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The Hobgoblin is a comic book supervillain appearing in the Marvel Comics universe as an enemy of Spider-Man who uses a variant of the persona of the Green Goblin. There have been two major characters to take up this identity.
The Hobgoblin came into being when Roderick Kingsley discovered an abandoned secret lair of the supervillain known as the Green Goblin. Using the Green Goblin's equipment, Kingsley adopted the identity of the Hobgoblin and set out to plague Spider-Man. His activities included using some of Norman Osborn's files on prominent figures to blackmail them, such as J. Jonah Jameson about his creation of the Scorpion. Eventually, he framed Peter Parker's friend and co-worker Ned Leeds as being the man behind the Hobgoblin's mask, and retired; Leeds was killed while wearing the Hobgoblin's costume, and was believed for several years to have actually been the Hobgoblin.
Later, another character took up the guise of the Hobgoblin, Jason Philip Macendale Jr. (a.k.a. Jack O'Lantern). Macendale was a mercenary who had been trained by the CIA and various para-military organizations. This Hobgoblin was very intent upon finding the secret formula of super human strength of the original Green Goblin. Frustrated with his lack of results in reproducing the formula, Macendale would later attempt other avenues to this end.
During a demonic incursion on New York City, the Hobgoblin attempted to make a deal with demons from Limbo in exchange for the abilities of the original Green Goblin. He was tricked and transformed into a literal hobgoblin, with his equipment replaced by mystical equivalents. Macendale went insane as a result of this transformation, and became convinced that he was appointed by God to kill sinners. Shortly, he was separated from the demonic presence, which took a form of its own and called itself the Demogoblin for the remainder of its short life.
After a retirement of several years, Kingsley returned to New York and killed Macendale, having decided that he alone deserved the mantle of the Hobgoblin. Leeds was revealed to have never been the true Hobgoblin, much to his widow Betty Brant's relief. Kingsley was defeated by Spider-Man, and apparently returned to his retirement.
Other Media
The only dramatic appearance of the character is in the 1990s animated Spider-Man series. In that series, the Hobgoblin, played by Mark Hamill appears first with his equipment supplied by Norman Osborn. Osborn became the Green Goblin later in the series leading to some confusion between the two criminals.
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