| “ | Damn it, it wasn't quite fresh enough !
— Herbert West on one of his failed projects
|
” |
Herbert West is a fictional character created by H. P. Lovecraft for his short story "Herbert West—Reanimator".. There have been several film adaptations of the story including Herbert West as played by Jeffrey Combsin the Re-Animator (film series) which include the 1985 Re-Animator film and its two sequels, Bride of Re-Animator and Beyond Re-Animator.
Being the inventor of a special solution that when injected into a main artery of a recently deceased person causes the body's mechanical, living functions to return, West dedicated his life to bringing the dead back to life. However, most subjects that have undergone the "re-animation" process have turned violent and, after failed attempts to return to their own graves, have terrorized the communities into which they were reanimated. Frustrated by his failed projects again and again, West would eventually go mad and resort to murder to gain "fresh" specimen for his experiment, creating chaos with his experiments where ever he went.
Battle vs. Professor Pyg (by Battlefan237)[]
Professor Pyg :
Herbert West :
West of Arkham Asylum the Narrow flows quietly, spreading the stench from the backyard of that god forsaken place to the slums and sewers nearby. Deeply into one of the seemingly abandoned sewers, a makeshift morgue containing the corpses of dead patients and staff from the Asylum has been established by Gotham City’s craziest surgeon Professor Pyg in order to store valuable resources for his quest for human perfection.
Today, another brilliant but insane mind enters this realm of dread, as the infamous creator of the abominations known as the Reanimators, Herbert West, marches into the sewer. With his standard set of equipment, both medical and botanical, if you get what I mean, Dr. West strides down the rat-infested tunnel, seemingly unaware of the horror ahead.
Only a short period of time has passed when the first Sphinxes that guards the secret experiment chamber comes into West’s sight. Sneakily, the doctor bends down to avoid been sighted by the Dollotron. As the dumb zombie passes by the pile of trash West has been hiding behind the doctor launches himself forward in a rapid manner, injecting a whole volume of tranquilizer into the Dollotron’s neck. To his genuine shock the syringe assault turns out useless, as the already-stiffened body of Pyg’s victim reacts to the ambush with a violent push, sending West tumbling backwards into the trash. Startled, West draws out his M1911 and empties the first few rounds into its chest, killing the imperfect zombie instantly .
"A vistor ? Oh ho, ho ! Pyg happy, Pyg glad, Pyg gets to play with new flesh, make it look pretty after death!" A voice shouts from a few steps behind, and a few animal-like snorts follows up. Almost immediately, several homemade lamps get turned on, revealing the morgue and its master, Lazlo Valentine, standing behind an operation desk roughly 20 meters away. “Look what have you done to my beautiful work of art ! Scarlet is just a few inches from perfection, and you have ruined her. No worries though, Pyg will fix her again, and Pyg will fix you too ! Pyg is like god ! Pyg will fix us all ! SQUEALLLLLLLLL !” The mad man yells, as the three remaining Dollotrons gather around him.
“I must say, Dr. Valentine, I'm very disappointed in you. You steal the secret of life and death from me and here you are, dressing like a filthy animal and trying to play god. You're not even a second-rate scientist. What you are doing is an insult to all these fresh specimens you have obtained. Get away from that desk and stop exercising your stolen theories.” Denounces West, as he points to the dead bodies piling around the desk. “SQUEALLLLLL ! SQUEALLLL ! Interesting, another imperfect mind trying to challenge the sheer perfection of Pyg. Get him for mommy !” Commands Lazlo, pushing the army of dolls forward.
“You really think I came here alone with no backups do you ?” Herbert sighs, as he pulls out a whistle from his pocket and blows it. Once the noise is out, the reanimated corpses of Officer Chapman and three other unfortunate souls dart out from multiple spots, charging towards Professor Pyg. One of them, however, is apparently too hungry to fight and gets drawn to the massive amount of food present in the arena, as it buries its head deep into the decaying body of an asylum nurse stabbed to death by Mr.Zsasz a few days ago and began gorging over her rotted face voraciously.
“Quick, come back my children ! Protect your mommy !” Professor Pyg shouts, as he ducks ahead and clutches his shotgun. The first pump turns out to be successful ,as the leading Reanimator’s head gets blown up by the double rounds. With its nerve system totally destroyed, the resurrected man quickly receives his second ticket to heaven.
Delighted by the result Pyg reloads his gun fast enough to make a second shot which lands on another Reanimator’s belly, making a large hole on its unstable body, thus preventing it from marching forward. However, to the psycho’s shock, the zombie’s intestines pops out of the hole and swings forward wildly, hitting him by the arm and therefore knocking him off the platform.
