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Attributes

Height: 5'9"

Weight: 155 lbs.

Eyes: Blue

Hair: Brown

Features: Nothing comes to mind.

Summary

Created By: Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, modified into Hobgoblin by, Peter David, and subsequently retconned into only being a third temporary Hobgoblin by the original writer, Roger Stern

Real Name: Ned Leeds

Current Aliases: None

Former Aliases: None

Dual Identity: Secret until Jason Macendale revealed it on trial.

Current Occupation: Dead

Former Occupation: Field Reporter for the Bugle, alternating with Insane and Brainwashed Criminal

Citizenship: American

Legal Status: No Criminal Record (died before he could get one).

Place of Birth: Brooklyn.

Marital Status: Was married to Elizabeth Brant Leeds.

Known Relatives: Betty Brant Leeds (Wife)

Known Confidants: Betty Leeds, Richard Fisk.

Known Allies: He did Kingsley's bidding, but had been brainwashed. He allied with Rose I, who thought Ned was the real Hobgoblin, and with his friend, Alfredo.

Major Enemies: Spider-Man, Kingpin, Hobgoblin I, Jason Macendale and Foreigner

Usual Bases: His grave.

Former Bases: Daily Bugle as Ned. Some abandoned Green Goblin hideouts, and some new ones of the original Hobgoblin, as Hobgoblin III.

Current Groups: None

Former Groups: None

Education: A degree in journalism.

Powers & Paraphenalia

Strength Level: High human level, for someone who engages in regular physical exercise.

Powers: None.

Abilities: The common abilities of any other Goblin, and he was a good reporter.

Equipment: The vertical-thrust goblin glider, which was powered by a miniature turbo-fan. It could go up to 90 miles per hour and support 400 pounds.

Weapons: Jack O'Lantern bombs, razor-edged bat-wings, and gloves capable of conducting pulses of electricity upwards of 10,000 volts.

Limitations: He was repeatedly brainwashed by the real Hobgoblin, and became increasingly insane. That pushed him to dangerous grounds, and that was when the original Hobgoblin (Kingsley) decided to get rid of him.

Knowledge Quiz

QUIZ: ned_leeds.html

Background

There was that bumpy stretch where Ned was helping Peter find out who had created the Gwen Stacy clone. His theory about tissue samples being used to create the clone proved to be correct, but his efforts got him kidnapped by the Jackal. He was taken to Shea Stadium and used as a hostage as Spider-Man was forced to battle his clone, who would eventually call himself Ben Reilly. The Gwen clone persuaded the Jackal (who was really a clone of the true Miles Warren anyway) to set Ned free. He survived the bomb that leveled the stadium.

Unfortunately, things got rougher, though it took a long while for Betty and the readers to know why.We all remember the classic van battle between Spidey and Hobgoblin (Amazing Spider-Man #249 and following), don't we? Well, while they battled, Ned was following them. He waited until he saw the Hobgoblin leave the river, unmasked. He followed him to his hideout, getting closer and closer, in an attempt to see his face. The Goblin captured him, and brainwashed him with a bio-electric instrument. Roderick Kingsley (the Hobgoblin, if you didn't know) started by using Leeds to steal info from the Bugle's files, but he eventually decided that it was safer to have someone in his place in the risky battles. Thus, Hobgoblin 3 was born. Ned Leeds then approached Richard Fisk as a reporter, trying to find out about his father, the Kingpin. Knowing that Richard wasn't too fond of his father, he insisted with him, until one day, Richard and Alfredo decided to move against the Kingpin. Then, Ned revealed to them that he was the Hobgoblin, and helped Richard creating the Rose identity. Of course, Kingsley had his own agenda, which involved taking down the Kingpin, so he was keen on Leeds' moves.

Eventually, the regular exposure to the brainwashing instruments started taking their toll: Ned's personal relations, both with his colleagues at the Bugle and with his wife, were affected by his increasing agressivness. Ned's mental instability drove Betty to Flash Thompson's arms. And after Flash made a public statement against the Hobgoblin, Leeds drugged him, dressed him up as Hobgoblin, and dumped him for the police to find. Flash was arrested, and for some time, everybody (even Peter) thought that Flash was in fact the Hobgoblin. While Flash was cleared a few months (real time) after, because he was seen being attacked by the true Goblin, Ned's insane actions starting to reflect also on his behaviour as the Hobgoblin. For instance, he sold out his friend, Richard, to the Kingpin. Kingsley considered that Leeds was no longer needed, and also decided that he would stop with his criminal activities for the time being. He leaked the word to the criminal underworld that Ned Leeds was the Hobgoblin, and that he was traveling to Berlin soon. Jason Macendale, aka Jack O'Lantern at the time, who had his share of problems with the Goblin, hired the Foreigner to take Ned out. His intentions were clear: take the mantle of the Hobgoblin for himself. (See Hobgoblin IV)

While Peter and Ned were in Germany, Ned, alone in his room, recieved a package: a Hobgoblin suit, courtesy of Roderick Kingsley. This activated his mind programming, and as the mercenaries of the Foreigner arrived, he was half- dressed as Hobgoblin. The four mercs killed Ned rather easily, and after his funeral, the Kingpin revealed to Spider-Man the files on the contract on Hobgoblin's head: the target was killed in Berlin, by the Foreigner's men, on the behalf of Macendale. Realizing Ned was the Hobgoblin, Spidey still goes on a fit of rage, trying to find his friend's killers, but he manages to capture none, at the time.

In the aftermath of Ned's death, Betty (who had seen his face, when the Goblin removed his mask after attacking Flash) went in denial, talking to everyone about Ned as if he was still alive. She even joined a religious cult, but eventually she overcame the grief. Of course, as former SpiderFan Staff Member Jeanne Burch pointed out, Betty was a lot fonder of her husband after he died than before.

10 years later (real time), during his trial in the Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives series, Macendale reveals that Ned Leeds was the original Hobgoblin. This causes a great deal of speculation, which brings Kingsley out of his Goblinish-hiatus. He kills Macendale, explains his relation with Ned Leeds to Betty's tape- recorder, and is unmasked by Spidey.

With Ned's name cleared (sort of), some additional notes are worth mentioning: after Amazing Spider-Man #251 (excluding), we cannot be sure on several occasions, if the Goblin in question is Kingsley or Leeds. We can assume that most of the times, Leeds wore the mantle, but whenever the Hobgoblin displayed super- strength, it should have been Kingsley. That is, it's a fair assumption that Ned was never administrated the Goblin-Formula, otherwise he would easily have made short work of Foreigner's four men, the inherent healing factor would have regenerated his slit throat, and Kingsley would have had a really tough time if he had to take direct actions to remove Leeds out of the picture. On the other hand, "Lefty" Donovan (See Hobgoblin II), Kingsley's first pawn, was under the effects of the Goblin-Formula, but since there wasn't very much left of him to scrape of the floor after he crashed against a building, he won't return. After all, the healing factor doesn't work miracles... Well... Now that I think of it, at the end of Spider-Man #75, Norman was engulfed in a fiery inferno, and then he crashed against a building. And he recovered. Hmmm...

Thanks To:

The assistance of the Marvel Chronology Project is gratefully acknowledged.

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