Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth)

Robert James "Franco" Frank is a fictional character on ABC's daytime drama General Hospital. The character was originated by actor James Franco starting November 19, 2009 and was listed as a special guest star before the opening credits. James Franco was last seen as "Franco" on January 13, 2012. Roger Howarth has portrayed the character since May 13, 2013, the character's identity having been revealed on May 29.

Casting
James Franco left the role for a short time on January 11, 2010. He returned to General Hospital on June 30, 2010, and his character was part of a summer-long storyline. He returned for two episodes on Febuary 25 and 28, 2011. Franco returned on September 20, 2011 and was assumed to have been murdered on January 13, 2012 by Jason Morgan. However, it is revealed in May 2013, that Franco (now played by Roger Howarth) survived the shooting and escaped the burning studio.

History
Franco is the biological son of Scott Baldwin and Heather Webber. Heather had just been institutionalized by her then-husband Jeff Webber and Scott was reeling after his divorce from love, Laura Webber. Heather managed to escape the institution and ran into Scotty at Kelly's diner. The two shared a few drinks and had a one-night-stand, which resulted in Franco. Heather never told Scott she was pregnant and hid her pregnancy. Once he was born, his mother sold him to nurse Betsy Frank, whom he was raised by. He was formerly believed to be the son of Alan Quartermaine and Susan Moore due to Heather lying about his true parentage. He did not discover that his true parents are Heather and Scott until well into adulthood. Since he was a teenager he believed that his parents were Alan and Susan and this caused him to develop an obsession with their son, Jason Morgan. Franco is an eccentric and reclusive photographer, sociopath and serial killer, whose terror of choice was the use of manipulations and playing mind games. He is also a former graffiti artist.

Storylines
Prior to being seen on the show, Franco witnessed Jason, Max, and Milo disposing of the body of Claudia Zacchara, after she had been killed by her step-son, Michael Corinthos on November 5, 2009. He then sent photos of a re-enactment that he had created of Claudia's murder to Jason.
 * -|2009=

Franco disguises himself as a homeless vagrant and spray paints his tag, CO77X, on a wall where Joey Limbo and his crew have been hired by Anthony Zacchara to murder Sonny Corinthos and Dante Falconeri. Limbo notices Franco and asks him what he's doing. Franco says nothing but holds out his hand for spare change. Joey throws down some coins which fall to the floor.

On November 20, 2009, Franco, still dressed as a vagrant, witnesses Jason, Sonny, Max, Milo and Dante engage in a shoot-out with Joey Limbo and his men. Joey and his men get shot; and Jason, Sonny, Max, Milo, and Dante leave. Seeing that Joey is still alive, Franco approaches his body and steps on his neck until Limbo dies. He then re-positions his body in an odd position. Following the incident, Franco attends the opening for his art exhibit, filled with numerous crime scene re-enactments, which has been organized by Maxie Jones and Kate Howard for Crimson. Maxie is placed in charge of insuring that all Franco's needs are met, which takes a turn for the worse when Franco takes her back to his studio. Later on when the two are alone, Franco blindfolds her, takes photographs of her in a chalk outline, and then sleeps with her.

During the week of December 7, 2009, Franco finally comes face-to-face with Jason Morgan, offering him beer and pretzels, unnerving Jason about how much he idolizes how he murders people, calling it art, telling Jason they are the same. Franco is less than thrilled with Jason's lack of respect for Franco and his work. Jason leaves after Franco tells him he saw Michael kill Claudia. Once Jason has left, Franco decides to send Jason another message to let him know he's serious. On December 14, Spinelli goes over to Franco's to confront him about his sleeping with his then-girlfriend, Maxie. Franco tells Spinelli to tell his "Stone Cold" he's not through with him yet.

On December 15, Maxie and Lulu break into Franco's apartment to look for photos of Maxie to dispose of them, and they run into Franco's agent Gillian Carlyle, who informs the two young ladies that Franco's back in Paris. On December 18, Franco is in an alley when he is approached by Dante's cop partner Ronnie Dimestico; it is then revealed that the two have been working together for quite a long time. After Ronnie leaves, he is run over by a dark car driven by Franco, and Lulu rushes him to the hospital. Lulu encounters Franco in Ronnie's room after Franco told Ronnie to give Jason Morgan a message. He then exits, and soon after, Jason and Dante arrive. Ronnie, hooked up on a ventilator, gives Jason the message, and CO77X is seen spray painted in Ronnie's hospital room. During the week of December 28, Franco kidnaps Jason's girlfriend Sam McCall and his best friend Carly Corinthos. Franco waits for Jason to come and try to rescue them. Carly manages to escape, however. On January 6, 2010 Franco goes to Crimson to get Maxie for a game with Jason where he would have to choose between Sam and Maxie, but she is not there, so he kidnaps Lulu. Both Sam and Lulu are strapped to bombs. Jason rescues Sam, and Dante rescues Lulu. Franco soon leaves town after leaving Jason a video message.

