The woman known as Venus (full name unrevealed) was a high-ranking member of the criminal organization known as The Black Hearts.
She was an attractive woman with long red hair and a shapely figure. She often smoked cigarettes using a long holder. Like some other high-ranking members of The Black Hearts, she had been branded with a letter B on his forehead.
The Moon Maid Conspiracy[]
Venus arrived in Dick Tracy's city at a time when Tracy and the MCU were investigating the mystery of the "new" Moon Maid. After Moon Maid fled from her handlers and came under the protection on Dick Tracy and Diet Smith, Venus shifted the goal of the Black Hearts to usurping the Apparatus in control of the city's organized crime.
Venus was aided by Méliès and the Munro brothers, and was later joined by Apollo. They successfully recruited several members of the Apparatus, and began to solidify their control of crime in the city.
The Fall of the Black Hearts[]
Venus and her cabal were successful enough that the leader of the Black Hearts - Mr. Bigg - arrived in the city to oversee operations himself. Venus, Apollo, and Méliès began to feel slighted by the preference that Mr. Bigg seemed to be showing for the gang's newer members. Venus and Apollo were especially troubled, since they had been branded by Bigg with a B on their foreheads as a sign of their loyalty to him. They became determined to solidify their positions in the organization, either by regaining Bigg's favor or killing him and taking his place.
Méliès arranged for the kidnapping of Diet Smith, under the assumption that Smith would provide Space Coupe technology to Bigg (who was obsessed with plundering the Moon's resources). Méliès had Smith brought to Black Hearts' headquarters, shortly before the building came under siege by the combined forces of the MCU and the FBI. Venus and Apollo prepared to defend themselves, and Venus was surprised to see Apollo wielding a large, 50-caliber handgun.
During the confrontation with law enforcement, Apollo accidentally shot and killed Méliès. Apollo and Venus were seriously injured during a subsequent showdown with police. Dick Tracy attempted to tend to the wounded Venus, but she tried to stab him with a knife she had concealed on her person. The knife did not penetrate Tracy's body armor, and he disarmed her.
It has not been confirmed if Venus or Apollo survived, though it was implied that Venus would not survive long enough to receive medical attention.
Notes[]
- For many of her early appearances, Venus' face was obscured. She was only depicted in silhouette, or showing a leg or hand.
- Venus' named is presumably inspired by the Roman goddess of love. It also ties into the outer space theme that was prevalent among the Black Hearts.
- It is not clear if Venus and Apollo had a romantic relationship.
- Venus and Apollo both had the habit of using the phrase "dead fish dead" to describe a person or situation with extreme finality.
- Venus' appearance has been compared to the character Jessica Rabbit from the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Jessica made a brief appearance in the animated short Roller Coaster Rabbit, which played before the 1990 Dick Tracy feature film in theaters.
- Writer Mike Curtis apparently stated online that intended for Venus to be deceased, but this has not been explicitly confirmed in the strip.
Venus, before being fully revealed.
Venus (left) and Apollo
Venus attempts to stab Dick Tracy as Sam Catchem looks on.
