Merle Zombie: The Walking Dead (McFarlane Toys)

The Walking Dead: Merle Zombie

In the world of the Walking Dead, you're either dead or become the undead. Unfortunately for Merle, he turned into one of them. Even more so, his own little brother, Daryl had to end him after all that "Dixon family reunion" in Season 3. That scene delivered a huge impact on the Daryl character and probably the most memorable one for me. For Walking Dead fans (such as myself), this Merle Zombie action figure reminds us of how death is inevitable even to the most beloved character.
















Before you try to find any accessories that might have came with it, first ask yourself- does a zombie know how to hold a weapon? Unlike the more modern and more creative zombie interpretations in films, Walking Dead zombies are like any other typical zombies we know; slow and extremely unintelligent let alone the fact that Merle Zombie was only seen munching on a corpse before he got stabbed in the face by Daryl. So sadly, no accessories with this figure.

Basically, the figure is a repaint of the first Merle Dixon we had from last year. The difference obviously is that Merle is now a pale-looking gray zombie as you can see him standing next to his former self. Those streaks of blood over his face with those "pupil-less" eyes are signs of danger. Also, he got a big blood splatter over his chest and at his forearms painted with some realism. Shirt and pants are of the same colour from first one. Interestingly, Merle Zombie suddenly got zippers around his pants, which are made obvious by its silver paint and which I believe is a mistake.

The face sculpt is very Michael Rooker look-alike... in his zombie form. McFarlane used the same body mold from the previous. Everything is the same except that his hand-blade on the right arm is slightly tilted, which probably was in the show. The holster and the sheath for his gun and knife are still part of this figure but like I said, he doesn't come specifically with these accessories.

The poseability on this figure is more or less limited. I think it makes no sense for a zombie action figure to be highly articulated and can do some kicks and splits. The amount of articulation is just right. Merle has a ball-jointed neck, ball-hinged shoulder (without the bicep swivel), single-jointed and swivelled elbows, and wrists that bends and rotates. He got a Y-joint with swivels at the upper thighs, single-jointed knees with rotation, ball-hinged ankles with a bit of ankle pivot.

So Merle being one of the iconic characters in the TV Series along with that crucial event where he "turned", is something you might wanna consider having in an action figure if you're a die hard Walking Dead fan. The paint job and sculpt is neat and accurate that will make you relive those moments. I highly recommend the Merle Zombie.