Saturday Showcase: Goliath (Bill Foster)

    I thought I would showcase Bill Foster aka Goliath today since he has a spot in the Marvel Studios film Ant-Man and the Wasp.  Now if you are a comic book fan, you know that there has been 5 Goliaths so far in the Marvel Universe.  The first was of course Dr. Pym, then there was Clint Barton (yes, Hawkeye) and the third man to fight as Goliath was Bill Foster.  The other two Goliaths will be mentioned at another time, specifically in showcases of their own.

    Bill Foster made his comic debut back in '66 in issue #32 of the Avengers.  He was a lab assistant and fellow scientist to Dr. Henry Pym.  It wasn't until '75 when we saw the birth of Foster's Goliath in Luke Cage, Power Man #24.  He called himself Black Goliath when he first debuted.  What a way to showcase his powers than challenging the one and only Power Man.  

Luke Cage, Power Man #24 (1st Black Goliath)

    Bill later changed his persona to Giant-Man in '79 in Marvel Two-in-One #55.  He finally changed his alter ego's name to Goliath in 2006 in the Thing #1.  Bill Foster was originally created by Don Heck and the one and only Stan Lee.  It wasn't until Black Goliath came along that we can credit Tony Isabella and George Tuska for their creation.

  Bill was a Defender, Champion, as well as a member of Project: Pegasus in his career as a super hero.  Sadly, Bill's reign as Goliath ended in Marvel's Civil War.  He was killed by a Thor clone and his death made heroes realize that they were fighting a senseless war.  He died as a giant and was buried as one.  Tony Stark paid for the 38 plots it took to bury him.  He lived and died as a hero.

Laurence Fishburne as Bill Foster

    Since Bill was a such big part of my life and the world of Marvel Comics, I was beyond happy when I heard that the great Laurence Fishburne was playng Bill Foster in the Ant-Man and the Wasp film.  Finally he (Bill) was getting the respect he deserves.  Now, if we could only get Netflix to put him in the net season of Luke Cage, lol.

Until next time, unleash your inner NERD and get your READ on!