Days of our Lives’ Orpheus (George DelHoyo) is returning to Salem. The soap supervillain has a shocking reason that brings him back to town, which could have devastating consequences for a couple of fan favorites.
The pure evil Orpheus never hangs around for an extended amount of time. Despite his limited appearances, many fans consider Orpheus to be one of the most sinister villains ever to be on the show.
Orpheus’ first reign of terror
George’s first stint as Orpheus was in the late 1980s for less than a year. The character is a former ISA agent who trained alongside Roman Brady, played then by Drake Hogestyn. During an ISA mission gone wrong, Roman accidentally killed Orpheus’ wife, Rebecca. The incident left Orpheus a widow, and their two children motherless.
After his wife’s death, Orpheus quit the ISA and became fixated on seeking revenge against Roman. Orpheus kidnapped Marlena (Deidre Hall), kicking off a game of cat and mouse with his enemy.
Their battle led them all over the world, with Roman forced to take orders from Orpheus to keep his wife alive. Roman eventually got Marlena back, but their happiness in Salem was short-lived.
Orpheus blew up their home so Roman would think Marlena was dead. He took her to a remote Island where Orpheus forced her to play mother his children. Being the superspy that Roman is, he found his way to the island and Marlena. Roman shot Orpheus. However, it was too late to save his wife. Marlena was presumed dead in a plane crash.
Orpheus round two
In 2016, Orpheus showed up in prison. He teamed up with Clyde (James Read) and Xander (Paul Telfer). The three men bonded over their hatred of Salem. During a prison transfer, the three guys managed to escape.
Orpheus made his way to the Kiriakis mansion. He held Eve (Kassie DePaiva) hostage at gunpoint while telling John (Drake Hogestyn), Marlena, and Victor (John Aniston) how he survived. Once making it known he was alive, Orpheus shot John and fled to a shack where Clyde and Xander were hiding.
The three men terrorized several Salem residents. It was their mission to kill everyone and watch the town burn.
However, Clyde attempted to help his son, Ben (Robert Scott Wilson), who as a serial killer at the time. His plan failed, landing Clyde back in prison. Xander chose to fake his death and fled back to his home country of Greece.
Their departures left Orpheus the last man standing. He kidnapped Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) and Marlena. Then Orpheus placed them both in coffins and began burning them alive. Steve and John arrived just in time to save their ladies, thanks to the help of Andre (Thaao Penghlis).
Once again, Orpheus was arrested, but things went awry when his henchman got the drop on Steve. The evil villain’s struggle with Patch for a gun ended with Orpheus being shot. Paramedics declared him dead on the scene.
Orpheus rises again
Just like The Phoenix, Orpheus has risen from the dead again. The character is returning to cause more drama in Salem. This time though, it is not about revenge. Orpheus is back to help his son.
A new feature in Soap Opera Digest shows a photo of Orpheus with Evan (Brock Kelly). There is speculation that Evan, aka Christian Maddox, is the son of the evil villain. Evan is in significant trouble for killing his baby mama, Jordan (Chrishell Stause), as well as kidnapping little David.
Fans will recall Evan recently made a phone call to a mystery person. Plus, spoilers for the NBC daytime drama tease someone reaches out to help Even this week. All signs point to Evan and Orpheus being related, and that is terrible news for Salem.
George is slated to make his return as Orpheus on Days on Friday, March 13, which is perfect for resurfacing.
Days of our Lives airs weekdays on NBC.