John and Marlena's subsequent reunion was cut short when a dying Stefano reignited his vendetta with John, by compelling his son, EJ DiMera to shoot John. John eventually came out of his coma in May 2007, but was then hit by a car, dying in Marlena's arms on October 17, 2007. However, in January 2008, John was discovered alive in Stefano's basement, with his memory wiped and programmed into a super soldier. Marlena found him, but he was not able to remember her, and continuously committed crimes ordered by Stefano. Stefano ordered him to kill Colleen Brady, but John found out that he was Colleen's son with Santo DiMera, Ryan Brady, making him Stefano's half-brother. He went after the DiMera empire and Stefano after discovering his identity.