Jason Morgan (Steve Burton)

Jason Morgan (born Jason Moore, raised Jason Quartermaine) is a fictional character and the current main protagonist on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital and has appeared on its SOAPnet spin-off series, General Hospital: Night Shift. He is one of the longest-running characters on the show, having been played by various actors since the character's birth in 1982. The role is currently played by Emmy Award winning actor Steve Burton, who joined the cast in 1991.

Within the show's storyline, Jason is the biological son of show icon Dr. Alan Quartermaine, from an affair with Susan Moore. Originally a bright and ethical teenager whose main ambition in life was to become a doctor, the character would be revamped into a organized crime family enforcer and hitman in the Corinthos Crime Family, after sustaining a massive head injury that resulted in permanent brain damage and substantial memory loss.

Birth and accident
Jason was conceived out of his father, Alan Quartermaine's, affair with Susan Moore. When Jason was born, Alan supported him financially, but was fighting for custody over his other son A.J. Jason lived with his mother and step-father Scott Baldwin up until her death, after which he moved in with Alan and Monica. Jason and A.J. were sent off to boarding school as children.

When Jason and A.J. returned, Jason, who was a successful student and athlete, was treated as the family favorite while A.J. was failing and dealing with alcoholism. Jason had relationships with Karen Wexler, Brenda Barrett, and Keesha Ward, who A.J. also loved. Jason had supported Monica through her health crisis and adored his adoptive sister, Emily Quartermaine. In December 1995, an intoxicated A.J. ran his car into a tree. Jason, who had been attempting to stop A.J. from driving, was in the passenger seat and hit his head on a large boulder after being ejected from the car. To spare A.J., his cousin Ned Ashton claimed responsibility for the accident. Jason suffered brain injuries that resulted in total memory loss. Upon waking up from his coma, Jason had no recollection of his past and resented all the Quartermaines except his grandmother and Emily. He moved out of the Quartermaine Mansion and changed his last name to Morgan, to honor his grandmother, Lila Morgan Quartermaine. He became Sonny Corinthos' enforcer in his mob business and began to date Robin Scorpio.

Carly and Michael
Due to the fact that Robin was HIV-positive, Jason began to sleep with Carly Roberts but Jason chose to be with Robin instead. Jason and Carly still remained friends. Jason, working for Sonny, discovered that a drugs were being imported, which caused his sister, Emily to collapse. Due to the fact that the mob was too much for Robin, the couple split up but Jason held a promise never to be romantically involved with Carly.

To help Carly, Jason pretended to be the father of her baby so that neither of the two men that she slept with could take her baby away. Robin returned to Port Charles and Jason confessed that the child was A.J.'s according to a paternity test but would still like to be the child's father until Carly can take care of her son.Jason and Robin reunited and made love for the first time. After Robin was almost killed in an explosion, Jason left the mob. Carly was released from the hospital and began to put a strain on Jason and Robin's relationship. Robin told AJ that he was Michael's father in an attempt to free Jason and the baby from Carly. This sent Carly in to depression and left town. Jason and Michael bonded over this time but Jason temporarily lost custody of Michael. AJ and Carly married, and a judge awarded joint custody to Jason, Carly, and AJ. Jason feared his hatred of AJ would hurt Michael and signed away all rights. He remained a big part of Michael's life and they are very close.

Jason began comforting Elizabeth Webber over the death of her boyfriend. Carly misunderstood their relationship and slept with Sonny. Jason was unable to deal with the betrayal of Sonny and Carly, and left town. Sonny and Carly began a real relationship, which Jason eventually accepted.

Jason was forced to protect Sonny's sister, Courtney Matthews, when she was being stalked by A.J. Quartermaine. Jason and Courtney began a relationship which they had to keep secret, fearing Carly and Sonny's disapproval. Carly was overjoyed once discovering. After Luis Alcazar was murdered, Brenda and Jason became the prime suspects and were forced to wed to refrain from testifying. They divorced soon after, and Sonny discovered Courtney and Jason's affair which led to him firing Jason. Sonny eventually gave his approval, however, and Courtney and Jason became engaged. However, on the night of their wedding, their best friend Carly was kidnapped. Courtney was pregnant, but lost the baby when trying to escape from Lorenzo Alcazar. Eventually, she and Jason married in France but due to the mob lifestyle, they divorced.

