Venus
| Venus | |
|---|---|
 Venus, from Agents of Atlas #5. Pencils by Leonard Kirk. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Venus #1 (Aug. 1948) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Ken Bald (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Siren |
| Team affiliations | Agents of Atlas G-Men God Squad |
| Notable aliases | V Goddess Aphrodite Victoria Nutley Starr |
| Abilities |
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Venus is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics universe, originally based on the goddess Venus (Aphrodite) from Greek and Roman mythology; however, it is later revealed that she is a Siren and not the true goddess. The Marvel version of the character first appeared in Venus #1 (August 1948). [1]
Publication history
In the original 1940s Venus series, Venus dwelled on the planet Venus with her female companions. She traveled to Earth and took on the human identity of Victoria "Vicki" Nutley Starr, a journalist and editor for Beauty magazine. [2] She developed a romantic relationship with Beauty editor Whitney Hammond; he and Venus' rival, Della Mason, were among the few people to meet Venus who did not believe her when she claimed that she was a goddess. She helps people repair their broken relationships. [3]
The series began as a light-hearted humor/fantasy series, but as the series continued, its focus shifted towards darker fantasy and horror themes. Through the course of the series, the Marvel Comics interpretations of several mythological figures appeared, including Hercules, Zeus, various other Olympians, Satan, and, in their first Marvel appearance, the Norse gods Thor and Loki. Venus was canceled with issue #19.
The character drifted into obscurity after her series ended, and Venus did not reappear for 20 years, when she resurfaced in Sub-Mariner #57 (Jan. 1973). Venus manipulated Namor into defeating Ares, who was attempting to force her to love him. [4] Venus was now a guide for young activists such as Namorita, searching for ways to promote peace, and to end modern warfare. At this time, she wore only a swimsuit or a revealing white gown.
Fictional character biography
Venus was born an immortal siren, one of the daughters of the river god Achelous and the divine muse of dance Terpsichore. [5] The sirens lived on the Sirenum scopuli islands and eventually fell into the service of the ocean elemental Phorcys, who used their "siren song" to lure mortal sailors to watery deaths. [5] [6] In the late 19th century AD, two ships from Asia encountered one of these sirens while on a voyage to Morocco. The first ship's crew became mesmerized by the siren's song and crashed their vessel on the rocks, but the Sorcerer Supreme Yao saved the second ship from a similar fate by mystically imbuing the siren with a soul. Horrified at her past behavior, the repentant siren fled and lived at a convent for years. [6] At some point in the distant past, this siren had a relationship with the Shinto god Susanoo. [7]
In the mid-20th century, the siren, still ashamed of her past, adopted the name "Venus" and impersonated the Olympian goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite, claiming to have sacrificed many of her divine powers so she could walk among mortals and teach them to love. [5] In recent decades, she has used the secret identity on Earth of humanities professor Victoria N. Starr as a cover for her activities as an adventurer.
The series Marvel: The Lost Generation revealed that Venus and several other heroes who had been active in the 1950s briefly banded together, but did not remain as a team. This team has recently re-banded in Agents of Atlas and Venus has rejoined the team.
Venus' true origins were revealed by Namora: this Venus was actually a soulless Siren that lured sailing ships to her with her voice and fed on the sailors. To prevent his ship and his crew from being feed on, the captain of a merchant ship hired a mystic to kill her. The mystic instead gave her a soul. The Siren then took the form of a beautiful woman (forbidding herself to speak again) and was taken in by a nunnery, where she lived for decades and believed herself a mute servant girl, until she joined a chorus, filling the visiting clergy with lust. She was then expelled from the nunnery. Learning how to use her voice for good, she blocked out all memories of her previous life and assumed that she was Venus reborn, based on the legends she had heard about a beautiful, immortal girl wandering the world as a goddess in a human body and winning her battles with the power of "love". 'Venus' resurfaced in the 1940s and acted as a superhero. Learning the truth about her past, Venus fell into despair and nearly destroyed her companions with her song. Jimmy Woo resisted her song and reminded her of all the good she had done, restoring her belief in herself, which allowed her to reverse the effects on the others. [8]
She had since elected to stay with the Agents of Atlas, using her restored powers to soothe and calm her opponents, while traveling around the world in Marvel Boy's ship, along with her teammates, shutting down the villainous branch of the former Atlas Foundation. [9] She eventually came up with the idea to alter Spider-Man's perception of a common fight, leaving him with false memories of having helped someone else instead of mindwiping him. [10]
Subsequently, she was abducted by the true Olympian goddess Aphrodite, angry at her for assuming her name and guise. [11] Rescued by the group, they have further battles with Aphrodite, until in a climactic battle of song, the goddess decides to appoint Venus in her place, recognizing that she has not been truly dedicated to love since Troy. [12]
After Hercules' death, she and Namora roam the world, bringing his financial affairs in order. She uses her gifts to comfort many who are devastated by his loss. [13]
Powers and abilities
Venus has the power to project images or illusions of herself and to control the emotions of others, as well as the ability to fly at high speeds, shield herself from mortal sight, and shift her physical form into other beings. Before the retcon, she was considered to be an Olympian goddess, and thought to possess the enhanced physical characteristics typical of Olympian gods in the Marvel Universe, including superhuman stamina, durability, agility, and reflexes, extraordinary vitality, and virtual immortality. [14]
After her memories were restored, Venus realized her empathic abilities were really derived from a powerful "siren song" — she is able to heal and restore, curing people's souls by giving them a moment of true bliss in which they can live their most prized fantasy. Her voice is mystically empowered with advanced mind-control abilities, related to her mood: when she speaks in joy, she fills her listeners with bliss and fanatical love for her; when she cries in sadness, her listeners drown in despair too. Her power was strong enough to immediately subdue the Sentry into helping her find Norman Osborn during "Dark Reign." Like many characters with vocal-based abilities, it has been shown that Venus' siren song can be disabled if she is gagged. [11]
Other versions
What if?
What If #9 showed Venus as a member of a 1950s Avengers team called the G-Men which assembled to defeat the Yellow Claw. [15]
