Orpheus on DAYS OF OUR LIVES is one of the soap’s most dangerous villains, but newer viewers can be forgiven for not knowing why he is considered so deadly. The character also known as Milo Harp first appeared back in October of 1986 and was played by George DelHoyo. Although he was written out in April of 1987, Orpheus returned nearly three decades later in September 2016 for another stint lasting a few memorable months. Now, in March of 2020, DelHoyo has brought the villain back for yet another reign of terror!

A former ISA agent, Orpheus wanted revenge on John Black (believing himself to be Roman Brady at the time) for killing his wife in the line of duty. He kidnapped Marlena Evans and then during the hostage exchange, shot her in the back so John would think she was dead. (It was just a tranquilizer, though.) When their war made its way to Salem, Orpheus briefly held Kayla Brady hostage and made everyone think Marlena had been killed in an explosion when he’d really taken her to his secret hideaway in Europe where he made her play mother to his son and daughter. Eventually, John found the island and shot and killed Orpheus in a gun battle.

But the villain wasn’t dead and resurfaced in 2016 in prison as he encountered fellow inmates Clyde Weston and Xander Kiriakis and the three men bonded through their mutual hatred of Salem. The trio staged a prison break and Orpheus went to the Kiriakis mansion where he took Eve Donovan hostage and told John and Marlena how he’d survived. Orpheus shot John as he escaped from the mansion and regrouped with Clyde and Xander. They targeted Steve Johnson, kidnapping his wife, Kayla, and son Joey Johnson.

“Well, this is awkward!” Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

During their next face-off, John was the one who shot Orpheus, and the villain retreated to make a ransom demand for 20 million in exchange for Joey. Unfortunately, the teen was rescued and Orpheus switched to Plan B, which was to plant bombs all over town and blow everyone up! After several people were injured in the explosions, John transferred the money to Orpheus’ account. But as the villain was planning to kill John, Steve showed up to rescue him. Under arrest, Orpheus faked his death so he could escape again and kidnap Marlena and Kayla, planning to burn them alive in coffins. Thankfully, John and Steve were able to rescue them and shot Orpheus dead. However, despite being declared deceased by the paramedics, the villain had once again cheated death.

in 2020, Orpheus’ son, Christian, now going by the name of Evan Frears, abducted his son, David, and it was revealed that Orpheus was helping his son with the kidnapping. After Rafe got the boy back, the cop was stunned to find Orpheus in his home and tried to arrest him before learning that the ISA had him cleared of any and all charges against him in exchange for vital information! When his daughter, Zoey Burge, arrived in town, he ordered her to keep Evan out of prison and file for custody of David for herself to keep him in the family.

Orpheus has his son wrapped around his finger, but not his daughter. XJJohnson/jpistudios.com

As Orpheus enjoyed his freedom and made it clear that he was still obsessed with Marlena, Zoey worried about what Evan was keeping from her. He confided to her the terrible thing that he and their father had done and she understood why he was now forced to do Orpheus’ bidding. It turns out that Orpheus actually returned to Salem a year earlier and kidnapped Maggie Horton on Mother’s Day. He was the one who caused the car accident that took the lives of Adrienne Kiriakis and Sarh Horton’s child and just put Maggie in the driver’s seat to cover his tracks!

When Evan was sent to prison, Orpheus abducted John and threatened to kill him if Marlena didn’t do as he ordered. When Steve foiled that plot, the madman planted a bomb in John and Marlena’s apartment but Hope managed to toss it in a dumpster before it blew up. Steve brought Orpheus to justice, but will that really be the last Salem sees of the villain? Stay tuned to DAYS to find out!