Ned Leeds
| Ned Leeds Hobgoblin | |
|---|---|
Ned Leeds, in The Amazing Spider-Man vol. 1 #245 (October 1983). Art by John Romita Jr. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | The Amazing Spider-Man #18 (November 1964) |
| Created by | Stan Lee (writer) Steve Ditko (artist) |
| In-story information | |
| Full name | Edward "Ned" Leeds |
| Species | Human |
| 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 a fictional character appearing in 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 the first Hobgoblin, ten years following his assassination, he is retroactively established to have been the second Hobgoblin, 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. Synergetic with his MCU adaptation, Ned is revealed to be a sorcerer who trained with Baron Mordo to learn chaos magic, rewriting reality in an attempt to make himself the one-and-only Hobgoblin, archenemy of Spider-Man and lover of Natasha Romanoff.
Jacob Batalon portrays Ned Leeds in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), appearing in Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home (both 2019), and The Daily Bugle and Spider-Man: No Way Home (both 2021).