Goliath (Tom Foster)

Goliath
Tom Foster as Goliath Art by John Romita Sr..
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Black Panther vol.3 #23, (December 2006)
Created by	Reginald Hudlin Greg Pak Koi Turnbull
In-story information
Alter ego	Thomas "Tom" Foster
Team affiliations	Damage Control M.I.T. Revengers[1]
Abilities	Superhuman strength and durability Size and mass manipulation

Thomas Foster is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is the fifth to hold the mantle of Goliath.

Publication history

Tom Foster made his first appearance in Black Panther Vol. 3 #23 and was created by Reginald Hudlin, Greg Pak and Koi Turnbull. He subsequently succeeded in gaining superpowers and becoming Goliath in World War Hulk: Aftersmash #1, before appearing to join Damage Control in the same issue.

Greg Pak on Tom Foster's creation

On the creation of Foster, Pak stated:

“

Way back when I was starting my first outline of "World War Hulk," I had this crazy notion that Bill Foster, the original Black Goliath, would end up siding with our Green Goliath. Shortly thereafter, I learned that Bill was picking up a toe-tag in the pages of "Civil War." But in the back of my head, something kept ticking, and eventually I pitched the idea of introducing a new character named Tom Foster as one of the supporting players in the "Incredible Hulk" tie-in issues to "World War Hulk." Assistant Editor Nate Cosby informed me that Reginald Hudlin had had a similar brainstorm for "Black Panther." So the offices coordinated a bit and a mysterious nephew of Bill Foster appeared in "Black Panther," then showed up later in "Incredible Hulk" #107 as one of the humans taking the Hulk's side during World War Hulk. Tom played a major role in "World War Hulk" #4 as one of the humans who testified about the supposed crimes of Illuminati. My nefarious plan was always to have him take his uncle's mantle. And while I was brainstorming the "Aftersmash" one-shot with Mark and Executive Editor Tom Brevoort, I had this image of a giant splash page of Tom as the new Goliath helping rebuild Manhattan. I said, "I know the last page of the book," and things went from there. Now we're bouncing the character over to Dwayne for a star turn in "Damage Control" -- I can't wait to see what happens next!"[2]

”

Fictional character biography

Goliath working for Damage Control, Artist Rafa Sandoval.

Tom Foster was introduced in Black Panther #23, when he and his family were visited by King T'Challa and Queen Ororo of Wakanda, following the murder of his uncle Bill Foster during the superhero civil war. Angry at the pro-registration forces for his uncle's death, Tom swore to continue his legacy by replicating the Pym Particles which give Bill his powers. To this end, T'Challa swore to assist him in any way he could, once Tom finished his studies at M.I.T.^[3]

Tom next appeared during the Hulk's invasion of Manhattan. He was amongst a group of Hulk-supporters who defied government orders to evacuate the island, and made their way to the Madison arena to watch the Warbound extract their brand of justice on the city's superheroes. Before the gladiatorial matches began, he delivered a speech in which he criticised the way Reed Richards and Tony Stark were, in his view, responsible for killing his uncle, declaring himself 'ready for the Hulk's justice'- in this case, death by combat.

After the Hulk and Warbound were defeated and removed from Manhattan, Tom used the chaos to sneak into the abandoned labs of the Avengers Mansion, in which he located a vial of liquefied Pym Particles. Upon gaining powers, he sought out and assaulted Iron Man in retaliation for his uncle's death, but was interrupted by an internal struggle between the captured Warbound. Following this conflict, Tom turned away from confronting Tony Stark. Tom Foster began assisting Damage Control with their repairs of the city which involved stopping a runaway Chrysler Building that was animated by one of Hulk's destroyed machines.^[4]

Goliath later joins the Revengers, a team of anti-heroes assembled by Wonder Man (who had a leaking ionic energy problem at the time which affected his judgement) in his plot to defeat the Avengers.^[5] He and the rest of the Revengers were defeated by all three Avengers teams and remanded to the Raft. During Tom Foster's interrogation, he stated that he still blames the Avengers for his uncle's death.^[6]

Powers and abilities

Using the Pym particles, Tom Foster can manipulate the size and shape of his body at will, enlarging himself to giant size. In his large form, his strength and durability increase to superhuman levels.

References

1. New Avengers Annual vol. 2 #1 (September, 7th 2011)
2. "CBR News: THE COMMENTARY TRACK: "Aftersmash" #1 with Greg Pak". Comic Book Resources. 2007-12-07. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
3. Black Panther #23
4. World War Hulk: Aftersmash #1
5. New Avengers Annual Vol. 2 #1
6. New Avengers Annual Vol. 2 #2

External links

• Tom Foster at Marvel Wiki
• Tom Foster at Comic Vine
• Goliath (Tom Foster) at the Comic Book DB