Before becoming an Agent of Atlas, Venus had an editing job at Beauty magazine under the name Victoria Starr and has taught as a college professor.
History
Origin
Golden Age
Golden Age
In 1948, in search of adventure and romance, Venus found employment at Beauty Magazine, whose publisher, Whitney Hammond, doubted her claims of godhood but felt her beauty would provide good publicity. Romance blossomed between Venus and Hammond, although his secretary Della Mason often plotted to keep them apart. At first limited to magazine work and matchmaking endeavors, Venus soon clashed with various threats, beginning with an evil figure identified as Loki; other enemies included the gargoyles of Sylvia Corpo, nightmarish creatures from a co-worker's mind, the Olympian Neptunia, and a demonic vampire creature. At one point, she met government agent Jacob Scott, secretly the Skrull Velmax, later Effigy of the First Line. Eventually, realizing her immortality would place a wedge between her and Hammond, Venus abandoned her mortal identity.
During her time as an adventurer, Venus was approached by FBI agent Jimmy Woo, and she agreed to join Jimmy and his allies in freeing President Eisenhower from the clutches of the Yellow Claw.
These "G-Men" operated for another six months, until the government
decreed that the country wasn't ready to learn of such a super-team and
its exploits.
Agent of Atlas
Return
At some point in the 1980s, her former teammate Gorilla Man
returned to his place of origin in Africa. He recounted to Venus
horrible stories of the atrocities brought upon by centuries of tribal
warfare. Venus took it upon herself to aid the region, using her powers
to help unite the warring factions until, years later, they had
intermarried and became a blending of the two factions.
Venus stayed with these people for many years until Jimmy Woo again recruited allies, this time to help him search for the Atlas Foundation. During the search, Namora revealed the secret about Venus' true nature, having known of the legend of the Siren. Namora revealed to Venus that she was not in fact a Goddess, but a Naiad. A Naiad is a type of nymph that frequents bodies of water. The Naiads are quite similar to the Sirens of mythology as they tend to lure sailors to watery graves. Venus was later given a soul and has since then tried hard to put her past misdeeds behind her by blocking out the memory of her horrific origins. The revelation nearly crippled Venus emotionally and threatened to tear the team apart, but she was calmed by Jimmy Woo. Venus has since finally reconnected with her past life and regained all of the abilities she possessed as a naiad.
The trail eventually led to Mr. Lao, a literal dragon working on behalf of the Yellow Claw. The Claw revealed that Jimmy was a true descendant of Genghis Khan, and he revealed that he became Jimmy's greatest enemy in order to help him build a legend worthy of his lineage. In fact, Jimmy's adventures with his allies had been set up by the Claw and Mr. Lao from the very beginning! For example, it was the Yellow Claw who chartered the fleet that held the magician who transformed the Siren into Venus so many years ago.
Jimmy Woo took control of the Atlas Foundation. However, he professed his determination to use such resources for the betterment of the world. He, Venus, and the other Agents of Atlas would become a clandestine force for good.
Agents of Atlas: Dark Reign
In the beginning of the relaunched Agents of Atlas title, Venus Uses her abilities to charm none other than, Sentry himself. At the time, the Sentry is clear across the world in the Philipines when he hears Venus' call. He immediately stops what he's doing and runs to her. She greets him with a song and begins to woo him harder with her voice and gentle touches. Venus informs him that she's in a rush and really needs to find Norman Osborn, without hesitation he agrees to help her. Sentry takes off, bursting through walls so that she can arrive and speak to Osborn as quickly as possible. Once in the room with Osborn, he proceeds to inform Venus all about her history and the history of the Agents of Atlas. Venus is impressed to see that he did his homework and proceeds with the reason why she is visiting him. She touches her necklace and her boss, Jimmy Woo pops up as a hologram. He speaks with Osborn and informs him of the deal he wants to make. While Woo speaks, Sentry is seen playing with Venus' hair. Also in that meeting with Norman Osborn, Jimmy reminds Venus of the true nature of her powers of seduction. Also saying that she's one of, if not the strongest member of her team.Powers
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, even dolphins. She is immortal, and presumably possesses the enhanced physical characteristics typical of Olympian gods in the Marvel Universe.After her memories were restored, she gained a powerful "siren song", 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. Her vocal powers also function under-water.
As a mystical creature, Naiad/Siren, she can survive harsh environments usually deadly to human beings and has a particular affinity for the sea. She can breathe underwater and swim at great speed. She has been seen traveling the extreme depths of the ocean with Namora.
Characteristics
Venus chose her name after the Olympian Goddess of Love.
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 280 lbs.
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Blond
Note
It has recently been revealed that a nymph posing as Venus actually served for at least part, if not all, of the Golden Age career of Victoria Starr/Venus. How this affects the history of the character is still unclear.
| Super Name: | Venus |
| Real Name: | Aphrodite Pandemos |
| Aliases: |
Victoria Aphrodite Victoria Nutley Starr |
| Publisher: | Marvel Publishing |
| Gender: | Female |
| Character Type: | God/Eternal |
| 1st Appearance: | Venus #1 |
| Appears in: | 72 issues |
| Birthday: | |
| Died: |
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