Goliath (Marvel Comics)

Goliath
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Avengers #28 (May 1966)
Created by	Stan Lee Don Heck
In-story information
Alter ego	Hank Pym Clint Barton Bill Foster Erik Josten Tom Foster
Team affiliations	Avengers
Abilities	Size-shifting from nearly microscopic to ~100 feet gigantic (both at extremes) Superhuman strength

Goliath is a superhero comic book identity in Marvel Comics.

Character history

The Goliath identity has been used by various superheroes:

Henry Pym

Henry "Hank" Pym was the first to utilize the Goliath name.^[1]

Clint Barton

Clinton "Clint" Barton, better known as the superhero Hawkeye, used the Pym size-changing gas to adopt the Goliath powers and identity shortly after Hank Pym was Yellowjacket. He remained Goliath through the Kree-Skrull War, and briefly resumed using the Goliath identity during "Operation: Galactic Storm".^[2]

Bill Foster

Dr. William "Bill" Foster was Pym's lab assistant who had an equally brief career as the Black Goliath and Giant-Man before retiring from superheroics.^[3] He later came out of retirement, donning a new costume as Goliath. In the "Civil War" storyline, he sided with Captain America's faction of outlaw Anti-Registration heroes, and was killed by a cyborg clone of Thor.^[4]

Erik Josten

Erik Josten was originally known as the supervillain Power Man. After being soundly defeated by Luke Cage – who was also known as Power Man at the time – he changed his codename to the Smuggler and later to Goliath.^[5] He adopted the superhero identity Atlas upon joining the Thunderbolts.

Criti Noll

Criti Noll utilized Goliath abilities while impersonating Hank Pym for the Skrulls' conspiracy.^[6][7]

Tom Foster

Tom Foster is Bill Foster's nephew. Created by Reginald Hudlin, Greg Pak and Koi Turnbull, he first appears in Black Panther vol. 4 #23 (Feb. 2007),^[8] and in World War Hulk: Aftersmash #1 (March 2008) as Goliath. According to Pak, Tom's character was created when Pak and Hudlin had wanted to use Bill's character but were unable to due to the man's demise in the Civil War story arc.^[9]

After learning of Bill's death from Black Panther, Tom swore to continue his uncle's legacy by replicating the Pym Particles that gave him his powers. To this end, T'Challa swore to assist him in any way possible, once Tom finished his M.I.T. studies.^[10]

Tom next appears during the Hulk's invasion of Manhattan, one of a group of the Hulk's supporters who stay in New York despite the government evacuation. He delivers a speech in which he criticizes Reed Richards and Tony Stark for creating Thor's clone that killed his uncle, declaring himself 'ready for the Hulk's justice'.^{[volume & issue needed]}

After the Hulk and Warbound are defeated and removed from Manhattan, Tom sneaks into the Avengers Mansion's abandoned labs, locating a vial of Pym Particles, which he uses to gain superpowers as Goliath. Upon doing so, he finds and assaults Iron Man in retaliation for his uncle's death, but is interrupted by an internal struggle between the captured Warbound and does not continue the attack. He then assists Damage Control in repairing the city.^[11]

Goliath later joins a team of anti-heroes assembled by Wonder Man (whose judgement was impaired at the time) to defeat the Avengers.^[12] He and the group are defeated by the Avengers and remanded to the Raft. During his interrogation, he states that he still blames Iron Man for his uncle's death.^[13]

During the "Civil War II" storyline, Goliath is shown to be an inmate at the Cellar. The Mad Thinker tries to recruit him during a massive prison break, but he declines. He later defeats the villains and saves several guards' lives. For his heroic actions, Goliath is released from the Cellar on parole.^[14]

Goliaths

The Ultimate Marvel universe features the Goliaths, a group of African-American men who have size-shifting powers and special jumpsuits that can grow with them. They are part of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Reserves alongside the Giant-Men and Giant-Women.^[15][16][17]

In other media

Television

• The Hank Pym incarnation of Goliath makes a non-speaking cameo appearance in the X-Men: The Animated Series episode "One Man's Worth (Part 1)".^{[citation needed]}
• The Clint Barton incarnation of Goliath makes a cameo appearance in the Fantastic Four episode "To Battle the Living Planet".^{[citation needed]}
• The Clint Barton and Erik Josten incarnations of Goliath appear in Avengers Assemble, voiced by Troy Baker and Jesse Burch respectively.^[18][19]
• The Bill Foster incarnation of Goliath appears in the What If...? episode "What If... Peter Quill Attacked Earth's Mightiest Heroes?".^[20]

Video games

• The Bill Foster incarnation of Goliath appears as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Emerson Brooks.^[21]
• The Bill Foster incarnation of Goliath appears as a playable character in Marvel Super Hero Squad Online.^{[citation needed]}
• The Hank Pym incarnation of Goliath appears as an alternate skin for Hank Pym in Marvel: Future Fight.^{[citation needed]}
• Bill Foster / Black Goliath appears as a playable character in Lego Marvel's Avengers,^{[citation needed]} voiced by James C. Mathis III.^{[citation needed]}

References