All The Characters Dr. Rolf Has Brought Back To Life On Days Of Our Lives
If you're a longtime "Days of Our Lives" viewer then you know exactly who Dr. Wilhelm Rolf (William Utay) is. Although Dr. Rolf isn't always on the canvas, if fans see him pop up then there is likely to be some big drama ahead. Rolf was first introduced to "Days of Our Lives" viewers back in 1997, per Soaps.
The character is known for being Stefano DiMera's biggest supporter. The mad scientist character has pulled off some truly impressive things over the years, such as brainwashing many characters, implanting chips into people's brains to control them, and even transferring Stefano's essence into Steve Johnson's body so that his former boss could live on.
Rolf has been responsible for multiple baby swaps (via Soap Central), making Hattie Adams into Marlena Evans' (Deidre Hall) doppelganger, and even engineering the birth of Rex and Cassie Brady — who were originally thought to be aliens from outer space. However, one of the craziest things Dr. Rolf has ever done is to create a serum that can bring the dead back to life, per Soaps in Depth. The serum is so powerful that the character is actually responsible for bringing back multiple beloved characters long after they were presumed to be dead and gone.
Dr. Rolf revived Will Horton after he was strangled by The Necktie Killer
In 2017, "Days of Our Lives" fans watched as questions surrounding Will Horton's (Chandler Massey) death began to circulate around Salem. The NBC soap opera had shocking killed off the legacy character when he was murdered by The Necktie Killer, Ben Weston. Viewers were unhappy about Will's death, but they eventually learned that Will wasn't gone. Instead, he was found to be alive and the center of a stunning storyline.
According to Nine, Will's grandmother, Susan Banks, discovered Will after he was strangled by Ben. Will was barely alive, and she and Dr. Rolf opted to give Will a drug to make him appear dead. They later took Will's body and revived him. Susan took Will to live with her in Memphis. Will had no memory of his former life (via TV Overmind) and Susan made him believe that he was her son, EJ DiMera. Since Susan was still mourning the death of EJ, she felt happy to have Will with her. However, Will's family eventually found him and brought him home to Salem.
Will was later given a serum to bring back his memories, per Soaps in Depth. When he regained his memory, he and his husband Sonny Kiriakis (then Freddie Smith), reunited.
Jack Deveraux returned to Salem years after his presumed death
Over the years, Jack Deveraux (Matthew Ashford) has become a favorite character among "Days of Our Lives" fans. Viewers have loved to watch Jennifer and Jack's relationship play out through the decades, as well as Jack forge strong bonds with his children. In addition to all of that, Jack is also one character who has been presumed dead and then returned to shock his friends and family, as well as viewers. However, viewers really thought Jack was a goner when he sacrificed his life to save his daughter Abigail during a series of explosions that rocked Salem (via TV Fanatic).
Years later, Jack returned during a New Year's Eve party, per Soap Dirt. Everyone was stunned to see him arrive with none other than Eve Donovan (Kassie DePaiva). Of course, Jennifer wanted answers, but Jack had no memory of his life in Salem or his family. Instead, he was romantically involved with Eve. It was later revealed that Dr. Rolf had brought Jack back from the dead with his resurrection serum. Jack was also given Rolf's drug to bring his memories back before finally reuniting with the love of his life and getting his family back together, per Soaps in Depth.
Dr. Rolf brought back fan-favorite character EJ DiMera
The death of EJ DiMera ( then James Scott) was one of the saddest character deaths in "Days of Our Lives" history. Fans had come to know and love EJ, although he was the son of Salem's biggest villain Stefano DiMera. EJ's epic love story with Sami Brady has made for one of the best soap opera couplings ever. Sadly, that love story seemed to be snuffed out after EJ was killed by Clyde Weston's business associates (via Soaps). EJ died in Sami's arms during a heartbreaking moment, but not long after his death fans watched as his sister, Kristen DiMera (then Eileen Davidson), snuck in and injected his body with an unknown substance, per Soaps in Depth.
Flash forward and years later Sami came to believe that her husband was alive. She searched everywhere for him before she finally found that he was alive and had been badly injured. EJ, like so many others, was brought back from the dead by Dr. Rolf's serum. He was later taken care of by Rolf and Kristen until Sami found him and whisked him off to Europe to receive medical attention.
EJ eventually recovered and returned to Salem with actor Dan Feuerriegel in the role (via Soap Opera Digest). Fans were thrilled to have EJ back, and it was all thanks to Dr. Rolf.
Ava Vitali was also resurrected by Dr. Rolf's serum
Ava Vitali (Tamara Braun) isn't exactly a well-liked person in Salem. The "Days of Our Lives" character has done a lot of devious and shady deeds in the past, which have mostly hurt the former object of her obsession Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols), and his longtime love, Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans). One such deed occurred when Ava got close to Steve and Kayla's son, Joey Johnson. Joey developed feelings for Ava, who turned him down. When Joey found out that Ava had befriended him to get to his father and break up his parent's marriage he was furious, per Soaps in Depth.
During this time, Ava kidnapped Kayla and planned to frame her for attempted murder. Of course, Steve saved Kayla, but Joey was devastated by the situation. Joey lost his cool and turned to alcohol to cope with his feelings. While he was drunk, Joey snuck into Ava's hospital room and killed Ava by smothering her will a pillow.
After Steve discovered that he and Ava had a son named Tripp, Joey admitted to his newly found brother about what really happened to his mother. Joey decided to turn himself in for the crime and served jail time until Ava shockingly showed back up in Salem alive and well (via TV Fanatic). Ava was just one of many dead Salemites that Dr. Rolf saved with his serum, and she's now living in town and building bonds with her son, Tripp.
Dr. Rolf has also resurrected Vivian, Kate, and John
Dr. Rolf's serum has worked for so many "Days of Our Lives" characters over the past few years, including Vivian Alamain. Following Vivian's death, she was also injected with the miracle serum and later returned to Salem to stir up trouble (via Monsters and Critics). Following her presumed death, Vivian kidnapped Lani and Eli's twins and attempted to raise them herself, per Soap Opera Spy. However, her plan was disrupted when the parents came charging in to take their children home.
Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow) was also saved by the resurrection serum (via Soap Dirt). After Kate was buried alive by Vivian she suffered significant damage to her brain due to lack of oxygen. Kate was rescued and taken to the hospital, but doctors declared her brain dead and placed her on a ventilator. Kate's family had all but given up with Dr. Rolf gave Kate the serum, which brought her back from her vegetative state.
Even before Rolf's serum became well-known in Salem, he also managed to bring John Black (Drake Hogestyn) back from the dead after he was killed in a hit and run, per Soaps in Depth. John died from injuries he suffered during the accident, but Stefano ordered Rolf to resurrect him and brainwash him to do Stefano's bidding. John eventually regained his memories and broke free of his imprisonment.
It seems that as long as Dr. Rolf is around, no one in Salem is ever truly dead.