Dropping the shotgun Pyg grabs up a buzzsaw laying nearby in haste just in time to block the incoming intestine attack. Liquid in yellow and green mixed with remaining of the victim’s blood flood out of the chopped-off intestines, splattering all over Pyg’s mask. “Yummy, beautiful ! Beautiful but imperfect !” He comments, as he sticks out his tongue from the hole on the mask to lick the gelatinous goo. This particular scene even arouses a strong impulse to vomit from the mind of Doctor West, who witnesses it from a distance.
Retrieving his remaining intestines, the Reanimator meets its doom at the hands of the three Dollotrons, who stagger back robotically and viciously tear it apart with their brute strength.However, the unanimous behavior of Pyg's products grants Herbert West with a chance to approach them from the back, completely whacking one of them's brain with his shovel.The other two soon turn back and the first one of whom grabs the shovel's hand and snaps it, forcing West to switch to the metal pipe. A quick swing to the head is enough to knock it aside and into Chapman's arms where the Dollotron is viciously mangled into pieces.
When his canon fodders are busy dealing with West and his super undeads, Pyg himself is locked in the task of backstabbing the other reanimator, who is still enjoying his feast. Carefully edging to its position, Pyg presses an electric drill to the back of its head. The reanimator is too intoxicated in his meal that when the deadly buzzing sound arises he has no chance to fight back before the drill pierces its brain, devastating its body function.
Back to West's side, the last Dollotron turns out to be a piece of cake for the scientist and his pet, as West spends the remaining rounds of his pistol on its head .
Turning back and horrified to see all of his minions either torn apart or brain dead, Pyg panics but soon calms down. "Pyg not happy, Pyg feels bad, but Pyg's seen worse, Pyg's fought Bane, Pyg can make it out alive." Buffing him up with a few words of self-assurance he picks up a pitchfork leaning to the wall and tosses it towards Chapman, who shrugs off the feeble damage but is distracted long enough to allow Pyg to retrieve his Buzzsaw and cleaver from the desk.
The trade of blows follows up, as Chapman launches forward, only to be cut in the left arm by the saw and hacked on the other arm by the blade. Attempting to deal more damage to the creature Pyg aggressively swings his knife forward, only to be blocked by the undead's extended arm.
This swift attack has exhausted most of Pyg's energy. The obese man backs off helplessly and lifts up his buzzsaw in a desperate attempt of self defense, only to have the creature lift him up and slam him on the wall, rendering him no longer able to fight.
"Now it's time for a body fresh enough." Says West, as he steps onto the desk, taking out the chemical cloth in order to apply it to the psychopath. However, it is at this very moment, something tangled deep, deep inside Chapman's half-rotted brain gets triggered. The all-too-familiar cloth that took his life manages to dig into the Reanimator's memory and squeeze out the most unpleasant flashback of this very unlucky man. "You piece of shit ! What have you done to me !!!!" Roars the officer, as he turns to West and grabs him by the collar. "I will kill you ! I will rip your heart out !" He yells, with sheer rage and agony, as he delivers a punch to the doctor's chest, sending him tumbling down the platform.
"Wait, wait, hold up, let me explain this ! Chapman, I didn't and I never meant to kill you, at least not for eternity. I only temporarily pause your life so that you can play a part in a great work. A great work to create new life ! A great work .... " Explains Doctor West, as he exerts himself to regain control over his pet. The psychic energy that entitled him with this gift came mysteriously and left mysteriously at random times, and he has not yet figured out a pattern scientific enough for him to preserve it.
"Calm down Chapman, you see, you are alive ! You are the living proof that I have conquered death !" He staggers back, as Chapman hops forward like a broken animal."Don't follow me ! It's the one behind you to blame !" He exclaims, as he edges left, leading Chapman to the trap he has picked out.
West's deliberate plan proves to be effective, as the angry dead man reaches the spot where the broken spade rests silently in the dark section of the tunnel which the light of the faint lamp cannot illuminate.Stepping on the broken tool the zombie topples and slips, as the sharpened head of the gardening tool pokes into the Reanimator's rotted toes, injecting a string of pain into Chapman's dead but still conscious body. Roaring in pain the lieutenant collapses down, only to provide West with the precious chance to deliver a blow to its head with the pipe.
With the brain of the zombie once again bashed,Chapman's sanity soon wears off, and the ferocity of the Reanimator seems to be growing back in the creature's glowing eyes.However, West spares no hesitation swinging his pipe for a second time, sending the man into a hole leading to the sewer floor beneath the experiment chamber, for he cannot risk putting himself in the danger of a second act of treason.
