It has been a minute since we had the pleasure, nay, privilege of watching three Spiderman grace our screens all at once. Since then there have been Easter eggs and theories for Africa. That got me thinking… Will Ned turn into Hobgoblin? And if so how? He has already learned the faith of the other Peter’s closest friends. You either die a hero or live short enough to have your head go splat. (Ok maybe that’s a little mean)
Marvel does have the knack of flipping the script of good guy / bad guy. In the comics, it’s an ongoing trope. In the movies not so much but it has happened. Wanda is a great example. However, it has not really tackled it the other way around. Ned could be that guy. Sure he has vowed to never go down the dark path. But a lot has changed since then…
As we all know by now, Peter made the call to let the two most important people he knows, remain with their memory of his true identity erased. He does make an honest-to-god attempt to bring back or remind them. However, he sees how much easier their lives are without him and so decides not to. He leaves them with bright futures ahead of them. Both Ned and MJ are headed to MIT.
Theory
So as Ned is at MIT, he starts having nightmares of Spiderman and Green Goblin. At first, he thinks nothing of it, though unbeknownst to him these are just repressed memories. These memories surfacing are due to the events unfolding in Dr. Strange’s Multiverse of Cameos. As time ticks on by, it begins to consume him. Believing he can exorcise his demons if he can make it corporeal, he slowly builds his own suite. Ned being Ned, totally geeks out over it after he is completed. He contemplates just blowing it up in order to give him the catharsis he so desperately needs. Of course, he puts it on and takes it for a joy ride. A few joy rides later and plenty of nightmares, he eventually flips. Now hell-bent on believing that Spiderman is his actual salvation, he seeks out his dear old friend.
His first battle with Peter as Hobgoblin is quick and Spiderman makes short work of him. Though the persona has Peter worried, he seeks out Norman Osborn of the MCU to ensure that he hasn’t become the Gobbie of this reality. But when Hobgoblin strikes the city while Peter and Osborn are in the same room, Peter realizes it isn’t Norman.
That leads to the second battle in which they face and Spidey faces a much more formidable Ned. The stronger and fast Hobgoblin almost takes out our favorite neighborhood hero, but before Spiderman can escape he plants a bug on the glider. Ned circles the city but can’t find Peter, but Peter soon finds him with his tracker. There he learns of who is the man behind the mask. His heart in his throat, he jumps away.
Peter does some soul searching and realizes that the only way to save Ned is to tell him everything. Peter believes that by protecting him he may have had inadvertently caused this. He needs Ned and Ned needs him. Without Peter in his life did not have the support he needed, and his subconscious still remembered and was indeed seeking revenge on him.
Well an intense stand-off and a few unmaskings later, all is good, and old loveable Ned is back and he knows MJ and MJ knows him and they know Peter and well you get the picture. Ned sheds off his Goblin suite and trades up to study with Wong. End
It’s a rather simple plot but covers some interesting topics like mental health and PSTD while tying in some minor loose ends. Again No Way Home has everyone in that zone right now.
