Origin

Doctor Herbert West is based of the H.P. Lovecraft story "Herbert West, Re-Animator. The mad scientist has an unstoppable urge to find a way to re-animate the dead using science.

Creation

Herbert West was created by H.P. Lovecraft for his story Herbert West, Re-Animator. Then in 1985 he got a movie, Re-Animator. He then came back into the mainstream with comics based on the movie.

He later appeared in Cthulhu Mythos stories and series, such as H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu: The Festival and Miskatonic. Then in 2005 Herbert West meet Ash from Army of Darkness in Army of Darkness vs Re-Animator. He then was pair with other famous characters such as Cassie Hack and Vampirella to name a few.

Herbert West has also been the main character of his own Re-animator series that has been produced several times over the years.

Major Story Arcs

Dawn of the Re-animator

For more information see: Re-Animator: Dawn of the Re-animator

Taking place as a prequel to The Re-animator comic (1991) and the film (1985), Herbert is in Switzerland and is being arrested for the death of Professor Hans Gruber , an act he denies. To prove his innocence he and Hans' daughter, Elena Gruber face the zombie hoard of Erich Metler, the self proclaimed master of the re-animated.

During his time in the Swiss Alps, Herbert learns his serum maybe worked on Hans, he loses Elena to madness and kills Erich. When Herbert returns to Zurich he makes a enemy in fellow professor Fredrick Sanderson, before being forced to return to America to continue his work.

Re-Animator (1991)

Comic book adaptation of the Re-Animator (1985) film.

Herbert West was the student of the brilliant Dr. Hans Gruber until Dr. Gruber mysterious death. Using his knowledge of biology, West tried to bring his mentor back to life with a reagent he developed. The reagent brought the dead Dr. Gruber back to life, but ends up dying again by the strange side-effects of the drug. When the people who saw the re-animated Dr. Gruber die again claim West killed him, Herbert denies it. He says that he "gave him life", but the dosage was too high. He later goes on to continue his research at Miskatonic University, meeting Dr. Dan Cain. Cain becomes West's assistant after seeing the reagent bring a Rufus, Cain's dead cat back to life right in front of him. They then continue to research the effects of the drug by using the corpses in the morgue.

Cain's fiancée Megan Halsey sees this and reports them to her father Dean Allan Halsey, who suspends both West and Cain, but this does not stop the pair. They go to the hospital morgue and reanimate a corpse, but becomes incredibly violent and tries to kill West and Cain.

Dean Halsey wonders what the noise coming from the morgue is and goes there to find out. Unfortunately for him, he discovers the reanimated corpse, which kills him in a brutal beating. West manages to kill the violent zombie by stabbing it through with a bone saw. He then uses the reagent to bring the dead dean back to life.

The reanimated dean is found by West's rival Dr. Carl Hill. Hill discovers that West has successfully conquered brain death. Hill confronts West and tries to take West's reagent and claim it as his own creation through blackmail. While he is going over West's notes, Hill is hit in the head with a shovel by West, who then uses the shovel to cut his head off. Using this as a way to further his research, West reanimates Hill's body and head. He questions Hill's head until Hill's body knocks him out. Hill and his body then escape West's lab, taking some of the reagent with him.

When Cain goes into West's lab, he finds the doctor unconscious on the table of his ruined lab. When West comes to, Cain informs him that Hill has captured and lobotomized the dean. West then informs Cain about Hill and decides to make more of the reagent for a final showdown with Hill. Cain goes to check on Megan, when they are attacked by the dean. Dan is knocked unconscious and his girlfriend is taken away by her zombie father.

After Cain comes to, he and West go to the morgue, where Hill, the dean, and the dean's daughter are. When they get there, they are captured by the reanimated corpses in the morgue. Hill reveals that before he reanimated them, he lobotomized the corpses so that they would be completely under his control. He then states that he is going to use his new power to take control of the world using the dead. While Hill continues to talk to West, Cain and Megan try to escape, only to be caught by the dean. Megan is able to reach her dead father, who kills Hill's head and this breaks the hold on the other zombies.

In the melee, West escapes, but Megan is killed and it is up to Cain to use the reagent on her while West makes his escape

Army of Darkness vs Re-Animator

Dr. West has made a deal with a mystery man who promised West that if he has Ash committed to Arkham Asylum, the mystery man would show the Doctor how to use the Necronomicon to full fill his dreams of raising the dead. Dr. West fulfills his part, but the mystery man doesn't trust him and chops off his head.

