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Hobgoblin (comics)
Encyclopedia
The Hobgoblin is the alias of several fictional character
s that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics
. The first and best-known Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man
#238, and was created by Roger Stern
and John Romita, Sr.
In 2009, the Hobgoblin was ranked by IGN
as the 57th greatest comic book villain.
when he was writing The Amazing Spider-Man
in the early 1980s. Like other writers Stern found himself under pressure to have Spider-Man fight the Green Goblin
again but did not wish to bring Norman Osborn or Bart Hamilton back from the dead, have Harry Osborn
become the Green Goblin again or create yet another Green Goblin. Instead he decided to create a new character as heir to the Goblin's legacy and developed the Hobgoblin.
A key part of the character's appeal was that his identity was not initially revealed, generating one of the longest running mysteries in the Spider-Man comics. However, Stern left the series after The Amazing Spider-Man #252 and subsequent writers struggled with the question of the identity. Interviews and articles written by various writers, most notably Tom DeFalco
and Peter David
, artist Ron Frenz
and editor James Owsley
(now known as Christopher Priest) are all somewhat at odds with one another over many details about the course of events and what was agreed. However, all sources agree that DeFalco, who had taken over the writing chores on the title, was due to bring the storyline to a revelation when he suddenly departed the title. (DeFalco has since stated that he had intended to reveal Richard Fisk, The Kingpin of Crime's son, as the Hobgoblin, and Roderick Kingsley as the Rose; the ultimate outcome was, in fact, the exact reverse.) Owsley then wrote the one-shot Spider-Man vs Wolverine
in which Leeds was killed off (though the actual death was not shown), fully intending that Leeds was not the Hobgoblin. Shortly afterwards Peter David (at the time the regular writer on The Spectacular Spider-Man
) was commissioned to write The Amazing Spider-Man #289, a double sized issue in which the Hobgoblin's identity would be revealed. After examining the recent issues David came to the conclusion that the only person who fit the clues was Ned Leeds, and so wrote the unusual revelation issue in which a dead man was revealed as the villain. With Spider-Man's then-archenemy now dead, a new Hobgoblin was created from the storyline of Macendale's hatred of the Hobgoblin.
The revelations proved controversial and many fans felt that the Macendale Hobgoblin was subsequently treated poorly, often coming across as one of the weaker Spider-Man villains. Roger Stern returned and pitched an idea for a Spider-Man story in which it would be revealed that Leeds had not been the Hobgoblin after all and the real identity would be revealed. Working on the basis that Leeds' death was implausible given the Hobgoblin's strength, the 1997 three-issue miniseries Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives was commissioned in which Roderick Kingsley (whom Stern had introduced in The Spectacular Spider-Man #43) was revealed as the original Hobgoblin, ending the mystery after over ten years.
for a time. As a means of avoiding the drill of day-to-day appearances, he had his timid identical twin brother Daniel pose as him to run his corporation day-by-day.
Kingsley's activities gave him many enemies, one of which was Narda Ravanna, a rival fashion designer whose business he had ruined. Taking the identity of Belladonna, she attempted revenge on Kingsley but was twice thwarted by Spider-Man
. After these incidents, Kingsley sought to protect himself and his empire by gaining more power. His chance came when a thug named George Hill discovered the secret lair of Norman Osborn
after running into the sewer when Spider-Man caught all the other gang members. Hill reported his discovery to Kingsley in hopes of earning a reward, but instead Kingsley killed him to make sure that no one else got wind of the discovery.
Upon examining the lair and gleaning the secrets within it, Kingsley decided to adopt the legacy of the Green Goblin almost in its entirety. Using the Green Goblin's equipment, Kingsley adopted the identity of the Hobgoblin (which should not be confused with the second Green Goblin, who was Harry Osborn
). Soon after adopting this new identity, he first encountered Spider-Man as the Hobgoblin. His activities included using some of Norman Osborn's files on prominent figures to blackmail
them, and attempting to buy Osborn's old corporation and merge it with his own. These schemes inevitably brought him into conflict with Spider-Man. Kingsley perceived Spider-Man as a nuisance and sought to eliminate him almost as an afterthought, rather than a principal goal. Kingsley also found among Norman's notes incomplete remnants of the strength enhancing potion of Norman Osborn. He became obsessed with finding the complete formula or perfecting the incomplete notes. In his various criminal activities Kingsley repeatedly lost to the web-slinger, as he lacked the raw physical power of Spider-Man.
Persistent and extremely intelligent, Kingsley eventually recovered the strength-enhancing potion he sought. Being well aware that the formula had driven Osborn insane, Kingsley was not about to try it until he had tested it on someone else. He tricked a small-time hood in his employ, Lefty Donovan, into administering the formula and then used mind control to force Donovan to fight Spider-Man in the Hobgoblin costume. From a distance, Kingsley carefully monitored Donovan's vital signs and behavior. When Spider-Man overwhelmed and unmasked Donovan, and his brainwashing began to fail, Kingsley acted quickly to protect his identity by programming Donovan's glider to crash, instantly killing him. Though Donovan's tenure as a Hobgoblin was brief, he is considered the second Hobgoblin. Judging that the experiment was a success, Kingsley then immersed himself in his completed derivative of the Goblin formula and gained greater strength than even the original Green Goblin had. He used this newfound strength to battle Spider-Man and the Black Cat
.
Now that he had become a physical match for Spider-Man, the Hobgoblin became more ambitious in his villainy. Despite his increased abilities, he was still narrowly defeated by Spider-Man. Worse still, he seemed to have attracted the attention of powerful criminal interests who perceived him as a threat, among these the infamous Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime
. After a bitter encounter with Spider-Man, Kingsley discovered he had been followed by Daily Bugle
reporter Ned Leeds
, who had discovered his lair. Kingsley captured Leeds and brainwashed him with hypnosis
and hallucinogenic
s into becoming the third Hobgoblin, who acted in concert with Kingsley. Though Leeds lacked superhuman strength, he was effective in his role due to his investigative skills (in fact, he was more effective than the next Hobgoblin, even after Macendale acquired superhuman abilities). Kingsley also discovered that Leeds had been working with the Kingpin's son, Richard Fisk
, on a plan to bring down the Kingpin and his empire. Richard Fisk had now adopted the identity of the Rose and posed as a crime lord. Kingsley used Leeds to handle some of the negotiations, fooling many into believing that Leeds was the Hobgoblin. He hoped to use the Kingpin's downfall as an opportunity to advance his own interests.
During the events of Secret Wars II
, Kingsley was recruited by Mephisto
into his Legion Accursed, a team of ninety-nine supervillains who tried to destroy the Beyonder
.
The Hobgoblin later kidnapped Harry Osborn
. He battled Osborn, who used his father's weaponry against the Hobgoblin.
After a retirement of several years, Kingsley returned to New York. He killed Macendale in his jail cell, declaring that he alone deserved the mantle of the Hobgoblin. Kingsley kidnapped Betty Brant
and set a trap for Spider-Man. In the final fracas, Daniel Kingsley was captured and the Hobgoblin was unmasked, clearing Ned Leeds' name. Roderick Kingsley was taken to prison.
