Fictional Character Biography
See also: HobgoblinEdward "Ned" Leeds appeared early in Peter Parker's life as a reporter for the Daily Bugle. Frequently, he and Peter would struggle for the affections of Bugle Secretary Betty Brant, and eventually Ned won and married her. However the couple's marriage was often strained.
When Spider-Man battled the Hobgoblin, Ned followed him to the villain's hideout. When Kingsley realized Ned was present, he captured and brainwashed the unlucky reporter, deciding it would be better to have a scapegoat in case he became unmasked.
Ned Leeds approached Richard Fisk, son of the Kingpin, to find out about his father. Discovering that Richard hated his father, Leeds helped him create a secret identity as the crime boss the Rose. Kingsley, wanting to become the new crime leader, wanted Ned to knock the older Fisk off his throne so he could have it.
Ned's regular brain washings by Kingsley caused his marriage and his professional relationships to fall apart. Increasingly mentally unstable, Ned caused Betty to find solace in Flash Thompson, a former rival to Peter Parker.
Eventually Flash made statements about the Hobgoblin, and Kingsley staged events so Flash was revealed as the enigmatic villain. Meanwhile, Ned and Richard Fisk reached a disagreement and Ned decided to turn in Richard Fisk's identity as the Rose to his father,The Kingpin, and Kingsley decided in turn that Ned was no longer needed as the Hobgoblin. After Flash was cleared of being the Hobgoblin, Kingsley let the New York underworld empire know that Ned was actually the Hobgoblin and that he would soon be traveling to Berlin.
Ned and Peter Parker were on an assignment in Berlin, when Leeds was murdered by the Foreigner at the request of Jason Macendale who could now become a new incarnation of the orange hooded villain. Ned died still separated from his former wife. Soon after that, the Kingpin revealed to Spider-Man that Ned was the Hobgoblin by presenting substantial photo evidence of Ned in the Hobgoblin costume, which he had obtained via the Foreigner. Leeds was strangled to death in Berlin by the Foreigner's men, assigned by Macendale, who was following the orders of Richard Fisk aka the Rose. He also informs him that Macendale is the new Hobgoblin.
In time after the murder of Jason Macendale by the original Hobgoblin. Peter Parker was able to deduce there was no logical way Ned could be Hobgoblin. Having fought Hobgoblin several times, Spider-Man could testify to Hobgoblin's augmented strength; Foreigner at that time was not using superhuman operatives, and the true Hobgoblin would have killed Foreigner's men. Eventually following the clues, and with the help of Ned's widow Betty Brant, Spider-Man was able to discover that Kingsley was the true Hobgoblin and eventually defeat Kinglsley, thus clearing Ned's name.
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