Shady Konstantin suddenly noticed something familiar about John when he was kidnapped by him and his pal, Steve, who demanded he leave Salem. As it turns out, he had crossed paths with the pair decades ago. Ever since, Konstantin has been toying with the two men, mentioning Greece, his ties to a place called Aria and John’s past as an assassin. Here’s a look back at John’s early years as “The Pawn”.
While in Miami in 1985, Bo, Hope, Shane and Kimberly joined forces to take down drug lord Victor Kiriakis and his plot involving three key elements: the purse (Victor), the power (Stefano), and the mysterious pawn.
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Miami Heat: Kim (Patsy Pease) and Victor (John Aniston) in Miami.
“The Pawn” was transported to Salem in late 1985 by henchman Petrov and Nurse Kate Honeycutt. His face was covered in bandages because he’d undergone extensive facial plastic surgery. For a time, he was held by Victor; he then landed in Steve’s custody; Steve planned to extort Victor for big bucks in order to relinquish “The Pawn” to him. However, “The Pawn” foiled Steve’s plans by escaping.
Early in 1986, following the removal of his bandages, “The Pawn” began wandering around town. He had no memory of his past or his identity, and when he saw the name John Black on a war memorial wall, he took it as his own. Soon John began working in security at Salem University Hospital, where he befriended psychiatrist Marlena Evans…. and also had flashbacks of her that he couldn’t quite place. The pair grew closer when Marlena began counseling John and tried to help him regain his memory via hypnosis. Meanwhile, Victor toyed with John about “The Pawn” and his history, but refused to give up too much information.
The sessions led John to recall a farmhouse owned by the believed-to-be-dead Stefano, leading Bo and others to suspect that John could actually be evil DiMera kingpin. After all, Stefano had the wealth and power to create such a radical physical transformation. John and Marlena set out to locate the doctor who had performed his surgery.
Julie Nathanson
Pawn Star: John (Drake Hogestyn) felt a pull to Marlena (Deidre Hall).
Meanwhile, Victor and the KGB were in hot pursuit of the couple, whose search led them to West Virginia. It was there that Marlena was stunned to catch a glimpse of John’s tattoo. It was a phoenix, a symbol long associated with Stefano. She feared the man she’d come to know and care for could actually be her longtime enemy in disguise.
Marlena learned that wasn’t the case when she discovered before-and-after surgery photos of John. The “before” pictures were of her “late” husband, Roman, and Marlena became convinced that John was actually Roman. Although John still couldn’t remember his past, he felt a strong love for Marlena and believed she was his wife. The couple moved in together, and, later that year, they renewed their marriage vows. John began living his life as Roman and even assumed his job as a cop with the Salem PD.
However, in 1991, the real Roman resurfaced alive, and John was suddenly a man without an identity again. Over the years he was led to believe he was a notorious thief named Romulus, Forrest Alamain, a priest and Ryan (the son of Colleen Brady and Santo DiMera). However, after decades of searching and mistaken leads, he finally learned his real name was John Robicheaux in 2016. John miraculously reunited with his long-lost father, Timothy, in 2023.
