Comic Book Character of the Week : Hobgoblin
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The character's identity was not initially revealed, generating one of the longest running mysteries in the Spider-Man comics. According to Stern, "I plotted that first story with no strong idea of who the Hobgoblin was. As I was scripting those gorgeous pages from JR [John Romita, Jr.], particularly the last third of the book, and developing the Hobgoblin’s speech pattern, I realized who he was. It was Roderick Kingsley, that sunuvabitch corporate leader I had introduced in my first issue of [The] Spectacular [Spider-Man]."[4] A handful of readers deduced that Kingsley was the Hobgoblin almost immediately. In order to throw them off the scent, and in the same stroke provide a retroactive explanation for his inconsistent characterization of Kingsley in his early appearances, Stern came up with the idea of Kingsley having a brother named Daniel who sometimes impersonates him, sealing the deception by having the Hobgoblin conspicuously appear in the same room as Daniel Kingsley in Amazing Spider-Man #249.[4]
Stern's original plan was to have the mystery of the Hobgoblin's identity run exactly one issue longer than that of the Green Goblin's identity, meaning the truth would be revealed in The Amazing Spider-Man #264.[4] However, Stern left the series after The Amazing Spider-Man #252. Editor Tom DeFalco took his place. Wanting to resolve the mystery in a manner that would do justice to Stern's stories, he asked Stern who the Hobgoblin was, but objected when Stern told him it was Kingsley. DeFalco argued that the "twin brother" scheme was cheating the readers since, aside from a single thought bubble, there had been no hint that Roderick even had a brother, much less one who could serve as a double for him. Stern disagreed but said that DeFalco should feel free to choose whoever he wanted for the Hobgoblin's secret identity, reasoning that "I knew that whomever Tom chose, he would make it work."[4] Upon reviewing the clues, DeFalco decided that the Hobgoblin was Richard Fisk. Moreover, he decided that the mystery of his identity should be prolonged as long as possible, since it was the chief element that made the Hobgoblin interesting.[4] Through both Stern and DeFalco's runs, the answer to the mystery was continuously teased on the cover art, with the covers of Amazing Spider-Man #245, 251, and 276 all showing Spider-Man unmasking the Hobgoblin.[5]
The mystery became further complicated after James Owsley came on as editor of the Spider-Man titles. Owsley's relationship with DeFalco and artist Ron Frenz was strained from the beginning, and so when Owsley asked who the Hobgoblin was at a Spider-Man creators conference, DeFalco lied and said it was Ned Leeds. Owsley then wrote the one-shot Spider-Man vs Wolverine in which Ned Leeds is killed off (though the actual death is not shown), and instructed The Spectacular Spider-Man writer Peter David to reveal the Hobgoblin as the Foreigner. David objected and argued that the only person who fit the clues was Leeds (having been present at the Spider-Man creator's conference, David also thought that Leeds was who DeFalco intended it to be). Because Spider-Man vs. Wolverine had already been drawn, however, it was too late to undo Leeds's death.[4] Thus, the Hobgoblin's identity was revealed posthumously in The Amazing Spider-Man #289, a double-sized issue. With Spider-Man's then-archenemy now dead, a new Hobgoblin was created from the storyline of Jason Macendale's hatred of the Hobgoblin.[5] Though the posthumous unmasking of the Hobgoblin as Leeds was unpopular with fans, in a 2009 interview David said that he is still proud of the story, arguing that the Hobgoblin being unmasked in a climactic battle with Spider-Man was the sort of tale readers had already seen countless times before, whereas having an archvillain unmasked in a flashback after having been brutally killed by nameless assassins was unprecedented and shocking.[4]
Macendale supplanted the original Hobgoblin for a decade (1987-1997). Initially he wielded only the weaponry of his predecessor, but during the 1988-89 Inferno crossover writer Gerry Conway had him imbued with demonic powers by N'astirh. In addition to giving him power over hellfire and increasing his strength and speed to far greater than that of the original Hobgoblin, these powers also disfigure Macendale so that his head is even more grotesque than his Hobgoblin mask, and ultimately alters his mind so that he is deluded into thinking that his appearance is normal. Several years later, in the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, Macendale succeeds in purging himself of his demonic powers. Towards the end of Macendale's run as the Hobgoblin he was revamped again, this time with cybernetic implants.
Stern was unhappy with the revelation that his character's civilian identity was Ned Leeds, and in 1997 he wrote a three-issue miniseries, Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives, with the retcon that Roderick Kingsley was the original Hobgoblin, and had brainwashed Leeds into serving as a fall guy. Macendale is killed off in this miniseries, and Kingsley is returned to operating as the Hobgoblin. According to Stern, initially he had not known how to resolve the situation of having two Hobgoblins, and it was at the suggestion of the editorial staff that he had Kingsley kill Macendale and take his place.[4] - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobgoblin_%28comics%29
