Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers)

Robert Xavier Scorpio is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera General Hospital, played by actor Tristan Rogers.

Appearances
Rogers originally played the role from December 1980 through June 1992, the popularity and longevity of the character coming as a result of his involvement with the monumentally popular "supercouple" Luke and Laura, whose 1981 wedding brought in 30 million viewers and remains the highest-rated hour in American soap opera history.

While Rogers' Scorpio had been "killed with no body found" when he left the series in 1992, Rogers returned briefly in 1995 as Scorpio's spirit to comfort the character's daughter Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), who is dealing with the loss of her boyfriend to AIDS-related illness and is herself HIV-positive. He returned again in January 2006 for six weeks, this time with Scorpio being very much alive. Rogers reappeared in April 2006 and left again that November.

From August 5, 2008 through October 21, 2008, Rogers reprised the role of Robert Scorpio on the second season of SOAPnet's General Hospital: Night Shift, a prime time spin-off of General Hospital which stars Scorpio's daughter Robin. He was featured in 12 of the season's 14 episodes, and Soap Opera Digest named the appearance their "Best Return" of 2008. Rogers later reappeared on General Hospital for four episodes starting December 22, 2008 as Scorpio attends Robin's wedding.

Character history
Robert, an Australian, has an heroic past. He was involved in many adventures with his good friend Luke Spencer and his wife Holly Sutton. He has been an international spy for the WSB spy agency, and was police commissioner of Port Charles from 1983 through 1985, then again from 1988 through 1992 when he supposedly perished in an explosion in South America. When he resigned as police commissioner in 1985 he moved to Australia with his wife Holly to start anew. He had a bad relationship with his brother Mac Scorpio when he first came to town because he blamed Mac for the death of their parents. Eventually the brothers patched up their relationship. Robert was presumed dead along with his wife, Anna Devane, in 1992. Their teenage daughter Robin Scorpio was left behind to be raised by Robert's brother Mac Scorpio. Anna Devane reappeared in 2001, but told her family that Robert was dead. However, Robert resurfaced in 2006, when Port Charles was stricken with a deadly strain of encephalitis. It came out that he was forced by the WSB to be incognito for 15 years as the only way to keep his families alive; he had no choice but to let them think he was dead. His daughter is having a difficult time forgiving him for his absence.

Robert and Holly
Robert Scorpio and Holly Sutton married under strange circumstances. Holly was pregnant with the presumed dead Luke Spencer's baby and was about to be deported so Robert stepped in and married her. She ended up miscarrying the baby but she and Robert eventually fell in love.

Robert and Anna
Anna Devane, Robert married Anna Devane when the two were on assignment for the WSB in Italy. The two were married in secret before either character showed up in Port Charles. After Holly "died", Anna and Robert remarried in 1991. When the evil Cesar Faison kidnapped Anna, Robert left Port Charles for South America to rescue her. Both Robert and Anna turned up alive in Port Charles in 2006 much to the surprise of their daughter, Robin.

Missions
During his return in 2006, Robert told Robin that he was in the South Pacific trying to track a lethel dose of encephalitis. He said that he quarantine a village and torched it but two potentional carriers slipped through the net: one was a chip and another was Luke Spencer.

When Anna returned in the summer of 2007, she explained that Robert was deep undercover on a mission to recover black market alien remains. Later, at the end of the summer both Anna and Robert were assigned on a mission in the Amazon. Robert returned to General Hospital in 2008, to walk his daughter Robin down the aisle at her wedding and to meet his granddaughter Emma Scorpio-Drake.

General Hospital: Night Shift
Robert Scorpio returned to General Hospital when his plane crashed near Port Charles. Jagger Cates rescued him and brought him to General Hospital where it was revealed that he has a brain tumor. During an MRI, Patrick Drake told Robert that the brain tumor was the result of another tumor. Sadly, Robert learned that he has colon cancer and has fallen into a coma. He came out of the coma October 14, 2008 after being confronted by Luke, Sean, Tiffany and his family when he was in the coma.