Hobgoblin (comics)

Hobgoblin
The original Hobgoblin design as depicted in The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983). Art by John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr..
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983)[1][2][3]
Created by	Roger Stern John Romita Jr.
In-story information
Alter ego	Ned Leeds Roderick Kingsley Lefty Donovan Jason Macendale Robin Borne Harry Osborn Daniel Kingsley Phil Urich Claude
Abilities	Criminal mastermind Superhuman strength, intelligence, speed, durability, and healing Uses Halloween-themed paraphernalia, high-tech gadgetry and a Goblin Glider equipped with various weapons Chaos magic (Ned Leeds)

The Hobgoblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most of whom are depicted as enemies of the superhero Spider-Man and belong to the collective of adversaries that make up his rogues gallery, most of whom are brainwashed by the Winkler Device into becoming Hobgoblins. Created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr., the first incarnation of the Hobgoblin was introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983) as a criminal mastermind equipped with Halloween-themed weapons similar to those used by the Green Goblin.

The true identity of the Hobgoblin was one of the longest-running mysteries in the Spider-Man comics. In 1987, the Hobgoblin was revealed to be Ned Leeds, Peter Parker's journalist co-worker at the Daily Bugle, while in 1997, ten years later, his identity was retroactively established to be Roderick Kingsley, a fashion designer and Mary Jane Watson's former boss, with Ned reframed as a fall guy, and later in the 2020s as the second Hogoblin and secret sorcerer apprentice of Baron Mordo. Other characters that have assumed the Hobgoblin mantle over the years include criminals Lefty Donovan and Jason Macendale, Roderick's twin brother Daniel Kingsley, Spider-Man 2211's daughter Robin Borne, Ben Urich's nephew Phil Urich, and Kingsley's butler Claude. Leeds, Donovan and Claude were first brainwashed to serve as Hobgoblins as part of a scheme orchestrated by the Kingsley brothers, with Kingsley, Macendale, Borne and Urich being the only versions to operate independently of the others (although occasionally partnering with them), with Leeds and Kingsley later also being brainwashed by Queen Goblin to serve as her enforcers. In the alternate continuities of The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip and Ultimate Marvel, Harry Osborn has also adopted the Hobgoblin persona.

The Hobgoblin has been adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including television series and video games. An amalgamated version of the character named Jason Philips appeared in the 1994–1998 Spider-Man: The Animated Series, voiced by Mark Hamill, while the Harry Osborn incarnation is featured in Spider-Man (2017–2018), voiced by Max Mittelman.