding this can bounce an enemy's PK Beam γ back at them and deal them damage. They say B. Franklin invented it. You can get it from Pippi.".
* In Red Faction: Armadgeddon, the protagonist Darius Mason is given a "Franklin Amulet" by his friend Kara, who mentions the amulet is supposed to ward off lightning. The amulet serves no purpose outside of the cutscene.
* The Franklin Badge loses its ability to deflect electricity when not properly maintained. Although Lucas had carried and worn a Franklin Badge for a majority of his adventure, it did not start to protect him from electric attacks until polished by a Mr. Saturn.
* The Franklin Badge was named after Benjamin Franklin, an American founding father who famously conducted experiments with electricity.
* It is unknown what happened to the second Franklin Badge after the events of EarthBound Beginnings.
* EarthBound Beginnings is the only one in the series where the Franklin Badge is not required to beat the game. In EarthBound, it is needed to defeat Mr. Carpainter, and in Mother 3, it plays its biggest role as the only counter to the Masked Man.
Category:EarthBound Beginnings
Category:EarthBound Beginnings Items
Category:EarthBound
Category:EarthBound Items
Category:Mother 3
Category:Mother 3 Items
Category:Key Items
Category:Items