It was only a matter of time before we knew that the Phoenix would rise once again. The vendetta will continue; only this time, it is personal. Stefano DiMera, long time patriarch and Salem’s best-hated villain will emerge from his drug-induced coma later this month. Speculation surrounding his long awaited awakening has been undecided. Some feel Stefano will continue with his father’s vendetta against Salem’s beloved Brady clan. Others however, disagree. They feel that Marlena Evans Brady Black will be his next victim, and this time, it will not be about love.

Stefano DiMera first arrived on the scene in Salem in 1982 as an organized crime kingpin. Years later, his many businesses have evolved into the international shipping and trading industry. Of what, daytime viewers will never know. The character has died at least ten times, either murdered or suicide. In each instance, the Phoenix has proven that he will always rise from the ashes and be restored to his former glory. He is, in essence, an undeniable force in his own mind.

Fans of the longtime sudser have never known why Stefano hated the Brady family. Most recently, writers at Days of Our Lives attempted to offer viewers an explanation for his ludicrous ways. Unfortunately, their efforts fell short of a reasonable justification for his antics. The vendetta storyline brought viewers to Ireland where a romantic tale between a young, studly Italian named Santo DiMera, father of Stefano, falls head over heels in love with a nun, Colleen Brady. Colleen struggled with her inner voices as she fought to fall in love with this handsome foreigner and break her vows to the Catholic Church.

In the end, she relented and made love with Santo. She later found out he was still married and disguised her own suicide. She raised their son, John Black, as best she could. Stefano, not knowing about John’s existence, carried out his fathers’ dying wish: to wreak havoc on the Brady family for killing his Colleen. It was no coincidence that Santo and Colleen mirrored the appearances of EJ DiMera and Sami Brady allowing writers the opportunity to spin another tale of two people falling in love.

Marlena, mother of Sami, had absorbed about all she could take. One Stefano was arrested for the murder of John Black, Marlena’s beloved husband. Using her authority as psychiatric doctor on call, she slipped into Stefano’s cell and injected him with a drug that would leave him in a catatonic state ... until now.

The Phoenix will rise again, and this time, it’s personal.