Sam McCall
Jason and Sam McCall were arrested for aiding and abetting Sonny. Jason offered her a million dollars to leave town when he discovered that Sonny and Sam had had an affair while he was married to Carly. Sam refused and moved in with Sonny. Sonny and Carly reconciled, but Jason discovered that Sam was pregnant with Sonny's child. She was planning on leaving town but Jason convinced her to stay, with Jason pretending to be the father of Sam's baby in order to protect Sonny and Carly's reconciliation. However, Sonny and Sam's child died, and Jason and Sam eventually began a relationship, falling in love and getting engaged. They almost adopted a baby named Hope but that fell through. Jason and Sam did make it to the altar, but their wedding did not go through.

When all three of Sonny's children were kidnapped, Jason and Sam worked together to discover that A.J. Quartermaine and Faith Roscoe were the kidnappers. After Jason lost his memory, Jason fell in love with Sam again and they move to Hawaii when Jason decides he wants nothing to do with his old mob life. In late November 2005, Sam convinced Jason to go on an experimental drug that Robin Scorpio founded that would help him regain his memory. The drug worked but this caused a brain aneurysm and they moved back to Hawaii where they planned to spend the last days of Jason's life. Although Jason initially refuses, Robin and Patrick Drake operate on him saving his life, when he comes to the decision that he wants to live in order to stay with Sam.

Elizabeth and Jake
Jason and Sam later discover that Sam's mother is Alexis Davis. Although Sam wanted to have children, she was shot with a bullet meant for Jason, resulting in her inability to become pregnant again. Sam slept with her mother's husband, Ric Lansing, to cause her mother grief but Jason walked in instead. Jason slept with Elizabeth Spencer, which resulted in a pregnancy. They agreed to let Lucky believe he was the father in order to protect their child from the mob. Jason also had to come to terms with Sonny dating his sister, Emily. The relationship drove a wedge between Jason and Sonny, and Jason took over Sonny's business entirely without Sonny's consent. This resulted in a fist fight between the two that a teary-eyed Emily had to break up. Jason's estranged father Alan died in early 2007 during the Metro Court hostage crisis, just as they were beginning to rebuild their relationship. Jason took his death hard, and privately confided to Monica during the memorial service that he had flashes of good childhood memories of Alan and that he regretted all the years he pushed him away.

Elizabeth gives birth to a son, Jacob Martin Spencer, in May 2007. Sam watches and says nothing when she sees Jason and Elizabeth's son, Jake, being kidnapped. Jason and Sam's relationship ends, and Jason recovers his son with the help of Amelia Joffe. Jason and Elizabeth admit their love as her marriage dissolves. Jason reveals Jake's paternity to Lucky at the Black and White Ball. Lucky and Sam agree to keep the secret, and Elizabeth and Jason begin to meet secretly. They become engaged but on the same day of their engagement, Michael is shot, and Jason ends their engagement. He had asked Elizabeth to go to Italy with him, but as a result of the shooting of Sonny's fiancée Kate Howard the trip is cancelled. A war with the rival Russian mob began to escalate in November 2008. Jason agrees when Lucky proposes sending Elizabeth, the boys, and Sam, to hide in a cabin in the woods. During a shootout with Russians who had followed the women to the cabin, Jake is kidnapped once again. Sam goes with Jason to search for Jake, and they return him safely to Elizabeth. Jason and Elizabeth once again vow to never see each other again for the safety of the boys.

Problems with the Feds
Jason denies Sonny access to the organization when he wants it back. In order to regain his power, Sonny becomes head of the Zacchara organization by marrying Claudia Corinthos. Jason is later offered a blanket of immunity by Agent Rayner if he informs on Sonny Corinthos and Anthony Zacchara, but he refuses to give up Sonny. After Spinelli was set up by a geeky undercover agent named Winifred Leeds, he was arrested for his illegal activity. Jason is forced to agree to Rayner's deal to gain Spinelli's freedom. Jason asks Sonny to quit working with the Zaccharas, but Sonny refuses. Spinelli is freed from the FBI's hold when Sam, with the help of Winifred, destroys all the evidence against him. Jason and Sonny reconcile, and Jason is more than happy to give Sonny back the business.

