Days of our Lives character has gone from villain to hero and back many times over.

Actor Thaao Penghlis is returning to Days of our Lives as Tony DiMera, the eldest child of the late Stefano DiMera. Soaps.com thought this would be a great time to take look back at Tony’s history and share some things fans may have forgotten about the character, or never even knew.

1.

Tony was the first DiMera to arrive in Salem back in 1981. He came to set his finances in order because the man who was in charge of them was embezzling from him.

2.

Tony DiMera holds the royal title of Count, though is not royal by birth. Stefano bought him the title.

3.

Tony was introduced as Liz Chandler’s (Gloria Loring) estranged husband. He also came to town because he wanted her back.

4.

Tony was ordered by his father Stefano (Joseph Mascolo) to determine if Salem would be a good place for him to bring his business to. This paved the way for the introduction of Stefano’s character.

5.

Tony DiMera forced Liz to spy on Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) for him. Tony thought there were titanium deposits under Doug’s Place and he wanted to acquire them.

6.

Tony beat and raped Liz when she demanded a divorce.

7.

Tony bought and managed the Twilight Bar in the early eighties.

8.

Tony DiMerafell in love with Renee DuMonde (Philece Sampler), but she ended things when she discovered Stefano was her biological father and they were committing incest.

9.

Tony learned he was not Stefano’s biological son when his mother Daphne DiMera (Madlyn Rhue) confessed on her death bed that he was the product of an affair.

10.

Tony’s blood type is OH, also known as the Bombay blood group, which is very rare.

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11.

Tony DiMera was ready to leave Salem once, so Stefano faked a heart attack to keep him in town.

12.

Tony thought Liz was pregnant with his child, but the actual father turned out to be Neil Curtis’ (Joseph Gallison).

13.

Tony DiMera became involved with Anna Fredericks Brady (Leann Hunley) and their first marriage was the result of the greedy and scheming Anna drugging him and getting him to the altar. He divorced her.

14.

In 1984 Tony’s cousin André was brought to town, having been given plastic surgery to look just like Tony by Stefano. He chained Tony up in his penthouse and began impersonating him in Salem, the first time of many.

15.

André tried to frame Roman Brady (Wayne Northrop) for a rash of killings, which Tony also became a suspect in after Renee was murdered.

16.

Tony DiMera formed a fashion company with Anna Brady (Leann Hunley) and Alex Marshall (Quinn Redeker), and they went to Haiti for a fashion shoot once.

17.

Tony’s second marriage to Anna was invalid because Alex hired a phony minister to officiate it.

18.

While searching for three prisms which Stefano believed could heal his inoperable brain tumor, Tony faced off with Andre on a remote island and believed he had killed his lookalike when Andre fell into quicksand.

19.

After Anna was kidnapped and rescued, Tony and Anna finally enjoyed a brief third marriage which was legal.

20.

Tony DiMera was once kidnapped by art dealer Claud Van Zandt, who tried to frame Anna for his murder.

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21.

Tony left Salem in 1985 after divorcing Anna because he was blackmailed into doing so by crooked ISA agent Emma Donovan (Jane Windsor).

22.

All of Tony’s returns through the 1990s and early 2000s turned out to be his cousin Andre impersonating him.

23.

Tony was stranded by Stefano on one of his remote islands for 21 years. Tony had a harem of young women on the island who took care of him.

24.

Anna, John, and Marlena found Tony on the island in 2007 and Anna persuaded him to return to Salem and confront Andre and Stefano.

25.

Tony worked with the Bradys to try and end the Brady/DiMera feud, and in the process grew close with EJ DiMera (James Scott) and Lexie Carver (Renee Jones).

26.

Tony and Anna went into business together again, forming DiMera Advertising, and married for the fourth time.

27.

Tony DiMera discovered Nicole’s baby swap of EJ and Sami’s daughter Sydney and used it to blackmail her.

28.

Tony fell during an argument with Philip Kiriakis on the pier in 2009 and was impaled on a wooden stake. He died of his wounds.

29.

Anna has since carried around Tony’s ashes in an urn.

30.

Tony’s urn was used by Abby DiMera (Marci Miller) to murder Andre.