“I figured it's the end of the world. Go big or go home."
Bill Foster’s first MCU appearance was in Ant-Man and the Wasp in 2018. And while Project Goliath was mentioned back in the original Iron-Man movie we did not see Foster in the Goliath suit until the 2nd Season of Marvel’s What If? in late 2023 when Laurence Fishbourne returned to the character of Bill Foster and suited up as Goliath, part of an alternative 1988 Avengers team alongside Hank Pym’s Ant-Man, Mar-vell, T’Chaka, The Winter Soldier and a marginally younger Thor. This onscreen appearance was pre-dated with the release of a Goliath Marvel Legends figure in the Autumn of 2023.
The Marvel’s What If? Goliath was part of the latest Disney+ wave of Marvel Legends incorporating figures from another 2023 series, Secret Invasion, as well as catching up with some characters from Hawkeye and WandaVision. The wave also featured the new What If? figures straight out of Season 2 including Warrior Gamora, Goliath, and the build-a-figure of the updated Hydra Stomper. The wave fell into the period of plastic-free packaging so arrives without any viewable window and instead uses illustrations and posed shots of the figure to confirm the contents. The What If? logo and associated colour schemes are consistent with the previous releases from 2022.
Goliath is not a new figure and utilises much of the 2018 Ant-Man MCU release from Ant-Man and the Wasp. The entire lower half of the figure and the arms are re-used while the torso gets an update to align with the onscreen design of the Goliath suit. This re-use makes sense from an in-universe perspective with the Goliath suit itself stemming from the Ant-Man research. But it does mean we get a 5-year-old figure, complete with pinned arms & legs, in a wave made up of much more superior newer bodies and sculpts.
The Legends team have done a good job with the colour scheme for Goliath, recolouring the base Ant-Man figure parts with metallic blue elements, white panels including boots and gloves, and silver components with blue circular panels across the chest. We also get a new belt piece complete with a giant ‘G’ incorporated into the buckle.
We also have a new helmet for Goliath, in a similar design to that of Ant-Man, but with significant differences around the mouth area. The helmet titans the translucent visor - now blue - with visible eyes underneath. Like the body, the helmet uses a blue colour scheme but overlaid onto a predominantly silver helmet.
With the figure re-using a considerable amount of parts, it would perhaps be fair to expect some added value in the new release such as alternative hands, perhaps an unmasked head, or even an episode-specific accessory like Ego’s seed. Unfortunately, we get none of these with the Goliaht figure devoid of any additional parts other than the Hydra Stomper BAF arm that is included in the set.
Articulation is OK, albeit with pinned joints, with 18 points in total. Due to the new torso and groin being one entire piece, we have lost a waist swivel which makes the entire torso very static as there is no swivel motion to work with the ab-crunch. Arms and legs work well enough and the figure stands perfectly well once posed.
Goliath is a niche character from a show that has yet to find its identity within the Marvel Legends line. Unlike the Star Wars Black Series which converts all animated characters to a real-world setting, the Legends figures remain slightly animated in their design and colour scheme - but also with huge variances in that styling with those figures that are reused like Goliath and the Killmonger from the same year looking very different to purpose animated-sculpted figures like T’Challa Star-Lord. If you are a fan of What If then Goliath will allow you to build the 1988 Avengers to a point while also allowing you to finish off the Hydra Stomper from Season 2.
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About Me : As a child of the 70's and 80's I grew up in a golden age for action figures and in my youth bought and sold myself through collections of Star Wars, G.I. Joe (Action Force) and M.A.S.K. while also dabbling in He-Man, Transformers and Ghostbusters. Roll forward and I am now reliving that Youth with the action figures of today and am a collector and fan of the larger 6-8 inch figures from my favourite movie and TV licences - including the ones mentioned above, but also the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Doctor Who and the Aliens. I launched The Mephitsu Archives in 2015 with a view of creating a UK focused site or these figures where fans can pick up the latest action figure news, read reviews and get information on where to buy their figures and what is currently on store shelves. I hope I am delivering that to you guys...