BIOGRAPHY - Page 4
Venus soon put her attentions back where things were important, her own fledgling romance with Whitney Hammond! Fearing that Hammond was only interested in her in a professional capacity, Venus, manipulated by Mason, decided to get a boyfriend to make Hammond jealous. She returned to her kingdom and chose Samson to pose as her boyfriend. The plot did not go her way, however, as Samson was genuinely interested in her. Thus, back on Earth he became a bit too handsy, resulting in Venus screaming and Hammond knocking him out. Following this, Venus sent Samson back to her kingdom. Unfortunately, she experienced a similar incident later on. Mason had continued to plot against her and hoping to sour Venus' romance with Hammond. She told Hammond that she was concerned about Venus' mental health and that her constant talk about being a goddess and being from another planet was worrying. Hammond took Mason's concerns seriously and opted to book Venus an appointment with a psychiatrist. Initially, the psychiatrist, Dr. Saunders, was so struck with Venus' beauty himself he attempted to force himself on her, though she was able talk him down. Things deteriorated as they continued to speak with the doctor who, unable to process the truth of what she was saying, experienced a breakdown of sorts. When Hammond and Mason arrived to collect Venus, Dr. Saunders was berating her that he would not take her on as a patient. He subsequently left, saying he was taking a long vacation and going to barber college. The whole affair seemed to bring Venus and Hammond closer together. [Venus #4]
Venus was extremely smitten with Hammond and was very disappointed when Jupiter (Zeus) appeared before her and told her she had to return to Mount Olympus. Jupiter explained that she had her duties to perform with the gods but she protested her powers were needed on Earth. She asked for a week to find a couple whose great romance could rival that of the gods. Jupiter relented and gave her this time; though if she failed she would have to return to Mount Olympus forever. Luckily for Venus, fortune smiled on her and she received a letter from a reader of Beauty Magazine, Meg Saunders, who told Venus it was her articles that helped her and her fiancée Danny remain together, despite the opposition of their families. Venus opted to travel to their wedding, hoping they were that perfect couple she was seeking. She had used the pretext of writing an article to leave her position at the magazine for the week. Luckily, the couple were very happy to meet Venus and wanted to include her in the festivities. Hoping to protect the couple from Jupiter's machinations, Venus took them to Hollywood as Jupiter had an antipathy for the town, given that he once feuded with an actor. Jupiter had, however, sent agents in Apollo and his lover Daphne to act on his behalf. An elaborate ruse transpired in which Apollo and Daphne posed as starlets, both attempting to seduce the couple separately and, when this failed, they staged that Meg had murdered “Apollo” and she was arrested. Venus was not without her trump card, however. As goddess of love, she could control all “lovers” and she deigned that Apollo would remain in his mortal body, dead, separated from Daphne. Distraught, Daphne confessed and she and Venus went and found the “corpse,” forcing Apollo to reanimate, clearing Meg. With mere moments to spare, Venus arranged the marriage of Meg and Danny and won her freedom on Earth. [Venus #5] [Note: Jupiter's sudden dominion over Venus is never explained here, neither is his feud with an unknown actor. The planet Venus it not mentioned again either. Additionally, Apollo's appearance in this issue and lack of interest in Venus herself is in complete contrast to the rest of the series, where he is one of the main reoccurring suitors.]
