Susan Banks | |||||||||||||||||
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Days of our Lives | |||||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Eileen Davidson (1996–98, 2014, 2017, 2021) Brynn Thayer (2011; faceless) Stacy Haiduk (2018–19, 2021-present) | ||||||||||||||||
Current status | Present; Recurring | ||||||||||||||||
Duration | 1996–98, 2011, 2014, 2017–19, 2021–present | ||||||||||||||||
First appearance | November 4, 1996 | ||||||||||||||||
Created by | James E. Reilly | ||||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Ken Corday and Tom Langan (1996) Ken Corday, Lisa de Cazotte and Greg Meng (2014) Ken Corday, Albert Alarr and Greg Meng (2017) Ken Corday and Albert Alarr (2021) | ||||||||||||||||
Profile | |||||||||||||||||
Fullname | Susan Delilah Crumb | ||||||||||||||||
Nickname(s) | Suzie Q (by Thomas) | ||||||||||||||||
Alias(es) | Kristen Blake | ||||||||||||||||
Gender | Female | ||||||||||||||||
Residence | Salem, Illinois Italy (formerly) | ||||||||||||||||
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Susan Delilah Banks (formerly Black and Crumb) is a character from the soap opera Days of Our Lives, portrayed by Eileen Davidson from November 4, 1996 to April 8, 1998, and again in 2014. In 2018, Stacy Haiduk took over the role.
Susan is the mother of Elvis "EJ DiMera", and once acted as Kristen DiMera 's doppelganger.
Casting
In November 2011, it was announced that Brynn Thayer would take over the role of Susan, since Davidson was committed to The Young and the Restless. Thayer made her appearance on December 7, 2011, but only the back of her head was seen.
In June 2012, it was announced that Davidson would reprise the role of Kristen Blake, along with her doppelganger, Susan Banks. In July 2012, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Davidson to reprise the role of Kristen Blake in October 2012.
In January 2014, it was announced that Davidson would be returning to Days for three-month story arc after having departed with the show in November 2013. In late September 2014, it was announced that Davidson would reprise her role as Susan Banks; her first time portraying the character in 16 years.
Davidson returned as Susan again for a number of shows in November 2017.
On July 27, 2018 it was announced that Y&R alumni Stacy Haiduk would replace Eileen Davidson as Susan Banks making her first appearance on August 21 2018.
Characterization
Though played by the same actress, Susan was differentiated by having buckteeth, glasses, and a high pitch voice. She was a rare instance on the show as having three siblings that looked exactly like her (quintuplets). She was a source of comic relief during her time on the show, but also did some unethical things due to becoming obsessed with John. Susan also had an obsession with Elvis Presley that had her believe she had a baby with him. As such, she called the baby Elvis Junior. She eventually found her match with the nerdy Edmund Crumb.
Susan was self aware of her kooky nature and stayed away allowing EJ to be raised and corrupted by his evil father Stefano DiMera. When she returned in 2014, she referred to EJ as her first born, implying she has had other children after EJ, but this has not been followed up on. Susan loves EJ as his mother, but is aware that her son has done some terrible things.
Storylines
In August 1996, Kristen is hospitalized after an explosion kills her mother and she miscarries her child. Stefano DiMera soon reappears in Salem and hires Kristen DiMera's lookalike Susan Banks to carry a child that Kristen would raise as her and John Black's. With the help of her father and Peter Blake, Kristen fakes her pregnancy. When Susan goes into labor, Kristen disguised as a nurse is forced to watch as John marries Susan, believing she is really Kristen. Kristen gets custody of the child long enough to name him John Black, Jr. and Susan soon returns to claim her child and husband. Kristen enlists Vivian Alamain and Ivan in keeping Susan locked in a secret room but Marlena puts the pieces together and Kristen is forced to lock her away. When Susan discovers the truth, sick of Kristen's manipulations she locks Kristen inside the room and attempts to marry John until Laura Horton confronts her at the wedding. After being rejected by John due to her scheming, Kristen's failed attempt to kill Marlena lands her in jail. After being released on bail, she attempts suicide after hearing about John and Marlena Evans's engagement. She then reveals Marlena's presumed dead husband, Roman Brady; John and Kristen then pretend to marry to keep Roman from becoming suspicious. When John and Stefano ruin her attempt to get back Susan's son, EJ DiMera a.k.a. Elvis (a.k.a. John, Jr.), she reveals that Roman and Marlena have been seeing one another.
