BIOGRAPHY - Page 10
UCLA was somewhat of a hotspot for superhuman activity around this time, with both the former X-Men Angel and Iceman being students and former Avengers Hercules (guest lecturing) and the Black Widow (applying for a position as a Russian teacher). Vicki's curiosity had been piqued by the Black Widow, as she was on the way to meet to her when the Amazons attacked looking for her. They were in fact part of a larger force that had attacked the entire college trying to find her. Luckily for Venus, Black Widow was able to get her to safety. The four aforementioned heroes soon converged, along with Ghost Rider who was also in the area. Venus revealed her true identity and used the cestus to incapacitate their attackers, though she was still at a loss as to why she had been pursued. Just then, Pluto appeared, along with Ares and his daughter Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons. Pluto advised that Zeus had decreed that Venus was to marry Ares and Hercules was to marry Hippolyta and that if they refused the universe would be destroyed. Hercules, ever the hothead, lunged at all three gods. His lack of self-control gave the Black Widow a chance to strategize and direct the others. They managed to press Pluto, Ares and Hippolyta back through the portal from they had come and Iceman sealed it with an ice block.
In reality, Pluto had entered into an alliance with other hell gods and had designs on Olympus. As part of his plan he had forced Zeus into agreeing to arranged marriages for his loyaylists Ares and Hippolyta to Venus and Hercules respectively. He expected the two of them to oppose his takeover and hoped that the Olympian law which stated husbands and wives could not battle each other would prevent them from interferring in his impending usurpation of the Olympian throne. He had duped Zeus into claiming that the unions would prevent war. When the trio's initial front assault failed, they went to 
Zeus who sent his own agents. They incapacitated Venus and Hercules and took them back to Mount Olympus. Venus and Hercules were to be wed in an event called the Black Wedding. Hercules was livid but Venus remained calm and tried to diffuse the situation. Luckily, the festivities were interrupted by Iceman, Angel, Black Widow and Ghost Rider, who had made their way to Olympus through the portal that Iceman had froze earlier. As the heroes paired off, Hippolyta rushed at Venus, thinking she had designs on Hercules. Venus affirmed she had no interest whatsoever in him and this was only in Hippolyta's disturbed mind. Using her cestus, she transformed the amazon queen's swords into a wheelbarrow, which hit her from behind. The tide of the battle turned when Ghost Rider got through to Zeus, effectively giving him a pep talk to stand up to his younger brother Pluto and pointing out his obvious duplicity. Zeus, now back to his rage-filled self, offered Venus and Hercules to name what they wanted to happen to Pluto and the others but Venus was clear she only wanted forgiveness and an end to conflict. Venus thought that Ares, Pluto and Hippolyta were essentially consumed by hell's of their own making which she reasoned was punishment enough. In the end, Venus opted to return to Olympus, home of the gods, and leave her identity as Vicki Starr. Hercules theorized that she thought perhaps her efforts as goddess of love were best served on Olympus rather than Earth. Interestingly, after Venus' call for mercy for him and his daughter, Ares did attempt to speak to her but was unable to formulate a sentence. [Champions (1st series) #1-3] [Note: Hercules calls Venus “cousin” and Zeus' “niece” in story but this doesn't entirely make sense. The accepted canon at the time was that Venus was the daughter of Zeus which would make her the half-sister of Hercules. It can be presumed that her familial relationships were minimized due to the comics code and discomfort surrounding the Greek Gods penchant for incest.]
Despite his weakness during the Champions affair, Zeus would assert his dominance sometime later. His son Hercules had rejoined the Avengers. During a battle with the Master of Evil, Hercules had been grievously injured due to his own recklessness. Zeus blamed the Avengers and had some Olympians who were loyal to him capture the team and imprison them in the underworld. Nevertheless, the heroes managed to escape to Olympus. Venus' old ally Namor was among their number and he sought her out for assistance, to which she agreed. Venus spoke on the Avengers’ behalf to some of the more reasonable gods like Athena, Apollo and Hephaestus. When Hephaestus questioned them, Venus assured him that, as he knew, no mortal could lie to her and that she trusted them. Unfortunately, Ares had seen Venus and her allies and informed Zeus. He did not react well to his will being disobeyed and attacked all present with a fury. Thanks to the efforts of the titan Prometheus and Hera, queen of the gods, Hercules made a recovery and was able to calm Zeus down. [Avengers (1st series) #283-285] [Note: Interestingly, the Black Knight recovered from Zeus' attack quicker than Venus and the other gods and he theorized that Zeus had actually been more brutal with them considering their alignment with the Avengers a betrayal.]
