"BILL FOSTER - Dr. William Barrett Foster, DSc, PhD - a child of the GHETTO who has pulled himself up out of the Los Angeles slums to become director of one of the nation's most prestigious research labs. A man whose research has given him the power to instantaneously grow to a height of FIFTEEN FEET, with the strength of a TRUE GIANT. A man who has become... a HERO."
-The cover blurb for his debut
BLACK GOLIATH (Dr. Bill Foster, aka Giant-Man II, Goliath II)
Created By: Stan Lee & Don Heck
First Appearance: The Avengers #32 (Sept. 1966- as Foster), Power Man #24 (April 1975- as Goliath)
Role: Growing Guy, Black Counterpart, Sacrificial Lamb (for
Civil War)
Group Affiliations: The Defenders, The Champions, Project: Pegasus, Center For Disease Control
PL 9 (107)
STRENGTH 4/9
STAMINA 4/9
AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5
AWARENESS 2
PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+11)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Biological Sciences
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+10, +12 Size)
Perception 3 (+5)
Technology 5 (+10)
Vehicles 4 (+4)
Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Inherent Pym Particles"
Growth 5 (Str & Sta +5, +5 Mass, +2 Intimidation, -2 Dodge/Parry, -5 Stealth) -- (15 feet) [10]
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Growth +9 (+9 Damage, DC 24)
Initiative +2
Defenses:
"Normal Size" Dodge +9 (DC 19), Parry +9 (DC 19), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +6
"Fifteen Feet Tall" Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +9, Fortitude +10, Will +6
Complications:
Responsibility (Various Illnesses)- Foster gets radiation poisoning & cancer a bunch, thanks to fighting some D-League Radiation-casting villains.
Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 10 / Defenses: 14 (107)
-Bill Foster is a funny little tale of comics- introduced as a black genius scientist in the mid-'60s (back when it would have been EXCEPTIONALLY-rare to see a black super-scientist. Stan Lee actually created a handful), he was later given Pym Particles after hanging around Ol' Wifeslapper for a while, and became "Black Goliath", one of those 1970s-styled heroes with "Black" in their name to showcase comics' newfound diversity. His name and costume were REALLY silly (an exposed belly? Really?), and he was one of the first "black versions of a white hero" to boot. His stuff never sold well, and he bounced between the lower-end books (
The Defenders, The Thing, etc.), at one time ending up on Project Pegasus (which is basically a version of Marvel Limbo that also allows side-characters to come out and job in another hero's book every once in a while). At one time, he was the technical advisor to The Champions, then a member; at another point, he was The Thing's recurring partner in Ben's own book.
-He was frequently de-powered and/or made horribly ill (something that befalls women and minorities at a rather alarming rate), being cured of radiation poisoning (given to him while fighting a radioactive super-villain) by Jessica Drew, but lost his powers as a result. He ends up involved in the Evolutionary War, working for the High Evolutionary of all people, but realizes how evil his boss is, and alerts the powerhouse squad of... Mockingbird, Tigra and Moon Knight? However, the four minor-leaguers destroy The Most Powerful Jobber Ever's base... but Bill's revealed to have cancer. It gets cured eventually- it was being held off because he had some cancer-free mass added to his body, making him a permanent Giant for a while, but this was never mentioned again. Then all of a sudden he's de-powered because of a blood transfusion from Jessica Drew that cures some radiation poisoning he'd received. He gives the role to Hawkeye, briefly takes it back... then loses them again due to something that afflicted all Pym Particle-users but Hank Pym.