Not long after his arrest, Kingsley took up the mantle of the Hobgoblin once more. Furious at the now returned Norman Osborn's denial of being the Green Goblin, Kingsley decided to spread rumours that there existed a secret journal of Osborn's that proved beyond a doubt that he was the Green Goblin (although this was a ruse: Kingsley himself had destroyed all of the journals years before). He offered to barter for his freedom with this information with the District Attorney
, guessing that Norman Osborn would try to get to him first. As he anticipated, Osborn, deciding to make a deal with Kingsley, broke him out of prison. Kingsley was then confronted by both Osborn and the mysterious fifth Green Goblin. Osborn provided Kingsley with new Hobgoblin equipment, and both Goblins swooped in to collect Daniel Kingsley, now in protective custody, who, Roderick claimed, knew the location of the final journal. Spider-Man tried to defend Daniel, but was drugged, and both men were taken back to Norman Osborn.
It was then that Osborn revealed the truth. He explained that he knew that Kingsley was lying about the journal and that he had completely bought Kingsley's company out from underneath him. Furious, Kingsley attacked, and a titanic battle between the two followed, Osborn as the Green Goblin, and Kingsley as the Hobgoblin. The building began to burn down as a result, and Spider-Man was barely able to safely escape with Daniel Kingsley. All three of the villains managed to escape as well; neither Goblin having managed to overcome or destroy the other. Osborn appeared to get the best of Kingsley with his corporate takeover. Yet, Kingsley still had several million dollars hidden away in foreign bank accounts, and quietly moved to a small island in the Caribbean to enjoy his retirement, although he did wonder to himself whether someday the Hobgoblin would return.
This return takes place as the Hobgoblin is an employee of the Kingpin once again at the start of the "Big Time
" arc in The Amazing Spider-Man. After returning to New York, Kingsley heads to his old lair at OsCorp to find that Norman Osborn had been working on some new goblin gear, including new body armor, a winged jetpack in place of a glider, and a flaming energy sword. Kingsley also discovers Phil Urich
trying to retrieve some of the gear to show Norah at the Daily Bugle
. Urich uses his "Lunatic Laugh" to stun Kingsley long enough for Urich to decapitate him using his own sword, which allows Urich to claim the mantle of Hobgoblin.
Donovan impersonates the Hobgoblin and attacks the city. Spider-Man eventually confronts him, and, even though he has augmented strength, Spider-Man defeats Donovan and unmasks him. Seeing his face (even though it was scarred), Spider-Man recognizes Lefty. Donovan is able to shake off some of the Kingsley programing and mumbles out the question of why was he in a Hobgoblin costume. He starts talking about his boss and Spider-Man realizes that Donovan is talking about the real Hobgoblin and tries to get Donovan to tell him the identity of the real Hobgoblin. Before he can, Kinglsey programs the Goblin glider to kill Lefty by crashing into the side of a building causing Lefty to be killed by the falling rubble.
after Kingsley decides that he is no longer needed.
, a vocal advocate of Spider-Man who had insulted the Hobgoblin on national television that had incurred Kingsley's wrath. Kingsley attempted to frame Thompson as the Hobgoblin, so that his criminal enemies might target him instead. The plan was foiled through intervention of Jason Philip Macendale Jr.
, who subsequently broke Thompson out of jail, thinking he was doing the Hobgoblin a favor. Jason Philip Macendale Jr. was a mercenary
who had been trained by the CIA
and various para-military organizations, and was known in his costumed identity as Jack O'Lantern
. When Macendale discovered that Thompson was not the Hobgoblin, Kingsley grew furious, as he had planned to operate "under the radar" while Thompson was in custody; this began a long-running feud between Kingsley and Macendale when the two battled for the first time. Thompson was ultimately exonerated and released.
When the Kingpin temporarily abdicated his role at the head of organized crime on the eastern seaboard, the resulting gang war
tore New York City
apart. During the conflict the Hobgoblin and the Rose had a falling out, with the latter ordering the former's assassination as he had become too dangerous. The Hobgoblin sold the Rose's identity to the Kingpin in exchange for information that would aid Leeds in a story, thus reinforcing the illusion of the latter's identity. Also, during the conflict both Hobgoblin and Jack O' Lantern were badly injured and forced to separately retreat. Shaken by the battle, Jack O' Lantern felt he needed to seek another way to destroy his enemy.
The Hobgoblin took one more attempt at killing Harry Osborn, and poisoned both Osborn and Spider-Man.
Hoping to give another try at escaping from his identity, Kingsley leaked word to the underworld that Leeds was the Hobgoblin. Taking this information, Macendale paid the supervillain known as the Foreigner
to take Leeds out. On an overseas assignment with Peter Parker, Leeds was murdered in his hotel room. As Spider-Man, Peter was later told by the Kingpin that Leeds had been the Hobgoblin and shown a series of photos of the assassination. Although known in parts of the underworld, this information did not become public until many years later when Macendale revealed it at the end of his trial. For many years Leeds was considered to be the original Hobgoblin.
Kingsley's plan had worked: his enemies thought they had killed the Hobgoblin and now he could take his ill-gotten gains and retire to Belize
. This paved the way for Macendale to take up the role, an unforeseen development that eventually forced Kingsley to come out of retirement and kill Macendale in order to protect his secret identity, as Macendale had enough information to possibly lead the authorities to discover the true identity of the Hobgoblin.
. Very little is known about him including his true identity. He received his equipment from the Tinkerer. He was sent along with Lady Octopus
to attack Captain America
in his civilian identity by the terrorist-elements wound into the events of the Secret War. Chatter from the Goblin indicated he'd been in contact with other members of Spider-Man's rogues gallery, who'd warned him about Spider-Man's constant and inane joking. This Hobgoblin is jailed along with the various defeated villains after the conclusion of the "War".
, who once used the Green Goblin identity to operate as a hero. Kingsley is on the verge of murdering him until Urich uses his "Lunatic Laugh", stunning Kingsley. Urich then kills Kingsley in self-defense and takes on the Hobgoblin identity himself, as a supervillain. As the new Hobgoblin, Phil became one of Kingpin
's agents.
Due to the green chemical solution that he bathed in, Kingsley possesses superhuman strength on par with Spider-Man. Likewise, his reflexes, speed, and stamina were also enhanced to superhuman levels, including his intelligence, but at an extraordinary level. He was actually physically stronger than the original Green Goblin in the beginning, because of longer exposure to the formula. It is not known if, like Norman Osborn, Kingsley possesses a healing factor. The derivative of the Green Goblin formula Kingsley used did not apparently drive him as insane as the original formula did to Norman Osborn, thanks to some certain modifications, though both Kingsley and his brother did at times worry that he had indeed developed insanity.
As the Hobgoblin, he wore bulletproof mail with an overlapping tunic, cape, and cowl. A "trademark" of this armor, and an 'improvement' over the Green Goblin's armor, is built into the finger-blasters; the computerized system cybernetically causes the blasters to randomly vary their attack vectors when trained on a particular target, with the end result being a stream of firepower that even Spider-Man has had trouble dodging. He is armed with a variety of bizarre concussion and incendiary devices and uses a Goblin glider as a personal transport. It can reach high velocities and is extremely maneuverable. It is a one-man miniature turbo-fan powered vertical thrust, cybernetically-controlled vehicle, and is heavily armored. He uses concussion and incendiary Jack O'Lanterns, wraith-shaped smoke and gas-emitting bombs, bat shaped razor-edged throwing blades, and gloves woven with micro-circuited power conducting filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity. He wore a shoulder bag to carry his small, portable weaponry.
