It is impossible to figure out what makes Anthony Geary tick, because fans don't get any insight into who he is at all.

But, it is possible to figure out what makes his character, Luke Spencer, tick. Sure, Luke is a piece of fiction, he's a character in a soap opera, but we can get an idea of the background behind the character and why he behaves the way he does.

I am now going to play Sherlock Holmes and try to put down here exactly what I think it is that makes Luke tick. I've been watching him for five years, I've pretty much got the character down, and I'd like to share my thoughts and deductions with you on it.

MR. L. L. SPENCER IS COOL!

Make no mistake about it, Lucas Lorenzo Spencer Sr. is a very complicated and complex man. Anyone who watches GH knows that. He is quite capable of anything--good or bad--but he also has a good heart.

How he treats you depends on who you are.

Lucky hasn't figured this out yet, it seems, but Luke would rather die a brutal, horrific death than hurt him or Lesley Lu. Since Lucky and Lulu are his children, this surprises no one. It's even less surprising when you know that Luke's own father was a violent alcoholic who beat up Luke and his younger sister Bobbie on a very regular basis when they were kids. Luke vowed a long time ago that he would never become a monster like his father, so his devotion to Lucky and Lulu is perfectly understandable.

Luke wouldn't purposely hurt kid sister Barbara Jean either, mainly because as children they were pretty much all each other had. They are best friends as well as siblings, and even though they drive each other up the wall, they love each other and give un-wavering support to each other through thick and thin, no matter what.

Laura is another person Luke would never purposely hurt. He has hurt her before (he raped her, remember?) but it is pretty obvious that he has repented and paid for it even though we never saw him do it and he never said he was sorry for it (we'll never hear that apology, either. Luke knows once the damage is done, the words "I'm sorry" just don't cut it. His father said it all the time and it meant nothing).

The only time Luke hurts the people he loves is when he lies to them or keeps secrets from them. He knew for months that Carly was really Bobbie's long lost daughter Caroline, but he didn't tell Bobbie. He's kept things from Laura too, mostly about her son Nikolas. Luke's lies are his major downfall, and if he ever learns how to curb them he'll be a whole lot better off.

The thing is, though--and both Laura and Bobbie get hopelessly infuriated about this--is that Luke lies in order to keep them from getting hurt. He feels the truth would hurt them and he doesn't want anything to do that, so he lies about it to protect them.

Pretty much the only time Luke lies to Laura in his own best interest, not hers, is when it comes to her son Nikolas. Nikolas is Laura's son by Stavros...or is it Stefan?...Cassadine, and Luke hates the Cassadines. He doesn't exactly hate Nikolas--after all, the kid's never done anyting to him, and he even saved Lulu's life a couple of years back--but he is very jealous of the relationship Laura and Nikolas are trying to put together. Luke is scared Nikolas will want to be part of their family when he isn't a Spencer. So, Luke does everything he can think of to keep Laura and Nikolas apart, even though the only real reason he does so is his own fear, jealousy and insecurity.

Luke and Stefan Cassadine are arch-enemies. This goes way back to the days when Stefan's brother Stavros kidnapped Laura and led her to believe Luke was dead, their mother Helena put a curse on Luke and Laura at their wedding, her husband Mikkos tried to destroy the world, etc. etc.

The point is: Luke hates the Cassadines and always will.

And it's already been made obvious that when Luke Spencer hates you, it's only a matter of time before you're buried six feet under, pushing up daisies. If you're lucky. If not, who knows where you could end up.

Luke has had a hand in killing a lot of Cassadines over the years. Mikkos and his two brothers. Stavros. It looked for awhile that Helena was next, thanks to a plan Luke had with the help of Alexis Davis, Stefan's half-sister, but it was innocent Katherine Bell who took the fall instead. Luke tried to frame Stefan for the murder, but Alexis got ticked at that, so now what is Luke doing?

He's helping Alexis, who hates Helena as much as he does, frame Helena for the murder instead, while getting Stefan off!

Give you an idea of what he can do? By the way, he made Mikkos freeze to death in a deep freeze or something. Just thought I should mention that.

Stefan, who hates Luke as much as Luke hates him, says Luke is a violent, deranged sociopath or something along those lines (can't recall the exact wording right now) but can you really blame Luke for the way he is? First, he had to deal with his father beating him...physical and emotional abuse that left scars so deep no one but Luke knew how painful and deep they were until very recently. Then his father left and his mother died, leaving only Aunt Ruby to look after Luke and Bobbie, who became street kids. Sure, Ruby took care of them, but she was a former prostitute who ran a whore house in Fort Lauderdale, what can you expect? She wasn't exactly the best role model for her young nephew and niece.

I seriously don't wonder that Luke turned out the way he did. Yes, he can be violent--but only if he feels threatened or if someone he loves is threatened. He is a very hard, tough man--his youth made him that way.

But it also made him vulnerable and succeptable (sp?) to being hurt. He can be cold and hard one minute, but if he's hurt by someone, especially someone he loves, his weakness shows, and he becomes child-like and fearful and self-punishing.

Tony Geary is a superb actor. He's had two decades to master Luke and he's done it amazingly.

On the one hand, his portrayal of Luke's cold, hard side is scary and precise. We just know he will do anything to get what he wants and to keep himself and the people he loves safe. We know he's dangerous, like Stefan says.

But on the other hand, Tony also has Luke's other side down to a science. His portrayal of that child-like side is so real, so compelling, it makes us feel for Luke, it makes him seem human. Without a decent portrayal of that side, Luke wouldn't be human to us, and he wouldn't be a believable character.

Kudos to Mr. Geary for a job well done on an awesome and complex character!

WEBMISTRESS' NOTE: I wrote that essay awhile ago, back when Luke and Alexis were trying to destroy Helena. I know a ton of things have happened since then, a lot has gone down, but I'm leaving it as it is, mainly because I haven't watched the show much lately and I couldn't elaborate on it right now. Maybe someday in the future, you never know!