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What was up with Ned's character arc? (spoilers)

posted 3 years ago by LanceDance (1397)
4 replies | jump to latest

I'm aware that he was the Hobgoblin in the comics, though I never expected him to become the goblin in the movies because, well, the obvious reason that he's a fat comic relief character (though to the actor's credit he lost a lot of weight, but he was still chubby). And then the line about Tobey and Andrew's best friend Harry becoming the Green Goblin seemed to me like some kind of foreshadowing. But not only did they give Ned some kind of magic background with his family instead, they then ended up erasing all his memories of Peter anyway, so no magic and no Hobgoblin despite the foreshadowing.

I tried looking up online to see if this version of Ned was also based on some other character, like a student of Strange or something, but I couldn't find anything. In the end, the writers just took complete creative freedom and came up with a way for him to stay relevant to the plot without anything coming from it. I just thought that was kind weird.

[–] FilmBuff (7437) 3 years ago

If anything, he's modeled after Ganke, Miles Morales' best friend.

I wonder if forgetting Peter Parker exists also makes him forget that he knew Dr Strange, or managed to use that ring. Seems to me that he would remember the entire adventure, just forgetting that he knew Spider-Man's true identity, so he'd also remember the Hobgoblin.

[–] LanceDance (1397) 3 years ago

Oh yeah, Ganke. It’s possible Strange modified the spell a little more to make Ned and MJ forget they were ever involved with Spider-Man’s adventures, making them complete strangers.

I honestly expected Ned and MJ to kiss at the end, like somehow forgetting about Pete caused them to date each other instead.

[–] ExTechOp (2770) 3 years ago

I honestly expected Ned and MJ to kiss at the end, like somehow forgetting about Pete caused them to date each other instead.

So did I, but the Band-Aid reveal was more poignant.

It's one thing to leave because Ned and MJ are a couple. It's another when Peter realizes they're safer without him, regardless of who they're dating.

Just occurred to me: if she's got the Band-Aid, then it's possible that she participated in everything we saw in the movie and remembers it all, EXCEPT for any relationship she'd had with Peter as Peter.

That'd mean she and Ned just recall helping Spider-Man throughout the film. Which would also mean that Ned really does have magical talent and knows it (or at least knows how a sling ring works).

[–] HorrorMetal (874) 3 years ago

I thought it would have been funny if Green Goblin observed when Ned had Strange’s cape and ring and used the sorcery powers. And then he could have mockingly said “you’ve got potential my boy, maybe you could join me as a right hand man. Like some sort of… hobgoblin or something”. Or maybe that he reminds him of his son, who was also Peter’s best friend. Haha that might have been overkill though, this movie still delivered the goods and then some.

The real Hobgoblin in the comics actually turned out to be Roderick Kingsley. Roger Stern, the creator of the character always wanted it to be him but he left as a writer before his successors that took over made it Ned Leeds instead. I never cared for this, as Ned had already died in that Spiderman/Wolverine one-shot crossover and thus, it was anti climactic.

How did his killers so easily overpower someone with enhanced strength anyway? They broke his arm and took him down with little effort. I’m so glad that Roger Stern came back with the three issue limited series “Hobgoblin Lives” and revealed that Kingsley was pulling the strings all along and that Leeds was another brainwashed pawn just like Flash Thompson, who he framed at one point. So technically, that wasn’t a retcon, as Stern always wanted it to be that way.

But anyway, that still would have been a clever reference. Sorry about all the rambling, I’m just still very excited after seeing this awesome movie.