Although Kingsley does not share the mental instability of the Green Goblin, he is a malignant narcissist and many of his enemies have exploited this. His vanity impels him to irrational actions such as his decision to personally murder Macendale for tarnishing the Hobgoblin persona (resulting in his exposure). Though it would have been safe to hire one of his many criminal underlings, Kingsley could not resist the temptation to let Macendale know, in person, that he was the inferior Hobgoblin before he disintegrated the man. Another example of Kingsley's easily wounded narcissistic complex and inability to distinguish between his own identity and that of the Hobgoblin persona was when Flash Thompson insulted the Hobgoblin on national television and the Hobgoblin immediately hatched a plan to avenge himself with a level of vigor and ingenuity quite out of proportion with a mere petty insult. This neurotic feature of Kingsley's psyche existed long before he bathed in the serum.
Meets Spider-Man. While her costume sports the green-and-purple color scheme of the twentieth-century Green Goblin, she boasted that she was the Hobgoblin of the year 2211. Her identity was not revealed to readers (or to the visiting Spider-Men of previous eras) at the time, but her later reappearance in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
(also written by David) revealed her true identity and origin.
Hobgoblin 2211 is the daughter of Spider-Man 2211
named Robin Bourne, nicknamed "Hobby" and "Hob" as a child. Her father always seemed to put his superhero career before raising his own daughter. She wanted to save the universes from 'intersecting'; in other words, having other parallel universes merge with the existing one, causing it to override. She was later arrested by her father for something that she would have done in future: unauthorized time travel, chronal displacement, jumping the tracks to other realities. She was held in a virtual reality prison where she lives a benign and trouble-free existence in what appears to be Kansas. Her boyfriend attempts to free her by uploading a virus into the prison, but inadvertently causes her to be driven insane. She attacked her father with a 'retcon bomb' (a variation on the original Goblins' pumpkin bombs) but it hit her boyfriend instead, erasing (or 'retconning') him from existence.
Now suited up as the Hobgoblin, Robin managed to time-travel to the current year, attacking the current Spider-Man in his reality and derailing an Uncle Ben from another reality into the present one causing a time paradox. Later, in a confrontation with her father, she threw a 'retcon bomb' at him. Spider-Man, believing it to be no more harmful than a regular pumpkin bomb, caught it with his web and threw it back to Robin, unwittingly erasing her from existence.
#97, as a hired assassin to kill many of the Spider-Girl characters, including Normie Osborn, Spider-Girl, and Peter Parker. After a fight against both Spider-Girl and her father, he came close to victory, but at the end his only success lay in killing the Venom
symbiote
, and also in escaping without a trace. He attempted a complex plot to become the new kingpin of crime, but was undone due to an act of treachery by his partner, the Mindworm
. Killing the Mindworm, and deciding the New York underworld had become too "hot" for him at the moment, he chose to return to the Caribbean, but vowed someday to come back and finish off Spider-Girl. He is later revealed to be the instigator of a mob war against the Black Tarantula
, returning to New York to finish the job. He defeated American Dream
and the New Warriors
. He then dropped them from a great height, planning to kill Spider-Girl as she tried to save them. However, he himself was then killed by Mayhem, Spider-Girl's half-symbiote clone.
mini-series, the Hobgoblin was one of several supervillains who was transformed into a sword-and-sorcery version of themselves due to the spell cast by Kulan Gath
. It was never specified which Hobgoblin it was.
ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
as one of the villains. A wanted poster for him may be seen during the waiting period of the ride, which identifies him as Edward Leeds. Outside the ride, in the main Marvel Super Hero Island area, a giant picture of the Hobgoblin on his glider is attached to a building and is one of the main pieces of decoration. He is voiced by Neil Ross
.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
s that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
. The first and best-known Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley. He first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
#238, and was created by Roger Stern
Roger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...
and John Romita, Sr.
John Romita, Sr.
John V. Romita, Sr. is an Italian-American comic-book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man...
In 2009, the Hobgoblin was ranked by IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
as the 57th greatest comic book villain.
Publication history
The Hobgoblin was created by writer Roger SternRoger Stern
Roger Stern is an American comic book author and novelist.-Early career:In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine CPL , one of the first platforms for the work of John Byrne...
when he was writing The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man
The Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was...
in the early 1980s. Like other writers Stern found himself under pressure to have Spider-Man fight the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
again but did not wish to bring Norman Osborn or Bart Hamilton back from the dead, have Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
become the Green Goblin again or create yet another Green Goblin. Instead he decided to create a new character as heir to the Goblin's legacy and developed the Hobgoblin.
A key part of the character's appeal was that his identity was not initially revealed, generating one of the longest running mysteries in the Spider-Man comics. However, Stern left the series after The Amazing Spider-Man #252 and subsequent writers struggled with the question of the identity. Interviews and articles written by various writers, most notably Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco
Tom DeFalco is an American comics writer and editor, well known for his association with Marvel Comics and in particular for his work with Spider-Man.-Career:...
and Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
, artist Ron Frenz
Ron Frenz
Ronald Wade Frenz is an American comic book artist known for his work for Marvel Comics. He is well-known for his 1980s work on Amazing Spider-Man, and more recently, for his work on Spider-Girl...
and editor James Owsley
Christopher Priest (comic book writer)
Christopher James Priest is a writer of comic books who is at times credited simply as Priest. He changed his name legally circa 1993.-Biography:...
(now known as Christopher Priest) are all somewhat at odds with one another over many details about the course of events and what was agreed. However, all sources agree that DeFalco, who had taken over the writing chores on the title, was due to bring the storyline to a revelation when he suddenly departed the title. (DeFalco has since stated that he had intended to reveal Richard Fisk, The Kingpin of Crime's son, as the Hobgoblin, and Roderick Kingsley as the Rose; the ultimate outcome was, in fact, the exact reverse.) Owsley then wrote the one-shot Spider-Man vs Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
in which Leeds was killed off (though the actual death was not shown), fully intending that Leeds was not the Hobgoblin. Shortly afterwards Peter David (at the time the regular writer on The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man
The Spectacular Spider-Man is the name of several comic books and one magazine series starring Marvel Comics' Spider-Man.The character's main series, The Amazing Spider-Man, was extremely successful, and Marvel felt the character could support more than one title. This led the company in 1968 to...
) was commissioned to write The Amazing Spider-Man #289, a double sized issue in which the Hobgoblin's identity would be revealed. After examining the recent issues David came to the conclusion that the only person who fit the clues was Ned Leeds, and so wrote the unusual revelation issue in which a dead man was revealed as the villain. With Spider-Man's then-archenemy now dead, a new Hobgoblin was created from the storyline of Macendale's hatred of the Hobgoblin.
The revelations proved controversial and many fans felt that the Macendale Hobgoblin was subsequently treated poorly, often coming across as one of the weaker Spider-Man villains. Roger Stern returned and pitched an idea for a Spider-Man story in which it would be revealed that Leeds had not been the Hobgoblin after all and the real identity would be revealed. Working on the basis that Leeds' death was implausible given the Hobgoblin's strength, the 1997 three-issue miniseries Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives was commissioned in which Roderick Kingsley (whom Stern had introduced in The Spectacular Spider-Man #43) was revealed as the original Hobgoblin, ending the mystery after over ten years.
