10 Comic Characters Who Actually Stayed Dead

Goliath was actually one of Marvel's first attempts to diversify their line of heroes. Initially introduced as Dr. Bill Foster, an employee of Stark Industries, he was hired as Hank Pym's lab assistant to help him when he became stuck as Giant-Man.

Helping Hank return to normal size, Bill cracked the secret of Pym Particles and used them to turn himself into the similar size-changing hero Black Goliath (he apparently felt he needed to differentiate himself from the other Goliaths). He would later change his name and take up Hank's old moniker of Giant-Man.

Bill would serve on and off as a hero over the years, losing and regaining his powers numerous times. Eventually, he both regained his powers for good and realised he could actually just call himself Goliath.

Then Civil War happened. Bill joined Captain America and his anti-registration rebels as they made an assault in Tony Stark's forces. In one of the comic's most iconic scenes, a Thor robot built by Tony Stark, Hank Pym and Reed Richards malfunctioned. It shot a lightning bolt through Goliath's chest, killing him instantly.

Bill's death seems pretty permanent, but his legacy lives on in his nephew Tom Foster. Tom took up the Goliath name and uses his powers to help the superhuman constriction crew Damage Control.