Second relationship with Sam
Jason obtains evidence that Claudia Corinthos is responsible for Michael's shooting. Jason is also dealing with Carly and her unstable son. In May 2009, his nephew Michael Corinthos wakes up from his year-long coma, but due to brain damage he is now an aggressive 17-year-old. Jason refuses to allow Michael's request to join his father's business and agrees with Carly that Michael should live at the Quartermaine Mansion for his own good. Jason resumes a friendship with Sam, who has partnered with Spinelli in her quest to start a private investigation firm.

Jason depends on Sam's skills to help him with an issue involving Dominic Pirelli, a new mob soldier who was trying to make his way into Sonny's organization. When Michael and Kristina run away because both teenagers each believed themselves to be the driver responsible for Claudia's car accident that resulted in the loss of her unborn baby, Jason and Sam take off to Mexico after them, recapturing some of their former closeness along the way. A resurfaced Jerry Jacks manages to capture Sam, luring Jason into a trap. During the ensuing shootout, Jason is pinned beneath a pile of rubble and Jerry taunts Jason with lies about Claudia's innocence before shooting him twice and leaving him for dead. Sam escapes and returns just in time to rescue Jason and nurse him back to health, and then they make love. On August 28, 2009, Jason and Sam find Michael and Kristina in Cancun, Mexico, and bring them back to Port Charles a few days later. Jason tells Sonny about his altercation with Jerry and about Jerry's claims of Claudia's innocence in Michael's shooting.

Despite their denials, Jason and Sam's renewed closeness is apparent to everyone, especially after they are caught kissing by Maxie and Spinelli. Jason is given a lecture from both Carly and Maxie on how he should treat Sam if he wishes to stay with her. Jason listens to Carly's advice and refuses to let Sam back out of going to the carnival with him. The carnival takes a chaotic turn when Jason's grandfather Edward Quartermaine has a drug-induced heart attack and passes out behind the wheel, plunging his car down the carnival midway. Jake is injured at the carnival, and Jason turns to Sam for comfort and reassurance multiple times during this ordeal. While at the hospital, Jason witnesses Nikolas and Liz kissing, and ends up at Sam's apartment, and they end up making love again. Believing themselves to be alone, they are caught by surprise the next morning when they come downstairs in each other's arms only to find Spinelli and Maxie's wedding party planners in the living room.

Claudia's murder and Kristina's abuse
Jason and Sam tell Sonny that Claudia orchestrated Michael's shooting. Sonny publically humiliates Claudia and attempts to get rid of her. In defence, Claudia kidnaps Carly, who goes in to labour. Michael finds Claudia stealing Carly's newborn daughter and bludgeons her to death. Jason covers the murder. In November, Jason is tormented by an artist named Franco who is interested in causing Jason's downfall. In January 2010, Franco kidnaps Lulu and Sam and straps them both to bomb, placing them on the opposite side of Port Charles. Jason saves Sam while Dominic saves Lulu. Franco leaves town soon after. Jason and Lulu are named godparents to Carly's daughter, Josslyn Jacks, on January 29, 2010. On that day, Dominic is revealed to a be an undercover cop named Dante Falconeri, who is also Sonny's son. Although Jason wishes Dante dead, Sonny asks him not to. When Sonny is arrested for Claudia's murder, Jason moves Michael over to Sonny's island to prevent him Michael from confessing.

When Kristina is abused and hospitalized by her boyfriend Kiefer Bauer, Jason is the first to see through her lies to protect him and convinces Dante and Lucky to investigate further. Eventually, Kiefer's abusive nature, and thus the truth about Kristina's attacks, becomes public knowledge after he beats her a second time; however, Alexis accidentally hits Kiefer with her car and kills him while taking Kristina to the hospital that same night, causing his father, Warren Bauer, to become obsessed with getting revenge on Kristina and Alexis. In response, Jason is approached by Molly, who desperately begs him to "make Mr. Bauer disappear." Jason turns her down, explaining that he doesn't want to get children involved in the mob after what happened to Michael.