Kristen's attempt to force Susan into giving the child back ends with the death of Susan's identical sister, Penelope Kent. Fearing she'll be charged with murder, Kristen pretends to be Susan and is forced to marry Susan's boyfriend, Edmund Crumb. In the meantime, "Susan" and Edmund go on a honeymoon and Laura Horton is arrested for Kristen's murder. Edmund admits to Kristen's "murder" and they soon run into the real Susan who explains that Kristen sold her into a harem; it is then revealed that the dead person was Susan's other sibling, Penelope Kent. To get revenge against Kristen, Susan exchanges her freedom for Kristen to be sold to the harem.
In December 2011, Bo Brady and Hope Brady come across an ornament owned by Alice Horton. Tucked inside it they find a letter written by Susan asking Alice for help with Elvis who was sick and needed a doctor. The letter is to be extended to Stefano.
Bo finds Susan's phone number in England and Hope decides to call her. Hope inquires as to the significance of the letter to Susan who becomes nervous that Elvis is in trouble. Susan inadvertently reveals that Alice helped Elvis, and Stefano visited her after Elvis was better. Realizing that she's said too much, Susan pretends that the phone line has a bad connection and hangs up.
On September 26, Susan showed up at the DiMera Manson. EJ was surprised to see his mother and wondered what she was doing in Salem. Susan said she had a premonition of something horrible happening to EJ and that she had to come and save him Susan refers to EJ as her "first born," suggesting that she's had more children after him. EJ tells her that they both know that he thinks she had an active imagination and teases that if she were psychic she would win the lottery at least once in awhile.
Susan explains that she can't control her gift, but she had this feeling in the pit of her stomach, so she took the first flight to Salem and dealt with a not so nice man. EJ is sorry she had to deal with that, but tells her she could have saved herself the trip since he has never been better and just got remarried.
Susan says she heard and wonders if Sami Brady has something to do with her premonition. Susan refers to Sami as the Spawn of Satan, and knows she shouldn't since Marlena is her friend and Sami is her daughter, but Sami has also caused her so much hurt. Susan looks at EJ and notes that he has also caused Marlena pain.
EJ says Sami is the love of his life, and Susan questions why they keep splitting up. EJ admits things have been rough, but now everything is perfect. Susan says things can always be more perfect, and EJ says they are planning a honeymoon and suggests they may go visit her and Edmund. Susan says she won't be there, and EJ says he'll book her a flight, but Susan doesn't want to leave without EJ. EJ says he can't leave and take the children out of school.
EJ gets a call and asks Susan to not go anywhere. As Susan laments being back in Stefano's house, and focuses on ridding his evil presence, Sami startles her. Sami is surprised to see Susan since EJ didn't tell her she was coming. Susan says it was a surprise, and says she heard Sami and EJ got married, lamenting how time flies. Susan says it seems like yesterday she was strapped to an electric chair. Sami says it was a lethal injection, but she was innocent.
Susan asks for Sami's help to convince EJ to leave Salem since he was in danger. Sami was surprised that she wanted them to move to London. Susan sheepishly admitted she meant EJ and her grandchildren Johnny DiMera and Sydney DiMera, but says Sami can come to. Sami says she is EJ's wife, and Susan says EJ mentioned they might need a honeymoon. EJ returns and says neither of them are going anywhere.
Susan tells EJ she knows she embarrasses him, but EJ doesn't know what she is talking about. Susan says he does, and says she stayed away even though it broke her heart to see him being corrupted by his evil father, but she knew he was living the life he always wanted, and she didn't want to mess that up.
