# Giant-Man
Giant-Man is a superhero identity in [Marvel Comics](https://www.edgepedia.org/marvel-comics), used principally by the scientist and Avengers founder [Hank Pym](https://www.edgepedia.org/hank-pym) as his growing, size-enlarging alias, and later by the Bill Foster character.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Character type | Alias within the Hank Pym identity set (alongside Ant-Man, Goliath, and [Yellowjacket](https://www.edgepedia.org/yellowjacket-marvel-comics)), published by Marvel Comics[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/) |
| First appearance | Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #49, November 1963, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/) |
| In-universe switch | Pym abandoned his Ant-Man persona to become Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish (Marvel, 1959 series) #49, a story featuring the Eraser[2](https://www.marvel.com/teams-and-groups/avengers/in-comics) • [11](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/11392/tales_to_astonish_1959_49) |
| Bill Foster | First appeared in The Avengers (Marvel, 1963 series) #32 (September 1966); changed his codename to Giant-Man in Marvel Two-in-One (Marvel, 1974 series) #55 (September 1979)[3](https://www.comics.org/character/4435/) |
| Alternate-universe debuts | Earth-64087 in The Avengers #7 (August 1964); Earth-64110 in The Avengers #10 (November 1964); Earth-689 in The Avengers Annual #2 (September 1968)[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/) |
| Later bearer | A character first appearing in Ant-Man Annual (2015) #1 is indexed under the Giant-Man name in Marvel reading-order databases[4](https://marvelreading.com/character/giant-man-11) |
| 2019 series | Giant-Man #1, published May 15, 2019, was a War of the Realms tie-in starring fan-favorite size-changing heroes[5](https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/marvel-comics/giant-man-%282019%29/1) |
## Origin with Hank Pym
Giant-Man debuted in [Tales to Astonish](https://www.edgepedia.org/tales-to-astonish) #49 in November 1963, created by [Stan Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/stan-lee) and [Jack Kirby](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-kirby).[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/) The identity grew out of Pym's earlier Ant-Man career: in the Avengers' own published history, Pym was a founding member of the team formed after Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, the Wasp, and the Hulk defeated Loki, and he first abandoned the Ant-Man persona to become Giant-Man in Tales to Astonish #49, in a story featuring the Eraser.[2](https://www.marvel.com/teams-and-groups/avengers/in-comics) • [11](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/11392/tales_to_astonish_1959_49)
The Grand Comics Database records the character across several continuities, listing first appearances in Earth-64087 ([The Avengers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-avengers-comic-book) #7, August 1964), Earth-64110 (The Avengers #10, November 1964), and Earth-689 (The Avengers Annual #2, September 1968).[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/) It also catalogs alternate-universe counterparts linked to the name, including the Eurth character Behemoth.[1](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/)
The name anchored a regular feature in Tales to Astonish, the anthology series where Pym's adventures ran. Production on that strip was not always smooth: for Tales to Astonish #61, editor Stan Lee explained in the credits box that a scheduled artist had dropped out and [Steve Ditko](https://www.edgepedia.org/steve-ditko) and George Roussos (credited as George Bell) had to complete the Giant-Man story at the last minute.[6](https://tombrevoort.com/2020/10/31/lee-ditko-orlando-rockwell-the-multiple-car-crash-of-tales-to-astonish-61/)
## Bill Foster as Giant-Man
The second comics character to hold the name is Bill Foster. Foster first appeared in The Avengers #32 (September 1966) and changed his codename to Giant-Man in Marvel Two-in-One #55 (September 1979).[3](https://www.comics.org/character/4435/) The Grand Comics Database notes that the Foster Giant-Man identity is also held by another indexed character, showing how Marvel has linked multiple figures to the same codename.[7](https://www.comics.org/character/8714/)
## The name in later comics
The Giant-Man name has continued past the Silver Age. A modern character indexed as Giant-Man first appeared in Ant-Man Annual (2015) #1, and reading-order guides place that character's appearances through 2017 storylines such as Secret Empire, including Occupy Avengers (2016) #8.[4](https://marvelreading.com/character/giant-man-11) In 2019, Marvel published Giant-Man #1 on May 15 as a tie-in to the War of the Realms event; reviewers described it as a side-story with "fan-favorite Ant-Men" in starring roles.[5](https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/marvel-comics/giant-man-%282019%29/1)
Pym's Giant-Man era also appears in modern re-creations of the classic Avengers line-up. When the [Ultimate Universe](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimate-universe)'s Avengers counterpart, the [Ultimates](https://www.edgepedia.org/ultimates), reformed a roster based on early Silver Age Avengers comics, the line-up listed was [Captain America](https://www.edgepedia.org/captain-america), Thor, Iron Man, Wasp, Ant-Man/Giant Man, and Hulk.[8](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/93641/1/WRAP_Theses_Taylor_2016.pdf)
## Powers and name logic
The identity expresses the growing half of Pym particle size-changing, the technology that can alter a person's size and increase strength.[9](https://time.com/3958182/ant-man-movie-marvel/) One annotated comics collection draws the distinction plainly: since "Ant-Man" suggests a hero who gets small while "Giant-Man" says only that the hero gets big, the two names describe the same power used in different directions.[10](https://ubercross.com/TJoW1.pdf)
## References
1. [GCD :: Character :: Giant-Man (Hank Pym alias), Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/9086/)
2. [Avengers In Comics: Members, Enemies, Powers, Marvel.com](https://www.marvel.com/teams-and-groups/avengers/in-comics)
3. [GCD :: Character :: Giant-Man (Bill Foster), Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/4435/)
4. [Giant-Man Reading Order, Complete Marvel Reading Order](https://marvelreading.com/character/giant-man-11)
5. [Giant Man #1 Reviews, Comic Book RoundUp](https://comicbookroundup.com/comic-books/reviews/marvel-comics/giant-man-%282019%29/1)
6. [Lee & Ditko & Orlando & Rockwell: the Multiple Car Crash of Tales to Astonish #61, The Tom Brevoort Experience](https://tombrevoort.com/2020/10/31/lee-ditko-orlando-rockwell-the-multiple-car-crash-of-tales-to-astonish-61/)
7. [GCD :: Character :: Giant-Man (identity also held by Bill Foster), Grand Comics Database](https://www.comics.org/character/8714/)
8. [Taylor, The superhero team as network of incarnations, University of Warwick thesis](https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/93641/1/WRAP_Theses_Taylor_2016.pdf)
9. [Who is Ant-Man and Why Is He Getting His Own Movie?, TIME](https://time.com/3958182/ant-man-movie-marvel/)
10. [Annotated comics collection excerpt (Giant-Man costume panel)](https://ubercross.com/TJoW1.pdf)
11. [Tales To Astonish (1959) #49, Comic Issues, Marvel](https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/11392/tales_to_astonish_1959_49)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Visual arts and design › Illustration and illustrators › Comic books and characters › Comic book characters and teams › Marvel Comics characters and teams*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license