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Rumplestiltskin is a whimsical yet sinister sorcerer who delights in making deals with desperate people. In roundabout ways, Rumplestiltskin is also the Beast and the ticking crocodile. He is originally a poor spinner who had deserted from the Ogre Wars-his first wife, Milah left him and their young son Baelfire as a result. She was taken by the crew of Captain Killian Jones who mocks Rumplestilskin when he tries to talk Jones into letting Milah go. Baelfire will be taken to fight the Ogre Wars when he turns fourteen, the custom for all children in their village. To save his son from the war, he and Baelfire try to flee, but they are discovered by soldiers. Rumplestiltskin is publicly humiliated, and Baelfire is told of his father's hidden past. Rumplestiltskin meets a lowly beggar, who tells him about a magical dagger engraved with the name of the Dark One, a wizard the soldiers use to submit the villagers to their will. The Dark One serves the owner of the dagger and if he is killed with it, the killer will gain his powers and become the new Dark One. Rumplestiltskin steals the dagger and kills the Dark One, who is revealed to be the beggar after he is stabbed. The beggar felt that being the Dark One was a burden and used Rumplestiltskin's desperation to pass the burden to him, saying, "I know how to recognize a desperate soul." The name on the dagger changes to Rumplestiltskin's and he becomes the Dark One. He kills the soldiers and saves Baelfire from the war, but his son and the other villagers have become terrified of him. Later, Rumplestiltskin agrees to his son's demand to find a way to get rid of his powers. However, when Baelfire receives a magical bean from the Blue Fairy that will take both of them to a world without magic and rid Rumplestiltskin of his powers, Rumplestiltskin is too afraid to lose his powers and Baelfire crosses over alone. Rumpsletiltskin blames the Blue Fairy for Baelfire's disappearance and vows that he will create a curse that will reunite him with his son one day. Rumplestiltskin becomes the most feared and most powerful being in the Enchanted Forest and enters a power struggle with the Evil Queen Regina, resulting in a rivalry between the two ever since. He begins making deals with other characters from the Forest, constantly warning them that "magic always comes at a price." Among his more infamous deals were with Jiminy Cricket and Cinderella, and the deals are mentioned frequently in various episodes. He is told of a magic bean that can open a portal to other worlds and then sees Jones, revealing himself as the man Jones mocked long ago. Jones claims Milah is dead so Rumplestilsin challenges him to a duel. He's about to kill Jones when Milah shows up, revealing she and Jones are lovers. She gives Rumple the bean and Rumple is willing to forgive her for leaving him but not for leaving their son. He rips Milah's heart out of her chest and when Jones attacks, he slices the pirate's hand off. Rumplestilskin leaves with Jones' severed hand only to find that Jones (now calling himself Hook) kept the bean. As part of a deal to save Sir Maurice's town from the Ogre Wars, Maurice's daughter Belle becomes the caretaker of his estate. Over time, the pair form a bond, and Rumplestiltskin asks her to go out and buy straw, expecting that she will not return. She surprises him by returning and they kiss, and he starts changing back into who he was prior to becoming The Dark One. However, he learns that she met the Queen on the road and becomes convinced that she was Regina's spy; this stops the transformation. In his rage, he rejects her and locks Belle in his dungeon. He then flies into a tantrum and breaks all of his dishware, except the cup that she accidentally chipped. He throws her out of his castle, telling her that his power is more important to him than she is. She leaves, but not before telling him he will regret his decision. Months later, the Queen visits and lies to him, telling him that Belle was imprisoned and tortured because of her association with him and she eventually committed suicide. Heartbroken, he places the chipped cup in a place of honor while silently weeping. Later, he is frozen by a quill created by the Blue Fairy, to prevent Cinderella from giving up her child.At some point, Regina takes possession of his curse. When she cannot enact it, he asks that she give him a place of comfort and respect in the "new world" the curse will send them to and that she must do anything he asks her to do so long as he says "please," in exchange for telling her how to set the curse in motion.
