1997–1998 Elvis John Banks was born to
Stefano DiMera and
Susan Banks (
Eileen Davidson) on February 21, 1997. At the time, Susan, a
Kristen Blake (also Davidson) look alike, was paid to give birth to a baby that would then be adopted by Kristen, unbeknownst to
John Black, Kristen's fiancée. Susan realizes Kristen is deceptive and cruel, while John is loving and noble. As the birth mother of the child that Kristen and John claimed as theirs, Susan planned to take Kristen's place at John's side and in his bed.
Marlena Evans, however, managed to foil the plans of both Kristen and Susan; Marlena and John reunited, and Susan was content to find love with Edmund Crumb then. Salemites believed that EJ was then raised by Susan and Edmund, who moved to the
United Kingdom. Stefano, however, managed to snatch EJ from Susan, raising him at
Maison Blanche in
New Orleans and sending him to British boarding schools.
2006–2014 EJ Wells first appears as
Sami Brady’s handsome new neighbor across the hall. The growing chemistry between him and Samantha stopped abruptly as EJ was soon revealed to be the mysterious figure attacking Sami's family and his connection to Stefano was also discovered. In December 2006, EJ held Sami at gunpoint and forced her to help him through the police roadblocks set up by Salem PD to keep him from leaving the country after he shot John Black. After Sami got him through the roadblocks, EJ told her to leave the car. Sami refused and said that since she had helped him, he must have helped her save
Lucas Horton's life. EJ agrees to help her only if she has sex with him in exchange for saving Lucas; EJ then rapes Sami. Afterward, he helped Sami get a beam off, leaving them to die in the snow with no way out. EJ brainwashed
Steve Johnson and forced him to kidnap a comatose John Black and transplant one of his kidneys into a dying Stefano. When Sami learned she was pregnant,
Celeste Perrault revealed that EJ was the child's father but warned him that Stefano would disapprove. His brother,
Tony DiMera, convinced him to kidnap Sami and harvest the stem cells from the unborn child to save Stefano's life. EJ changed his mind and helped Sami escape at the last minute. In August 2012, EJ and Sami the two give in to their feelings by kissing, but EJ is discouraged when Sami reveals that she doesn't want to jump into things and want to focus on her work and kids. Sami decides to give EJ a chance. However, Rafe reenters the picture and Sami's life as she begins interacting with him. Rafe tells Sami that EJ is no good for her and kisses Sami, which causes her to end things with EJ. EJ becomes angry and confronts Rafe; EJ heads butt Rafe, and the two end up getting into a fight. However, John and Lucas break it up; EJ decides to get back at Rafe to win Sami back and prove that EJ is the father of Nicole's baby. EJ finds out from Chad that Rafe's sister, Gabi, was behind Melanie's kidnapping. EJ uses this to blackmail Rafe and stay away from Sami; Rafe lets EJ be with Sami, but Sami learns the truth from Chad, gets mad at EJ, and reunites with Rafe. However, EJ got proof that he was the father of Nicole's child but came to find out his son was dead. EJ is heartbroken and grief over the death of his son. However, EJ gets Nicole to confess that Rafe wasn't the father and the baby was their child. EJ records Nicole's confession and confronts both Rafe and Sami, revealing to Sami that Rafe was lying about being the father of Nicole's baby by play records. Sami breaks up with Rafe. EJ decides not to go after Nicole, Daniel, and Rafe; he is shocked by the return of his adopted step-sister, Kristen Blake DiMera. EJ wants to win back Sami, and Kristen reveals that she is working with Sami. Kristen quits her job and gives it to EJ so that he can work with Sami and be closer to her. Sami still loves Rafe, but Sami still has feelings for EJ. EJ and Sami grow closer while working together, and EJ becomes closer to Sami. EJ talks with Caroline Brady; Caroline tells EJ that Sami loves Rafe and EJ and says that maybe EJ can change. After speaking with Caroline, EJ decides to become a better man for Sami. EJ spends Christmas Day and New Year's Eve with her. EJ kisses Sami three times on New Year's Eve, but Rafe kisses Sami. Kate tells EJ that he could lose, once more, to Rafe in the battle for Sami's heart. Sami was going to tell EJ she was getting back together with Rafe, but EJ confessed his love for Sami by telling Sami he loved her and that EJ was in love with her. Sami was speechless, but she still planned to tell EJ. Sami plans Gabi's wedding to
Nick Fallon, which ends when Will reveals that he is the father of Gabi's unborn baby, not Nick. This causes a big fight between Rafe and Sami; this causes her to run into EJ's arms. EJ was there for Sami during Will's custody battle with Nick and Gabi. However, Rafe told EJ that Sami was going to choose Rafe over EJ; EJ was upset about this and went to Sami and confronted her about it. Sami told EJ everything; however, she said she didn't want to throw EJ away, confessed her genuine love for him, and admitted she wanted to be with EJ. EJ took all it in at once and forgave her. EJ and Sami reunite, and later, Sami tells EJ she loves and trusts him. Nick blackmails Will into giving up the rights to his unborn daughter with the information that Will shot EJ in 2007. Sami asks for EJ's help in getting rid of Nick. Desperate, the two turn to Stefano for help removing the evidence against Will. EJ proposes to Sami in April 2013, and she accepts. Meanwhile, it's revealed that EJ still holds a grudge against Stefano for disowning him as his son, and is seeking revenge by taking DiMera Enterprises from his father. To this end, he enlists the help of