While Jason is in prison to protect his nephew Michael, he kills a man, Carter, who has been tormenting Michael. As Carter loses consciousness, he tells Jason that Franco says "hi."
 * -|2010=

On July 1, 2010, Franco is seen as a homeless person who is holding up a sign saying, "Will entertain for money." Diane Miller comes across him and says she left her purse at home when Franco asks her for some change. So instead, he pulls out a little toy monkey to entertain her and tells her he hopes to get a real one someday as she hands him twenty dollars that she had in her briefcase, and a stick of gum. After she leaves, Franco gets up and spray paints his tag on a crate. When Jason goes home, Franco follows him to Harbor View Towers. The next day, while Maxie is alone talking on the phone, Franco steps out of the elevator and hands her six red roses.

When Dante and Jason visit Franco's mother, Karen Anderson, she tells them that she doesn't have a son. Jason and Dante later head to Los Angeles, where Franco is preparing a large exhibit at the MoCA based on his exploits in Port Charles. While searching for Franco, the pair discover a DVD revealing that Franco had paid Carter off to attack Michael in order to play mind games with Jason. Jason chases Franco to the top of a building, which Franco seemingly jumps off of. It is later revealed that it wasn't Franco, and that he simply faked his death.

It is revealed that Franco took Aiden Cassadine to give to his mother to raise as the son that she always wanted. Lucky Spencer later reclaims the child without incident or reprisal from Franco. Franco is mentioned when his agent attempts to ask international model Brenda Barrett to pose for a few pictures. Knowing of Franco's history as a serial killer, Brenda turns down the offer, refusing to glorify violence for money.

Franco is seen in February of 2011, when Brenda Barrett's limo explodes. He asks Jason if he "liked the fireworks." In late 2011, Franco watched Jason and Sam as they prepared for their wedding. In November, Franco followed them on their honeymoon in Hawaii. Franco tricked both Jason and Sam into drinking a drugged beer. He makes it appear that he has raped Sam while Jason was trapped by him and watching on a TV monitor. Jason finds Franco in an undisclosed studio. Franco taunts Jason upon his arrival. Jason shoots Franco twice in the chest and leaves him there in his burning studio. It is later revealed that Sam is pregnant, and at first it is believed that the baby is either Jason or Franco's. The paternity test results come back and Jason, not Franco, is shown to be the father. But Franco had one secret that died with him.
 * -|2011-12=

In early 2012, Jason finds a disc from Franco. He and Sam play it, and it is a recording of a newborn baby in a hospital bassinet with an ID bracelet that says Baby Boy Moore. They assume it's Jason, as his birth mother was Susan Moore. They have no idea why Franco sent this. In late March 2012, Sam visits the hospital where Jason was born. The only information she finds is that Heather Webber was in the room when Jason was born. Sam then goes to Ferncliff after finding out that Heather is there. Heather explains that Susan gave birth to two babies, and that the one in the photograph Sam shows Heather from the video isn't Jason. Heather tells Sam that Jason's twin brother was sold to a nurse, Betsy Frank. Sam realizes that is Franco's "mother's" name, meaning that Jason and Franco were fraternal twins. Heather is happy to know that she is related to Franco, because she admires his work.

Knowing that Jason and Franco were brothers, Sam realizes that the paternity test may not be correct since they didn't take that into consideration. Sam gets a DNA sample of Franco from John McBain, who has connections to the FBI, and has her doctor Kelly Lee do a DNA test against both potential fathers. When Sam gets the results, they say that Franco, not Jason, is the father of her baby. Jason has trouble coming to grips with the idea of Franco being the baby's father, and doesn't know if he can raise the child as his own. It was later revealed soon after Jason and Sam's son was born, that Heather switched the paternity test results as revenge against Sam not delivering her letter to Steven Lars, and Jason is the baby's real father not Franco.

A mystery man is seen walking into one of The Chew's green rooms. The man is watching a television screen taping AJ Quartermaine and Tracy Quartermaine trying to deal with the disastrous pickle relish showdown because the food experts, the other personnel, and Elizabeth Webber have just recently gotten food poisoning. It is implied that the mystery man is the one that caused the food poisoning. Tracy makes AJ take the blame for the disaster. The mystery man also speaks to the production assistant Todd, but gets him to leave with the excuse that Mario Batali should be treated to.
 * -|2013-2014=

The mystery man is then seen flying from New York City to Port Charles, New York. A fellow passenger comes and sits with him and the passenger asks if he is famous. He replies with a comment about what constitutes being famous or something down those lines. He states that he is going to Port Charles for hopefully both business and pleasure. The mystery man is then seen talking to Heather Webber at Ferncliff. He states that he hurt Sam Morgan and wants to make things right with everyone he hurt in town. He visited Heather to retrieve two video tapes he left with her before leaving town. The video tapes held the truth of what happened to Sam during her and Jason's honeymoon and the truth behind what happened to Michael in prison.

