Contents
Summary
- The Marvel Cinematic Universe is finally paying off a tease from Iron Man 2, with Bill Foster’s Goliath set to appear as a superhero in What If…? season 2.
- The franchise is utilizing the multiple realities of the show to explore characters without much future involvement in the MCU.
- Laurence Fishburne confirmed that Foster will be seen as Giant Man, providing long-awaited insight into what Project Goliath enabled him to do.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly setting up new heroes and villains for future appearances, and the franchise is finally set to pay off a tease from 2010’s Iron Man 2. The MCU has been committed to its idea of a shared universe since Iron Man‘s post-credit scene featured Nick Fury mentioning The Avengers, but as the franchise has grown, so too has the interconnected web of teases and set-ups. There aren’t many Easter eggs or mentions yet to be paid off from the MCU Phase 1, but one of the few remaining will finally be explored on the small screen.
Marvel’s What If…? season 1 explored different branches of the MCU timeline, some similar to the mainline series and some wildly different. Beyond exploring interesting questions like “What if T’Challa became Star-Lord instead of Peter Quill?” the franchise can also use its multiple realities to visit or revisit characters without much of a role in the future of the MCU proper. What If…? season 2 will reportedly feature a fully heroic version of a character only shown without their powers in the MCU Phases 1-3.
Tony Stark Teased Goliath In Iron Man 2
Though he later appears in the flesh in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Bill Foster’s Goliath is first teased in Iron Man 2. In the movie, Tony Stark is working to invent a new element that can be used in his arc reactor, as his current one is poisoning his body to keep shrapnel out of his heart. With time of the essence, Tony relies on his AI assistant JARVIS to run different incarnations of the element through virtual simulations. As part of that, he instructs JARVIS to “Get me everything on projects Pegasus, Exodus, and Goliath.“
What exactly those projects are isn’t elaborated on in the movie, but it’s expanded upon in the MCU Phase 3. Laurence Fishburne’s Bill Foster is introduced in Ant-Man and the Wasp as a former associate of Hank Pym. When Scott, Hank, and Hope visit him for help, Bill reveals that he, too, has used Pym Particles to grow – though not to the extent of Ant-Man. Bill, who operated under the name Goliath, has a long tenure in Marvel Comics, but the MCU never actually goes any further and shows him in a suit or changing sizes. What If…? season 2 will finally pay that off.
What If…? Is Finally Showing Goliath As a Superhero
Though the MCU has shown Bill Foster as a civilian. What If…? season 2 will finally pay off the tease of what exactly Project Goliath enabled him to do and how he functioned as a superhuman with the help of Pym Tech. Doing press for John Wick: Chapter 4, Laurence Fishburne revealed that not only will Foster appear in the second season of Marvel’s animated MCU show, but he’ll be appearing as Giant Man. Details about the episode he’ll be in are yet-to-be-revealed, but it’ll be great to finally see another Pym-powered hero in full action after the Marvel Cinematic Universe teased him in 2010.