Ned Leeds

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Ned Leeds
Ned Leeds, in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #245 (October 1983).
Art by John Romita Jr.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceThe Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964)
Created byStan Lee (writer)
Steve Ditko (artist)
In-story information
Full nameEdward "Ned" Leeds
SpeciesHuman
Place of originHuntington, New York
Team affiliationsDaily Bugle
Supporting character ofSpider-Man
Baron Mordo
Notable aliasesHobgoblin
AbilitiesExpert deductive reasoner, reporter, and investigator

As the Hobgoblin:

  • Use of goblin-themed weapons and paraphernalia
  • Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility and reflexes via the Goblin Formula
  • Wielding chaos magic:
    • Teleportation, time manipulation, reality warping
    • Elemental manipulation
    • Able to sense magic
    • Spell casting
    • Flight

Edward "Ned" Leeds is a

Roderick Kingsley and later left to be killed when he was no longer deemed necessary. The character was revived in a 20182022 storyline, with both Ned and Roderick brainwashed again by the Queen Goblin to serve as Hobgoblins once more, in service to her. Synergetic with his MCU adaptation, Ned's Hobgoblin was revealed to be a sorcerer, having trained under Baron Mordo in the art of reality-altering chaos magic
in Symbiote Spider-Man.

(both 2021).

Publication history

Created by

(of the creative teams on the ongoing Spider-Man books) found this objectionable, saying that Owsley gave them no warning that he was going to kill Leeds, then a regular cast member in the Spider-Man books. Frenz remarked:

Owsley let Tom [DeFalco] and I continue with our plans without telling us in advance that he was going to kill Ned. We had no heads up until Spider-Man vs. Wolverine came out that Ned Leeds was killed in that story. I can't speak to why he did it, but I can speak to the way he did it. He kept it a big secret until we felt screwed.[1]

Fictional character biography

Ned Leeds was a reporter for the

Peter Parker compete for the affections of Daily Bugle secretary Betty Brant, but Parker drops out of the running due to realizing that Brant will not be able to accept Spider-Man's double identity.[2] He would win outright when Betty went into stress induced shock after J. Jonah Jameson was attacked at the Daily Bugle by the Scorpion. Leeds and Brant are married shortly after. However, the couple's marriage is often strained, eventually becoming abusive.[3]

When Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin, Ned follows the Hobgoblin to a hideout. When the Hobgoblin realizes Ned is present, Ned is captured and brainwashed as a scapegoat in case of being unmasked.

Roderick Kingsley into confessing to Ned's framing on tape.[4]

During the "

Taskmaster and Black Ant and tries to warn Spider-Man of something after Betty in the near future, revealed to be the real Ned Leeds, apparently revived.[11]

In

the Red Cat flees, before travelling into the realm of Nightmare to return reality to its normal state, with both Peter and Ned losing their memories of the "alien reality" as a result.[12]

By the time Spider-Man meets Kindred in person during the "Last Remains" arc, he finds that Kindred had dug up the bodies of Ned Leeds, Ben Parker, George Stacy, Gwen Stacy, Jean DeWolff, and Marla Jameson and sat them around a dinner table.[13]

In spite of this, Ned is revealed to have been alive all along, his body having resurrected himself immediately following his assassination due to him having ingested Norman Osborn's Goblin Formula beforehand. After spending years in hiding, stalking Betty, he reveals himself to her and convinces her to let him back into her life, getting back together with her and eventually even have a child together. In "The Hobgoblins' Last Stand", both Ned and Kingsley are both turned into Hobgoblins again by the Queen Goblin, serving as her enforcers.[14]

Roderick Kingsley…
…The Answer is “Yes.” It's not a whole lot of fun, frankly."[14]

Powers and abilities

Ned Leeds had a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism, and was a master of deductive reasoning and investigation. He was a normal man who engaged in regular exercise, which increased to more intensive levels after assuming the Hobgoblin role. As the Hobgoblin, Ned wore his signature uniform and used the glider and equipment which included Jack O'Lantern bombs, razor bats and electrical shock gloves. However, he had no healing factor or superhuman strength, prior to ingesting the Goblin Formula, after which he developed superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and stamina as well as a low-level rapid healing factor,[15] the latter of which allow him to survive otherwise fatal gunshot wounds.[16]