Roderick Kingsley
Roderick Kingsley started out as a fashion designer and billionaire, who had criminal underworld connections and had come about his wealth through unethical business practices and corporate raiding. Coincidentally, Kingsley was also the employer of Mary Jane WatsonMary Jane Watson
Mary Jane Watson, often shortened to MJ, is a fictional supporting character appearing, originally, in Marvel comic books and, later, in multiple spin-offs and dramatizations of the Spider-Man titles as the best friend, love interest, and one-time wife of Peter Parker, the alter ego of Spider-Man...
for a time. As a means of avoiding the drill of day-to-day appearances, he had his timid identical twin brother Daniel pose as him to run his corporation day-by-day.
Kingsley's activities gave him many enemies, one of which was Narda Ravanna, a rival fashion designer whose business he had ruined. Taking the identity of Belladonna, she attempted revenge on Kingsley but was twice thwarted by Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
. After these incidents, Kingsley sought to protect himself and his empire by gaining more power. His chance came when a thug named George Hill discovered the secret lair of Norman Osborn
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
after running into the sewer when Spider-Man caught all the other gang members. Hill reported his discovery to Kingsley in hopes of earning a reward, but instead Kingsley killed him to make sure that no one else got wind of the discovery.
Upon examining the lair and gleaning the secrets within it, Kingsley decided to adopt the legacy of the Green Goblin almost in its entirety. Using the Green Goblin's equipment, Kingsley adopted the identity of the Hobgoblin (which should not be confused with the second Green Goblin, who was Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
). Soon after adopting this new identity, he first encountered Spider-Man as the Hobgoblin. His activities included using some of Norman Osborn's files on prominent figures to blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
them, and attempting to buy Osborn's old corporation and merge it with his own. These schemes inevitably brought him into conflict with Spider-Man. Kingsley perceived Spider-Man as a nuisance and sought to eliminate him almost as an afterthought, rather than a principal goal. Kingsley also found among Norman's notes incomplete remnants of the strength enhancing potion of Norman Osborn. He became obsessed with finding the complete formula or perfecting the incomplete notes. In his various criminal activities Kingsley repeatedly lost to the web-slinger, as he lacked the raw physical power of Spider-Man.
Persistent and extremely intelligent, Kingsley eventually recovered the strength-enhancing potion he sought. Being well aware that the formula had driven Osborn insane, Kingsley was not about to try it until he had tested it on someone else. He tricked a small-time hood in his employ, Lefty Donovan, into administering the formula and then used mind control to force Donovan to fight Spider-Man in the Hobgoblin costume. From a distance, Kingsley carefully monitored Donovan's vital signs and behavior. When Spider-Man overwhelmed and unmasked Donovan, and his brainwashing began to fail, Kingsley acted quickly to protect his identity by programming Donovan's glider to crash, instantly killing him. Though Donovan's tenure as a Hobgoblin was brief, he is considered the second Hobgoblin. Judging that the experiment was a success, Kingsley then immersed himself in his completed derivative of the Goblin formula and gained greater strength than even the original Green Goblin had. He used this newfound strength to battle Spider-Man and the Black Cat
Black Cat (comics)
The Black Cat is a fictional character, a superheroine in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 ....
.
Now that he had become a physical match for Spider-Man, the Hobgoblin became more ambitious in his villainy. Despite his increased abilities, he was still narrowly defeated by Spider-Man. Worse still, he seemed to have attracted the attention of powerful criminal interests who perceived him as a threat, among these the infamous Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin of Crime
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
. After a bitter encounter with Spider-Man, Kingsley discovered he had been followed by Daily Bugle
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
reporter Ned Leeds
Ned Leeds
Ned Leeds is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, part of the supporting cast of Spider-Man, first introduced in 1964 in The Amazing Spider-Man #18, by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko...
, who had discovered his lair. Kingsley captured Leeds and brainwashed him with hypnosis
Hypnosis
Hypnosis is "a trance state characterized by extreme suggestibility, relaxation and heightened imagination."It is a mental state or imaginative role-enactment . It is usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a long series of preliminary...
and hallucinogenic
Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants
This general group of pharmacological agents can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness...
s into becoming the third Hobgoblin, who acted in concert with Kingsley. Though Leeds lacked superhuman strength, he was effective in his role due to his investigative skills (in fact, he was more effective than the next Hobgoblin, even after Macendale acquired superhuman abilities). Kingsley also discovered that Leeds had been working with the Kingpin's son, Richard Fisk
Richard Fisk
Richard Fisk is a fictional character, a criminal in the , featured in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the son of the Kingpin and his wife Vanessa Fisk...
, on a plan to bring down the Kingpin and his empire. Richard Fisk had now adopted the identity of the Rose and posed as a crime lord. Kingsley used Leeds to handle some of the negotiations, fooling many into believing that Leeds was the Hobgoblin. He hoped to use the Kingpin's downfall as an opportunity to advance his own interests.
During the events of Secret Wars II
Secret Wars II
Secret Wars II is a nine-issue comic book limited series and crossover published from 1985 to 1986 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Marvel's then Editor-in-chief Jim Shooter and primarily pencilled by Al Milgrom....
, Kingsley was recruited by Mephisto
Mephisto (comics)
Mephisto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Silver Surfer #3 and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, loosely modeled on Mephistopheles - a character from the Faust legend.Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books,...
into his Legion Accursed, a team of ninety-nine supervillains who tried to destroy the Beyonder
Beyonder
The Beyonder is a fictional character in . Created by Jim Shooter and Mike Zeck, the immensely powerful Beyonder first appeared in Secret Wars vol. 1 #1 as an unseen force. He reappears in Secret Wars II #1 , which was created by Jim Shooter and Al Milgrom.-Publication history:The Beyonder was a...
.
The Hobgoblin later kidnapped Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn
Harry Osborn is a fictional character, a supporting character of Spider-Man in the . In addition to being Peter Parker's best friend, Harry was the second Green Goblin and is the son of Norman Osborn...
. He battled Osborn, who used his father's weaponry against the Hobgoblin.
After a retirement of several years, Kingsley returned to New York. He killed Macendale in his jail cell, declaring that he alone deserved the mantle of the Hobgoblin. Kingsley kidnapped Betty Brant
Betty Brant
Elizabeth "Betty" Brant is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #4 .-Fictional character biography:...
and set a trap for Spider-Man. In the final fracas, Daniel Kingsley was captured and the Hobgoblin was unmasked, clearing Ned Leeds' name. Roderick Kingsley was taken to prison.
Not long after his arrest, Kingsley took up the mantle of the Hobgoblin once more. Furious at the now returned Norman Osborn's denial of being the Green Goblin, Kingsley decided to spread rumours that there existed a secret journal of Osborn's that proved beyond a doubt that he was the Green Goblin (although this was a ruse: Kingsley himself had destroyed all of the journals years before). He offered to barter for his freedom with this information with the District Attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
, guessing that Norman Osborn would try to get to him first. As he anticipated, Osborn, deciding to make a deal with Kingsley, broke him out of prison. Kingsley was then confronted by both Osborn and the mysterious fifth Green Goblin. Osborn provided Kingsley with new Hobgoblin equipment, and both Goblins swooped in to collect Daniel Kingsley, now in protective custody, who, Roderick claimed, knew the location of the final journal. Spider-Man tried to defend Daniel, but was drugged, and both men were taken back to Norman Osborn.
