Warning: spoilers ahead for King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #2!
The latest tie-in to Marvel Comics' King in Black sees the return of classic Marvel hero Hobie Brown, aka the Prowler, now returning to active duty as the Hornet, combining the best of superhero allies Spider-Man and Iron Man. An identity originally used by Spider-Man before being co-opted by other heroes and even villains, this iteration of the Hornet utilizes both Spider-Man and Iron Man's technology in order to make a stand against the wrath of symbiote god Knull.
Writer Marc Bernardin and artist Kyle Hotz's King in Black: Planet of the Symbiotes #2 marks Hobie's super-heroic debut as the Hornet. However, Hobie is far from the first superhero to add his name to the impressive list of characters who have taken on the mantle of the Hornet. Before Hobie, the Hornet functioned as a cover identity for Peter Parker to continue his crime-fighting duties despite a price on Spider-Man's head. Needing a new costume to match his new identity, Peter's 'Identity Crisis' story saw him done several new suits, but none more technologically impressive than the Hornet, crafted by his wife Mary Jane Watson with trademark wing harnesses designed in part by Hobie himself. At the time, Hobie declined donning the suit, voicing concerns about the physical strain that the armor harness would have on an average human. But Hobie has clearly been tinkering with the suit, and is finally ready to make its legacy his own.
Though Hobie has renounced his darker vigilante activities as the Prowler, Knull's invasion puts the former hero right back into the action. Not skipping a beat, Hobie quickly suits up in a converted version of his Prowler costume against the creatures. Having prior knowledge of symbiotes courtesy of close friend Peter Parker, the new Hornet is able to fend off his attackers with several high frequency Stark Phones. Having hacked into Iron Man's state of the art devices since childhood, the combined might of the Stark Phones and Hobie's skilled programming abilities allow him to return the alien hosts to their human forms before retreating to his lab and suiting up in the full Hornet rig.
This is stepping stone for Brown's status as a major character in the Marvel Universe. Since Hobie's introduction in 1969's The Amazing Spider-Man #78, the character has been most associated with the identity of the Prowler. Hobie antagonized Spider-Man before the two quickly set aside their differences to become close allies. Though Hobie Brown's Prowler has not appeared on film, the Ultimate universe variation of the Prowler, Aaron Davis, has made his way to several on-screen adaptations played by both Donald Glover (Spider-Man: Homecoming) and Mahershala Ali (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). With the character's cinematic exposure, fans have become accustomed to thinking of Aaron Davis as the Prowler, opening the door for Hobie Brown to evolve.
While a longtime Spider-Man supporting character, the Prowler was a more conflicted hero than the Wall-Crawler - someone who came close to crossing the line between hero and antihero. The reemergence of the Hornet identity allows Hobie to embrace his role as a true hero, which has been in the making for years. After taking down the corrupt leadership of Fairgray Pay in 2019's Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #10, Spider-Man encouraged him to abandon the identity and - with Iron Man's support and funding - begin managing the company, which was always meant to benefit the community. With the tech skills and business responsibilities of Tony Stark and the former persona and street-level focus of Spider-Man, Hobie is at a point of reinvention, giving him a whole new status quo that focuses on his tech skills and potential to be a hero in every aspect of his life.
While readers have yet to see Hobie in action in the full Hornet rig, even the base suit was enough to repel and defeat several deadly symbiotes thanks to Hobie's genius. In merging Spider-Man's personal approach to crime-fighting with Iron Man's genius and ambition, the new Hornet is an exciting hero who fans will be looking out for in the future, and yet another factor in the ongoing pushback that will hopefully save Earth from the King in Black.