| 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 asuperherocomic book identity inMarvel Comics.
The Goliath identity has been used by varioussuperheroes:
Henry "Hank" Pym was the first to utilize the Goliath name.[1]
Clinton "Clint" Barton, better known as the superheroHawkeye, used the Pym size-changing gas to adopt the Goliath powers and identity shortly after Hank Pym wasYellowjacket. He remained Goliath through theKree-Skrull War, and briefly resumed using the Goliath identity during "Operation: Galactic Storm".[2]
Dr. William "Bill" Foster was Pym's lab assistant who had an equally brief career as the Black Goliath andGiant-Man before retiring from superheroics.[3] He later came out of retirement, donning a new costume as Goliath. In theCivil War storyline, he sided withCaptain America's faction of outlaw Anti-Registration heroes, and was killed byRagnarok, a cyborg clone ofThor.[4]
Erik Josten was originally known as the supervillain Power Man. After being soundly defeated byLuke 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 identityAtlas upon joining theThunderbolts.
TheSkrull Criti Noll utilized the abilities of Goliath while impersonating Hank Pym for theSecret Invasion storyline.[6]
Tom Foster is Bill Foster's nephew. Created byReginald Hudlin,Greg Pak andKoi Turnbull, he first appears inBlack Panther (vol. 4) #23 (February 2007),[7] and inWorld 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 theCivil War story arc.[8]
After learning of Bill's death fromBlack Panther, Tom swore to continue his uncle's legacy by replicating thePym Particles that gave him his powers. To this end, T'Challa swore to assist him in any way possible, once Tom finished hisM.I.T. studies.[9]
Tom next appears during theHulk'sinvasion 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 criticizesReed Richards and Tony Stark for creating Thor's clone that killed his uncle, declaring himself 'ready for the Hulk's justice'.[10]
After the Hulk andWarbound are defeated and removed from Manhattan, Tom sneaks into theAvengers Mansion's abandoned labs, locating a vial ofPym Particles, which he uses to gain superpowers as Goliath. Upon doing so, he finds and assaultsIron 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 assistsDamage Control in repairing the city.[11]
Goliath later joins ateam of anti-heroes assembled byWonder 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 theRaft. During his interrogation, he states that he still blames Iron Man for his uncle's death.[13]
During theCivil War II storyline, Goliath is shown to be an inmate at the Cellar. TheMad 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 onparole.[14]
TheUltimate Marvel universe features theGoliaths, a group of African-American men who have size-shifting powers and special jumpsuits that can grow with them. They are part of theS.H.I.E.L.D. Reserves alongside the Giant-Men andGiant-Women.[15][16][17]
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