Monday, April 8, 2013

G: Goliath!

Source: Marvel Comics


is for Goliath.

Goliath was a name used by quite a few heroes, throughout the years....including:

  • Henry "Hank" Pym who, originally, adopted the name. Also going by Giant Man, Yellowjacket, and Ant Man.
  • Clinton Francis Barton who started his heroic as Hawkeye and, later, took the name from Pym.
  • Bill Foster....who've we already seen on "B" day as Black Goliah. He has also gone by Goliath as well as Giant Man.
  • Tom Foster who was Bill's nephew and MIT genius. He cracked the secret of the "Pym Particle" and took on the mantle of Goliath after his uncle's death.
  • Erik Josten, who started as the villain known as Power Man, later adopted the Goliath identity after joining the quasi-hero group, The Thunderbolts. 
For this entry, though, we'll be focusing on Clint Barton....aka Hawkeye...aka Goliath.

Clinton Francis Barton and his brother, Barney, lost their parents early on in life. With not many options, Clint did what a lot of young kids dreamed of doing.....he ran off to join the circus. Coming under the wing of an archer called "Trick Shot", Clint became an expert archer and traveled around the country.

Upon seeing Iron Man in action, Clint decided to use his archery skills to help his fellow man. Unfortunately, on his first outing as a hero he was mistaken for a crook and became a wanted man. On the run, he meets Russian spy Natasha Romanova (aka The Black Widow) and falls in love with her.  After a botched attempt by the pair to steal technology belonging to Tony Stark, the two are confronted by Iron Man and the Widow is injured. It's then that Clint decides really get back on the straight and narrow. 

Eventually, after saving the life of Edwin Jarvis (the butler for the super group, The Avengers) Clint is sponsored for membership into the group by....of all people....Iron Man. Hawkeye becomes one of the core members of the group and comes to the fore during the days of "Cap's Kooky Quartet". Consisting of Captain America, Hawkeye, The Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver, the quartet has many adventures together and Hawkeye grows as a hero and a person.



It took his bow breaking to make Clint realize that, sometimes, gadgets can be a liability so he decides he wants "real" super powers. He adopts the Goliath identity and dons one of the most ridiculous costumes in comics. It was hard to tell if he was a superhero or a pro wrestler, from the look of his outift. 

Of course it wasn't quite as bad as a later modification he wore during his Hawkeye days.....



.....yeah, we'll pretend we didn't see that one.

Anyway, Clint goes back to being Hawkeye, leaving the Goliath identity behind after the Kree-Skrull war and proving that not all superheroes with powers have to be scientists.

As Goliath, Clint could grow to the "standard" fifteen feet (give or take a few) and had the proportionate strength and durability of a giant.

While in the Hawkeye identity, Clint was an outstanding archer and in top physical shape. Another hero trained by Captain America, he was proficient in hand to hand combat as well as used all sorts of trick arrows in his fight against crime. 

Even though he only had a brief stint as Goliath, Clint is one of my favorite incarnations. Of course, I was never a fan of the costume, but sometimes you have to overlook things when reading comics....and that was one of them.

Tune in tomorrow when I 'buzz' about one of the 'wildest' comic book heroes of all time!

No...seriously....


46 comments:

Robin said...

Now, this is going to sound like a lame question, and I probably could look this up on IMDB, but this all gets confusing.... is this Goliath/Hawkeye the same character who was in The Avengers movie? Obviously, in the movie he was just using his bow/arrow skills and didn't have the power to use the Goliath abilities, but it sounds like that came later. Or earlier. It sounds like it came and went. I don't know. I am a bit confused. ::she scratches head::

Mark Means said...

@Robin: Yes, the character from the Avengers movie is Clint Barton, though I'm not sure if they ever, officially, call him "Hawkeye" or not. The stuff where he used the growth serum was early on in his career (relatively speaking) and I'm sure the movie is just ignoring it completely.

Robin said...

@Mark ~ I do believe he is called Hawkeye. And he did seem to have some affinity for The Black Widow, so they got that part right:) TY for clearing that up. Nice to get the backstory on this stuff. Maybe on the next movie they will actually give him his Goliath powers. Now, that would be Super Cool.