Then he is seen renting out the Haunted Star from Lulu Spencer-Falconeri, who has just recently lost her memory of past events and does not recognize him. He is able to avoid revealing his name and states that the party is where he is going to reveal his identity. After talking to Lulu, he is then seen talking to Dr. Silas Clay, who is at the Pier eavesdropping on Lucy Coe's Stephen Clay Experience tour. His guests for the Identity Reveal Party include the following: Carly Jacks, Sonny Corinthos, Michael Corinthos, Elizabeth Webber, AJ Quartermaine, Sam Morgan, Maxie Jones, and Damian Spinelli. When the guests call him "Franco," he answers them in the affirmative.

Franco is able to convince Sam and Carly to stop Sonny from killing him on the spot. He uses the standard excuse that he has valuable information that they want to know. He admits that he didn't rape Sam back in 2011 and he only led them to believe that he did. He then shows a recording of him walking away from Sam after he laid her on the bed unconscious. Franco also states that he showed Jason the first part of the conversation between him and Carter while Michael was in prison, but then reveals that the second portion was his attempt to make Carter protect Michael.

He is then subsequently taken in police custody and is revealed that Sam Morgan (presumably?) knocked him out. He goes to his bail hearing and Mr. Lazaro, the district attorney, agrees with Diane Miller's "convincing argument", but it's revealed that Mr. Lazaro made an agreement with Sonny Corinthos to allow Franco to go out in bail. He conducts an informal family meeting when he goes to the Quartermaine's Mansion where he talks with his step-mother Monica Quartermaine and including feuding AJ Quartermaine and Tracy Quartermaine. Ava Jerome and Lauren "Kiki" Jerome show up as well. Carly goes to the Quartermaine Mansion to see Franco she invites him to dinner the Metro Court Hotel and he agrees and goes to get ready.

Carly gets on the phone with Shawn to tell a lie that the hit that Sonny called off was back on. Franco and Carly are at the hotel on balcony. Olivia tells Sonny that Franco and Carly are having dinner. Sonny goes to the balcony to tell Carly to leave Franco alone. Olivia has vision of Sonny covered in blood she rushes to him and tells him to get away Shawn Butler takes shot and hits Olivia. Later it turned out to be Ava Jerome that was the one trying to kill Franco and shot Olivia. Kiki and Michael make out on June 17th episode and then they eventually go to the Quartermaine Mansion separately and learn that they are cousins. Franco and Ava moved into the Quartermine Mansion. Ava blackmail Franco she told him if she does not get the Quartermaines money that she's going to tell AJ or the police that he was behind the food poisoning. Franco found out from Carly that there was another shooter and he figured out that it was Ava so he blackmail her if he doesn't get a relationship with Kiki he going to the police and Ava agreed.

Sonny and Shawn came to the boathouse Sonny ask to leave his son Kiki boyfriend Morgan Corinthos alone and leave the Quartermaines. Franco did not want to leave so Sonny had Shawn beat him up. Alexis Davis came in and took Franco to the hospital so he can get help and also to see if he was match so Danny can have his bone marrow. Franco had a seizure and woke up as saying his name was Jason. Franco left his room he went to see Danny and took him from the hospital to Jason and Sam penthouse. Sam figured out where to find Danny she went to the penthouse Franco came down stairs dress in Jason clothes and kissed Sam and she slap's him and they fight and Franco knocks out Sam and takes Danny. Carly finds him and Danny. Franco takes Carly's advice and gives Danny back.

Back at the hospital Franco was back to normal but he find out he has brain tumor and Franco agreed to have surgery. He pulled threw surgery. Franco was a match to save Danny's life but Franco had cancer cells so he couldn't give his bone marrow. Franco learned that Kiki is not his daughter. Franco was released from the hospital but he had to go to court and got the charges drop. Monica kick him out of her house and Franco moves into the Metro Court Hotel and Carly wished him a happy birthday. Franco learned because of the victims that he's killed over the years filed lawsuit against him making him broke so Franco went back to painting. Diane Miller tells Franco that he should do an art show so that he can make some money to pay Carly for the hotel room. Franco's art dealer comes to see his work and tells him that they suck. The art dealer, however, did like the painting that Heather gave Franco, so he tells Franco to paint more of those paintings for the show.

