Ned Leeds

Edward "Ned" Leeds is a fictional character appearing in

Ned Leeds
American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A
supporting character in stories featuring the superhero Spider-
Man, he has been a reporter for the Daily Bugle, and husband
of Betty Brant. Leeds is one of the characters that appears
under the mantle of the supervillain Hobgoblin, for a long time
believed to be his true identity. However, ten years following
his assassination, he is retroactively established to have been
brainwashed to serve as a stand-in for Roderick Kingsley and
later left to be killed when he was no longer deemed necessary.
The character was revived in a 2018–2022 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.

Jacob Batalon portrays Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Ned Leeds, in The Amazing Spider-
Universe (MCU), appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming
Man vol. 1 #245 (October 1983).
(2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame and
Art by John Romita Jr.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (both 2019), and The Daily
Publication information
Bugle and Spider-Man: No Way Home (both 2021).
Publisher Marvel Comics

Publication history First The Amazing Spider-

appearance Man #18 (November
Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Ned Leeds made his first 1964)
appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November
Created by Stan Lee (writer)
1964). His character is killed off in the one-shot Spider-Man vs.
Steve Ditko (artist)
Wolverine (February 1987), written by then Spider-Man editor
Jim Owsley. Tom DeFalco, Ron Frenz, and Peter David (of the In-story information
creative teams on the ongoing Spider-Man books) found this Full name Edward "Ned" Leeds
objectionable, saying that Owsley gave them no warning that Species Human
he was going to kill Leeds, then a regular cast member in the Place of Huntington, New York
Spider-Man books. Frenz remarked: origin
Team Daily Bugle
Owsley let Tom [DeFalco] and I continue with our
affiliations
plans without telling us in advance that he was going
to kill Ned. We had no heads up until Spider-Man vs. Supporting Spider-Man
Wolverine came out that Ned Leeds was killed in that character Baron Mordo
story. I can't speak to why he did it, but I can speak to of
the way he did it. He kept it a big secret until we felt Notable Hobgoblin
screwed.[1] aliases
Leeds was revealed to be the Hobgoblin in The Amazing Abilities Expert deductive
Spider-Man #289.[2] reasoner, reporter, and
investigator
Fictional character biography As the Hobgoblin:

Ned Leeds was a reporter for the Daily Bugle. He and Peter Use of goblin-themed
Parker compete for the affections of Daily Bugle secretary weapons and
Betty Brant, but Parker drops out of the running due to paraphernalia
realizing that Brant will not be able to accept Spider-Man's
Superhuman
double identity.[3] He would win outright when Betty went into
strength, speed,
stress induced shock after J. Jonah Jameson was attacked at the
stamina, durability,
Daily Bugle by the Scorpion. Leeds and Brant are married
agility and reflexes
shortly after. However, the couple's marriage is often strained, via the Goblin
eventually becoming abusive.[4] Formula

When Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin, Ned follows the Wielding chaos
Hobgoblin to a hideout. When the Hobgoblin realizes Ned is magic:
present, Ned is captured and brainwashed as a scapegoat in Teleportation,
case of being unmasked.[5] Wanting to find out about the time
Kingpin, Ned approaches Richard Fisk. Discovering that manipulation,
Richard hates the Kingpin, Leeds helps create Richard's secret reality warping
identity as the Rose. The Hobgoblin manipulates Ned to
Elemental
remove the Kingpin from the scene.[6] Ned's regular
manipulation
brainwashing causes his marriage with Betty and professional
Able to sense
relationships to fall apart. Increasingly mentally unstable, Ned
magic
drives Betty to seek solace in Flash Thompson. While Flash
makes statements about the Hobgoblin and events are staged so Spell casting
Flash is revealed as the enigmatic villain, Ned and Richard Flight
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 to
Berlin. Ned and Peter go on an assignment in Berlin, and Leeds is murdered by the Foreigner at Jason
Macendale's request as a replacement Hobgoblin.[7][8] The Kingpin presents photos of Ned in the
Hobgoblin costume (which was obtained via the Foreigner) to Spider-Man in an attempt to get Spider-Man
to go after the Foreigner.[9] Peter reflected on Ned's death years later, believing Ned must have been framed
as Hobgoblin as the 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, revealing the
deception of Leeds being a stand-in. Spider-Man and Betty subsequently provoked Roderick 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 by Ben
Reilly (posing as Jackal) 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 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.[12]
In Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality, set before Ned's death, Ned is revealed to have become the sorcerer
apprentice of Baron Mordo while serving as the Hobgoblin, training under him in the art of reality-altering
chaos magic. On assisting Mordo in reshaping reality to make Mordo Sorcerer Supreme, Ned also makes
himself Spider-Man's main archenemy, before luring the wall-crawler to the Sanctum Sanctorum to do
battle with him, killing his Aunt May in front of Peter's newly resurrected uncle. Swearing revenge, Peter
retreats into his own body, with Venom taking over his functions to train for years in a pocket dimension
with Doctor Strange to defeat Ned, beating the Hobgoblin to a pulp as his girlfriend 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.[13]