The noise of Chapman's body clashing the sewer floor brings West temporary relief, however, the relief is soon transformed into a sense of bewilderment, as the noise of another life echoes from the floor below. Judging from the step, this newcomer is a creature of rather enormous status. And to West's terror, the creature lets out a series of dreadful chants in a coarse, low voice.
"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday ! Christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday..."
What follows up, is the helpless wriggles of Chapman's husk,as the newcomer crushes the Reanimator with its weight,finally allowing the poor lieutenant to rest in peace, albeit in a not-so-subtle way .
Lucky for both West and Professor Pyg, the creature cares little about their business above, and simply walks away from the bottom, without taking a single glance back at the twisted flesh.
Seeing his foe distracted the psycho professor makes a final attempt to crawl away from the scene, which turns out to be fruitless, as West soon catches up with the fat man and tranquilizes him, putting an end to his madness.
5 hours later
It is too late when GCPD's men and the Caped Crusader arrives at the chamber to recapture the escaped convict, for Pyg's body, with his stomach gutted open, rests on the table, with Doctor West standing nearby .
"Jesus Christ ! Professor Pyg is dead ! And what's the hell is going on with all these dead men lying around ? " Detective Bullocks asks in shock and disgust, as he makes his way through the torn-apart remains of the Dollotrons and Reanimators.
"They are people murdered by Professor Valentine, whom I am now experimenting on." West says, calmly.
"Who the hell are you ? "
"Herbert West, a scientist."
"Look like we have a new player in town." Says Bullock, sarcastically, as he turns to Batman with a tired expression.
"I wouldn't call him a new player, for he is the mastermind behind several medical disasters in Miskatonic and Peru. And back to the main question, did you kill Professor Pyg ?" Asks Batman, as he shoots a glare at Herbert West, who responds with a frown, as he tries to contemplate the proper words to describe and summarize the blasphemous and yet mind-blowing things he has been doing to the dead body of that mad man for the past few hours.After a few seconds of searching in his brain, he gives out the line he deems proper in a determined tone :
"No, I didn't kill him. Instead, I gave him life !"
Expert's Opinion[]
Although Professor Pyg is obviously the more experienced schemer, his weapons lack practicality and his zombie minions are outmatched by West's super zombie minions. In addition, West is physically more adjusted and mentally stabler than Pyg, allowing him to come on top and walk out alive.
To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.
Battle vs. Ryoko Tanbo (by SPARTAN 119)[]
For the past few months, ever since that American, Doctor West, took a job at the hospital, bodies had disappeared from the morgue in the night, with no records of them being transferred to a funeral home or the coroner's office. After investigating along with Kouji, who had previously assisted her in her decidedly unofficial investigation of Dr. Ougai, she discovered that every time a body had disappeared, West had been at the hospital, with his car parked near the loading dock of the morgue, and sure enough, he was here today as well.
As soon as Ryoko Tanbo entered the side entrance of the hospital that was her workplace, with accomplice Kouji Tonoo close in tow, she immediately knew something was amiss. The lights on this floor were out, and the hospital was deserted. Even at the current time of 1:32 AM, there should have been a night staff on duty- hospitals never slept, after all, the injured or ill could arrive at any time. The morgue was hardly the most frequented area in the hospital, but even then, there should at least be a few technicians and medical examiner on duty.
"It's too quiet, and the lights should never be off", Ryoko commented, "Even if we lose power, we've got a double-redundant backup generator system. Stay sharp, we still don't know what we are dealing with here".
"Do you think it's something like... you know, like that... thing... with Fuminori?", Kouji asked.
"I can't rule it out", Ryoko said as she turned on her flashlight, "hopefully West is just selling off the bodies to medical schools as cadavers or something, I can't help but shake the feeling there's something more to this..."
The two walked down the darkened corridors of the basement of the hospital for a few minutes, not encountering a single soul, as they approached a a T-junction. Ryoko made a motion for Kouji to wait at just short of the junction. "On the count of the three, you check left, I'll the right", Ryoko whispered, "1...2...3!"
At that moment, Ryouko drew her sawed-off shotgun and turned right, and saw... nothing, just an empty corridor leading into the main supply storage and loading dock. From behind, however, she heard an inhuman roar, followed by two shots from Kouji's revolver. Turning on the spot, her flashlight illuminated a bloodied figure, appearing to be sporting multiple stab wounds in the chest and neck, attempting to bite and claw at Kouji's neck, with Kouji struggling to repel it.
Ryoko immediately pressed the barrel of her shotgun right up against the figure's face and pulled the trigger. The reanimated corpse was returned to death as most of its brain was blown out the back of its skull.