This doesn't kill West, because he has experimented on himself and apparently already defeated death. It is later revealed that the Dr. West who made the deal is in fact a mirror version, and a Deadite trick. The Mirror Doctor is tricked into looking into a mirror and is replaced by the true Doctor who leaves because he doesn't feel responsible for.

Reanimator (2015)

After the events of Army of Darkness, Herbert moves down to New Orleans and sets up a new lab. One night he witnesses the murder of Nathan Davis and steals the body from the morgue and turns Nathan into The Valusian, and uses him as muscle, because Herbert has a new mission, selling drugs.

He created a new drug Eunique, a drug made from a mixture of reanimated and alligator blood. He then sells his new drug to Croceus Rex, knowing full well the drug lord with abuse the drug and become addicted.

Herbert then finds Susan Greene, the former fiancée of Nathan Davis and brings her into his operation, never teller her that her former love is the Valusian monster. Herbert then teaches Susan his methods for making Eunique and how to reanimate corpses.

The pair have a mentor and mentee dynamic up until Susan learns the truth of Valusian. Then when Susan is kidnapped by Croceus, Herbert saves her and explains that he reanimated Nathan and brought Susan into the fold so she could get revenge and kill Louis Durand, Nathan’s murderer.

While Susan takes her revenge on Louis, Herbert takes down Croceus and Louis’s witchdoctor Samedi. He seemingly destroys Croceus and makes Samedi his personal zombie. Herbert now has a new lab, a new assistant and with the remains of Croceus drug empire he has the funds to continue his work

Necronomicon Rising

For more information see: The Necronomicon Rising

Note: This is a different version of Herbert West that met Ash earlier because both parties have no memory of the other

Dr. Herbert West is working at Miskatonic University, when a perfectly preserved head from the 12th century is brought in. Ever the scientist, the doctor steals it and injects it with his re-agent bringing it back to life.

The head turn out to be Bad Ash and after it regrows a body, it tricks West into breaking into Dupont's Mansion and stealing the Necronomicon. Then when he casts a spell the pair are launched into the year 3404 where they run into Ash and Constance Wyrdie.

After a bit of an exchange they find themselves in front of a future version of West and learn that in this future the Deadites have taken over and future West plans on using the Necronomicon to take over the living and the dead.

West, Ash and Constance, stop his plan, by releasing the Deadites on Future West and they using the Necromicon to open a portal home. Constance does something wrong and West is sent to the year 1928 where he meets Howard Phillips, who offers to take him to Miskatonic University, not knowing that the doctor is a time traveler.

Alternate Versions

The Festival

For more information see: H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu: The Festival

When Henry Wilcox steals the Necronomicon, it is up to Randolph Carter, Albert Wilmarth, Thomas Malone and Michele LaSorcier to stop him and get the evil tomb back, but in a fight Wilcox is killed before the team can get the information they need, that is where Herbert comes in.

Randolph and Herbert have some connection and Randolph calls his old friend to reanimate the corpse so they can ask it questions. Herbert is reluctant sighting his own history as a cautionary tale to bringing back the dead.

Herbert explains he was obsessed with re-animating the dead and one day was successful in making a serum to re-animate the dead, but the dead revolted against him, injected him with his own serum, ripped him to pieces and left his body scattered over the countryside. Herbert was able to reconnect himself and is now an undying abomination.

Knowing Herbert's history Randolph still convinces Herbert to reanimate Wilcox so they could get the information, but something goes wrong. Wilcox comes back from the dead with magic powers, reanimates the corpses in lab and they rip Herbert to pieces. This time Randolph comes to Herbert's rescue and reassembles him and Herbert makes a gas that destroys the almost all the undead, all expect Wilcox's head.

The team then question the head of Wilcox and after Herbert uses some unspeakable methods the head tells them where to find the Necronomicon and the kidnapped Michele

Miskatonic

For more information see: Miskatonic and Even Death can Die

When Miranda Keller and Thomas Malone arrive in Miskatonic Valley, they find a boarding house and that is where Miranda meets the young Dr. Herbert West. Miranda asks him to look at a sample of Deep Ones blood, but Herbert is in a rush and has to leave but allows the agent to use his equipment.

Later, when it seems Herbert might have some connection with some murders, Thomas tracks him down in and corners him in his lab, where Thomas finds several corpses. Herbert gets the drop on the former New York detective and locks him up, but before he dispose of Thomas there is a knock at the door.

