General Hospital Character Recap: Michael Corinthos Quartermaine

Poor Michael – life has never been kind to this Quartermaine scion. Stolen from his biological family, raised in an atmosphere of violence and fear, and never lucky enough to find a woman who loves him for just being him.

Who Is Michael Corinthos Quartermaine?

When Caroline “Carly” Leigh Benson learned that she was pregnant, she was left to wonder if the baby’s father was her lover (Tony Jones) or AJ Quartermaine, the man with whom she had a one night stand.

When her relationship with Tony ended, Carly begged Jason Morgan to claim the child as his own, which the enforcer/hitman reluctantly did. After giving birth, Carly suffered from postpartum depression and left Jason and his girlfriend, Robin Scorpio, to care for the newborn.

What Is In A Name?
It was his new guardian that gifted Michael with his name, and at his christening, he was given the last name Morgan. When Robin eventually outed the truth about Michael’s paternity, a custody suit was launched by the Quartermaines, who wished to claim their newest heir apparent.

Hoping to quell the hostilities, Carly agreed to reunite with AJ and after becoming man and wife, they set about raising Michael together. However, Carly soon grew tired of AJ’s drinking and controlling ways and she turned to Sonny Corinthos for comfort.

After securing a divorce, Carly worried that AJ would fight for sole custody, but Sonny had him kidnapped and tortured until he agreed to sign over his parental rights. Henceforth, the boy was to be known as Michael Corinthos III.

And so it transpired…until 2014. At that point Michael, having learned that Sonny murdered AJ in cold blood, had his name legally changed to Michael Alan Quartermaine. In time, the young man’s anger cooled and he went back to using his step-father’s last name.

Perils
As an infant, Michael was kidnapped by Tony Jones and years later, he and his siblings, Morgan and Kristina, were abducted by Faith Rosco. By the time he reached maturity, Michael had been a suspect in his biological father’s supposed murder, revealed to be the party responsible for shooting Kate Howard, and was rendered comatose by a stray bullet.

Furthermore, he became an accidental murderer – after striking his psychotic stepmother Claudia Zacchara with an ax, a prison inmate, and the victim of sexual assault.

Female Trouble
The latter incident nearly destroyed Michael but he was able to recover, thanks in part to his involvement with Abby Haver, a stripper looking to better herself and flee an abusive ex.

Despite his attempts to assist, Michael was dealt another blow when an accident claimed Abby’s life and his subsequent romances faired no better. Starr Manning dumped him over the telephone, Kiki Jerome left him for Morgan, and his relationship with Sabrina Santiago was halted by her infidelity, pregnancy, and eventual murder!

Michael finally felt contentment in his courtship with Nelle “Hayes” but she was revealed to be a scheming murderous. After learning that she was pregnant, Michael arranged for a sham wedding and eventually tricked her into confessing to her litany of sins.

Though she was sent to prison, Nelle got the last laugh by hiding the fact that she had given birth to a healthy baby boy, which she then switched for Brad’s deceased one.

But now that Nelle is free and wreaking havoc, Michael (who is currently in love with Sasha) has made it his mission to see real justice done — which means it’s only a matter of time before he and his son are reunited… General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.