NEPTUNIA
Real
Name: possibly Neptunia (see
comments)
Identity/Class: Olympian Goddess
Occupation: Goddess of the Sea, Owner of Seacrest
Realty
Affiliations: The Olympian Gods
Enemies: Venus
Known
Relatives: Poseidon (father, alias
Neptune), mother (name unrevealed), Triton (brother), Zeus, Pluto (alias
Hades), Chiron (uncles), Hera,
Vesta, Demeter, Plute (aunts), Hercules,
Apollo, Artemis,
Athena, Ares, Venus,
Hephaestus, Hermes,
Dionysus, Helen, Discord, Hebe,
Eileithyia (cousins), Asclepius, Deimos,
Phobos, Harmonia, Pan, Cupid, Janus (second
cousins)
Aliases: Diana Seacrest
Base of
Operations: Possibly Olympus or Aegae (Poseidon’s underwater realm)
First
Appearance: Venus#18 (February,
1949)
Powers/Abilities:
Neptunia possesses the conventional powers of the Olympian gods including
superhuman strength (Class 20 perhaps) stamina, vitality, and resistance
to injury. She also has a mystical power to control the sea and command storms
but her power is nowhere as impressive as that as her father. It is also
likely she can survive under water without the physical adaptations of the
Atlantean race.
(Venus#18 (BTS))- Neptune revealed his death
had never happened or Zeus returned him to life. It is unknown if Neptunia
was truly killed herself or returned to life as well.
Comments: Created by Bill Everett
Neptunia obviously took her mortal name from
Diana (Roman name of her cousin Artemis) and Seacrest from the fact that
she is a goddess of the sea (of which the Greeks, a sea-faring people, had
many). While it is not revealed in the story, it is likely the source of
her mortal wealth was from ancient Greek treasures and lost sunken ships
she knew where to find. (No wonder the treasures of Troy and Mycenae were
never found. The Olympian gods have them in Swiss bank accounts !) It’s
also odd that she would not recognize her cousin Venus even in mortal
clothing.
Since Neptune is alive in the present Marvel
Universe, accounts of his death have been obviously
exaggerated.
Since Neptunia is a female variant of her
father’s Roman name, it is likely a Roman name for herself as well.
As such, it is hard to tell what her true or Greek name is to discern her
mother’s identity. Poseidon, fortunately, had few daughters. He fathered
Charybdis by Gaea, Despoena (Roman name Pomona) by Demeter, and Pegasus (possibly
female) by Medusa. Amphitrite gave him two daughters: Benthescyme, who married
an Ethiopian or Egyptian king and Rhode, eponym of the island of Rhode, who
was loved by the sun god Helios. I’d say that Neptunia was mostly Rhode
who was most likely a goddess. (Of course, there is a long shot that Neptunia
was actually born during the days of the Roman Empire instead of the Mycenaean
Age. And then too, she could be ret-conned too into an Eternal or
Atlantean.)
According to Greek Mythology Demeter and Poseidon had a daughter whose name has remained concealed and who was known only as the Mistress--Despoena (see pages 154 and 174 in Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology by Robert Graves, Prometheus Press, New York (1960) ). Perhaps Neptunia is this daughter? Profile by William Uchtman
CLARIFICATIONS: Neptunia is not to
be confused with: Appearances:
Last
updated:
12/25/10
Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me know.
Non-Marvel
Copyright info
History: (Venus#18)- Neptunia is the daughter of the Olympian sea-god, Poseidon,
who was known to the Romans as Neptune. When she learned that mortals had accidentally killed
him at their atomic testing sites at the islands of Bikini and Eniwetok,
she lashed out by creating homes along the Atlantic coastline for mortals under the guise of
a mortal woman, Diana Seacrest.
She would then send tidal waves to destroy the homes and kill the mortals who
bought them. Venus in a mortal guise bought one of these homes and confronted
her to stop the tidal waves from occurring and to protect any further mortal
human beings from being harmed. In their subsequent clash, Neptunia was
apparently killed herself when she was distracted and lost control of the
storm she had created.
--Gammatotem
Venus#18 (February, 1949)
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