It was then that Osborn revealed the truth. He explained that he knew that Kingsley was lying about the journal and that he had completely bought Kingsley's company out from underneath him. Furious, Kingsley attacked, and a titanic battle between the two followed, Osborn as the Green Goblin, and Kingsley as the Hobgoblin. The building began to burn down as a result, and Spider-Man was barely able to safely escape with Daniel Kingsley. All three of the villains managed to escape as well; neither Goblin having managed to overcome or destroy the other. Osborn appeared to get the best of Kingsley with his corporate takeover. Yet, Kingsley still had several million dollars hidden away in foreign bank accounts, and quietly moved to a small island in the Caribbean to enjoy his retirement, although he did wonder to himself whether someday the Hobgoblin would return.
This return takes place as the Hobgoblin is an employee of the Kingpin once again at the start of the "Big Time
Spider-Man: Big Time
"Big Time" is the title of a run of comic book storylines in The Amazing Spider-Man, published by Marvel Comics starting in 2010 and ending in 2011. It follows the 101 consecutive issues of the "Brand New Day" publishing scheme and is the first shift in publishing for The Amazing Spider-Man since...
" arc in The Amazing Spider-Man. After returning to New York, Kingsley heads to his old lair at OsCorp to find that Norman Osborn had been working on some new goblin gear, including new body armor, a winged jetpack in place of a glider, and a flaming energy sword. Kingsley also discovers Phil Urich
Phil Urich
Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is a Marvel Comics character whose first appearance was in Web of Spider-Man #125. He once was the second person to use the Green Goblin identity as a superhero instead of a supervillain...
trying to retrieve some of the gear to show Norah at the Daily Bugle
Daily Bugle
The Daily Bugle is a fictional New York City newspaper that is a regular fixture in the Marvel Universe, most prominently in Spider-Man comic titles and their derivative media...
. Urich uses his "Lunatic Laugh" to stun Kingsley long enough for Urich to decapitate him using his own sword, which allows Urich to claim the mantle of Hobgoblin.
Arnold Donovan
Arnold Samuel "Lefty" Donovan was a petty thug working for Roderick Kingsley until he was exposed to the Goblin formula as a test subject. Similar to how Norman Osborn got exposed to the formula, Kingsley has Donovan mix the two vital chemicals that were mixed to create the formula. The formula explodes and disfigures Donovan's face. The explosion grants him the power of the formula. Donovan is taken to a hospital. Kingsley uses the Winkler process in order to brainwash Donovan. Donovan eventually escapes the hospital and follows preprogrammed instructions to go to a hidden cache of goblin weapons and dress up as the Hobgoblin.Donovan impersonates the Hobgoblin and attacks the city. Spider-Man eventually confronts him, and, even though he has augmented strength, Spider-Man defeats Donovan and unmasks him. Seeing his face (even though it was scarred), Spider-Man recognizes Lefty. Donovan is able to shake off some of the Kingsley programing and mumbles out the question of why was he in a Hobgoblin costume. He starts talking about his boss and Spider-Man realizes that Donovan is talking about the real Hobgoblin and tries to get Donovan to tell him the identity of the real Hobgoblin. Before he can, Kinglsey programs the Goblin glider to kill Lefty by crashing into the side of a building causing Lefty to be killed by the falling rubble.
Ned Leeds
Roderick Kingsley later brainwashes Ned Leeds, a reporter working for the Daily Bugle, to act as a stand in on many occasions and fool the underworld into thinking that Leeds is the Hobgoblin. He is later murdered by the ForeignerForeigner (comics)
The Foreigner is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by writer Peter David, and first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #15 The Foreigner is a mercenary and assassin...
after Kingsley decides that he is no longer needed.
Jason Philip Macendale Jr.
Around the time when the Rose and Hobgoblin's plan got out of hand, Kingsley wanted to escape from his identity. He was looking for a way out and decided to target Flash ThompsonFlash Thompson
Eugene "Flash" Thompson is a supporting character in Marvel Comics’s Spider-Man series. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15 ....
, a vocal advocate of Spider-Man who had insulted the Hobgoblin on national television that had incurred Kingsley's wrath. Kingsley attempted to frame Thompson as the Hobgoblin, so that his criminal enemies might target him instead. The plan was foiled through intervention of Jason Philip Macendale Jr.
Jason Macendale
Jason Philip Macendale, Jr. is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Machine Man #19 , and was created by writer Tom DeFalco and artist Steve Ditko....
, who subsequently broke Thompson out of jail, thinking he was doing the Hobgoblin a favor. Jason Philip Macendale Jr. was a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
who had been trained by the CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
and various para-military organizations, and was known in his costumed identity as Jack O'Lantern
Jack O'Lantern (Marvel Comics)
Jack O'Lantern is the name of four fictional supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe. Later incarnations of the character were also referred to as Mad Jack.-Jason Macendale:...
. When Macendale discovered that Thompson was not the Hobgoblin, Kingsley grew furious, as he had planned to operate "under the radar" while Thompson was in custody; this began a long-running feud between Kingsley and Macendale when the two battled for the first time. Thompson was ultimately exonerated and released.
When the Kingpin temporarily abdicated his role at the head of organized crime on the eastern seaboard, the resulting gang war
Gang War
Gang War is a 1928 gangster film, best known for being the main feature attached to Steamboat Willie, the debut of Mickey Mouse in sound. The film starred Jack Pickford in his last major role, as "Clyde", a saxophone player whose love for a dancer named Flowers traps him in the middle of a gang war...
tore New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
apart. During the conflict the Hobgoblin and the Rose had a falling out, with the latter ordering the former's assassination as he had become too dangerous. The Hobgoblin sold the Rose's identity to the Kingpin in exchange for information that would aid Leeds in a story, thus reinforcing the illusion of the latter's identity. Also, during the conflict both Hobgoblin and Jack O' Lantern were badly injured and forced to separately retreat. Shaken by the battle, Jack O' Lantern felt he needed to seek another way to destroy his enemy.
The Hobgoblin took one more attempt at killing Harry Osborn, and poisoned both Osborn and Spider-Man.
Hoping to give another try at escaping from his identity, Kingsley leaked word to the underworld that Leeds was the Hobgoblin. Taking this information, Macendale paid the supervillain known as the Foreigner
Foreigner (comics)
The Foreigner is a fictional comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by writer Peter David, and first appeared in Web of Spider-Man #15 The Foreigner is a mercenary and assassin...
to take Leeds out. On an overseas assignment with Peter Parker, Leeds was murdered in his hotel room. As Spider-Man, Peter was later told by the Kingpin that Leeds had been the Hobgoblin and shown a series of photos of the assassination. Although known in parts of the underworld, this information did not become public until many years later when Macendale revealed it at the end of his trial. For many years Leeds was considered to be the original Hobgoblin.
Kingsley's plan had worked: his enemies thought they had killed the Hobgoblin and now he could take his ill-gotten gains and retire to Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...
. This paved the way for Macendale to take up the role, an unforeseen development that eventually forced Kingsley to come out of retirement and kill Macendale in order to protect his secret identity, as Macendale had enough information to possibly lead the authorities to discover the true identity of the Hobgoblin.