On November 8, during Franco's art show, Heather reveals that she is his biological mother and Scott Baldwin is his father. She recounts the story of his conception, admitting it to both Franco and Scott for the first time, which jogs Scott's memory of that night. She had a DNA test and birth certificate to back up her claims, but due to her past of tampering with DNA tests, Dr. Silas Clay and Alexis Davis confirmed the documents as authentic before her story was believed. After the art show, Franco went home and laid on his couch. Carly came, and Franco told Carly he loved her. Carly also admitted to her attraction to Franco, but said she doesn't trust him still. Then Franco takes Carly home, and they see KiKi shivering at Pier 52. She said the Michael is drowning, and Franco jumps in and saves Michael's life. They go back to Franco's Room and sleep together. The next morning, Franco gets flowers from Heather Webber telling Carly to back off. He is also visited by Scott and they discuss their new-found relation as father and son.

On November 20th, Heather goes into Franco's Room and Franco puts her into the wall. He says if she hurts Carly, he will kill Heather. On December 9th, Heather gets Franco out if the way and goes to kill Carly when she is out of the shower. Franco comes back, and they fight over the knife. Franco gets it, and stabs Heather in the chest. She falls down and dies. Then he puts her in a laundry cart, and Diane helps him push it outside. When he gets outside he runs into Lucy Coe. Lucy talks about Scott Baldwin, Franco's New Father. After she leaves, Franco puts Heather's body in his car and drives off to the Cementery. Sonny Corinthos and Shawn Butler forced Carlos Rivera to dig up his grave, and he tells them that he is the sister of Lily Corinthos. So they leave with a big empty burried grave. Franco comes and is shocked that somebody burried a grave. He puts Heather's body and puts dirt over it. When he leaves, Heather's hand pops out of the ground. Meaning that Franco did not kill Heather Webber. In 2014, When Carly is kidnapped by Heather Webber Franco is believed to have taken her.

Crimes committed

 * Serial killer [2000s]
 * Killed Joey Limbo after a mob shoot out [Nov 2009]
 * Stalked Jason Morgan [Nov-Dec 2009]
 * Suspected of hitting cop Ronnie Dimestico with a car [Dec 2009]
 * Kidnapped Carly Jacks [Jan 2010]
 * Kidnapped Sam McCall [Jan 2010]
 * Kidnapped Lulu Spencer [Jan 2010]
 * Blew up two warehouses [Jan 2010]
 * Indrirectly responsible for the rape of Michael Corinthos. [May 21, 2010, additional information on May 30, 2013]
 * Kidnapped Elizabeth Webber's newborn son Aiden Spencer [Jul 21, 2010]
 * Held a woman at gunpoint during "Francophrenia" [Jul 23, 2010]
 * Strangled a videographer during "Francophrenia" [Jul 23, 2010]
 * Followed and stalked Jason and Sam Morgan to Hawaii [October 2011]
 * Poisoned Pickle Lila and Pickle Eddie. [May 2013]
 * Made it appear that he had raped Sam Morgan [Oct 2011, retracted on May 29, 2013]
 * Kidnapped Danny Morgan [July 18, 2013 as Jason Morgan]
 * Knocked Sam out and took Danny again [July 19, 2013 as Jason Morgan]
 * Stole Heather Webber's Paintings, and sold it as his at an art show [Nov 2013]
 * Stabbed Heather Webber and buried her alive (she survived) [Dec 9, 2013]
 * Arrested for the "murder" of Carly Jacks (he is being framed by his mother, Heather Webber) [Jan 31, 2014]
 * Escaped from police custody [Feb 4, 2014]
 * Stabbed his mother after she shot him [Feb 2014]

Health and Vitals

 * Shot by Jason Morgan. [Jan 2012]
 * Threaten with a gun by Sonny. [May 2013]
 * Strangled by A.J. Quartermaine. [May 2013]
 * Pistol whipped by Sam Morgan. [May 2013]
 * Had hit out on him; Sonny Corinthos ordered Shawn Butler to shoot him but stopped it then Carly re-launches the kill; Shawn didn't shoot anyone [Jun 10, 2013]
 * Almost shot by Ava Jerome; Olivia Falconeri was shot instead [Jun 10, 2013]
 * Hospitalized after being assaulted by Shawn Butler under the orders of Sonny Corinthos [Jul 2013]
 * Had a seizure [Jul 2013]
 * Diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery [Jul 2013]
 * Jumped into freezing water to save Michael Corinthos from drowning (he saved him) [Nov 12, 2013]
 * Shot by Det. Dante Falconeri while trying to escape police custody [Feb 4, 2014]
 * Shot in the chest by his mother, Heather Webber.  [Feb 11, 2014]