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In Storybrooke, he is Mr. Gold, the local pawnshop owner and the town's wealthiest resident. He helped build the town and owns most of it, including Granny's Inn. He is the one who brings the infant Henry to Regina, most certainly knowing it was Emma's biological child (Emma being the one to break the curse). As in the Enchanted Forest, he continues to make "deals" with the residents. He agrees to pay Ashley Boyd in exchange for her child, but agrees to allow Ashley her child in exchange for a favor from Emma. He backs Emma in her bid to be sheriff after Graham's death; however, he starts a fire and manipulates the voters' fear of him to get Emma elected. When she wins the position, he reminds her that she owes him a favor. Later, flower vendor Moe French, actually Belle's father Maurice, robs Mr. Gold's home. Emma retrieves everything but the chipped teacup Mr. Gold treasures as a reminder of Belle. To recover the cup, Mr. Gold kidnaps Moe and tortures him; however, his ranting seems to show that he is truly punishing Moe as retaliation for causing Belle's death. Emma finds them just in time to stop Mr. Gold from beating Moe to death, and he is arrested. Soon after, Regina visits Mr. Gold and offers to return the cup if Mr. Gold tells her his name. He admits that he knows he is Rumplestiltskin and assures her that he is still more powerful than she is. When Mary Margaret is accused of the murder of Kathryn Nolan, he offers her his legal services, which she accepts. Later, Emma begins to believe that Regina framed Mary Margaret and asks him to help her find proof. However, it is revealed that Regina made another deal with him to ensure Mary Margaret's conviction and that Regina left a key in Mary Margaret's cell upon his suggestion. Later, when he sees August in his shop, Mr. Gold believes that August is Baelfire. He admits that he regrets not going with Baelfire and only wants to be forgiven. However, Mr. Gold realizes that August is not his son when August tries to use the Dark One's dagger to control him (Baelfire would have known that such an attempt was futile on Earth). August reveals that he is deathly ill and needs magic to get better, but at the rate Emma is going, she will bring magic to Storybrooke too late to save him. Mr. Gold points out that there is no magic whatsoever in Storybrooke and leaves August to find a different way. Regina later comes to him to ask for help destroying Emma; he refuses, as he secretly hopes the curse will be broken. When Henry bites into Regina's poisoned apple (which she recovered with Jefferson's help), he tells Emma where to find a bottle of true love, the only thing that will save him. However, he tricks her into giving it to him and takes it to his shop. There, Belle finds him and tells him that Regina held her captive-Mr. Gold hugs her and promises he will protect her. The pair are in the woods when the curse on Storybrooke is broken. He discovers that Belle has regained her memory and tells her that he loves her. He takes her to a well that has "the power to restore what one has lost." He drops the bottle of true love into the water, causing a cloud of magical smoke to engulf the town and bring magic back to Storybrooke.
In the second season, Rumplestiltskin promises Belle that he will not kill Regina for what she did to her, though he later shows up at the sheriff's office where Regina is being held. Confronting her about Belle's imprisonment, he marks her with an amulet and summons a Wraith to kill her. Heartbroken that he betrayed her, Belle leaves his shop. Gold's plan fails when Snow, James, and Emma help send the Wraith back into the Enchanted Forest. When Belle returns to his shop, he urges her to leave as he is "still a monster," but Belle tells him that is why she needs to stay, and they reconcile. He learns later on that anyone who attempts to leave Storybrooke will have their memory of their magical self completely erased, enraging Mr. Gold, since he had planed to leave town to search for Baelfire. Gold begins to experiment with magic, upsetting Belle, who leaves for good. Worried about what Belle's father will do to control her, he enlists David and Ruby to help search, and rescues her from having her memory wiped using magic. He later sets Belle up with a job as the town librarian. He and Belle argue again, with her accusing him of being a coward and he confesses that he is, using magic as a crutch and is now trying to find a way to break this new curse so they can leave Storybrooke.