We Still Don't Understand How This John Black Plot Point Worked On Days Of Our Lives
The story of John Black (Drake Hogestyn) is one of the most complicated, yet interesting ones on "Days of Our Lives." The character first appeared in Salem in 1986, and at the time, he had no memories and was bandaged after having plastic surgery. He was later thought to be Marlena Evans' (Deidre Hall) presumed dead husband, Roman Brady. John lived as Roman for years and assumed his life until the real Roman returned and sent Salem into shock (via Soap Central).
Not knowing his real identity, the man once deemed Roman simply named himself John Black. However, John and Marlena couldn't fight their feelings and they eventually had an affair. After Roman divorced Marlena, she and John got back together and welcomed a child of their own, Belle.
Over the years, John has struggled with not knowing who he really is (via Nine). So, he's searched high and low to find clues about his identity. His search eventually landed him a spot in the DiMera Family, which led him down many paths as he still doesn't fully know the story of his past.
John's true identity has always been a mystery
Longtime "Days of Our Lives" viewers have watched John Black search for answers about his past for decades. Over the years, John's search has led him to believe that he was a priest, and he even saved Marlena Evans during her demonic possession by performing an exorcism (via Nine). John also previously believed himself to be Forrest Alamain, a child adopted by the Alamain family at a young age. He's also been known as "The Pawn," a brainwashed version of himself who has performed terrible acts and been a mercenary for Stefano DiMera.
In 2008, John went to Ireland with the Brady family and learned that he was the love child of Stefano's father, Santo DiMera, and Colleen Brady, per Soap Central. Colleen was said to have given birth to a baby boy that she named Ryan, and because she couldn't afford to raise the child she placed him in an orphanage. He was later adopted by the Alamain family. The new information meant that Stefano and John were actually half-brothers.
Just before discovering that John was his brother, Stefano did something terrible to John and brainwashed him yet again, this time wiping out all of his memories in a very confusing story arc, per Soaps in Depth.
Stefano stole John's memories and uploaded them onto a disc back in 2007
In 2007, "Days of Our Lives" fans watched John Black get hit by a car during a hit and run accident. The scene was not only sad, but turned heartbreaking when the character later died in Marlena Evans' arms. However, no character is ever truly dead in Salem, and John was discovered alive in Stefano's basement the following year, per Soap Central. Stefano had resurrected John and then erased all of his memories.
According to Soaps, Stefano brought John back with a totally unrecognizable personality. He was not only strange and lifeless, but also appeared to have a hatred for those around him. It was later revealed that Stefano had taken all of John's memories and downloaded them on just one CD, which seems completely ridiculous as he would have too many memories to be stored on one simple disc.
However, years later, Stefano's henchman Dr. Rolf performed a similar procedure on him when he aged and his body started to fail. Stefano's essence was then put onto a chip that was implanted in Steve Johnson's brain so that the villain could live on after his body had died.
Thankfully, John eventually regained his memories and Steve's chip was removed, putting an end to the wild memory games that Stefano played, at least for now.