BIOGRAPHY - Page 2
Aphrodite later took the name of Venus, during a period in which she was worshiped by the Romans. One incident that would perhaps give a basis into Venus' earlier criticism of herself is what occurred with Narcissus. Narcissus was one of the most beautiful men of the ancient world and, unsurprisingly, Venus herself was ensorcelled with him. Shockingly, Narcissus thought he was far too beautiful for even the goddess of beauty herself and spurned her affections. Ever wrathful like her peers, Venus cursed Narcissus to be unable to find reciprocal love. Venus' curse came through and the poor man fell in love with own reflection, thinking it to be a water nymph. He waited and waited at the pool of water for his love to emerge before magically turning into a flower; later named Narcissus. Venus would later remember her actions with Narcissus as something she was deeply ashamed of and the consequences of a combination of “youth” and power. [Venus #3]
Venus' beauty may not have been “adequate” for the vain Narcissus but another did recognize its value. The demonic sea god, Phorcys, had been forbidden by his aunt, Gaea, patron goddess of the Earth, from killing humans so he could he feed on them. He opted to create “sirens” in the image of Venus as a work around. Magical creatures; these beautiful sirens would sing to mortal vessels luring them to their death so Phorcys could feed upon the mortals contained inside. It appears that it would be some time before Venus would become aware of her “impostors.” [X-Men Vs. Agents of Atlas #2, Assault on New Olympus #1]
At an unspecified point in time, Venus colonized the planet also known as “Venus,” ruling there as its queen from her castle on Mt. Lustre. She was joined in her new kingdom by many other Olympians, as well as a collection of figures from real world history and other pantheons. By the 1940s, she claimed that she had been reigning there for centuries. Not content with the life of a monarch, Venus was consumed by ennui. She longed for a mortal life, to be truly “loved.” As Venus pondered her fate, she suddenly found herself in Manhattan, New York, seemingly 
instinctively traveling there due to her desire for love. Her arrival caused quite a commotion. She literally stopped traffic and was being questioned by the police when Whitney Hammond spotted her. Whitney Hammond was the publisher of Beauty Magazine. Whitney saw the spectacle of this beautiful woman and the chaos she caused as a business opportunity. He quickly introduced himself and took responsibility for the incident and claimed that Venus was in fact a descendant of the goddess brought to the United States by his company. He quickly ushered Venus into a cab and headed back to the office. [Note: The Venus series was unique in that it changed genres on multiple occasions. This does actually fit with Venus' claim that she had not felt she had truly been the Goddess of Love since the Trojan War, as the changing direction of her solo title could fit with the concept that she was in an extended identity crisis.]
En-route and when they reached the offices of Beauty Magazine, Venus attempted to convince Whitney that she really was the goddess of love but he did not believe her. He was actually quite annoyed at her for even claiming to be a real goddess and began yelling. Offended, Venus attempted to leave but he blocked the door and apologized. Venus then tried to use her powers to prove her identity and tried to walk through a wall but inexpicably her powers were not working and she fell to the ground. Hammond reached down to pick her up. This was the first time in centuries, Venus thought to herself, that she had a man's arms around her.
Unable to prove her identity, Venus decided to tell Hammond what he wanted to hear and pretended that, yes, she had been seeking publicity when he found her. Hammond was overjoyed and summoned his staff. He told them they were going to pretend that Venus was a really a descendant of the “real” Venus for publicity for the magazine. The magazine's editor Clarence Snipe thought this a terrible idea. Following a brief argument with Hammond, he opted to resign. Hammond then decided to give Venus his job. She protested, claiming she knew nothing about editing a magazine but Hammond had made his mind up.[Note: Venus claimed she had lost her powers when she came to Earth. This would not remain consistent throughout the series, as at times she would be seen accomplishing incredible feats.]
Venus' first challenge as editor came quite quickly. Clarence Snipe had been hired by Beauty Magazine's rival “Lovely Lady Magazine.” They had ran a contest to find the ten “loveliest ladies of the world.” Hammond was concerned that their stunt would allow Lovely Lady to usurp Beauty Magazine's as the number one beauty/fashion magazine in America. Venus soon thought of a solution and wished herself back to her kingdom. She had the Olympian god, Apollo, who was currently her servant, summon her most beautiful handmaidens at once. The coterie of women included notable figures from history/religion, such as Cleopatra, Salome and Helen of Troy. Venus returned to Earth and organized a swimwear photoshoot with these women, though she refused to identify them. The photos were run in the next issue of Beauty Magazine, which sold out. Hammond was extremely impressed by Venus' work and the two commenced a romance and went on their first date. [Venus #1]
Venus' sudden ascension in the ranks of Beauty Magazine had gained her the ire of Della Mason. Mason had been the secretary of Hammond and at least an unrequited romantic partner, though at points it was implied she may have been more than that. She had thought following Snipe's resignation she would get the post of editor and was not pleased when Hammond gave the job to an unknown like Venus. Matters were not helped by Venus' burgeoning celebrity status as a cover model. This resulted in Della having to essentially act as her secretary too. Furious, when Hammond sent a telegram to Venus, asking her to enter a beauty pageant in Atlantic City, Della intercepted it and changed the address to Cactus City and gave it to Venus in the hopes she would get fired. The plan backfired as, when Venus arrived to Cactus City, her natural beauty even in rural clothes attracted so much attention from the locals that they were essentially following her. This was noticed by the press and became a national news story. When Venus finally returned to New York, Hammond was ecstatic with the good PR for the magazine.