Franco's return
Sonny is put on trial for his alleged role in Claudia's death, and the prosecutor, Claire Walsh, does everything in her power to ensure that Sonny is convicted, going so far as to make Johnny Zacchara falsely testify that Sonny routinely physically abused Claudia and force Morgan Corinthos onto the stand. However, just as the jury is about to reach a verdict, Dante enters the courtroom and surrenders Michael as Claudia's true killer. Once Dante's allegations are proven, the judge unfairly sentences Michael to five years in Pentonville State Prison as a message to Sonny and Carly, leaving everyone present shocked and upset. On May 20, in order to protect Michael, Jason makes a deal with Claire and is sent to Pentonville as well. Jason was regularly visited by Sam, who at one point posed as his ex-wife, Brenda Barrett, in order to get a conjugal visit. He is also visited by Alexis for advice on how to handle the increasingly rebellious Kristina, who is now in a relationship with Johnny (it is later revealed that Kristina was only pretending to date Johnny to spite Sonny). Dante, Claire, and Jax, guilt-ridden over their roles in Michael's incarceration, eventually convince the judge to release Michael on parole, while Jason remains in Pentonville.

On June 30, Franco returns to Port Charles with the intent to resume his feud with Jason; in response, Jason makes a deal with Dante and Claire and is released from Pentonville to draw Franco out of hiding. In July, Jason and Dante go to L.A. to find Franco. In late July/early August, they had thought that Franco had died (from his fall off the roof), but it was someone else. Franco revels that he had Carter beat and 'mess' up Michael. Franco also has a nurse named "J. Morgan" take Aiden Cassadine, the newborn son of Elizabeth and Lucky Spencer, because he had the number 66 on his ID bracelet. Franco was obsessed with the number 66 and wanted his mom to have the "perfect" son. Aiden is found and returned to Elizabeth by Lucky. Franco eventually escapes, and Jason is sent back to prison only to be released a few weeks later after Sonny and Claire find a loophole in his plea bargain.

Brenda's return
On September 16, 2010, Jason went to Rome, to serve as a bodyguard to help protect Brenda from the Balkan. This is the first time they have seen each other since she went back to Paris in early 2003. Jason and Brenda return to Port Charles in late September. Brenda moved into the Penthouse with him because it was the best way to protect her from the Balkan.

With Brenda living with Jason, him and Sam barely get to spend anytime together. He briefly asks Sam to move in but she says no saying that it is not right timing. Jason and Sam continue to work on protecting Brenda and finding out the identity of the Balkan. During this storyline Michael finally admits to Jason that he was raped by Carter in prison which hits Jason really hard. In early 2011, Sam finds out that there is a fertility construction surgery that she can have that might give her the possibility of having a baby. Her and Jason talk about it and they agree that their lives are too dangerous to have kids. At one point she thinks she is pregnant but results prove that she is not.

Jason's relationship with Brenda is that of a love/hate or brother/sister relationship. Jason finds her irritating and a pain in the ass, and Brenda finds his unemotional facade aggravating. But despite this, Jason is shown to be protective of her and walks her down the isle at her wedding to Sonny, despite his reservations about the wedding.

Jason and Sam discovered that Brenda's defense attorney, Theo Hoffman, was the Balkan, and immediately went out to stop him; in the process, Jason was caught in an ambush and barely escaped. After the reception, Brenda was seemingly killed in a car bomb. Though it was believed that the Balkan was the one who planted the bomb, Jason received a call from the newly returned Franco, who hinted that he was the one who planted the bomb. When the authorities managed to get through the wreckage, everybody was shocked to discover Sam within the limo, with no sign of Brenda. Fortunately, due to bomb-proofing, Sam survived the explosion with only a concussion and temporary hearing loss.

In the meantime, Jason interrogates Shawn Butler, a mercenary who had previously worked for Theo, for information. Shawn insists that he does not know where Theo and Brenda are and he wants Theo taken down just as badly as they do, but Jason does not believe him. Shawn says that he has access to records on Theo that may help them, but they are contained in a biometric lock that only he can bypass. After much persuasion, Jason agrees to let Shawn get the information, and also asks him to check the records to see if Theo has any connection with Franco.