At this point Venus returned to the name Aphrodite for the most part. Aphrodite would soon come to find herself on the other side of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the Avengers, in this case it was the West Coast branch. Aphrodite told her son Eros/Cupid that his beloved Psyche had been reincarnated in the body of the Avenger Mockingbird, wife of Hawkeye. As she planned, Cupid was preoccupied with the West Coast Avengers for quite some time but, as they had alerted Hercules, they were able to figure out that Venus had manipulated him. Aphrodite was attempting to take control of the Olympus by seducing Zeus and getting him to transfer all of his power into the amulet of amuk. Cupid and his allies the West Coast Avengers interrupted her plans but she had all of Olympus under her control through Zeus at that time. She even entered the battle herself and unleashed the “mists of Morpheus,” making all the heroes fall asleep. She then wrapped them in laurel vines, which inhibited even the Scarlet Witch's powers. Hawkeye had escaped earlier and freed the others, just as the power transfer was nearly complete. Hawkeye shot Zeus with one of Cupid's arrows, disrupting the transfer. Venus appeared confused and asked what was happening. Zeus told her she was an unwitting pawn in a conspiracy and that he intended to punish the real culprit severely. [Marvel Super-Heroes (2nd series) #9] [Note: During the story, the plot to steal Zeus' power is attributed to Ares. Cupid says that Ares gave Venus the amulet of amuk but it's important to note he isn't even in the story, which makes it somewhat dubious that it was his plan, as it seems Venus herself was going to gain Zeus' powers not Ares. A possible “coup” on her part could explain her earlier (temporary) position as queen of Venus, as she isn't beyond scheming herself.]
Following the “coup” attempt, Aphrodite returned to other pursuits, such as playing with the love lives of mortal celebrities. It was a point of contention between her and Cupid as he interfered in her games, though they still had some fun together. One such occasion was when she challenged him to find a mate for the reality jumper Mahkizmo, resulting in him becoming a prospective lover (and ultimately a foe) of She Hulk. [Sensational She-Hulk #36]
More importantly, however, was that Aphrodite, now back to calling herself Venus, still missed Whitney Hammond, despite the two separating nearly 40 years prior. She was lamenting this to her old nemesis Joya when a strange energy projected itself towards Earth. Sensing its evil, she pursued it. In her absence, Beauty Magazine's headquarters had been turned into a dating agency. A staff member, Chili Storm, had come across a very promising single and was going to fix a match with the computer. Venus appeared, warning that doing so would be catastrophic for the world but Chili went ahead anyway. This triggered the arrival of Goom, Emissary from Planet X. Goom intended to conquer earth by breeding with human women and conquering the gene pool. Venus stood in opposition to his plan and blasted him with some light from her fingers. As he attempted to grab her, a very elderly Whitney Hammond appeared and tried to protect her and wanted to fight Goom.
Venus had a better idea and took out the “floppy disk of the gods” and gave it to the dating agency girls to find a perfect match for Goom, Shivoor, Flowered Princess of Colony World X-IV. The princess appeared immediately and left with the reluctant Goom. Venus had yet again saved the Earth and now there was a chance for her to find some happiness. Whitney told Venus he could never love another woman but questioned could she still love him now that he was an old man. Venus said she blamed herself for the time lost and wanted them to spend his last days together on Mount Olympus as the soulmates they were. Venus then flew away with Whitney. [Marvel's Valentine Special #3] [Note: An alternate take was provided in Girl Comics (2nd series) #1 in which Venus returned in 1969 to find Whitney but he had already died. In contrast to how events unfolded in her own series, her pin-up measurements were not in vogue and she was considered fat. Also, initially she was hired by Beauty Magazine as an office assistant, not having the advantage her looks gave her in the late 40s. By the story's conclusion, she had begun a relationship with Whitney's son and regained her role as a magazine editor and opted to remain on Earth again as she was enjoying the 60s.]
Zeus later decreed that the Olympians needed to return to Earth and adapt to the modern age and he turned them into a corporation called the Olympus Group. He was murdered a short time later but his wife Hera took over the “family” business and entered into a power struggle with Athena. [Hercules (3rd series) #1-5, Ares #5, Incredible Hercules #121-141] Venus, now back to the moniker Aphrodite, was largely apolitical in conflict, though technically at least initially she was allied with Hera. Her primary focus was on the fact that a member of the reconstituted golden age superhuman team, the Agents of Atlas, had in her view stolen her identity. [Agents of Atlas (2nd series) #10] [Note: Whitney Hammond was absent when Aphrodite resurfaced and may have died of old age off-panel. This may have contributed to her much harsher persona during these issues/stories.]