Venus 
     Marvel has a long tradition of mythologically based heroes which goes
back further than Thor.  Back when Marvel was still Timely Comics they had 
one based on Venus who followed Wonder Woman's philosophy of fighting evil
with love.  A philosophy that's gone out of fashion in western comics but is 
still popular elsewhere to name Sailor Moon as just one example.  Anyway 
Venus's comic was cancelled back in the fifties but she returned to Marvel in
this 1972 Sub Mariner comic by longtime comics writer Bill Everett.


     It turned out that a professor and anti war activist Namorita admired  
by the name of Vicki Starr was actually Venus (or Aphrodite as Ares kept 
calling her) and she needed Namor's help.  While the other Olympian Gods were
staying neutral Ares and Venus were taking out their domestic spat on Earth
with him trying to escalate the Vietnam conflict while Venus tried to shut it 
down.  She needed Namor's help as Ares had decided it was time to act against 
her directly and he knew her weakness.

     Namor and Ares did the usual "settling moral issues by punching each 
other in the head" thing.  Still as Grant Morrison said in his final issue of
Animal Man, "Don't laugh, that's the way we deal with things in the real world 
too."

     Anyway as you see Ares had finally had enough and decided to end his 
rivalry with Venus once and for all.

     After being zapped with her love ray it was all over and Ares renounced
messing with Earth.  Which Venus seemed to think meant peace was assured but
probably really meant that from now on the only people mankind had to blame for
war were themselves.  Anyway enough philosophy, Venus popped up again in a
What If? story that had her part of a 1950's version of The Avengers.  Which
may or may not have become part of the official Marvel continuity.  Other than
that she showed up as the supporting cast whenever Hercules went home but far
as I know never again did anything significant at Marvel.






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