"Are you all right?", Ryoko called out to Kouji, as she helped him push the body off of him.
"I think so", Kouji said, "I think it's safe to say we know what West is doing with those bodies."
"If we see any more of them, aim for the head.", Ryouko replied as she reloaded her shotgun, "They seem to be able to resists shots to the body. Let's get moving. The sooner we put an end to this, the better".
Ryoko and Kouji slowly advanced down the corridor, with weapons at the ready, before again standing on either side of the doorway to the morgue, with weapons at the ready. View through the small window on the morgue door, it was immediately clear that this was the only room on this floor that was light.
On the other side of the door, West injected another dead body, a the victim of a car accident that had their stomach gruesomely turn open by a piece of jagged metal, with his resurrection serum. At once, the body began moving, but like the others, it showed no sense of its past self- the doctor had created only one more mindless zombie. "Damn... still not fresh enough!", West cursed as the door burst open and Ryoko and Kouji entered with guns in hand.
"Give it up, West, it's over!", Ryoko called out to the main standing over the autopsy table.
"Ahh.. Doctor Tanbo! I thought you might come meddling. I cannot allow you to stand in the way of science any longer, though I dare say you will be exactly the subjects I need!" At that moment, West drew his weapon, an M1911 pistol, out of his coat and ducked behind the autopsy table, firing two hastily-aimed shots, both of which missed, before sprinting out of the morgue through the second door on the west side of the room.
As West fled, the body on the table rose from the dead. The something unexpected happened, even for someone facing a zombie. As Ryoko took aim with her shotgun, the zombie shot its guts across the room, the intestines tangling tightly around Ryouko's neck and right arm, knocking her shotgun out of her hand. As the monster's intestines spun around her like a constricting snake, Ryoko used her free hand to throw a small metal canister at the zombie.
"Shoot... the... canister...", Ryouko struggled to speak.
Taking action immediately, Kouji raised his revolver and fired twice at the canister. The first shot missed, however, the second caused the canister to explode in a cloud of what looked like white smoke. As the canister burst, the zombie was doused in liquid nitrogen and collapsed before as it's body was flash frozen, shattering as it hit the floor.
"Dr. Tanbou!", Kouji shouted to Ryoko.
"I'm fine", Ryoko replied, "Keep moving, but be careful, I knowing that bastard, I suspect he has a few more tricks up his sleeve".
Ryouko and Tonoo ran after Dr. West, quickly reaching the western loading dock, which was mostly used by trucks from the coroner's office to deliver bodies. As they opened the door, they were greeted by three more gunshots. This time, two of these shots struck home, one hitting Kouji in the shoulder. Kouji retreated around a corner and clutched on the wound.
"Stay in cover and keep pressure on the wound, I'll handle this", Ryoko said.
About twenty meters away, Herbert West stood in a coroner's van, as along with one of his undead creations. "Kill them!", West ordered the zombie, however, it did not move.
"I said, ki...", West said, but his command was interupted by the reanimated figure turning towards him and lunging at him. The reanimated man, who had realized that West was the one responsible for his post-mortem torment, attacked the mad doctor, clawing and biting at his neck and face, trying to rip open his throat with his bare hands.
West's shouts of pain were interrupted by the roar of a shotgun blast, as his undead victim-turned-attacker's head was struck at point black range, killing them instantly. Ryoko then pushed the body aside and looked down at the mortally wounded doctor.
"You should have chosen your friends more wisely, Dr. West", Ryoko said, before she discharged the second barrel of her shotgun, finish West off with a shot to the head. Ryoko then placed her shotgun back into the shoulder holster beneath her trenchcoat, before turning her back on the scene of carnage, walking over to provide assistance to Kouji, offering her shoulder and leading him back through the basement, upstairs to the admission desk. After all, if you had to be shot, a hospital was probably the best place for it to happen.
WINNER: Ryoko Tanbo
Expert's Opinion[]
Ryouko won this battle thanks to both her own capabilities and her allies. First off, she is more mentally stable than West, and has experience pertinent to investigating and engaging in combat with a psychopath with inhuman horrors as allies. Her sawed-off shotgun would prove more effective in the close quarters in the interior of a building, and her liquid nitrogen canister could prove useful to instantly kill one of West's Reanimators. Secondly, Ryoko's ally, Kouji Tonoo, is a normal human, which, while lacking in the durability and raw physical strength of West's undead minions, is more intelligent and can do more damage at a distance with his firearm, and will be far more reliable, as West's reanimators may betray him if they revert to their base instincts or remember that he is the one who killed them.