Justin Kiriakis to take Stefano down. Rafe is viciously attacked, and the police and Sami suspect EJ. However, Sami later realizes EJ wasn't responsible. Will saves Nick and Gabi when they are kidnapped by the attacker, Jensen. Will is shot trying to save Nick, while Gabi gives birth to
Arianna Grace. EJ comes to the hospital to support Sami while Will is in surgery, and she meets her granddaughter. While there, she also visits Rafe. During a visit, Sami spots a man with a knife at Rafe's bedside and shoots him. EJ later finds out that the man is a corrupt police officer on Stefano's payroll. Though Sami insists the officer was holding a knife, and EJ believes her, the police are not able to find the weapon, and Sami is arrested for the murder of a police officer. During the trial for Officer Bernardi, to get Samantha out of jail, Ej has to beg his father and gravels to release Samantha. Stefano was the one who set up Sami with Bernardi's murder; an ex-mistress killed the officer, and Stefano framed Sami to control Ej. Like Stefano, he planned to make EJ give back the business to Justin, which he had taken from his father. Also, he had to resign everything back to his father and promise not to leave the mansion ever, even with Samantha and the children. Ej and Sami are happy living at the Dimera mansion, but they must put up with Stefano, who lives under the same roof as them and their children. They get engaged; however, during the engagement party, Bernardi's widow tries to take revenge on Sami and Ej by shooting Ej. Chad7 tries to protect Ej and gets the bullet at his place; he is injured and has to leave Salem with Stefano to get nursed. EJ then is also caught in another cover-up, the rape of Sami's twin brother Eric by his adopted sister Kristen. He discovers on Kristen's wedding day that she drugged and raped Eric; at first, he is horrified, but then he lets Kristen convince him to cover it in the name of the Dimera family's loyalty. After Kristen is discovered at her wedding, she runs away. However, thanks to a phone text from Kristen to Ej, Sami finds out Ej covered up for Kristen; Ej pretends to Samantha's face he knows nothing about the rape part, that Kristen said it was consensual because he felt torn between his loyalty to his family and his love for Sami. He's tired of Sami's antics and the fact that she doesn't appreciate him more by putting her family above him. He told her he didn't care about her brother but only her. Samantha's trust in Ej is shattered during this time because of his behavior concerning his cover-up for his half-sister Kristen's crimes. As a result, she refuses to make any plans for marriage or a future with EJ despite stating her love for him. He is also banned from Samantha's bedroom. EJ becomes very frustrated when Sami wants to put their relationship on hold. EJ helps cover the murder that Gabi, Sami, and Kate did to Nick. EJ hired a special team to clean the scene and is always in the corner of Samantha, the love of his life. However, there were still problems between EJ and Sami, which led to fights between the two, which caused more problems, and Sami continued to reject any physical intimacy from Ej. EJ goes to Smith Island and stops
Abigail Deveraux from talking to Hope about Nick after Gabi tells him Abby will speak with Hope. EJ speeds off on his private boat and Abby and EJ talk. EJ tries to get Abby not to tell Hope about Nick. Abby believes EJ is having an affair with Gabi, but EJ says that is not true; Abby goes on and says any woman wants to sleep with him. EJ realizes Abby's attraction to him. Knowing this, EJ uses it to stop Abby by kissing her when she is about to go to Hope. EJ stops the kiss and tries to leave Smith Island. However, Abby stops EJ from leaving. She kisses him, and then they begin having sex. After that, Abigail starts to chase Ej at every opportunity. EJ tries several times to reject Abby, but she uses what she thinks happened about Nick's disappearance to get close to Ej and to have a sexual relationship with him. Several times, EJ confronts Abby and tries to get her not to tell anyone. However, Abby tries to blackmail EJ by saying She will tell Hope everything if EJ doesn't give her what she wants. EJ and Abby kiss and almost have sex at the hospital where Abby is working. EJ is on the board as one of the backers but stops when someone nearly comes in. After that, Abigail chases Ej at the gym locker room of his Dimera company, and they have sex in the shower until they hear Sami, and Ej stops the act immediately. Ej and Sami began to slowly reconcile, and once again, Ej tried to persuade Abigail to stop pursuing him and move on. Finally, once and for all, he rejected her. Sami and EJ would reconcile