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.[14]

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.[15]

Peter Parker: "If you're wondering whether the Hobgoblin is Ned Leeds or Roderick
Kingsley…
…The Answer is “Yes.” It's not a whole lot of fun, frankly."[15]

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,[16] the latter of which allow him to survive otherwise fatal gunshot wounds.[17]

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.[18]

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.[19]

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.[20][a]
A character based on Ned Leeds, named Ned Lee, appears in The Spectacular Spider-Man,
voiced by Andrew Kishino.[21] 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
Ned Leeds appears in films set in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe (MCU), portrayed by Jacob Batalon. This version is
Filipino-American and Peter Parker's best friend who is initially
unaware of the latter's secret identity as Spider-Man and is
partially inspired by Ganke Lee.[22]

Introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming,[23] Leeds

discovers Parker's secret identity and begins supporting him
as his self-proclaimed "guy in the chair".
Leeds makes a cameo appearance in Avengers: Infinity
War, aiding Parker by distracting their classmates so the
latter can leave and help the Avengers.[24]
Leeds makes a cameo appearance In Avengers: Endgame,
sharing an emotional reunion with Parker following their Actor Jacob Batalon
return from the Blip.[25] portrayed Ned Leeds in the
In Spider-Man: Far From Home,[26] Leeds becomes Marvel Cinematic Universe.
romantically involved with classmate Betty Brant despite his
initial claims of being a single bachelor throughout a school
field trip to Europe while supporting Parker's feelings for MJ. Following the end of the trip
however, Leeds and Brant mutually break up and remain friends.
In Spider-Man: No Way Home, Leeds, Parker, and MJ have trouble applying to colleges
after Mysterio publicly exposes Parker's identity. Parker seeks help from Doctor Strange
for help in making everyone forget. However, Strange's spell backfires and pulls in
supervillains who fought Spider-Man from across the multiverse. Strange tasks Parker,
Leeds, and MJ with capturing the villains, but Parker traps Strange in the Mirror
Dimension in an attempt to reform the villains. While using Strange's Sling Ring to find
Parker, Leeds and MJ encounter two alternate universe versions of Parker that they
nickname "Peter-Two" and "Peter-Three". Once the three Spider-Men defeat and cure
 the villains, Strange returns the displaced individuals to their respective home universes
before Parker asks him to erase all memory of the latter from everyone in their universe,
resulting in Leeds forgetting his friendship with Parker and Spider-Man's secret
identity.[27]
An alternate universe incarnation of Ned Leeds from Earth-65 makes a minor non-speaking
appearance in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) as one of Peter Parker's
bullies.[28]

