Merle Dixon

Merle Dixon was a survivor of the zombie apocalypse and brother to Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead. He makes his debut appearance in "Guts", in Atlanta. After being cuffed to the roof on top of the building in Atlanta by Rick due to Merle's racist and aggressive behavior, he is forced to amputate his hand later when Walkers are approaching the roof through a door, since T-Dog had accidentally dropped the key to the handcuffs. Eventually he is found by a man named Philip and is taken to Woodbury. However, after Rick's group attacked the town, Merle was considered a traitor and fled Woodbury with Daryl.

Appearance and Personality
Merle is a tall, Caucasian male with a rugged build. He has short grey hair and commonly is seen with light facial stubble. An unruly and quick-tempered Southern redneck, Merle is extremely ill-tempered, racist, violent, volatile, and quick to express his beliefs. Much like his younger brother, Merle is an expert tracker and hunter. He is deadly with firearms, and in the third season, his hand-blade attachment proves to be one of his deadliest weapons. He is an experienced bruiser, showcased in the first season when he dominated T-Dog in a fist-fight, and at the same time was able to fend off Rick, Morales, and Glenn simultaneously. He also shows his fighting abilities when he took down Caesar in the brutal battle-royale event in Woodbury, and was able to fend off Michonne's sword attacks with his hand-blade. Merle was The Governor's right-hand man, all the while striving to find his brother and take vengeance on Rick, who left him for dead on the roof. Merle has since been branded as a traitor and a terrorist by The Governor, and is now an enemy of Woodbury.

While in a heated argument with his younger brother, Daryl, he knocks him down and, in the process, rips his shirt, revealing Daryl's scars. Hinting that their father beat them both to a somewhat high degree.

While he was staying in Woodbury, Merle has read many books including the Bible and even memorized verses of the Bible showing that he is intelligent and also possibly religious. He has also claimed that he liked Woodbury's Library and is one of the few things he missed about Woodbury.

Pre-Apocalypse
Merle and Daryl lived somewhere in the mountains of North Georgia with their neglectful parents; their father being an alcoholic and their mother being both that and a chain-smoker. When they were both little, they lost their mother to a house fire that had been caused by her cigarette while she was asleep. Because of the lack of love and guidance he was given, Merle chose to act out against society, which led him to frequently be incarcerated in juvenile institutions. He raised Daryl to share the same beliefs and also become tough in the cruel adult world that both of them faced. Despite talking proudly about taking care of Daryl, Merle, like their father, was often absent from Daryl's life and didn't give him the emotional support that a big brother should.

Merle abandoned the family presumably during his teenage years, leaving Daryl with their father (seemingly oblivious to the abuse his brother was facing). He then enrolled in the military, as shown by his physical strength and skill with firearms. At one point, he punched a non-commissioned officer (Sergeant), which got him dishonorably discharged. He was then sent to prison for sixteen months and likely court-martialed.

Killed By
After Merle is captured by the Woodbury soldiers during the shootout, The Governor grabs him and takes him back inside the building that Merle was sniping from. The Governor bites off two of Merle's fingers on his left hand, breaking his knife arm before fatally shooting him in the chest. Daryl comes across the undead Merle feasting on Ben, at the meeting place. Daryl pushes him back 3 times, before stabbing Merle in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground. He finishes the undead Merle by stabbing him multiple times in the face.
 * The Governor (Alive)
 * Daryl Dixon (Zombified)