Hammond had yet another idea to boost the profile of the magazine. There was a competition during the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans for the best float. Hammond wanted Venus to “dress up” as a goddess and appear on the float as their entry. When she arrived to the city, she noticed clouds overhead and could feel evil in the air but was unable to identify it. At one point, she attempted to flee to Mount Olympus but found her powers would not work. Seeing no choice, she went ahead with the parade. Initially, her mere presence stunned all the men in the crowd, who began to shout her name. This changed, however, when another float appeared with a man who was familiar to her: Loki, Norse god of mischief. He had been punished by the Olympians and exiled to rule their hell at this time. Loki had been the evil Venus had sensed. His sudden appearance had also unnerved the crowd, which was also dispersing. When Loki suddenly disappeared to the shock of the crowd, Venus jumped off the moving float to try and find him, disqualifying Beauty Magazine's entry in the competition. When Hammond caught up to Venus, he was furious, as she could not explain why she had left. He stormed off with Mason, while Venus thought about how to solve the Loki problem. Realizing it was he that had blocked her from traveling to Mount Olympus, she opted to travel “down” to the lower depths of the underworld. Finding Loki, she chastened him for breaking his exile. Loki explained that Venus' own presence on Earth had been used to justify his own release to Jupiter. He made his intentions clear: he intended to spread hate across the world. Venus vowed to stop him but he imprisoned her under the watch of some lesser demons. Venus quickly outsmarted them and escaped back to Earth.
Back on Earth, Loki had possessed a mortal and Venus attempted to find one which one. To her disgust, she soon found it was Whitney Hammond. Seeing no other choice to free Whitney and save the world from his evil, Venus offered to return with Loki to the Underworld and be his queen. As they traveled back, they were stopped by Jupiter, who blocked the marriage and told Venus she was free to return to Earth and he yet again banished Loki. When Venus returned, she embraced Hammond as Apollo cleared the dark clouds over the city ending Loki's influence. [Venus #6] [Note: It is hard to reconcile Loki's appearances in the Venus series with modern continuity. However, Marvel handbook entries are very clear that it is the mainstream version of Loki.]
Venus' fairy tale romance with Hammond had angered the goddess, Joya (daughter of Jupiter) and her servant Cera. The duo were spying on Venus and Hammond from Mount Olympus when Venus told Hammond his love was the most important thing to her. Joya was jealous as she wished for a romance like this for herself and wanted Venus punished. She told Jupiter that Venus was a traitor to the gods and her words confirmed her focus was on herself. Therefore, she was neglecting her duties as the goddess of love. Jupiter dispatched Mercury to return Venus to Mount Olympus, but when he found her with Hammond, he opted to take them both, not wishing to separate them. On Mount Olympus, Hammond immediately started to believe he was having a dream, which was a relief to Venus as she didn't know how to explain things. When they were brought before Jupiter, it was laid out to Venus that she was to stand trial for treason to the gods. Joya made her case against Venus but the court was so enamored by Venus' beauty that they not listening to Joya at all.
Loki had been notified about the strife that the trial was causing the Olympians and that their defenses were currently down. As such, he opted to invade Olympus in revenge for his banishment. As Loki's force attacked, Venus began her defense, claiming that while she was the goddess of love, she felt unloved with her fellow gods and that's why she sought a life among mortals again, as they had done in the old times. Venus felt that on Earth she had accomplished good deeds, as she had brought so much happiness to others, thus she should be allowed to be selfish and love Whitney. Further, she made the spurious claim that, if her powers were destroyed, it would destroy love itself. Joya attempted to sway the court, having designs on Hammond herself. She offered to go to Earth in Venus' place and attempt to seduce Hammond. If successful, it would prove that Venus' love for Hammond was illegitimate. Hammond showed some interest in the idea, though to be fair he still believed he was asleep. As Jupiter pondered the thought, he and the other gods were made aware of Loki's assault. Loki and Jupiter spared verbally, with Loki swearing revenge; however, there was something that Loki wanted more than retribution: Venus. She agreed to go with Loki in exchange for him ending the invasion. In the aftermath, Joya attempted to entice a heartbroken Hammond but was rebuffed. When he did so, Venus revealed that she had traded places with Joya, as Joya had felt guilty about the trial opening Mount Olympus to Loki's attack. Venus wanted to test Hammond's feelings towards her, as she felt he expressed an interest in Joya during the case. Now reassured, Venus and Hammond returned back to Earth with Jupiter's blessing. [Venus #7]