In
late 1991, Stefano briefly reappeared inside a Mayan temple in
Chichen Itzá to reveal himself as the mastermind behind
Marlena Evans' 5-year disappearance and the return of the true Roman
Brady, the one that had fallen off the cliff in 1984, making the
Roman Brady who came to Salem as the Pawn, John Black, an impostor
(see John
Black for more details.)
Stefano had kept both the real Roman and Marlena comatose in the
Caribbean island of San Cristobal for years, and had released them in
the Fall of 1991. For weeks, Stefano had been luring the two Romans
and Marlena to Mexico. Both Romans had information stored inside of
them regarding the Landen Case, an ISA case involving hidden Mayan
codices that were of extreme value. Together, the two Romans
discovered the secret location of the codices. At that moment,
Stefano revealed himself and made Roman the impostor (John) a
proposition: in exchange for the codices, Stefano would give him a
valise containing information about his true identity. John accepted,
but as the exchange was being made there was a struggle. A gun went
off shooting Stefano and causing him to fall in the fire, seemingly
killed.
In
October 1993, Stefano returned to Salem. But for the first time, he
was powerless. Following a stroke due to a brain tumor, he remained
feeble and in a wheelchair. This time around, Stefano was revealed to
have two more children, Peter and Kristen Blake. Although they were
not his biological children, Stefano had raised them. For his
security, Peter hired Curtis Reed, a hitman on Stefano's payroll, to
bring Stefano to Salem. However, Curtis took advantage of the
situation and kidnapped Stefano, taking him to Smith Island. In a
desolate cabin, Curtis taunted Stefano about how powerful he had once
been and how helpless he was now. Finally, Curtis contacted Kristen
Blake to work out a ransom. Meeting her on a rainy night, Curtis
demanded an exorbitant amount of money that Kristen did not have. But
instead of money, he settled for her expensive jewelry. This
humiliating act more than angered Stefano, and promised himself to
avenge this atrocity.
More information to
follow!
The character of Stefano DiMera has
been played by the following:
Joseph Mascolo (1982-1985; 1988; 1993-2001)
Frank Fata (1991)