The Hobgoblin: Ned Leeds
Real Name:Investigative reporter Ned Leeds, as revealed after Leed's funeral in Amazing Spider-Man 289.
First Appearance: As Ned Leeds, Amazing Spider-Man 18. As the Hobgoblin, Amazing Spider-Man 238.
Died In: Spider-Man vs. Wolverine 1, recapped in a flashback in Amazing Spider-Man 289.
Powers: The Hobgoblin used a modified version of the Green Goblin formula to give himself super-human strength, nearly equivalent to that of his arch-foe Spider-Man. While he also delivered powerful blasts from his hands, these "sparkle" or "goblin" blasts were not organic, instead being generated from gloves capable of delivering several thousand volts of electricity.
What's His Problem?Overconfidence bordering on a psychotic denial of reality, even before he found and used Osborne's original Goblin formula. Apparently tired of reporting on bad guys getting off time and time again, Leeds teamed up with the Rose (who had his own reasons for wanting to undermine organized crime) to infiltrate the underworld with an eye toward eventually destroying it from within. Like previous Goblins, however, he exhibited increasingly erractic behavior, making his allies question his relibility and his enemies believe he could be taken out if caught unawares.
Favorite Quote: "Greetings, Web-Slinger!" (This line always struck me as hysterically funny. A guy wearing orange long-johns crashes through a wall, wastes a bunch of gangland thugs, and calmly says "Greetings"?? Nerves of steel, the original Hobgoblin!)
Heroes He Kept Running Into: Hobby was almost exclusively a Spider-Man baddie, although he tangled with the Black Cat once as well. His real enemies turned out to be a couple of fellow bad guys: Jason Macendale, who became the second Hobgoblin, and the Foreigner, who seems to be the European equivalent of the Kingpin. The two worked together to set up Leeds' murder.
People Who Think He's Not So Bad: Leeds' estranged wife Betty Brant became a lot fonder of Ned after he died than she was right before he died. The crime lord known as the Rose still remembers Leeds and his partnership with the Hobgoblin wistfully.
Most Despicable Act: Throwing Flash Thompson's ex-girlfriend, Sha-Shan, from a great height in Amazing Spider-Man 275. Spidey saved her, but it was still a lousy thing to do. And it apparently so traumatized Sha-Shan that she vanished from the Spidey books after she was released from the hospital!
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