Empty Nest Insider said...

I agree with Robin that it's nice to learn the backstory about these superheroes. Mark, You are absolutely right about his less than enthusiastic costume.

Julie

Cynthia said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cynthia said...

It might seem that archery had become "in" only with the popularity of The Hunger Games. But people reading your post can see archery had always been an cool old school activity.

Sheena-kay Graham said...

The only Goliath I know is from the bible. Yeah that Hawkeye-esque thing isn't working for me either. Until tomorrow.

Unknown said...

I was never much of a comic book fan, but now that I watch The Big Bang Theory religiously, I know a little more. I know that as a true comic book lover you are just shaking your head right now. Sorry. I did love The Avengers movie when I saw it a few months ago...does that help! ;-)

Cathrina Constantine said...

Just Blog hopping today. Love marvel comics. I'm quite a fan of the movies they've inspired!!

John Wiswell said...

Man, Hawkeye has always been a fashion victim. Even his leather gear in Avengers looked dorky. It's almost no wonder that he became the target for The Hawkeye Initiative. Have you seen that artist game?

Nickie said...

Wow, commence the head scratching! I had no idea that there were so many characters who took the Goliath name.

And yes, that costume is a bit ridiculous, lol. I'm glad that didn't make it into the Avengers movie :)

Julie Flanders said...

Hahaha, the last pic is classic. Reminds me of some of the horrifying pics of me in the 80s.

Rebecca Green Gasper said...

I had no idea... I think Hawkeye is pretty cool. Looking forward for tomorrow. :) 'til then...

cleemckenzie said...

I never connected the name Hawkeye with Goliath. Hawkeye was always a JF Cooper character. That's interesting.

Goliath was one studly guy based on that image of him with his bow.

Lisa said...

Go Goliath!! I liked his costume when Goliath. Have to agree with you on the other. Still love Hawkeye though, always will!

T. Powell Coltrin said...

I really like your A-Z posts. When I think the name Goliath I always think huge.

Mina Burrows said...

Avengers! Goliath! You're theme is like a blast from the past. Love it. :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Really glad they didn't go with that costume for the movie!

Al Diaz said...

So you mean Jarvis was actually a man? Here I thought it has always been that all knowing computer Stark has in the movie.
And yeah, that custom sucks. I'm with Alex. The one in the movie is better. Or the one he has in my collection cards.

LD Masterson said...

And hear I thought I knew my old comic book heroes pretty well. You keep giving me all this new stuff. Thanks.

Tonja Drecker said...

This backstory is interesting, but I have one question (this might show how stupid I am about all of this). Where did he get his sudden 'goliath' powers from?

Cross Planes said...

Ridiculous costume?! I'll pretend that I didn't read your "criticism" of my favorite costume in comic's history!

mshatch said...

yeah, that costume is just wrong!

Nancy Thompson said...

Interesting the way just the name Goliath--originally from the Bible, of course--has become a term associated with size, just like Titanic, a term derived from a god.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I didn't realize Hawkeye had so much back story.

SpacerGuy said...

I am delighted to read about Hawkeye, he really is a wildman in that costume!

Elise Fallson said...

Wow, that's pretty darn short . . . could that be considered a purple kilt? Never mind, I don't want to know.

Suze said...

Did you check out the Armchair Squid's blog? I'm going to have to let him know about your A-Z, too.

Christine Rains said...

I know both Falcon and Goliath. I feel a bit redeemed! Though, I hope this is the Goliath I'm thinking about. I had no idea there were so many.

Heidi Mannan said...

Thanks for the enlightening post! This all sounds fascinating.

PK HREZO said...

I'm learning so much about superheros from your blog. Awesome!

Nick Wilford said...

They took the arrow thing to an extreme with the Robin Hood getup! Never knew Goliath was such a popular superhero name. He seems like a great guy.

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Oh, Mark, I'm trying to get around visit a lot of blogs and you keep drawing back to your blog everyday with these interesting posts. I'm seriously impressed with all the research and detail you have.

Golden Eagle said...

Those are a lot of heroes with the same name!

klahanie said...

