PRELUDE: Venus #5

Featuring: Venus
Release: March 14, 1949
Cover: June 1949
10 cents
19 pages

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Young Allies #16, Story B	PRELUDE	Mystic #39, Story C
Daredevil #9	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery Annual 1

Nothing is as important as love.

No credits are given, save that of the editorial consultant to make sure it’s child-friendly.

We are reading this because it features Jupiter. I’m not actually interested in Jupiter. I’m interested in Zeus. Jupiter is a Roman god; Zeus a Greek god. But Roman mythology borrowed quite heavily from Greek mythology, and many of their stories are just the Greek stories with different names. The Roman Jupiter basically is Zeus with a different name.

I’m interested in the upcoming introduction of Hercules, whose father is Zeus. This is confusing, because Hercules is the name of a Roman demigod, modeled after the Greek demigod, Heracles. Heracles is the son of Zeus; Hercules the son of Jupiter.

In fact, the Hercules we met in Daring Mystery Comics #6 was the son of Jupiter.

This is confusing enough to make me think that in the Marvel Universe, Hercules and Heracles are the same person. So maybe Zeus and Jupiter are as well.

So let’s read this story about Jupiter.

We read the introduction of Venus a while back, and I’m considering sneaking in a couple other Venus stories at some point, the ones that introduced Thor and Loki. I feel like we should have read those a while back.

Recall Venus is the goddess of love, who has traveled from the planet Venus to be a fashion editor, and has fallen for her boss Whitney Hammond, to the consternation of her jealous coworker Della Mason.

Now, Jupiter insists Venus return to Olympus. (I thought she was from Venus.) But she wants to stay on Earth to be with the man she loves. (This is also the plot of every issue of Thor.)

Venus is issued a challenge, to prove humans can love as deeply as gods, by finding a perfect couple within a week.

To challenge Venus’ attempts, Jupiter sends the truest sweethearts of all time: Daphne and Apollo.

(The Daphne and Apollo I know from mythology are not the truest sweethearts of all time; I recall a story of lust and rejection.)

Venus goes to Hollywood because Jupiter hates actors. This is interesting to compare with the last Zeus story we read, where he attempted to return to Earth in triumph and ended up netting lots of screen deals.

When a man seems to find Meg more attractive than she, Venus is immediately suspicious.

The story takes a dark twist when Meg appears to shoot Renee.

Venus gets Daphne and Apollo to back off by threatening to use her power over lovers to separate them. Unable to bear the thought, they surrender.

Venus had said she’d be gone a week. Barely a week later, Della insists she’s not coming back and that Whitney must leave her.

There is then a text story, “Stolen Love”.

Followed by a tale of true life romance: “The Heart Within Me– Dead”.

Rating: ★★★☆☆, 52/100

I read this story in Marvel Masterworks: Atlas Era Venus vol. 1.

Characters:

• Venus
• Jupiter
• Della (Mason)
• Whitney Hammond
• Meg Saunders
• Danny Lane
• Daphne/Rona Belladonna
• Apollo/Ren[e]e Andr[e]

Story notes:

• Editorial consultant: Jean Thompson, M.D., Psychiatrist, Child Guidance Bureau; Board of Education, New York City.
• Venus must find a perfect couple by 6 o’clock one week from today to prove Earthlings can love as deeply as gods.
• Venus will lose if one member of the couple expresses doubt or lack of faith or kisses another; Venus believes Jupiter will cheat.
• Della seeks to make time with Whitney.
• Venus claims she’s traveling to find a story for Beauty Magazine about a perfect love.
• Wedding set for Thursday at 6… exactly Jupiter’s deadline.
• Daphne and Apollo truest sweethearts of all time.
• Venus goes to Hollywood because Jupiter hates actors.
• Meg sees Rita Marshall and Lana Freemont.
• Danny punches journalist from the Sentinel.

Previous		Next
Young Allies #16, Story B	PRELUDE	Mystic #39, Story C
Daredevil #9	Reading order	Journey Into Mystery Annual 1