DIVINE ROUND-UP 007

All of the following are from the "Mr Mystic" story in the Spirit Section for 17 November, 1940, in which Mr Mystic into the Land of Mythology to recover the Lost Ring of the Gods, an artifact that brings luck and happiness unless it is stolen by the one jealous god, upon which the bearer falls into eternal slumber. Since this has already happened to a young woman, Mystic is hoping that the recovery of the ring from the jealous god - see the Shadowman entry from a few Divine Round-Ups back - will help her out.

All of these gods are part of the Greco-Roman Pantheon, which is what I call it when Greek and Roman gods are just kind of grouped together without rhyme or reason.

the Goddess of the Gate: 

Who knows what this god's name really is. She welcomes Mr Mystic to the Land of the Gods and that's about it. Even her name is based on Mr Mystic saying "she must have been the Goddess of the Gate" in the next panel. She is very helpful, which is something.

Mars: 

Mr Mystic's first guide in the Land of Mythology is Mars, and an unusual version of him at that. Most 1940s depictions of Mars really lean in to his status as the god of war to depict him revelling in or even being the instigator of World War II, but this Mars is instead depressed by the indiscriminate slaughter of modern warfare. 

"Susie": 

Who is "Susie" the Goddess of Knowledge? Athena or her mother Metis? Minerva? Is she from a third pantheon? Perhaps, but consulting a list of deities of knowledge really makes it clear that none of them naturally shorten to Susie. Is that the joke, like calling a fat guy Slim? Maddening stuff.

Frustrating name aside, this Goddess of Knowledge is appropriately full of information, with some bonus sass and even a little horniness to round out her character.

the Fates: 

The concept of three goddesses weaving the thread of a man's life crops up in Greek, Roman, and Norse mythology, and the question of where exactly these versions of them are from is neatly sidestepped by the fact that they call themselves Past, Present and Future in place of any of the names used in the original myths.

You know, I just developed a theory: I think that when Bob Powell was writing this he just plain couldn't find his dictionary or other reference book to look up the names of these gods and so he fudged it. Susie, sure. Past, Present and Future, sure. And it works! I'm sure that I'm the only person in history who tried to work out if Susie could plausibly be a nickname for an actual Goddess of Knowledge. Good job, Bob.