Unknown Hobgoblin
A fifth Hobgoblin was introduced in the series Secret WarSecret War (comics)
Secret War is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. The series is written by Brian Michael Bendis and painted by Gabriele Dell'Otto...
. Very little is known about him including his true identity. He received his equipment from the Tinkerer. He was sent along with Lady Octopus
Lady Octopus
Lady Octopus , is a fictional character, a supervillainess in the Marvel Universe. Her first appearance was in Amazing Spider-Man #406 . She was created by J. M. DeMatteis and Angel Medina.-Fictional character biography:During the Clone Saga, Dr...
to attack Captain America
Captain America
Captain America is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Captain America Comics #1 , from Marvel Comics' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, and was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
in his civilian identity by the terrorist-elements wound into the events of the Secret War. Chatter from the Goblin indicated he'd been in contact with other members of Spider-Man's rogues gallery, who'd warned him about Spider-Man's constant and inane joking. This Hobgoblin is jailed along with the various defeated villains after the conclusion of the "War".
Deadpool
After escaping the hospice, Deadpool was hired by the Wizard to bomb a hangar, dressed as the Hobgoblin. Deadpool mentioned he disliked the costume and after having bombed the wrong hangar, he never wore it again.Phil Urich
After Roderick Kingsley re-assumes the Hobgoblin mantle and returns to New York, he encounters Phil UrichPhil Urich
Philip Benjamin "Phil" Urich is a Marvel Comics character whose first appearance was in Web of Spider-Man #125. He once was the second person to use the Green Goblin identity as a superhero instead of a supervillain...
, who once used the Green Goblin identity to operate as a hero. Kingsley is on the verge of murdering him until Urich uses his "Lunatic Laugh", stunning Kingsley. Urich then kills Kingsley in self-defense and takes on the Hobgoblin identity himself, as a supervillain. As the new Hobgoblin, Phil became one of Kingpin
Kingpin (comics)
The Kingpin is a fictional character, a supervillain in the . Kingpin is one of the most feared and powerful crime lords in the Marvel Universe. The character is a major adversary of Daredevil, the Punisher, and Spider-Man...
's agents.
Roderick Kingsley
In the beginning of his career Kingsley had no superhuman abilities, but possessed a keen analytical intellect with enough knowledge of chemistry and biology to understand the notes of Norman Osborn regarding the Green Goblin Formula originally conceived by Dr. Mendel Stromm. Kingsley not only recreated the formula from the incomplete notes he found, but perfected it by removing its side-effects (which neither Stromm, nor Osborn had been able to do). Further, he improved many of Osborn's various inventions. He also had expertise in areas outside of the original Green Goblin's knowledge. Kingsley was a master of hypnosis and drug induced mind control. Kingsley was highly skilled in the management of both criminal organizations and legally run professional businesses. He was also a talented fashion designer.Due to the green chemical solution that he bathed in, Kingsley possesses superhuman strength on par with Spider-Man. Likewise, his reflexes, speed, and stamina were also enhanced to superhuman levels, including his intelligence, but at an extraordinary level. He was actually physically stronger than the original Green Goblin in the beginning, because of longer exposure to the formula. It is not known if, like Norman Osborn, Kingsley possesses a healing factor. The derivative of the Green Goblin formula Kingsley used did not apparently drive him as insane as the original formula did to Norman Osborn, thanks to some certain modifications, though both Kingsley and his brother did at times worry that he had indeed developed insanity.
As the Hobgoblin, he wore bulletproof mail with an overlapping tunic, cape, and cowl. A "trademark" of this armor, and an 'improvement' over the Green Goblin's armor, is built into the finger-blasters; the computerized system cybernetically causes the blasters to randomly vary their attack vectors when trained on a particular target, with the end result being a stream of firepower that even Spider-Man has had trouble dodging. He is armed with a variety of bizarre concussion and incendiary devices and uses a Goblin glider as a personal transport. It can reach high velocities and is extremely maneuverable. It is a one-man miniature turbo-fan powered vertical thrust, cybernetically-controlled vehicle, and is heavily armored. He uses concussion and incendiary Jack O'Lanterns, wraith-shaped smoke and gas-emitting bombs, bat shaped razor-edged throwing blades, and gloves woven with micro-circuited power conducting filaments which channel pulsed discharges of electricity. He wore a shoulder bag to carry his small, portable weaponry.
Although Kingsley does not share the mental instability of the Green Goblin, he is a malignant narcissist and many of his enemies have exploited this. His vanity impels him to irrational actions such as his decision to personally murder Macendale for tarnishing the Hobgoblin persona (resulting in his exposure). Though it would have been safe to hire one of his many criminal underlings, Kingsley could not resist the temptation to let Macendale know, in person, that he was the inferior Hobgoblin before he disintegrated the man. Another example of Kingsley's easily wounded narcissistic complex and inability to distinguish between his own identity and that of the Hobgoblin persona was when Flash Thompson insulted the Hobgoblin on national television and the Hobgoblin immediately hatched a plan to avenge himself with a level of vigor and ingenuity quite out of proportion with a mere petty insult. This neurotic feature of Kingsley's psyche existed long before he bathed in the serum.
Hobgoblin 2211
Hobgoblin 2211 first appears in Spider-Man 2099Spider-Man 2099
Spider-Man 2099 is a fictional comic book superhero, created by Peter David and Rick Leonardi in 1992 for Marvel Comics' Marvel 2099 line. His secret alter ego is Miguel O'Hara, a brilliant geneticist living in New York in the year 2099 A.D...
Meets Spider-Man. While her costume sports the green-and-purple color scheme of the twentieth-century Green Goblin, she boasted that she was the Hobgoblin of the year 2211. Her identity was not revealed to readers (or to the visiting Spider-Men of previous eras) at the time, but her later reappearance in Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man was a comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The title is derived from a trademark self-referential comment often made by Spider-Man , ironic in that Spider-Man is often falsely considered by the general public to be a dangerous vigilante and/or a criminal,...
(also written by David) revealed her true identity and origin.
Hobgoblin 2211 is the daughter of Spider-Man 2211
Spider-Man 2211
Spider-Man 2211 is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics Universe. Spider-Man 2211 was created by Peter David and first appeared in the One-Shot comic "Spider-Man 2099 Meets Spider-Man."-Fictional character biography:...
named Robin Bourne, nicknamed "Hobby" and "Hob" as a child. Her father always seemed to put his superhero career before raising his own daughter. She wanted to save the universes from 'intersecting'; in other words, having other parallel universes merge with the existing one, causing it to override. She was later arrested by her father for something that she would have done in future: unauthorized time travel, chronal displacement, jumping the tracks to other realities. She was held in a virtual reality prison where she lives a benign and trouble-free existence in what appears to be Kansas. Her boyfriend attempts to free her by uploading a virus into the prison, but inadvertently causes her to be driven insane. She attacked her father with a 'retcon bomb' (a variation on the original Goblins' pumpkin bombs) but it hit her boyfriend instead, erasing (or 'retconning') him from existence.
Now suited up as the Hobgoblin, Robin managed to time-travel to the current year, attacking the current Spider-Man in his reality and derailing an Uncle Ben from another reality into the present one causing a time paradox. Later, in a confrontation with her father, she threw a 'retcon bomb' at him. Spider-Man, believing it to be no more harmful than a regular pumpkin bomb, caught it with his web and threw it back to Robin, unwittingly erasing her from existence.