It is the animated corpses of Herbert’s previous experiments, and they attack him. Lucky for Herbert, Thomas breaks out of his holding cells and helps Herbert fight back the hoard of the undead. Herbert gets bit but has enough strength and cunning to slip off into the night before another undead can get him or Thomas can restrain him.

At some point Thomas must have caught Herbert because when Miranda’s mind and soul is taken over by Asenath Waite, Thomas brings Herbert into the cell so that he can use his unique techniques to torture the information out of the cult member.

This doesn’t work and more people start to believe that Thomas maybe the crazy on and Miranda is just suffering amnesia. Then it is revealed that Herbert is working with Herbert Hoover and isn’t trying to save Miranda but in fact is trying to use Miranda and Asenath to raise Cthulhu, to experiment on the Elder God.

In a navy sub, Herbert is going to put Asenath in a new body but Thomas uses a spell to destroy Miranda’s body and possibly kill Asenath for good, but now Miranda is stuck in a Deep Ones body and Herbert refuses to use his skill to save her. Thomas is going to kill Herbert but Miranda convinces him other wise and Thomas fleas the sub leaving Herbert to die in the explosion that follows, possible killing Herbert for good.

Pathfinder

During the events of Pathfinder: Worldscape, Herbert West finds himself in the Pathfinder universe. There he befriends Gribbet, a goblin who designed a serum that makes him smart. The pair are there when Camilla is murdered.

Herbert deduces that Camilla has the Fountain of Youth and upon finding it uses Camilla's dead body to experiment with it. He resurrects the queen and keeps her prisoner.

Things are going well for Herbert and Gribbet until Lady Hekkador arrives and demands Herbert reanimate her former master. Now Herbert and Gribbet are a prisoners of Lady Hekkador and Worldscape.

Other Media

Most know of him from the movie The Re-Animator, Bride of Re-Animator, and Beyond Re-Animator. currently in production is House of Re-Animator.

Re-Animator (1985)

Introduction of Herbert West, his meeting of Daniel Cain and their partnership which leads to the death of Dean Halsey, the murder of Dr. Carl Hill and the birth of the Re-animator.

Bride of the Re-Animator

West ends up surviving this incident and reuniting with Cain. They continue to research reanimating corpses. They end up learning that the bodies they reanimate don't have to be complete, that they can have put together random parts and reanimate them successfully. This give

West the idea of creating a wife for himself out of the body parts of the most beautiful women. Unfortunately, a doctor named Wilbur Graves finds Hill's head and a vial of West's reagent. He unknowingly reanimates Hill, who threatens to kill him (using a reanimated cop) into stitching bat wings onto his neck. He then gathers his surviving forces from the Miskatonic Massacre to attack West again. West completes his bride and injects her with the reagent just as the zombie forces attack West's new lab, with Hill leading them. When West, Cain, Cain's new girlfriend, and the newly animated bride lock themselves in his lab, the bride tries to give Cain her heart, literally. When Cain denies it, the bride begins to fall apart, and the zombies begin to break into the lab, West, Cain, and Cain's new girlfriend attempt to escape into a crypt on the other side of the wall. There, his previous reanimated body parts experiment tries to attack them. Amazingly, West is able to control them and keep them at bay. As soon as Hill and his army enters the crypt, it becomes unstable and begins to collapse. Cain and his girlfriend are able to escape, but West, Hill, and the zombies appear to be trapped in the collapsed crypt.

Herbert West actually manages to escape again, only to be arrested and sent to prison for his role in a girl's death by one of his zombies. In the prison, West tries to continue his research, but it goes very slowly due to the lack of material he has. It is then that he meets his new assistant, Dr. Howard Phillips. Together, they discover that the key to nearly bringing a corpse completely back to life is Nano-Plasmic Energy (NPE). Unfortunately, while these experiments are going on, the prison falls into chaos. The prison warden they reanimated with the reagent and NPE tried begins to act strangely and the the inmates have West's reagent and uses it like a drug. Soon it becomes impossible to tell which inmates are dead, alive, or undead. In the confusion, Phillips' girlfriend is killed and West escapes using Phillips' ID.

Personality

In the films West seems to have a general disregard for not only human life but animal life as well.He is obsessed with continuing his work,this is where his disregard for life comes from since his experiments and further research into re animating the dead comes first and foremost.

He simply sees every death as further opportunity to experiment and re animate the dead and to record the results.

Powers

Herbert West is just a simple human, but he is a genius. He can reanimate dead corpses with a reagent, but only if they aren't too badly decomposed.