Venus #1
Venus
Venus tells the story about how she came to the planet Earth.... Having grown bored over her rule on the planet Venus, Venus decided that she wanted to know what it was like to live as an earthly woman on the planet Earth. She makes a wish and suddenly finds herself transported to New York City. Her sudden appearance and stunning beauty attracts an entire mob of people, including Whitney Hammond, publisher of Beauty Magazine. Hammond was fretting over how to keep his magazine in business when suddenly spotting Venus among the crowd. As a police officer begins hassling Venus about blocking traffic, Hammond acts quickly, claiming that the girl is one of his models for Beauty Magazine and the entire spectacle is a publicity stunt and that she will be appearing in the next month of Beauty Magazine.
Whitney then leads Venus into a taxi cab and asks her where she came from. Venus tries to explain that she is the goddess Venus and that she came from the planet of the same name, but Hammond does not believe her. When they arrive at the Beauty Magazine building, Whitney brings Venus to his office where she again tries to convince him that she comes from the planet, Venus. To try and prove this she tries to walk through the wall of his office but it doesn't work and Venus suddenly realizes that she does not have her powers while on Earth. Convincing her to be an exclusive model for Beauty Magazine, Whitney calls in his staff and introduces them to Venus. She meets Perry Palette the art direct, Clarence Snipe the editor, and Della Mason the secretary.
When Whitney explains that they are going to promote Venus as the "descendant" of the original Venus, Clarence scoffs the idea and resigns when Whitney gives him an ultimatum to follow his orders or quit. Stuck without an editor, Whitney mulls over who he will hire to fill the spot. Della vies for the position, but Whitney quickly decides to give Venus the job, much to Della's chagrin. With the decisions made, Whitney shows Venus her new office and then rushes out to get her some new clothes.
... Concluding her story, Venus thanks the stars for granting her wish and muses about how she finds Whitney Hammond handsome.
Recurring Characters
Venus
Whitney Hammond
Della Mason
Venus
Now the editor of Beauty Magazine, Venus is taken out by her employer Whitney Hammond to get a new wardrobe to wear while on Earth. Meanwhile, at the Beauty Magazine offices, Della Mason fumes over Venus getting the position of editor at the magazine over her when Venus and Whitney return from their shopping trip. Della shows her contempt toward Venus and her new position but gets down to business when a meeting is called.
Perry Palette informs Whitney of some bad news: That their former editor Clarence Snippe has taken up a job over at rival magazine Lovely Lady Magazine. their rivals are putting out an issue which boasts that it will feature the 10 most lovely women in the world. Whitney has to explain the Venus that they are in competition with Lovely Lady Magazine to be the number one beauty magazine in America. In understanding this, Venus tells them that she can get 10 lovely ladies in order to complete with Lovely Lady Magazine's pictorials. Whitney is not quite so convinced that she can do this, and Della hopes that this is the moment where Venus will mess up enough to lose her job, in order for Della to take over as editor.
Having come up with a solution, Venus quickly leaves the office and goes out into the streets. She then wishes herself back to the planet Venus. There she gets Apollo to summon 10 of the most beautiful women on Venus. Among their numbers are Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, and Salome. She then returns to Earth with the women just before the 24-hour deadline to find them is up. When she arrives at the Beauty Magazine offices, Della is certain that she has failed, however when Venus presents the goddesses she has brought from Venus, both Whitney and Perry's jaws drop, much to Della's anger. After the photos are taken and the magazines published, the next issue of Beauty Magazine sells out and is an instant success, out matching the latest edition of Lovely Lady Magazine.
After the publication of the magazine, Whitney asks Venus where she found the models and where they went as they could be big stars in Hollywood. Venus tells him that it is her secret and accepts a date with Whitney, much to Della's chagrin.
Recurring Characters
Venus
Whitney Hammond
Della Mason
Helen of Troy
Apollo
Cleopatra
Continuity Notes
As per of the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 the Venus appearing in the original Venus Vol 1 series is the Greek goddess Aphrodite. It also partially explains that by 1948, Venus had taken over ruling the Olympians during an apparent absence by Zeus, and relocated the entire kingdom to the planet Venus. It also explains that Venus' reduction in power was likely due to a spell placed on Earth that limited the Olympians' powers when Zeus decided that they should not interfere in the lives of mortals following the adoption of Christianity in Greece and Rome.