MC2
The original Hobgoblin made his MC2 debut in Spider-GirlSpider-Girl
Spider-Girl is a superheroine in Marvel Comics' MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105...
#97, as a hired assassin to kill many of the Spider-Girl characters, including Normie Osborn, Spider-Girl, and Peter Parker. After a fight against both Spider-Girl and her father, he came close to victory, but at the end his only success lay in killing the Venom
Venom (comics)
Eddie Brock is a fictional character created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. A comic book supervillain, Brock's earliest appearance is a cameo in Web of Spider-Man #18 before making his first full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #299 as Venom...
symbiote
Symbiote (comics)
In the Marvel Comics universe, The Symbiote is a specific parasitic species of extraterrestrial organism...
, and also in escaping without a trace. He attempted a complex plot to become the new kingpin of crime, but was undone due to an act of treachery by his partner, the Mindworm
Mindworm
The Mindworm is a Marvel Comics character and a former enemy of Spider-Man. The character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #138.-Fictional character biography:...
. Killing the Mindworm, and deciding the New York underworld had become too "hot" for him at the moment, he chose to return to the Caribbean, but vowed someday to come back and finish off Spider-Girl. He is later revealed to be the instigator of a mob war against the Black Tarantula
Black Tarantula
Black Tarantula is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears as an unseen character in The Amazing Spider-Man #419 , and makes his first full appearance in Amazing Spider-Man #432...
, returning to New York to finish the job. He defeated American Dream
American Dream (comics)
American Dream is a fictional character featured in Marvel Comics MC2 series A-Next. Her costume is very similar to that of Captain America and like him she has an indestructible metal shield...
and the New Warriors
New Warriors
The New Warriors is a Marvel Comics superhero team, traditionally consisting of young adult heroes. They first appeared in The Mighty Thor #411 .-General publication history:...
. He then dropped them from a great height, planning to kill Spider-Girl as she tried to save them. However, he himself was then killed by Mayhem, Spider-Girl's half-symbiote clone.
Sword-and-sorcery
In the 2007 Spider-Man/Red SonjaRed Sonja
Red Sonja, the She-Devil with a Sword, is a fictional character, a high fantasy sword and sorcery heroine created by Roy Thomas and Barry Windsor-Smith, and loosely based on Red Sonya of Rogatino in Robert E. Howard's 1934 short story "The Shadow of the Vulture"...
mini-series, the Hobgoblin was one of several supervillains who was transformed into a sword-and-sorcery version of themselves due to the spell cast by Kulan Gath
Kulan Gath
Kulan Gath is a fictional character, a villainous magician who was created at Marvel Comics as a foe of Conan the Barbarian and who was later fully integrated into the Marvel Universe and in 2006 was used in Dynamite Entertainment's revamped Red Sonja series....
. It was never specified which Hobgoblin it was.
Television
- The Hobgoblin appears in Spider-Man: The Animated SeriesSpider-Man (1994 TV series)Spider-Man, also known as Spider-Man: The Animated Series, is an American animated series starring the Marvel Comics superhero, Spider-Man. The show ran on Fox Kids from November 19, 1994, to January 31, 1998. The producer/story editor was John Semper, Jr. and production company was Marvel Films...
(1994–98), voiced by Mark HamillMark HamillMark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
. He appeared in the episodes "The Hobgoblin" Parts 1 and 2, "The Mutant Agenda", "Mutant's Revenge", "The Spot", and "Goblin War!". Out of costume, he also appeared in "Rocket Racer". In this continuity, he came before the Green Goblin, though his weapons and glider were supplied by Norman Osborn. He had no super powers. His identity was ultimately revealed to be Jason Philip Macendale, who had become engaged to Felicia HardyBlack Cat (comics)The Black Cat is a fictional character, a superheroine in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Keith Pollard, she first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #194 ....
by the end of the third season. Felicia stumbles upon his secret, but it is ultimately exposed by the return of the Green Goblin and apprehension by Spider-Man. An alternate version of the character appeared in "I Really, Really Hate Clones", and he was shown working for Spider-Carnage and alongside the Green Goblin.
- Roderick Kingsley appears in season 2 of The Spectacular Spider-Man voiced by Courtney B. VanceCourtney B. VanceCourtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief...
. In the series he owns a perfumePerfumePerfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...
factory and is African American. He successfully outbids Tombstone, Silvermane, and Dr. Octopus for the specifications to the Rhino armor. After collecting the specifications, Silver Sable and Hammerhead attempt to steal them for their respective employers only for Kingsley to hand them a decoy. He almost got away before being confronted by the original and very angry Rhino and fled due to the subsequent three way brawl between Hammerhead, Silver Sable, and the short-lived alliance of Spider-Man and Rhino. Spider-Man and Rhino manage to destroy the case with the specifications inside. Unknown to any of them, that was another decoy that was destroyed, with the real specifications being in Norman Osborn's possession. He does not appear as the Hobgoblin; creator Greg WeismanGreg WeismanGreg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
says the Hobgoblin would have shown up had the show gotten a third season, but did not specify if Kingsley would have been the one in the role.
Video games
- The Kingsley version of the Hobgoblin (although he is not named as Kingsley, the Hobgoblin's identity still a mystery at the time of the game's release) appears in Spider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's RevengeSpider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's RevengeSpider-Man and Captain America in Doctor Doom's Revenge was a side-scrolling computer game starring Marvel Comics' superheroes Spider-Man and Captain America battling a host of supervillains led by Doctor Doom...
, allied with Dr. Doom. - The Hobgoblin appears as a boss in The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man (Game Boy)The Amazing Spider-Man is the title of a video game released for the original Nintendo Game Boy. It was published in 1990 by LJN Ltd. , and developed by Rare...
for the Game BoyGame BoyThe , is an 8-bit handheld video game device developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on , in North America in , and in Europe on...
. It is never stated which Hobgoblin this is. - Hobgoblin again appears as a boss in the sequel, The Amazing Spider-Man 2The Amazing Spider-Man 2- Summary and storyline :While the game was a sequel to the 1990 video game titled The Amazing Spider-Man, it played much differently from the first game and was widely panned by video game critics...
. Once he is defeated, Spider-Man uses his glider to pass a wall that he could not scale. - The demonic Macendale version of the Hobgoblin appears as a boss in the game Spider-Man: Return of the Sinister SixSpider-Man: Return of the Sinister SixSpider-Man: Return of the Sinister Six is a video game released for the Nintendo Entertainment System developed by Bits Studios software and published by LJN in 1992. Versions of the game were also released for the Sega Master System and Game Gear by the Flying Edge division of Acclaim...
. - The demonic Macendale version of the Hobgoblin also appears in the game The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The KingpinThe Amazing Spider-Man vs. The KingpinThe Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin is a video game produced by Sega of America and developed by Technopop...
. - The Hobgoblin makes another appearance in Spider-Man: The Video GameSpider-Man: The Video GameSpider-Man: The Video Game is a 1991 arcade video game developed by Sega based on the Marvel Comics comic book character Spider-Man.-Gameplay:...
