| Ned Leeds | |
|---|---|
 Ned Leeds, inThe Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #245 (October 1983). Art byJohn Romita Jr. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | Anonymous cameo: The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964) as Ned Leeds: The Amazing Spider-Man #19 (December 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Edward Leeds |
| Species | Human mutate |
| Place of origin | Huntington, New York |
| Team affiliations | Daily Bugle |
| Supporting character of | Spider-Man Baron Mordo |
| Notable aliases | Hobgoblin |
| Abilities | Expert deductive reasoner, reporter, and investigator As the Hobgoblin:
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Edward "Ned"Leeds is acharacter appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics, usually as asupporting character in stories featuring the superheroSpider-Man. Leeds is a reporter for theDaily Bugle and the husband ofBetty Brant. In 1987, Leeds was revealed to be the alter ego of thesupervillainHobgoblin shortly after he waskilled off in anassassination. In 1997, Leeds wasretroactively established to have been abrainwashedstand-in forRoderick Kingsley, the original Hobgoblin. Leeds was revived in a 2018–2022 storyline in which he served theQueen Goblin as the Hobgoblin.Synergetic with his MCU adaptation, Leeds is revealed to be a sorcerer who trained withBaron Mordo to learnchaos magic.
Jacob Batalon portraysNed Leeds in theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing inSpider-Man: Homecoming (2017),Avengers: Infinity War (2018),Avengers: Endgame andSpider-Man: Far From Home (both 2019), the web seriesThe Daily Bugle andSpider-Man: No Way Home (both 2021), and will return inSpider-Man: Brand New Day (2026).
Created byStan Lee andSteve Ditko, Ned Leeds made his first appearance inThe Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964) as an unnamed employee at the Daily Bugle. In the following issue, he is introduced to Peter by Betty as Ned Leeds.
His character is killed off in the one-shotSpider-Man vs. Wolverine (February 1987), written by then Spider-Man editorJim Owsley.Tom DeFalco,Ron Frenz, andPeter David (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 untilSpider-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]
Leeds was revealed to be the Hobgoblin inThe Amazing Spider-Man #289.[2]
Ned Leeds was a reporter for theDaily Bugle. He andPeter Parker compete for the affections ofDaily Bugle secretaryBetty Brant, but Parker drops out of the running due to realizing that Brant will not be able to accept Spider-Man's double identity.[3] He would win outright when Betty went into stress induced shock afterJ. Jonah Jameson was attacked at the Daily Bugle by theScorpion. Leeds and Brant are married shortly after. However, the couple's marriage is often strained, eventually becoming abusive.[4]
When Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin, Ned follows Hobgoblin to a hideout. When Hobgoblin realizes Ned is present, Ned is captured and brainwashed as a scapegoat in case of being unmasked.[5] Wanting to find out about theKingpin, Ned approachesRichard Fisk. Discovering that Richard hates the Kingpin, Leeds helps create Richard's secret identity as Rose. Hobgoblin manipulates Ned to remove the Kingpin from the scene.[6] Ned's regular brainwashing causes his marriage with Betty and professional relationships to fall apart. Increasingly mentally unstable, Ned drives Betty to seek solace inFlash Thompson.[volume & issue needed] While Flash makes statements about Hobgoblin and events are staged so Flash is revealed as the enigmatic villain, Ned and Richard reach a disagreement and Ned decides to turn in the Rose to the Kingpin, and thus Ned is no longer needed as Hobgoblin. After Flash is cleared of being framed, the New York underworld empire is known that Ned is actually Hobgoblin and that he would soon be traveling toBerlin.[volume & issue needed] Ned and Peter go on an assignment in Berlin, and Leeds is murdered by theForeigner atJason Macendale's request as a replacement Hobgoblin.[7][8] The Kingpin presents photos of Ned in Hobgoblin costume (which was obtained via Foreigner) to Spider-Man in an attempt to get Spider-Man to go after Foreigner.[9] Peter reflected on Ned's death years later, believing Ned must have been framed as Hobgoblin as Foreigner's non-superhuman operatives would never have been able to defeat the real Hobgoblin. Around this time, the original Hobgoblin returns to eliminate Macendale. Spider-Man and Betty subsequently provokeRoderick Kingsley into confessing to Ned's framing on tape.[5]
During the "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" storyline, a clone of Ned Leeds is created byBen Reilly (posing asJackal) and is seen in New U Technologies' facility Haven.[10] The clone is revealed to have survived the end of the event and disguised himself as a hobo to continue watching over Betty. It is shown that Betty still cares for Ned. While still unaware of his survival, Ned feels that he is proud of Betty's accomplishments.[11] The clone later dies during a conflict between Spider-Man,Rhino,Taskmaster andBlack Ant and tries to warn Spider-Man of something after Betty in the near future, revealed to be the real Ned Leeds, apparently revived.[12]
InSymbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality, set before Ned's death, Ned is revealed to have become the sorcerer apprentice ofBaron Mordo while serving as Hobgoblin, training under him in the art ofreality-alteringchaos magic. On assisting Mordo in reshaping reality to make MordoSorcerer Supreme, Ned also makes himself Spider-Man's mainarchenemy, before luring the wall-crawler to theSanctum Sanctorum to do battle with him, killing hisAunt May in front of Peter'snewly resurrected uncle. Swearing revenge, Peter retreats into his own body, withVenom taking over his functions to train for years in a pocket dimension withDoctor Strange to defeat Ned, beating Hobgoblin to a pulp as his girlfriendthe Red Cat flees, before travelling into the realm ofNightmare to return reality to its normal state, with both Peter and Ned losing their memories of the "alien reality" as a result.[13]
In spite of this, Ned is revealed to have been alive all along, his body having resurrected immediately following his assassination due to him having ingestedNorman 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 having a child together. In "The Hobgoblins' Last Stand", both Ned and Kingsley are both turned into Hobgoblins again by theQueen Goblin, serving as her enforcers.[14]
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 includedJack 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]
An alternate universe variant of Ned Leeds fromEarth-1610 appears inUltimate Spider-Man #121. This version is an alcoholicDaily Bugle reporter who has an antagonistic relationship withBetty Brant.[17]
A teenage alternate universe variant of Ned Leeds appears inSpider-Man Loves Mary Jane. This version is the boyfriend of Betty Brant who previously dated Mary Jane Watson.[18]
Ned Leeds / Hobgoblin appears inThe Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, voiced byPat Fraley. This version is a member ofDoctor Octopus'Sinister Syndicate.
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