page_title: Hobgoblin (comics)
section_title: Publication history
hierarchical_section_title: Hobgoblin (comics) / Publication history
caption_attribution_description: English: Comics artist John Romita Jr. at a June 20, 2019 book signing for Superman: Year One #1 (August 2019) at Midtown Comics Downtown in Lower Manhattan. In the photo, Romita is signing a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983), which features Romita’s depiction of the first appearance of the original Hobgoblin. In the background at right is a poster for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, to which $2.00 of each signed copy of Superman: Year One was donated, as part of the store’s arrangement with Romita. This photo was created by Luigi Novi. It is not in the public domain, and use of this file outside of the licensing terms is a copyright violation. If you would like to use this image outside of the Wikimedia projects, you may do so, only if I am properly credited, either by linking the photograph to this page, or with an easily visible credit placed near the photo in each instance in which it is used. You can see a gallery of some of my other photos here. If you have any questions, you can contact me by sending me an email or leaving a note at the bottom of my Wikipedia talk page.
context_page_description: The Hobgoblin is the alias of several fictional supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly depicted as enemies of Spider-Man. He is inspired by his predecessor, the Green Goblin, and utilizes similar equipment. The Hobgoblin identity was first used by Roderick Kingsley in The Amazing Spider-Man #238 and was created by Roger Stern and John Romita Jr. It then was carried exclusively by Jason Macendale during the late 1980s and most of the 1990s. Other characters have assumed the Hobgoblin alias in comics over the years, most recently Phil Urich.
  The character has made been substantially adapted from the comics into various forms of media, including animated series and video games. In 2009, the Hobgoblin was ranked by IGN's as the 57th Greatest Comic Book Villain of All Time.
context_section_description: The Hobgoblin was created by writer Roger Stern and artist John Romita Jr. for The Amazing Spider-Man #238 (March 1983). Like other writers, Stern found himself under pressure to have Spider-Man fight the Green Goblin again, but did not wish to bring Norman Osborn or Bart Hamilton back from the dead, have Harry Osborn be the Green Goblin again, or create yet another Green Goblin. Stern instead created a new concept as heir to the Goblin legacy and developed the Hobgoblin. Stern recounts that he directed Romita to base the costume on the Green Goblin's but to make it "a little more medieval-looking", while Romita asserts that he was given no direction beyond using the Green Goblin as a basis. Both agree, however, that the costume was chiefly Romita's design.
  The Hobgoblin'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]." A handful of readers deduced that Kingsley was the Hobgoblin almost immediately. In order to throw 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 his brother Daniel Kingsley sometimes impersonate him, sealing the deception by having the Hobgoblin conspicuously appear in the same room as Kingsley in Amazing Spider-Man #249.
  Stern's original plan was to have the Hobgoblin's mystery 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. However, Stern left after The Amazing Spider-Man #251, and editor Tom DeFalco took his place. Wanting to resolve the mystery in a manner that would do justice to Stern's stories, DeFalco asked Stern who the Hobgoblin was, but objected when Stern said it was Kingsley. DeFalco argued that the "twin brother" scheme was cheating the readers since there had been no hint that Roderick even had a brother (aside from a single thought bubble), much less one who could serve as a body double. Stern disagreed but said that DeFalco should feel free to choose whoever DeFalco wanted for the Hobgoblin's secret identity, reasoning that "I knew that whomever Tom chose, he would make it work." Upon reviewing the clues, DeFalco decided that the Hobgoblin was Richard Fisk. Moreover, he decided that the Hobgoblin's mystery should be prolonged as long as possible, since it was the chief element that made the Hobgoblin interesting. Through both Stern and DeFalco's runs, mystery answer 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.
  The mystery was 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. When Owsley asked who the Hobgoblin was at a creators conference, DeFalco lied and said the man in question was Ned Leeds. Owsley then wrote the one-shot Spider-Man vs Wolverine in which Leeds is killed off (though the actual death is not shown), and instructed The Spectacular Spider-Man writer Peter David to reveal the Hobgoblin's identity 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. Thus, the Hobgoblin's identity was revealed posthumously in The Amazing Spider-Man #289 (a double-sized issue). With Spider-Man's archenemy n
caption: Artist John Romita Jr. signing a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man #238, in which the Hobgoblin first appeared, at Midtown Comics in Manhattan
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