Susan says she has to protect EJ, and EJ says he knows how much Susan loves him, saying he loves her and wishes they could spend more time, but Sami and him are rebuilding their relationship. Susan says she said Sami could come to, but Sami says they have to stay in town since they are running DiMera Enterprises. Susan suggests EJ could get a job working at the Sun in London and pleads with EJ to leave Salem for her.
EJ says this is home and he is staying in Salem, so Susan says that she's staying as well. Susan knows EJ is up to something that could cause him a world of hurt and suggests he just tell her and get it out. As EJ tries to stall, Marlena arrives at the mansion, so EJ suggests they catch up
EJ and Sami leave Susan with Marlena, who is excited to meet her grandchildren since she has only seen pictures. Marlena asks how Susan and Edmund are, and Susan says they are good. She asks how John and Marlena are. Marlena mentions that John is in a coma, and Susan is sorry to hear that. Susan apologizes for everything she put Marlena through, who tells her not to worry about it all. Marlena gets a call she has to take, and leaves. Susan says she'll see more of Marlena since they are family now.
Susan is left alone in the mansion, wondering how to get EJ to leave Salem. She decides to go see John in the hospital, and goes to leave. When Susan opens the door to leave, she finds Kristen standing there. They are surprised to see each other, and Susan screams that Kristen is the Spawn of Satan and the reason why EJ is in danger. Kristen reminds Susan that Sami is married to EJ, and she'll be the reason why he is danger.
As Susan starts rambling, Kristen says she forgot how tiresome Susan be and tells her to leave or she'll swat her like a gnat. Susan retorts how she is unwastable, and reminds Kristen how she bested her twice before. Annoyed, Kristen says she'll never understand how Susan managed to do that. Kristen gets a call from Stefano and Susan starts screaming.
Kristen explains to Stefano that Susan is in town, and Susan starts screaming and comparing Stefano to a vampire. Kristen holds the phone to Susan and Stefano starts hollering at Susan to get out of his house. Panicked, Susan tries to leave, but can't get the door open, Kristen tells her to try the lock, and Susan leaves after vowing to return one day and Stefano yells at her again.
Susan goes to see John in the hospital, and she talks about their almost wedding. Susan leaves a photo of her and John's nuptials before leaving. Susan leaves Salem soon after Stefano has his men make sure she leaves, but Susan's premonition comes true as a couple weeks later, EJ is shot and believe to have been killed in a stand off with Clyde Weston.
The hunt for Will Horton leads Sami, John and Marlena to a house in Memphis occupied by Roger Fisher, an Elvis impersonator, and Susan. While toting a rifle and standing in a bedroom whose walls are adorned with the initials "EJ", Susan reveals that she paid Dr. Wilhelm Rolf to revive Will as part of a revenge plot against Sami. Susan holds Sami responsible for EJ's death; it's caused her to spiral out of control as well as ended her marriage to Edmund. Susan is adamant that Rolf's revival didn't work. However, Will, identifying himself as EJ, is found alive and working in a bar in Memphis. Friends and family try desperately to convince him that he's been brainwashed by his "mother" Susan and to return to Salem. When Roger confirms that Susan isn't Will's biological mother, Susan suffers a mental breakdown and is hospitalized. Will decides to return to Salem to learn about his former life. Will keeps tabs on Susan's progress through Roger, learning that she's been institutionalized and that on New Year's Eve she's suffered a relapse after receiving a visitor (later revealed to be Kristen) in her hospital room.
Months later, a recovered Susan arrives back in Salem on Will's doorstep to make amends. She also turns up at Marlena's bachelorette party and manages to invite herself to Marlena and John's upcoming wedding. Susan mentions to Marlena that she was visited by Kristen, who is very much alive, in the hospital. Marlena convinces Susan that Kristen is dead and that she was probably just hallucinating from the drugs that the hospital had administrated. Kristen catches Susan alone and forces her at knife-point to switch places with her so she can attend the wedding undetected. After the wedding, Susan stays with Victor and Maggie. She is determined to give the doll she made (an exact replica of Marlena) as a wedding gift to Marlena once she's recovered in the hospital. Susan reveals that she used her own hair for the doll. Susan has a premonition that EJ is still alive.