Hey Mark,

Nice to see you well absorbed in the amazing alphabet challenge :)

I do like your meticulous background detail to all these superheroes. Goliath was a great choice. You are a marvel, Mark. Speaking of superheroes, I was hoping you might of mentioned "Grape Ape" :)

Happy alphabeting,

Gary

Mark Means said...

@Robin: I think that'd be very cool, but a lot of non comic readers might be scratching their heads, though.

@Julie: Hehe, yeah it was a bit 'out there', for sure.

@Cynthia: Oh yeah...between Hawkeye and Green Arrow, archery has been in comics for many years :)

@Sheena: Now you know a new one :)

@Frances: LOL...no worries and, since you like the Avengers, you're ok in my book ;)

@Cathrina: Well thanks for hopping over here and the comment :)

@John: Heh....yeah, I've seen that and poor Clint. Maybe he needs help from Tim Gunn?

@Nickie: Me too...that would have been....awkward :)

@Julie: Definitely a pic Hawkeye probably wants to forget, too! I remember reading The Avengers when he wore that and, even as a kid, I was shaking my head.

@Rebecca: He's always been a favorite of mine and thanks, I'll be here :)

@Lee: Well, comics writers have always gone to literature and mythology for ideas, so it stands to figure.

@Lisa: The character has had his ups and downs, for sure. That last costume was, definitely, a 'down'!

@Teresa: Thank you!

@Mina: Why, thank you :)

Michael Di Gesu said...

I was never a huge fan of comics.., though I loved the 60's Batman and Robin series....

But I do like the illustrations! These artist are so talented!

Mark Means said...

@Alex: You ain't the only one! :)

@Al: Oh yeah...Jarvis was (and I think still is) the butler for the Avengers. He's always been a flesh and blood character until the first Iron Man movie...it was an interesting switch up.

@LD: Glad to be able to give you a surprise or two:)

@T.: The original Goliath (Hank Pym)hooked him up with the serum, I believe.

@Mark: You, sir, are dead to me! :P It probably wouldn't be so bad if not for that half shirt thing :)

@mshatch: Scary, huh? :)

@Nancy: I agree..that sort of stuff is always interesting.

@Diane: He's been around since the 60s, so I guess they had a lot of time to come up with stuff. :)

@Spacerguy: Heh, that's one way to put it, yes :)

@Elise: LOL...I don't want to know, either!

@Suze: No, I haven't had the chance to yet, but I will soon.

Carrie Butler said...

I'm learning so much! My inner-geek loves your A-Z theme. :D

Mark Means said...

@Christine: I'm sure it was the one you were thinking about, if you knew the Falcon :)

@Heidi: Thanks for dropping by :)

@P.K: Thanks and glad you're liking it!

@Nick: Yep, some things keep coming back 'round :)

@Susan: Thank you very much, I appreciate that.

@Golden Eagle: Heh, that's for sure!

@Gary: LOL....Grape Ape, eh? Hmmm....maybe for next year's A to Z. Did I just say that??? :)

@Michael: No doubt and I think that's what a lot of the draw was for me, when I was young. Some of that great art. Much of it is timeless, imo.

Mark Means said...

@Carrie: Hey, thank you and I'm glad you're enjoying :)

Chancelet said...

I love this continuing history lesson on comics. So all of this info came out through each comic book? How long would it take before you get the whole picture? Was that one of the thrills - trying to put together the connections, transformations, etc?

Mark Means said...

@Nancy: Thank you :) A lot of this would come out over years of issues. Comics, usually, come out once a month and, sometimes, a story arc could go months or years before resolution.

Sometimes you have to be patient when you're a comic fan :)

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Mark .. I'm just in awe of the creative artist-design capabilities .. the story line and drawings would have fitted when it was published ..

I was never into comics ... but rather wish I had been .. cheers Hilary

Suzanne Furness said...

I am not a comic book fan but I can really appreciate why they are so popular. The storylines and artwork were pretty cool!

Rebecca Green Gasper said...

Yeah, mine too. I think it's the bow. I'm always amazed at the endless amount of arrows he seems to have. :)

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