The Amazing Spider-Man is trying to save its reputation, with an all-new era of The Amazing Spider-Man swinging into comic stores. The Amazing Spider-Man #3 is the latest installment, an issue which sees Spider-Man trying to hunt down the origin of the drug that has had him tripping for two whole issues so far and threw Rhino into a rage. Spider-Man has already faced off against Itsy Bitsy, and is able to figure out how the Rhino was dosed with enough hallucinogens to send him on a rampage. It leads Spider-Man to a warehouse on the outskirts of the city, where he meets the current architect of his sorrow: Hobgoblin.
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Hobgoblin has long been a second rate Spider-Man villain, mostly because of the identity shenanigans of the villain. All of this started back in the day with the original reveal of who Hobgoblin was, Ned Leeds or Roderick Kingley. The evidence pointed to Leeds, but Kingsley was revealed as the villain. Since then, Marvel has tried to fix that multiple times, and it’s led to fans souring on Hobgoblin. The current Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley, and he appears at the end of The Amazing Spider-Man #3 looking a bit different than he usually does, armed with a burning sword and wings.
Hobgoblin Has Always Been a Multi-Faceted Threat
So, this actually isn’t the first time that Hobgoblin has appeared with a flaming sword and wings, but it’s also rare for the villain. Hobgoblin was based on the Green Goblin — Roderick Kingsley found a stash of Green Goblin weapons and costumes, as well as the Goblin formula that gave Norman Osborn the strength and speed to battle Spider-Man. For years, Hobgoblin has basically been a Green Goblin-alike — flying around on a Goblin glider, throwing pumpkin bombs and bat-shaped blades, and tackling Spider-Man physically. Ned Leeds’s time as Hobgoblin would see him add a gauntlet mounted electro-blaster to Hobgoblin’s arsenal. This would become a standard part of the Hobgoblin arsenal. Jason Macendale, once known as Jack O’ Lantern, took up the mantle of Hobgoblin and made one of the drastic changes to the villainous identity.
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Macendale didn’t get the Goblin formula like Kingsley did, so eventually he made a deal with a demon. Hobgoblin became a super strong, fire-breathing, demon-powered enemy, one that could go toe to toe with Spider-Man. However, the trade-off wasn’t exactly something Macendale came to relish, and he separated with the demon. This became Demogoblin, who joined Carnage in the story “Maximum Carnage”. Daniel Kingsley also became Hobgoblin, and he was the first Hobgoblin to use wings and a fire sword. The fact that the latest Hobgoblin has shown up combining a more traditional Hobgoblin costume with the wings and fire sword of Daniel Kingsley says that this Hobgoblin could be the most dangerous version of them all, for a variety of reasons. While there are definitely some out there that would put their money on Demogoblin as the most dangerous, the current Hobgoblin seems to have a rather strong advantage over the rest of the them.
Spider-Man Has His Work Cut Out for Him Against the New Hobgoblin
So, it would be easiest to assume that demon-possessed Jason Macendale or at the very least Demogoblin would be the most dangerous Hobgoblins because they were the most powerful. However, they also weren’t very smart; Macendale would lose control of himself while possessed by the demon rather easily, making him easy to beat, and Demogoblin was bloodthirsty but dim. Roderick Kingsley has always been the most intelligent Hobgoblin, and giving him the weapons that his brother used to use — namely the sword and the wings — make him more dangerous than ever. There’s also this new hallucinogen that he’s been using, which is very, very powerful.
However, there is another possibility. While it’s easy to assume this is Roderick Kingsley, it could just as easily be Daniel. Now, Daniel is dead, but Hobgoblins have a history with demons. What if Daniel found a way to come back to life with demonic powers, and somehow taken Roderick’s place, whether it be by possession or killing him? Maybe that’s why this new Hobgoblin looks more like Daniel? It may be a coincidence, or maybe Roderick paying homage to his dead twin, but it’s an intriguing possibility that would throw something new into this story.
What do you think is going on with the new Hobgoblin? Sound off in the comments below.