Sami tracks down a patient in a secret facility Kristen has been running with Dr. Rolf in Nashville and rescues him, but not before he's severely burned. Sami uses the hair on Susan's Marlena doll as a DNA sample to find out if the man she rescued in the facility is really EJ without telling Susan. In an effort to get her out of his house, Victor Kiriakis tells Susan that Sami has her son. Susan discovers a bandaged man in the hospital along with the DNA test results confirming that he is indeed her son. She confronts Sami wielding a scalpel. Sami convinces Susan to agree to allow her to take EJ to Italy to a renowned clinic for burn victims, and tells Susan that she can visit.
In 2019, after being double-crossed by Xander Kiriakis, Kristen, who has returned to Salem as Nicole Walker, decides to disguise herself, once again, as Susan. Unbeknownst to Kristen, the real Susan is back in town. Susan later bumps into Kristen, still in her disguise, and pulls a gun on her. Kristen manages to convince her that she is her sister, Sister Mary Moira Banks. Susan is later tied up by Kristen disguised as Nicole at John and Marlena's wedding anniversary party. After Kristen is unmasked in front of a roomful of guests, Susan, who's managed to untie herself, rescues Marlena from Kristen, who is holding her at gunpoint, by hitting her on the head.
Susan returned to Salem in early 2021 She visited Kristen in prison, who told her Chloe Lane was trying to steal Brady Black from her. Susan didn't believe it until she saw how Chloe acted around her. Susan also tried to use her psychic visions to help Ben Weston and Claire Brady find Ciara Brady after she said Ciara was alive. Kristen convinced Susan to switch places with her for a month, but Susan became irritated after the month had passed. Despite this, she still tried to keep up appearances when Brady went to visit Kristen with Vivian Alamain's help. The ruse was discovered and Kristen was arrested while Susan was freed. Kristen apologized to Susan and then knocked her out and stole her clothes so she could sneak out of the station.
Susan returned to Salem in November and warned Ben and Ciara that someone evil was after their baby. Ciara showed Susan a picture of Ben's father Clyde Weston, and she said the evil presence wasn't strong enough. Marlena was acting uncharacteristically rude to Susan and when She touched Susan's arm, Susan sensed the evil from her. Marlena was then revealed to have been possessed by The Devil again. Frightened, Susan grabbed a cross and started praying to try and ward the devil off. The devil rolled it's eyes, and knocked Susan out. Just then, Belle Black knocked out the door, to the devil turned Susan into a cat and claimed it was a stay she found out in the hall.
The devil brought Susan to the DiMera Mausoleum where John was tied up. She let her go, and it rubbed against John's leg. John was confused and the devil said it thought John would like to see an old friend. John was confused, and the devil asked if he could recognize them. When he couldn't, the devil returned Susan to normal, though she still thought she was cat until John snapped her out of it. Susan wondered where they were. The devil told her to look around, so Susan read off André DiMera's name, Stefan DiMera's name and Stefano's name, wondering why they were surrounded by dead DiMera's. The devil snapped that they were in the DiMera crypt and called her an idiot, which Susan found harsh coming from even Lucifer.
Susan and John encouraged Marlena to fight off the devil's influence. Susan said a prayer while John reminded Marlena it was their wedding anniversary, causing the devil's look of indifference to slowly turn into tears and crying. With a final howl of no, Marlena and Susan both collapsed. When Marlena came to, she was herself again, but when Susan came to, she was now possessed by the devil because of her connection to the spirit world. Marlena demanded the devil let Susan go, but the devil instead knocked Marlena into a wall, causing her to lose consciousness.
