As a Spider-Man fan, I’ve always loved the green goblin as a villain, not just because he took the life of Gwen Stacy but because his interactions with the wall-crawler were always unique. His brand of insanity while also knowing Peter Parker’s identity made him one of Spider-Man’s biggest threats.
When first introduced, the Green Goblin’s identity was never revealed. It took quite some time before we found out that the man behind the mask was Norman Osborne. This hidden identity would become something of a trend in the storytelling of the Green Goblins. They had redone this plotline to an extent having the audience believing that Norman’s Son Harry had become the Green Goblin again only to reveal that his therapist was actually behind the mask.
Jump forward some years and the Green Goblin had been absent from the pages of Spider-Man so rather than bring back the Green Goblin they decided to update his gimmick and create a new villain called the Hobgoblin who is less mad, does not laugh as often and is much more methodical in his plans. Re-using the secret identity of the villain trope, a great story is told. The identity of the hobgoblin is always questionable especially with the re-emergence of older characters such as Harry Osborne. However, as a long-term fan, it’s difficult nowadays not to know who the Hobgoblin is under the mask but this is still a great read.
The story starts off with an everyday run-in for Spider-Man but when a criminal escapes into the sewers and Spider-Man does not pursue him, this little misstep leads to a whole bundle of trouble as the man stumbles across one of Norman Osborne’s Green Goblin Hideouts. Through the use of the re-designed Green Goblin technology and Osborne’s Journal, the Hobgoblin starts his reign of terror. This story has it all, blackmail, deception and a rare close quarters fight for Spider-Man within an armored truck. This is certainly worth a read.
Buy Spider-Man: Origin of the Hobgoblin
Recommendations
Spider-Man: Death of the Stacy’s
All trade paperbacks are linked to Amazon. If you purchase through these links I will receive a small percentage of the purchase. This does not affect the price. I also recommend you look around at alternatives as prices may vary from site to site.
Ye Olde Brutha 
Reblogged this on Barry Reese and commented:
The original Hobgoblin is my all-time favorite Spidey villain.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As you may know, the Hobgoblin unmasking was a mess. Roger Stern created him with a secret identity in mind, then he left the book. Tom DeFalco picked someone else, then he left the book. Peter David made him Ned Leeds, which made no sense. Then IIRC Stern came back and sorted it all out.
LikeLiked by 1 person