Other versions

Ultimate Marvel

The Ultimate Marvel version of Ned Leeds is a reporter for the Daily Bugle and an alcoholic with an antagonistic relationship with Betty Brant.[17]

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

Ned Leeds appears in the dramatic comic book Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. In this continuity, the characters are high school students, and Ned is Mary Jane's boyfriend, who breaks up with her to reunite with his ex-girlfriend Betty Brant.[18]

In other media

Television

  • Ned Leeds appears in Spider-Man (1994), voiced by Bob Bergen. This version is a reporter for the Daily Bugle.
    • Additionally, Leeds as the Hobgoblin serves as partial inspiration for the series version of the character, Jason Phillips, voiced by Mark Hamill.[19][a]
  • A character based on Ned Leeds, named Ned Lee, appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man, voiced by Andrew Kishino.[20] This version is a Korean-American reporter for the Daily Bugle who is convinced that he can uncover Spider-Man's secret identity and that the Green Goblin is connected. He also displays an attraction to his co-worker Betty Brant. He primarily makes minor appearances, investigating leads on Spider-Man's identity throughout the series, most notably determining it cannot be Peter Parker after Venom tried unsuccessfully to out the hero's identity.

Film

Actor Jacob Batalon portrayed Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Video games

  • Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears in
    Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge
    .
  • Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears as a boss in The Amazing Spider-Man.
  • Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears in Spider-Man: The Video Game, voiced by David Hadinger.
  • Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears as a boss in
    The Amazing Spider-Man 2
    .

Miscellaneous

Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears in The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, voiced by Pat Fraley. This version is a member of Doctor Octopus' Sinister Syndicate.

Notes

  1. Jason Macendale
    's mercenary status and Lefty Donovan's criminal background.

References

  1. ^ Greenberg, Glenn (August 2009). "When Hobby Met Spidey". Back Issue! (35). TwoMorrows Publishing: 18.
  2. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #37-39. Marvel Comics.
  3. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #156. Marvel Comics.
  4. ^ a b Hobgoblin Lives #3. Marvel Comics.
  5. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #253. Marvel Comics.
  6. ^ Spider-Man versus Wolverine (February 1987). Marvel Comics.
  7. .
  8. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man #289. Marvel Comics.
  9. ^ The Clone Conspiracy #4. Marvel Comics.
  10. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #42. Marvel Comics.
  11. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #15. Marvel Comics.
  12. Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality
    #1–6. Marvel Comics.
  13. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #50. Marvel Comics.
  14. ^ a b The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 6 #12. Marvel Comics.
  15. ^ Stan Lee (w), Steve Ditko (p), Steve Ditko (i). "Spider-Man" The Amazing Spider-Man, no. 37 (June 1966). Marvel Comics.
  16. ^ The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #68
  17. ^ Ultimate Spider-Man #121. Marvel Comics.
  18. ^ Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #6-7. Marvel Comics.
  19. ^ "Hobgoblin Voice - Spider-Man franchise". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  20. ^ https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/The-Spectacular-Spider-Man/Ned-Lee/
  21. ^ "17 Things We Learned on the Set of Spider-Man: Homecoming". 3 April 2017.
  22. ^ Collura, Scott (April 3, 2017). "17 Things We Learned On The Set Of Spider-Man: Homecoming Page 2 of 2". IGN. Archived from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  23. ^ Francisco, Eric (October 9, 2017). "'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Star Wants Ned to Become a Villain". Inverse. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  24. ^ Allen, Ben (April 25, 2019). "All of the cameos in Avengers: Endgame". Radio Times. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  25. ^ Alexander, Julia (October 5, 2017). "Peter Parker's best friend, Ned, may show up in an Avengers movie". Polygon. Archived from the original on October 5, 2017. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
  26. ^ "Spider-Man 3's Jacob Batalon Reveals New Look For Ned Leeds". ScreenRant. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  27. ^ "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed". Collider. June 2023.

External links