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
a. The original Hobgoblin's identity had yet to be revealed in the comics when Spider-Man: The
Animated Series was produced, so the show's version of the character was instead an
amalgamation of Ned Leeds' and Roderick Kingsley's then-depicted personality and
ambitions, with 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. Conroy, Mike (2004). 500 Comicbook Villains (https://archive.org/details/500comicbookvill00
00conr/page/58/mode/2up). Collins & Brown. ISBN 1-84340-205-X.
3. The Amazing Spider-Man #37-39. Marvel Comics.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man #156. Marvel Comics.
5. Hobgoblin Lives #3. Marvel Comics.
6. The Amazing Spider-Man #253. Marvel Comics.
7. Spider-Man versus Wolverine (February 1987). Marvel Comics.
8. Cowsill, Alan; Manning, Matthew K. (2012). Spider-Man Chronicle: Celebrating 50 Years of
Web-Slinging. DK Publishing. p. 161. ISBN 978-0756692360.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man #289. Marvel Comics.
10. The Clone Conspiracy #4. Marvel Comics.
11. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #42. Marvel Comics.
12. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #15. Marvel Comics.
13. Symbiote Spider-Man: Alien Reality #1–6. Marvel Comics.
14. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #50. Marvel Comics.
15. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 6 #12. Marvel Comics.
16. Stan Lee (w), Steve Ditko (p), Steve Ditko (i). "Spider-Man" The Amazing Spider-Man, no. 37
(June 1966). Marvel Comics.
17. The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 5 #68
18. Ultimate Spider-Man #121. Marvel Comics.
19. Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #6-7. Marvel Comics.
20. "Hobgoblin Voice - Spider-Man franchise" (https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/voice-com
pare/Spider-Man/Hobgoblin/). Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
21. https://www.behindthevoiceactors.com/tv-shows/The-Spectacular-Spider-Man/Ned-Lee/
22. "17 Things We Learned on the Set of Spider-Man: Homecoming" (https://www.ign.com/articl
es/2017/04/03/17-things-we-learned-on-the-set-of-spider-man-homecoming?page=2). 3 April
2017.
23. Collura, Scott (April 3, 2017). "17 Things We Learned On The Set Of Spider-Man:
Homecoming Page 2 of 2" (http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/03/17-things-we-learned-on-
the-set-of-spider-man-homecoming?page=2). IGN. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20
170404011257/http://www.ign.com/articles/2017/04/03/17-things-we-learned-on-the-set-of-s
pider-man-homecoming?page=2) from the original on April 4, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
24. Francisco, Eric (October 9, 2017). " 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Star Wants Ned to Become a
Villain" (https://www.inverse.com/article/37237-spider-man-homecoming-nycc-ned-leeds-infi
nity-war). Inverse. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20171010155337/https://www.inver
se.com/article/37237-spider-man-homecoming-nycc-ned-leeds-infinity-war) from the original
on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
25. Allen, Ben (April 25, 2019). "All of the cameos in Avengers: Endgame" (https://www.radiotim
es.com/news/film/2019-04-25/avengers-endgame-cameos-marvel-character-callbacks/).
Radio Times. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20190425192612/https://www.radiotime
s.com/news/film/2019-04-25/avengers-endgame-cameos-marvel-character-callbacks/) from
the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
26. Alexander, Julia (October 5, 2017). "Peter Parker's best friend, Ned, may show up in an
Avengers movie" (https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/5/16430992/spider-man-homecoming-n
ed-avengers-jacob-batalon-venom-star-wars). Polygon. Archived (https://web.archive.org/we
b/20171005223509/https://www.polygon.com/2017/10/5/16430992/spider-man-homecoming
-ned-avengers-jacob-batalon-venom-star-wars) from the original on October 5, 2017.
Retrieved October 5, 2017.
27. "Spider-Man 3's Jacob Batalon Reveals New Look For Ned Leeds" (https://screenrant.com/s
piderman-3-jacob-batalon-weight-loss-photo-ned/). ScreenRant. 2020-10-30. Retrieved
2021-01-29.
28. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed" (https://collider.
com/spider-man-across-the-spider-verse-easter-eggs/). Collider. June 2023.

External links
Ned Leed's Profile at Spiderfan.org (http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/ned_leeds.html)
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20100126184329/http://www.spiderfan.org/characters/
ned_leeds.html) 2010-01-26 at the Wayback Machine
Squandered Legacy (http://www.spideykicksbutt.com/SquanderedLegacy/SquanderedLegac
yPart1.html)
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ned_Leeds&oldid=1223075598"