Later, Jason discovers from Michael that he had gone after an assassin hired by Theo to kill Shawn and apprehended him with Dante's help. Jason is anything but pleased that Michael risked breaking his parole and got "too close to the business," only for Michael to snap and shout that he wants to help and is sick of people not believing in him. Jason explains that he gave up a lot of choices when he went to work for Sonny, revealing that he is Jake Webber's biological father, and tells Michael that he merely doesn't want him to make the same mistake.

Eventually, Jason, Sonny, and Dante manage to track down Brenda, finding her near-death after being injected with a neurotoxin. Sonny rushes her to the hospital while Jason and Dante attempt to stop Theo, who escapes. Jason and Dante quickly begin to butt heads over their differing opinions regarding apprehending Theo; Jason is perfectly willing to kill him for hurting Sam, while Dante is determined to arrest Theo despite Jason's insistence that Theo, being a lawyer, would easily find a way out of it.

While Brenda is recovering in the hospital, Jason has Spinelli surf the Web to find out if Theo has any connections in Port Charles, discovering that he did indeed have one with a family aligned to the Corinthos organization. Jason immediately departs, vowing that anyone who hurts Sam needs to be dealt with. In the ensuing confrontation, Theo's contact insists that he has no idea where the Balkan is now, and explains to Jason that he put Theo in contact with Johnny Zacchara. The contact declares that it was a mistake to help Theo and doesn't to business with people who attack women.

Jason immediately confronts Johnny, who insists that he had no idea that Theo was targeting Brenda and had nothing to do with Sam's kidnapping. However, Johnny does admit that he lent some muscle to Theo and killed the man who was following Sam. Johnny even declares that he could have easily killed Jason too, and for that, Jason owes him a life debt.

Jake's death
On March 18, 2011, Jason's son, Jake runs out his mother's house, into the street and gets hit by a car. Jake is rushed to the hospital, and Patrick and Robin Drake operate on him to try and save his life, but there was just too much damage, and Jake dies on the operating table as Jason watches from the observation window. Jason later had to break the news to Lucky, who then went and broke the news of Jake's death to Elizabeth. Carly, who was also at the hospital because her daughter Josslyn had just been diagnosed with kidney cancer, found Jason at the hospital rooftop and told him of Josslyn's illness. She felt horrible for Jason's loss, but wanted him to consider donating Jake's kidneys to Josslyn in order to save her daughter's life.

Personality and traits
Prior to the car accident, Jason was depicted as a kind-hearted and affable young man. Since then, however, Jason has been largely depicted as taciturn and largely emotionless, and has largely severed his ties with the Quartermaine family. However, Jason is quite a complex character and has his own set of morals.

Even after his accident, Jason displayed several acts of compassion and love, comforting Robin after the death of Stone and helping her to realize that she could live a normal life with HIV. Though no longer romantically involved, the two remain good friends to this day.

Despite his high-ranking position in the Corinthos mob, Jason is somewhat of a vigilante and has often helped to bring down criminals worse than he and Sonny. He frequently displays loyalty and compassion to his loved ones and friends, and can be roused to phenomenal fury whenever they, especially his longtime lover Sam McCall, are harmed or endangered; for example, he yelled at and manhandled Alexis Davis when her actions caused the stillbirth of Sam's daughter. Additionally, upon discovering that Sam had been terrorizing Elizabeth Webber since she discovered that Jason was Jake's biological father, Jason was outraged and openly threatened to kill Sam if she ever tried anything to hurt Elizabeth's family again.

He has a great deal of kindness and affection towards Sonny's children, particularly Michael and Kristina, and has shown to care a great deal for Molly Lansing despite his history of enmity with her father. Because of the circumstances of Michael's upbringing, Jason has vowed never to get children involved in the mob again; when Molly approached him and requested that he kill Warren Bauer when he began to harass the Davis family, Jason turned her down for that exact reason and told her that she shouldn't try to get involved with the mob because she was "too good."

Jason is also surprisingly perceptive and shows an impressive deductive streak; for example, when Kristina was beaten and hospitalized by her boyfriend Kiefer and told everyone that Ethan Lovett was her attacker, Jason was the first to realize she was lying when nearly everyone else in Port Charles, including Kristina's own parents, was completely fooled.