on Valentine's Day; EJ and Sami kiss. Later, The two would rekindle their love and passionately make love. EJ moves forward with his wedding to Sami. However, One day, a picture of them kissing at the Horton cabin arrives at the DiMera mansion. EJ hides it from Sami and immediately tries to locate the photographer. After a small investigation, EJ discovers that the photographer was Nick Fallon's assistant, Percy Ruggles. This causes EJ to go after Nick, who first confronts Percy, threatens him to give him the pictures to destroy, and sends him back to England. EJ warns Nick if he tries to ruin his family and tells Sami about the affair, Nick will be sorry. EJ hires a hitman to kill Nick, and Sami agrees to follow EJ's plan. When Nick was shot, this put EJ and Sami on the list of suspects. It was later revealed that their hitman wasn't the one who killed him. Sami and EJ proceed with their wedding, and Sami asks Abigail to be her Maid of honor. While planning her wedding, Sami comes across the photo of Abigail and EJ. She becomes furious but pushes forward with the wedding; after the ceremony,
Rafe Hernandez shows up and arrests EJ for tax evasion. While in jail, EJ signs his proxies to Sami so she can go to a board meeting in place of him. Sami attends the board meeting with
Kate Roberts (who got Stefano to sign over his proxies to her) and is voted in as DiMera Enterprise's new Co-CEOs. Sami presents this information to a furious EJ and reveals to him that she was the one who gave the police the evidence for his tax evasion arrest. When EJ asked why she was doing this, she revealed that she knew about his hook-up with Abigail and would make him pay. EJ tries to get through to Sami and repeatedly begs for her forgiveness. However, Sami refuses to forgive EJ, but EJ doesn't give up on Sami. To get back the money Sami and Kate stole from Stefano, EJ also negotiates with Victor and takes his drug business, but he is faced with a competitor in newly arrived
Clyde Weston, who seems friendly and offers a partnership but wants to take over EJ's territory. Kristen returns to Salem after he kidnaps Daniel; Kristen is locked up and asks EJ for help. However, EJ turns down Kristen and refuses to help her. Later, the affair between EJ and Abby became public Will, which brought EJ and Sami together. Sami asks for EJ's help; however, EJ walks out on Sami, but later, EJ agrees to help if Sami goes out with him to lunch, and Sami agrees. EJ would help Sami win Sami back, and the two became closer again. However, Stefano's return to Salem shakes things up for Sami and Kate. However, EJ gave Rafe documents on Stefano that hindered his return to Salem to protect Sami and win her back. EJ and Sami eventually reconcile. Sami forgives EJ, and they reunite. EJ and Sami enjoy their happiness. However, EJ's mother
Susan Banks returns to Salem and warns EJ his life is in danger. To get revenge on EJ, EJ's brother
Chad informs Stefano that EJ helped the Salem Police keep him out of Salem. Stefano angrily disowns EJ, saying he's dead to him. A furious EJ confronts Chad for revealing his betrayal to Stefano, warning Chad that he's unleashing a bitter and vindictive Stefano on EJ, Sami, and their children. Johnny tells EJ the kids at school are teasing him because he's a DiMera; EJ tells Johnny that as he gets older, he'll hear many things about the DiMera family, but it's a name to be proud of. EJ has a confrontation with Clyde over Salem's drug territory and is betrayed, shot, and killed by his disloyal bodyguard, Miguel. Stefano has EJ's sister
Kristen inject an unknown substance into EJ's body in the morgue for an unknown reason, saying only that "time is of the essence." EJ's death causes Sami and her kids to leave Salem and move to Los Angeles, California.
2015–2018 In 2015, there were signs that EJ was still alive; Sami got a letter from EJ saying that if he were dead, then Stefano was the cause. The letter was over a year old and contained nothing about Clyde Weston. Sami states that EJ wrote things only she and EJ knew, and the letter instructed Sami to get the codes that drained all of Stefano's money from his secret accounts. When EJ's sister Kristen (
Stacy Haiduk) returns to Salem in August 2018 for John and Marlena's wedding, she reveals that EJ is alive and offers to tell Sami where he is, provided she shoots John. In September 2018, Kristen revealed to
Stefan DiMera (
Tyler Christopher) details about EJ being alive. Sami agrees to transfer funds he needs to sustain losses suffered by DiMera Enterprises in return for the information about EJ's whereabouts. Stefan reveals to Sami that under Stefano's instructions, Kristen injected EJ with a drug that kept him alive, sneaking him out of the hospital and that Stefano had Sami believe EJ was dead and that EJ's body was never cremated. While Sami grieved EJ's "death," Kristen delivered EJ to Stefano. Stefan tells Sami that EJ is recovering at a private facility. When
Brady Black (
Eric Martsolf) sneaks into the facility, he finds
Xander Kiriakis working with Kristen on a secret project that is revealed to be EJ's recovery. There, it is revealed that EJ's recovery is not as easy as intended, with him losing his ability to speak. ==Reception==