. - Hobgoblin appears in the PSP and PS2 versions of Spider-Man: Web of ShadowsSpider-Man: Web of ShadowsSpider-Man: Web of Shadows is a video game title encompassing three versions: a full-3D action game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360; a 2.5D sidescrolling beat em up action game for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2 , and a 2.5D side-scrolling brawler/platformer for...
. He appears as an assist character who will throw a pumpkin bomb at any enemies. In the other versions, the first appearance of the glider-bound armored enemies called Tech Flyers has Spider-Man mercilessly mocking them for their lack of originality by saying things like, "You're not the Green Goblin or the Hobgoblin, you're just a cheap knock-off!" - The Secret WarSecret War (comics)Secret War is a five-issue comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. The series is written by Brian Michael Bendis and painted by Gabriele Dell'Otto...
version of the Hobgoblin is an alternate costume for the Green Goblin in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2. - A game exclusive Marvel 2099Marvel 2099Marvel 2099 is a Marvel Comics imprint, started in 1992, that explores one possible future of the Marvel Universe. It was originally announced by Stan Lee in his "Stan's Soapbox" column as a single series entitled The Marvel World of Tomorrow, which was being developed by Lee and John Byrne...
version of Hobgoblin appears in Spider-Man: Shattered DimensionsSpider-Man: Shattered DimensionsSpider-Man: Shattered Dimensions is a video game featuring Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man. Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions blends together four universes from the Marvel Comics multiverse, allowing the player to play as four different Spider-Men...
voiced by Steven BlumSteven BlumSteven Jay Blum is an American voice actor known primarily for his work in anime dubs and video games, using his distinctive deep voice. Among his credits include the voice of Spike Spiegel of the anime series Cowboy Bebop and Mugen of the anime series Samurai Champloo...
. He resembles a recolored version of Green Goblin 2099, but is more insane. In this version, Hobgoblin is a mercenary with "Psy-powers" (provided by a criminal mastermindDoctor OctopusDoctor Octopus is a fictional character, a supervillain that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics since 1963. A highly intelligent mad scientist, Doctor Octopus is one of Spider-Man's greatest foes...
) which when combined with a tablet fragment allowed him to plunge Spider-Man 2099 into a hellish hallucination. He was hired by Alchemax (apparently paid off by having hybrid nanofiber bio-organic circuitry wings bonded to his back) to kill Spider-Man 2099 as he ambushes him using the powers of the fragment. Spider-Man then goes after Hobgoblin which involves the Public Eye attacking Spider-Man during each fight. After the final fight, Hobgoblin's wings lead Spider-Man to the conclusion that Alchemax is his employer. According to his bio his origin is completely unknown, although an in-game rumor states that he's a hybrid clone of previous Goblin-based villains.
Attractions
Hobgoblin can be seen in the Islands of AdventureIslands of Adventure
Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...
ride The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man is a theme park ride located in Islands of Adventure, in Orlando, Florida and Universal Studios Japan. Built for Islands of Adventure's opening in 1999, the attraction is a hybrid ride combining special roving motion vehicles with 3-D projection, elaborate...
as one of the villains. A wanted poster for him may be seen during the waiting period of the ride, which identifies him as Edward Leeds. Outside the ride, in the main Marvel Super Hero Island area, a giant picture of the Hobgoblin on his glider is attached to a building and is one of the main pieces of decoration. He is voiced by Neil Ross
Neil Ross
Theodoric Neilson "Neil" Ross is an English voice actor and announcer, born in London, England and now resident and working in Los Angeles, in the United States. He has provided voices for in many American cartoons, particularly those based on Hasbro products and Marvel Comics, and numerous...
.
Toys
- Hobgoblin first received a toy in the Secret WarsSecret WarsMarvel Super Heroes Secret Wars is a twelve-issue comic book crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter with art by Mike Zeck and Bob Layton...
toy line produced by MattelMattelMattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
. - He later received toys in the animated Spider-Man and Sneak Attack toy-lines of the '90s.
- He received 2 toys in the Spider-Man ClassicsSpider-Man ClassicsSpider-Man Classics is a line produced by Toy Biz focusing on Spider-Man and his allies and enemies. The line has over 15 series, with dozens of Spider-Man incarnations and many of his famous enemies. Series One came out in 2001...
. The first (Series 2), was similar to that of the demonic Jason Macendale version, while the more recent one (Series 17) is similar to that of the original Roderick Kingsley version. - The Jason Macendale version was reused twice. The first time, it was repainted and given a newly sculpted Green GoblinGreen GoblinThe Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
head for the Spider-Man vs. The Sinister SixSinister SixThe Sinister Six are a group of supervillains in the Marvel Comics universe, drawn from Spider-Man's rogues gallery. The original incarnation of the group was organized by Doctor Octopus, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #1 ....
box set in the Marvel LegendsMarvel LegendsMarvel Legends is an action figure line based on the characters of Marvel Comics, initially produced by Toy Biz, then by Hasbro. This line is in the scale, with spin-off lines in the , , and scale.-History:...
toy line. The second time, it was repainted and renamed DemogoblinDemogoblinDemogoblin is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Comics universe. He first appeared as Demogoblin in Web of Spider-Man #86 , and had previously appeared as an unnamed demon in Spectacular Spider-Man #147....
in the Spider-Man: Origins toy line produced by HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
. - A Hobgoblin MinimateMinimatesMinimates are a block-styled miniature action figure originally created by Art Asylum in 2002 and now released by Diamond Select Toys. The basic Minimate figure design has a 2" tall body that resembles an extremely simplified human form with 14 points of articulation, higher than average for block...
was released in late 2007 exclusively at select FYEFyéFyé is a commune in the Sarthe department in the region of Pays-de-la-Loire in north-western France.-References:*...
, SuncoastSuncoastSuncoast may refer to:* The Florida Suncoast , a colloquial name for the west-central and southwest peninsular Florida coastal area between Pasco County to the north, and Naples to the south, and including the Tampa Bay area...
, and Sam GoodySam GoodySam Goody was a music and entertainment retailer in the United States and United Kingdom, and was owned and operated by Trans World Entertainment which also runs FYE, Saturday Matinee, and Suncoast Motion Picture Company. It specialized in music, video, and video game sales...
stores in a 2-pack including a Scarlet SpiderScarlet SpiderScarlet Spider is a fictional character who appeared in the Marvel Comics series Spider-Man. His costume was designed by Tom Lyle. The identity of the Scarlet Spider has been used by several characters: Ben Reilly, Peter Parker , Joe Wade , a group of three Michael Van Patrick clones working with...
figure. - Bowen DesignsBowen DesignsFirst established in 1978 . Bowen Designs is a company dealing in the creation and sale of entertainment-based collectible statues...
released a Hobgoblin bust in 2005 of the Kingsley version. - In 2009, HasbroHasbroHasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
released a 3 3/4 inch Hobgoblin for their Marvel UniverseMarvel Universe (toyline)Marvel Universe is a 3 3/4" action figure line manufactured by Hasbro, featuring characters from the Marvel Comics universe. It first hit stores in early 2009 and features detailed sculpting, multiple points of articulation, and accessories...
toyline. The packaging information signifies that this is indeed the Roderick Kingsley version.
External links
- Hobgoblin I at Marvel.com
- Hobgoblin I at the Marvel Appendix
- SpideyKicksButt.com: "Squandered Legacy: The Rise and Fall of the Hobgoblin"
- Peter David site: "Foolish Consistencies and..."