The Green Goblin was introduced in “Amazing Spider-Man” #14, then his identity was kept secret for 25 issues until the final panel of “Amazing Spider-Man” #39, when he unmasked himself as Norman Osborn.

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The truth about the Hobgoblin’s identity would not be nearly as straightforward. Accepted Marvel Comics canon says the one-and-true Hobgoblin is Roderick Kingsley, but it was a long, bumpy, 14-year journey to get there — as covered by Glenn Greenberg at “Back Issue!” magazine. In “When Hobby Met Spidey,” Greenberg interviews various ’80s Spider-Man writers/editors to decipher how the Hobgoblin’s origin became such a tangled web.

Let’s set the scene: It’s 1983, and Roger Stern is writing “The Amazing Spider-Man.” He notices that readers writing in to the letters page want the Green Goblin back, which inspires him to create a successor villain: The Hobgoblin, designed by John Romita Jr. To capture the old Lee/Ditko magic, the Hobgoblin’s true identity will also be a mystery. (Tom DeFalco, who was Spider-Man editor when Stern was writing, claimed to “Back Issue!” that the mystery was his idea.)

From almost the beginning, Stern intended the Hobgoblin to be Roderick Kingsley; Stern had introduced Kingsley himself in an earlier story. Per his remarks to “Back Issue!”, Stern plotted “Amazing Spider-Man” #238 without knowing who the Hobgoblin is, but once he started writing the villain’s dialogue, he knew it had to be Kingsley. He set up a red herring in “Amazing Spider-Man” #249, when the Hobgoblin tries to blackmail NYC’s elite and Kingsley is among the victims. To Stern, this was Daniel Kingsley, Roderick’s weak-willed younger brother, who he used as a body double.

Per DeFalco’s recollection, Stern kept the truth so close to his chest that he didn’t even tell him, his editor: “I told Roger, ‘I’m going to keep a list of suspects and I’m going to cross off guys as their times come, and when it comes time to reveal, you’ll tell me who you think it is, and if I agree, that’s who it’ll be. And if I don’t agree — well, I’m the editor!'”

Stern intended the Hobgoblin mystery to go on one issue longer than the Green Goblin’s (meaning it would’ve wrapped in “Amazing Spider-Man” #264 or so). Unfortunately, Stern left “Amazing Spider-Man” due to a clash of personalities with new editor Danny Fingeroth. Stern’s final issue, “Amazing Spider-Man” #251, teases on its cover that the Hobgoblin’s identity will be revealed, but the issue itself doesn’t follow through.

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After Stern left, DeFalco went from editor to writer of “The Amazing Spider-Man.” He finally got the truth about the Hobgoblin from the departing Stern, but the problem was DeFalco wasn’t convinced. In particular, he thought the proposed twin trick with the Kingsley brothers would be cheap storytelling. So, he went back to his suspect list and concluded the Hobgoblin should be someone else: Richard Fisk, son of the Kingpin. As a mafia prince, Fisk Jr. of course would have the underworld connections and ambition to pass as the Hobgoblin.

So, DeFalco intended to reveal Richard Fisk as the Hobgoblin and Roderick Kingsley as Hobby’s partner-in-crime, the Rose. Even Stern agreed this would’ve been a “fine” answer. But it didn’t happen; ultimately, the exact inverse of DeFalco’s resolution played out. Richard Fisk was the Rose, and Kingsley would ultimately be unmasked as the Hobgoblin much later.

In the meantime, though, the Hobgoblin was pinned to Ned Leeds. Marvel movie fans might be thinking, Wait, Spidey’s nerdy best friend Ned (played by Jacob Batalon) from the “Homecoming” trilogy? Well, not exactly. See, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of Ned Leeds is more like an adaptation of Ganke Lee, Miles Morales’ Asian-American best friend. Comic Ned Leeds was an adult Daily Bugle reporter and future husband of Betty Brant. (His name, “Leeds,” even feels like a journalism pun.) Ned was one of the earliest Spider-Man supporting characters, debuting in “Amazing Spider-Man” #18, and mostly friendly with Peter. So, why make him the Hobgoblin?