-He was basically cast into Marvel Limbo, doing nothing for years- stuff like an "urban team" of himself, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, Brother Voodoo & The Falcon)- until finally showing up OUT OF NOWHERE in
Civil War as a guy who was supposedly a big part of the "Anti-Registration" movement- most comic fans could be forgiven for not even knowing who he WAS (seriously, I'd never even heard of him), and yet he was one of Cap's major lieutenants, only to be killed by Ragnarok, the cloned Thor. This was passed off as some kind of big "watershed" moment in the war, turning a lot of heroes to the other side, and a huge tragedy and all, but it just comes across as weird since he was an eternal D-League character- his death just WASN'T THAT BIG A DEAL, ya know? It was like... if you were gonna kill a character to make a statement, kill a KNOWN one, ya know? It comes off as silly you try to make a statement by offing a minor character. And let's face it- Marvel was NOT above pointlessly-killing known characters for no reason other than to end an Event with a death (The Wasp during
Secret Invasion was a big one- she was a C-Lister, and even SHE didn't stay dead for more than a minute!). Maybe they figured since he was so minor, nobody was ever going to bring him back, and so it would maintain gravitas instead of being reversed?
-Bill's nephew Tom would take on his legacy, gaining Pym Particles of his own. Foster himself would "live on" in a sense after Hank Pym built an artificial "Heaven" for his late friend's brain engrams.
-Foster's a PL 9 Growth Guy, and was probably a PL 8 for most of his run (probably +8/+8). He doesn't do a ton of damage (though he CAN Power Attack for more), and he's no elite fighter, but he's a balanced offensive guy. Like most Growth Guys, he's on a lower-tier defensively since he's relatively easy to hit. As you can see, he's a smart guy, but he lacks the years of solid experience to build up much of a non-Grappled-based fighting style, and so he's quite cheap compared to his PL.
ha. Irony.
BLACK GOLIATH (Dr. Bill Foster, aka Giant-Man II, Goliath II)
Created By: Stan Lee & Don Heck
First Appearance: The Avengers #32 (Sept. 1966- as Foster), Power Man #24 (April 1975- as Goliath)
Role: Growing Guy, Black Equivalent, Sacrificial Lamb (for "Civil War")
Group Affiliations: The Defenders, The Champions, Project: Pegasus, Center For Disease Control
PL 10 (115)
STRENGTH 4/11
STAMINA 4/11
AGILITY 2
FIGHTING 7
DEXTERITY 0
INTELLIGENCE 5
AWARENESS 2
PRESENCE 2
Skills:
Close Combat (Unarmed) 2 (+9)
Deception 4 (+6)
Expertise (Science) 6 (+11)
Expertise (Science) 4 (+15) -- Flaws: Limited to Biological Sciences
Insight 2 (+4)
Intimidation 8 (+10, +12 Size)
Perception 3 (+5)
Technology 5 (+10)
Vehicles 4 (+4)
Advantages:
Fast Grab, Improved Grab, Improved Hold, Inventor, Power Attack, Ranged Attack 5, Takedown 2
Powers:
"Inherent Pym Particles"
Growth 7 (Str & Sta +7, +7 Mass, +4 Intimidation, -4 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -7 Stealth) -- (24 feet) [14]
Growth 1 (+8 Mass, +4 Intimidation, -4 Dodge/Parry, +1 Speed, -8 Stealth) -- (24 feet) (Flaws: Limited to Non-ST & STA Increases) [1]
Enhanced Dodge & Parry 1 (Flaws: Limited to Top Size) [1]
Offense:
Unarmed +9 (+4 Damage, DC 19)
Growth +9 (+11 Damage, DC 26)
Initiative +2
Defenses:
"Normal Size" Dodge +10 (DC 20), Parry +10 (DC 20), Toughness +4, Fortitude +5, Will +6
"Twenty-Four Feet Tall" Dodge +7 (DC 17), Parry +7 (DC 17), Toughness +11, Fortitude +12, Will +6
Complications:
Responsibility (Various Illnesses)- Foster gets radiation poisoning & cancer a bunch, thanks to fighting some D-League Radiation-casting villains.
Total: Abilities: 52 / Skills: 38--19 / Advantages: 12 / Powers: 16 / Defenses: 16 (115)
-By the time he died, he was probably a PL 10, since he could grow larger (about 25 feet- I'd probably limit him to +10-11 Damage).