Green Goblin May Be Hiding A Spider-Man: No Way Home Twist

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home teased the return of the Green Goblin, but this could come with a twist and instead of the Green Goblin, this could be the introduction of the Hobgoblin. The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first three phases, collectively known as the Infinity Saga, have come to an end, but this universe continues its expansion with new characters, stories, and events. The focus of the Infinity Saga was Thanos’ quest for the Infinity Stones to wipe out half of life in the universe, but Phase 4 of the MCU is focusing on new, more complex concepts, as is the multiverse, which will unleash a variety of problems for the current heroes of the MCU.

The multiverse was already addressed in different capacities in WandaVision and Loki, and it will be further explored in Spider-Man: No Way Home. After Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) framed Spider-Man for his death and revealed his real identity to the whole world, Spider-Man: No Way Home will see Peter Parker (Tom Holland) dealing with the consequences of having his biggest secret exposed. In an attempt to protect those closest to him, Peter will ask Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for help to make everyone forget he’s Spider-Man, and even though Strange will agree, the spell won’t go as planned. Peter and Strange will further mess with space and time and make way for the arrival of different villains from different parts of the multiverse, such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina) and Electro (Jamie Foxx).

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home confirmed the main focus of the story will be the multiverse and the consequences of messing with it, as well as the appearance of Doc Ock and Electro, though only the former made a proper appearance. The trailer also hints at the arrival of other villains from previous Spider-Man movies, most notably the Green Goblin, with the appearance of his signature weapons, the pumpkin bombs, and his unmistakable laugh in the background. Fans are hoping this will be the return of Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, but this could actually be one of Marvel’s tricks to mislead the audience, and instead of the Green Goblin, viewers will meet the Hobgoblin, an identity taken by Ned Leeds in the comics.

The Hobgoblin is a supervillain who is often depicted as an enemy of Spider-Man. The first Hobgoblin, Roderick Kingsley, altered Norman Osborn’s Goblin formula and made some adjustments to the costume and equipment of the Green Goblin to turn them into those of his own criminal persona. Roderick brainwashed Ned Leeds after the latter followed him to a hideout and used him as a scapegoat in case he was unmasked, and he used Ned as a stand-in on many occasions. Among the equipment used by the Hobgoblin are the pumpkin bombs, just like the Green Goblin, and with Ned (Jacob Batalon) already part of the MCU (though as Peter’s best friend), the pumpkin bombs seen in the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer could be those of the Hobgoblin instead of the Green Goblin.

Ned’s transformation into the Hobgoblin is one of those moments MCU fans are waiting to see, and it has already been teased in some of the marketing for No Way Home, so the Green Goblin’s moment in the trailer might come with the big twist of Ned becoming the Hobgoblin. As to why Ned would end up as a villain, Spider-Man: No Way Home could either follow the example of the source material and have one of the villains brainwashing him or this could be a multiverse version of the Hobgoblin, which would explain the appearance of the bombs in what appears to be the same scene/battle as the one where Doc Ock appears. The Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer answered many questions about this upcoming adventure but also left many more, mostly about the villains that Peter will have to face.

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