Here's what Beth's Days of Our Lives Page (no longer online) had about John as the Pawn:
In late 1985, a man closely guarded by Petrov, a mercenary that had worked for Stefano DiMera, was secretly given plastic surgery in Miami. Covered in bandages after the surgery, the man had presumably been given a new face and had no recollection of his past. This man was soon taken from Petrov by Victor Kiriakis and transferred to Salem. But while being transferred elsewhere, the van taking him to his destination overturned. As a result of being the only one strapped down, this man was the only one to survive the accident unharmed. He took a chance and escaped from the van and wandered the streets of Salem.
This man, referred to only as "The Pawn", was soon found by Patch Johnson, a hired thug who had worked for Victor in the past. Victor was offering a sizable reward to the person who would find this mummified mystery man and return him. However, Patch made it known to his "Buddy" that he was going to keep him until Victor upped the reward offer. The reward was soon increased to $1 million and Patch told the Pawn that he was going to turn him over to Victor.
On New Year's Eve, Patch went out to buy burgers to celebrate his good fortune. He came back to the apartment to find a pile of bandages on the floor. His "Buddy" had escaped. Meanwhile, the Pawn wandered around Salem questioning his identity. He had odd flashbacks when he wandered into the Brady Fish Market and saw Caroline Brady. Eventually, the Pawn wound up going to the hospital for help. While with Dr. Marlena Evans, who was assigned to help him, the Pawn had flashbacks of her, too. Frightened, the Pawn left the hospital.
The Pawn walked aimlessly around Salem, and ended up at the Rescue Mission. Brother Francis, who directed the place, asked the Pawn if he could provide him with something. The Pawn simply asked if he could get a job. "Sure," said Brother Francis. But when he asked The Pawn for his name, The Pawn just stood there with a blank face. Luckily, Brother Francis was called away to take care of something. Meanwhile, The Pawn looked at a Vietnam War memorial plaque on the wall. While examining it, he found the first name on the plaque was "John Black."
When Brother Francis returned, that's what he told him his name was. However, John was desperate to find out his true identity and turned down the job. A short time later, John wandered into Shenanigans and heard Patch talking about the reward for returning The Pawn to Victor. Knowing that Victor held a key to his past, John decided to investigate him, and the people he had flashbacks of, hoping that this way he'd be able to gather information regarding his past.
One night, John saw a woman being attacked by a thief outside of the hospital and saved her. Following the rescue, the woman introduced herself as Dr. Marlena Evans, a psychiatrist at the hospital. She and John became friends after she suggested he work at the hospital as a security guard. John soon became well-known (but not well-liked) among staff by devising a strict plan to keep The Hospital Rapist from claiming anymore victims.
While working at the hospital, he befriended Anna DiMera. He had first seen Anna at the Rescue Mission; John had dropped the trays he'd been carrying. He recognized her for some reason. Calliope Bradford set him up on a date with her, and John used the situation to find out more about her. She told him about her ex-husband, Roman, and his death following a battle with the evil Stefano DiMera. The mention of Stefano's name brought back more memories. It was Stefano that really intrigued John, and he asked more about him. Among numerous little tales that Anna told John about Stefano, she told him that the Phoenix was Stefano's trademark. Stefano placed a Phoenix on everything because he considered himself to be a true Phoenix. John was horrified later on to find a Phoenix tattooed on his right shoulder.
John also talked to Marlena because she, too, had been married to Roman. As he spent more time with her, he began to feel attracted to her. Over time, she also began to fall in love with him. In the beginning, John tried to hide his amnesia from Marlena, but she caught on. Eventually, she would help him find his identity. Although John began to show many qualities that Roman Brady had had, he also showed Stefano's qualities, including the same passion for Strega. In addition, he remembered a night in 1984, when Stefano had planned to blow up the Salem Concert Hall and frame Roman for Marlena's death.
John and Marlena found a file on him in Victor's house which stated that he'd had plastic surgery. John and Marlena contacted Mark Peterson, the doctor from Miami who performed the surgery and asked to see the "before" pictures. The doctor agreed, but they'd have to meet him in secret at his vacation cabin in the forests of West Virginia. When John and Marlena arrived, no doctor was to be found. After John took a shower, Marlena noticed John's tattoo. She pretended to go out for a bit, and called Bo telling her that John was Stefano. John realized what she'd done. He needed Marlena's help, so he took her hostage.
Meanwhile, Bo, Hope, and Shane began searching for John. They believed that he'd kidnapped Marlena and that he was really Stefano. At the same time, Victor had caught on to John; he, too, was after them, along with the KGB! The importance of The Pawn was of international scale. He was the key to something very valuable. John and Marlena made their way around the mountains of West Virginia in their car, eventually crashing it while arguing.
With Bo, Hope, and Shane on their tails, they took to the river on a raft. Bo and the rest had almost caught up to John when the wild river overturned the rafts and everyone wound up in the water. John and Marlena got away from the others, but only for a short time. John Black is Roman Brady. The final confrontation took place on top a cliff. John had just found the surgeon's briefcase containing before and after pictures of the surgery when Bo showed up. He and Bo fought, while Marlena searched the briefcase.
As Bo was about to let John fall off the cliff, Marlena came running and frantically told him not to. "Don't let him die, he's your brother!" she said. The before pictures of the surgery were those of Roman Brady. John still didn't remember much, but he wanted to desperately believe that he was Roman.
www.soapoperadigest.com
