Ned Leeds
Ned Leeds is a male comic character who features in Marvel Comics.
Contents |
Biography
Origin
Edward Leeds
Betty had previously had a relationship with Daily Bugle photographer Peter Parker but his inability to hold dates and the rough time that she was going through brought the relationship to an end. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #17) Betty then fell into the arms of Leeds. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #18) Later on, Leeds was sent on an assignment in Europe where despite that he remained in contact with Betty. Around this time, Betty had rekindled some of her emotions for Peter during this period. However, when Ned returned he and Betty resumed their relationship with the two dating once again. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #29) Afterwards, the two became engaged with the intention of getting married. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #30)
Afterwards, Ned came to be kidnapped by the maniacal villain known as the Jackal as part of his revenge scheme against Spider-Man. This saw him creating a clone of both Spider-Man and the deceased Gwen Stacy. The Jackal had intended to force Spider-Man to battle his clone to the death with Leeds life hanging in the balance. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #149)
Hobgoblin
Ned had wanted to find the a number of journals left behind by Norman Osborn that detailed his career as the Green Goblin. These came to include diagrams and formulas that he used in that supervillain persona. This was because he wanted them as source material for an eventual publication and expose on the Green Goblin. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #30)
Jason Macendale came to hire the Foreigner to kill Leeds who dispatched several assassins to kill the reporter. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289)
Dead No More
He lived as a homeless man on the streets where he struggled to remember his past. Aunt May took pity on the way he was being treated and she decided to take him to a restaurant where she paid for his meal. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #14) The restaurant was heavily damaged in a fight involving the Rhino who was attempting to escape Taskmaster and Black Ant. Ned was badly wounded from the injuries he sustained when Spider-Man rescued him with him telling the hero to protect Betty before the clone perished. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #15)
Overview
Personality and attributes
For a time, he was said to had adopted the guise of the masked supervillain known as the Hobgoblin. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289)
Betty would say that Ned was a complicated person. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289)
Leeds was said to had been respected amongst media circles. (Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives v1 #1)
Though said to be the Hobgoblin, Leeds was in fact duped into being the masked supervillain. (Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives v1 #1)
He came to note that he had settled his differences with Peter Parker. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289) This led to him being considered one of Parker's oldest friends. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #30)
Ned and Flash Thompson were said to not had gotten along with one another. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289)
Leeds was said to had developed an obsession with Spider-Man. (Web of Spider-Man v1 #30) According to himself, this stemmed from wanting revenge on the Wall-Crawler for how he had hurt Betty Brant. (Amazing Spider-Man v1 #289)
He and Betty came to have a son together who was named Winston Leeds where the child was named after Ned's grandfather. (Amazing Spider-Man v6 #11)
Powers and abilities
It was shown that the Goblin Formula allowed him to survive otherwise fatal gunshot wounds. (Amazing Spider-Man v5 #68)
Notes
- Ned Leeds was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko where he made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man v1 #18 (November, 1964).
- In Back Issue! v1 (2009), artist Ron Frenz commented on the characters revelation as the Hobgoblin, "Owsley let Tom [DeFalco] and I continue with our plans without telling us in advance that he was going to kill Ned. We had no heads up until Spider-Man vs. Wolverine came out that Ned Leeds was killed in that story. I can't speak to why he did it, but I can speak to the way he did it. He kept it a big secret until we felt screwed."
Alternate Versions
- In Ultimate Spider-Man v1 #121 (2008), an alternate version of Ned Leeds appeared in the setting of the Ultimate Marvel reality designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. Ned Leeds was assigned by J.J. Jameson an investigation regarding the disappearance of Nick Fury. When Betty Brant confronted Jameson regarding clues she had obtained for the case, he demanded Brant to leave it for Ned. Betty said that the blame that the story was not developed was on Leeds, as he was a drunk. Jameson ordered Betty to leave the story for Ned or she was going to be fired. Leeds thanked Jameson for taking care of Brant, but he ordered him to continue the investigation or he would be fired. He was later present during Spider-Man's battle against Omega Red. Months later, he tried to present to Jameson the story of another attack of the newly-surfaced Spider-Man Twins, but Jonah rejected it, demanding instead a useful story like the revelation of their identities and reasons.
In other media
Television
- In Spider-Man, Ned Leeds appeared in the setting of the 1990s animated television series where he was voiced by actor Bob Bergen. This version primarily served as a reporter for the Daily Bugle.
- In The Spectacular Spider-Man, Ned Lee appeared in the setting of the animated television series where he was voiced by actor Andrew Kishino. This version was a Korean-American reporter for the Daily Bugle who was convinced that he could uncover Spider-Man's secret identity and that the Green Goblin was connected. When Venom outs Spider-Man's true identity, Ned goes and interviews people that Peter Parker and Spider-Man both know, like Aunt May, Curt and Martha Connors, Norman Osborn, Quentin Beck, Flash Thompson, and Eddie Brock.
Films
Video games
Appearances
- Amazing Spider-Man v1: (1964)
- Web of Spider-Man v1:
- Clone Conspiracy v1:
- Amazing Spider-Man v5: (2019)
External Links
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