As part of the Resistance, Merl Cobben served as an A-wing pilot who was human. He found himself owing a debt to fellow pilot Tallissan Lintra after she rescued him during a conflict. He fought in the Battle of Crait in 34 ABY, and was one of the few members of the Resistance who survived and managed to escape the planet of Crait.
By 35 ABY, Cobben found himself stationed at the Resistance base situated on the moon of Ajan Kloss, where he grieved the death of General Leia Organa after she passed away. Before the Battle of Exegol, he embraced fellow pilot Allie Samta, and after the Resistance claimed victory at Exegol, he joined in the celebrations at the base.
During the war against the First Order, Merl Cobben, a human, functioned as an pilot of the RZ-2 A-wing interceptor within the Starfighter Corps of the Resistance. He felt a sense of obligation to his fellow Resistance pilot, Tallissan Lintra, as she had saved his life during a battle. However, he lived longer than his comrade, who perished in 34 ABY during the Battle of Oetchi. Shortly after this, Cobben participated in the Battle of Crait, where the surviving members of the decimated Resistance fleet made their last stand against the First Order at a outpost located on the planet Crait. Cobben was among the few Resistance members who managed to survive the confrontation and escape.
By 35 ABY, Cobben was stationed at the new headquarters of the Resistance on the moon of Ajan Kloss. Upon the death of the Resistance's leader, General Leia Organa, Cobben, along with many others, gathered to mourn silently around her body. Later, he engaged in conversation with a member of the Resistance ground crew near the CR90 corvette Tantive IV when the protocol droid C-3PO announced that the astromech droid R2-D2 was receiving a transmission.
The message came from their ally Rey, who was providing the Resistance with a route to the planet Exegol. There, the Sith Eternal were gathering a Sith armada, known as the Final Order, with the intention of seizing control of the galaxy. The Resistance leveraged this route to devise an attack on Exegol. Following the planning session, Cobben hurried through the base on Ajan Kloss and embraced fellow pilot Allie Samta upon encountering her. After the Resistance, aided by the Citizens' Fleet, successfully defeated the Sith Eternal forces at Exegol, Cobben and Samta were among those who celebrated the triumph at the Ajan Kloss base. Cobben was seen standing on an A-wing starfighter, cheering amidst the celebrating crowds.
Cobben was equipped with a green flight suit, complemented by a white flight harness and a FreiTek Incorporated life support system. His attire also included a green A-wing pilot's helmet, black boots, and gray gloves. He piloted a white and blue RZ-2 A-wing interceptor.
Mick Cobb portrayed Merl Cobben without credit in the 2019 sequel trilogy movie, Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker. The character's identity was confirmed by the companion reference book Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary, authored by Pablo Hidalgo, which incorporated a tuckerization of Cobb's surname.