The devil then turned his attention to John, making it clear he planned to possess Marlena again. John said that with their love, she can fight him off again. The devil admits love is very powerful and decides that killing John may not be the best move. Instead, they want to invoke feelings of jealousy in Marlena. John says he would never betray Marlena, so the devil morphs Susan's body into Kristen's, asking if he wouldn't betray Marlena for even his old flame. "Kristen" tried her best to seduce John, but he wouldn't give in.
The devil freed Susan and repossessed Marlena, leaving her confused, and then took it's leave as it had other business to attend to. Susan banged on the door and hollered for someone to let them out. John asked Susan to shut up, and Susan asked what the devil made her do. John was reluctant, but Susan kept pushing, so John explained how they turned her into Kristen and tries to seduce him. Susan was horrified and started screaming and banging on the door again much to John's annoyance.
John learned Susan had hairpins and he guided her as she tried to pick the locks on his cuffs. When she couldn't, John suggested she try the door. Susan picked at the lock and heard a click. Susan opened the door to come face to face with the devil. Susan ran past the devil and made her way to the patio doors of the mansion where he called out for EJ and her grandson Johnny DiMera. The devil turned her back into a cat and retrieved her as Johnny came downstairs.
Susan was returned to the crypt and the devil repossessed her, and tried it's seduction attempts as Kristen again, even suggesting John get revenge on Stefano by ravaging his daughter against his plaque. John talked "Kristen" into letting him go, and then tried to get away. "Kristen" pulled John inti a kiss, and he bit her lip. Furious, "Kristen" threw against the wall, knocking him unconscious. "Kristen" returned to where Marlena was chained up, and grabbed the phone from Marlena as she was talking to Sami.
After taking control of Marlena again, the devil handed Susan a dagger and ordered her to kill John. Susan refused to kill John, who was a good and decent man. The devil said if Susan didn't kill John, she would kill the other John Black. Susan was confused, to the devil asked if she was aware her grandson Johnny was making a movie about Marlena's first possession. Susan said it was a terrible idea, and the devil said that EJ had been cast as John in the movie, so she'll interrupt EJ's thanksgiving dinner, and carve him like a turkey in front of his family if she doesn't kill John.
The devil left the crypt, and demanded that there had better be a dead body when they get back. Susan was scared for EJ, but didn't want to kill anyone. John tried to reassure Susan that the devil wouldn't go after EJ, but Susan wouldn't take the chance, so she stabbed herself in attempt to commit suicide. Steve Johnson busted into the crypt just after, and took Susan up to the mansion. Steve banged on the patio door where Tony DiMera, Anna DiMera, and EJ were. Tony opened up the patio and Steve helped Susan in.
EJ was horrified to see his mother all bloodied and helped stop the bleeding as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. When Susan was at the hospital, EJ waited by her bedside and was there when she woke up. EJ asked what happened, and Susan said that Marlena was possessed by the devil. EJ told Susan she was confused and it was just Johnny movie, but Steve suggested it might be real.
After Steve left, Susan explained what the devil asked her to do and it threatened EJ's life. Susan said she couldn't kill John, but since the devil demanded a dead body, then she thought she could protect EJ by dying. EJ was touched by Susan's gesture, who said she would do anything to protect EJ. Susan said loved EJ, who echoes the sentiment and kissed her forehead as they touched foreheads and held hands.
In November 2022, she was kidnapped by Xander Kiriakis under Ava Vitali's orders to blackmail EJ for money after he tried blackmail her to leave Salem. She was able to reach Xander's conscience and he let her go. But when she went to Ava and EJ's meeting site, Ava held her at gunpoint and they drove off with EJ in pursuit. Realizing there was no way out, Ava drove the car off the road and it exploded.
Susan is discovered alive in London chained up in ex-husband Edmund Crumb's flat. After she's rescued, Susan helps clear Ava of murder charges. It's revealed that unbeknownst to her, Clyde Weston had some men take her from the crash site and sent to Edmund, who was told not to tell anyone of her whereabouts.