Ned Leeds is a comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, part of the supporting cast of Spider-Man. He was a reporter at the Daily Bugle, where Peter Parker also works.

Biography

Edward "Ned" Leeds was a reporter for the Daily Bugle. He and Peter Parker compete for the affections of Bugle secretary Betty Brant, but Parker drops out of the running when he realizes that Brant won't be able to accept his double identity as Spider-Man. Leeds and Brant are married shortly after. However, the couple's marriage is often strained.

When Spider-Man battles the Hobgoblin, Ned follows him to the villain's hideout. When the Hobgoblin realizes Ned is present, he captures and brainwashes him, deciding it would be better to have a scapegoat in case he is unmasked.

Ned Leeds, wanting to find out about the Kingpin, approaches his son Richard Fisk. Discovering that Richard hates his father, Leeds helps him create a secret identity as the crime boss the Rose. Kingsley, wanting to become the new crime leader, wants Ned to remove the Kingpin from the scene.

Ned's regular brainwashings by Kingsley cause his marriage and professional relationships to fall apart. Increasingly mentally unstable, Ned drives Betty to seek solace in Flash Thompson. Flash makes statements about the Hobgoblin, and Kingsley stages events so Flash is revealed as the enigmatic villain. Meanwhile, Ned and Richard Fisk reach a disagreement and Ned decides to turn in Richard Fisk's identity as the Rose to The Kingpin, and Kingsley decides in turn that Ned is no longer needed as the Hobgoblin. After Flash is cleared of being the Hobgoblin, Kingsley lets the New York underworld empire know that Ned is actually the Hobgoblin and that he would soon be traveling to Berlin.

Ned and Peter Parker go on an assignment in Berlin, and Leeds is murdered by the Foreigner at the request of Jason Macendale, who replaces him as the Hobgoblin. The Kingpin presents to Spider-Man photos of Ned in the Hobgoblin costume, which he had obtained via the Foreigner.

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