In the record breaking movie Spider-Man Brand New Day, Peter Parker’s best friend Ned Leeds has no idea who Peter Parker is. He knows he’s been saved by Spider-Man though and develops an app that tracks Spider-Man. While his intent in this movie is pure, comic’s fans know this isn’t the first time Ned Leeds has used technology to hunt down Spider-man as, on the printed page, Leeds becomes the Hobgoblin. While the MCU has been content to keep Ned as Peter’s best friend and “Guy in the Chair”, fans have speculated for years on when we’d get to see Jacob Batalon’s version of Ned transform into the Goblin Glider riding ghoul. What could possibly make our beloved Lola’s grandson becomes something much more nefarious? The Brand New Day star has thoughts on what could force him into that maniacally evil direction.
In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Batalon jumped into the discussion on Ned’s potential turn to evil. At first, he acknowledged the film series has not really laid any groundwork for the change, but acknowledged what such a turn would require.
“I would say there’s really like nothing throughout the first three and this movie really signifies that kind of turn,” he said. “I would say it would have to be gradual for sure. There’d have to be real life-changing events for him to really want to change who he is because he’s really just a nice and loving, caring person. It’d be really hard for him to to really just turn on a heel like that, but it’d be an interesting story line to pursue and to watch him sort of turn into that. But it would it would take a lot. I would say a lot of brainwashing by a third party perhaps. That’s what a lot of people ignore in the comics. Like it’s a brainwashing component. It’s not like he just turns on Peter Parker all sudden, right? And they weren’t really friends in the comics, right? They’re like kind of rivals at the Daily Bugle, all that stuff.”
For the three films leading up to Brand New Day, Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds wasn’t just Spider-Man’s guy in the chair, he was Peter’s connection to a real life. After the events of No Way Home, we know Jacob has encountered Goblin tech and had his mind messed with significantly to forget his best friend, but is that enough to start such an optimistic character down a darker path? In No Way Home, Ned Leeds discovered he has latent magic abilities and had his memory of a dear friend erased by Doctor Strange. Then again, he has his mind affected like the rest of New York residents by the threat of Brand New Day‘s villain. People messing with Ned’s head is becoming a standard practice in the MCU. Is it that much of a stretch to think someone could brainwash the inventor of the Spider-Tracker to hunt down Spider-man?
Batalon is definitely aware of what his character has been through, but he’s not wrong that the happy-go-lucky Ned he’s portrayed is not what you’d expect for a demonic looking yellow Goblin that likes to throw pumpkin bombs. But isn’t that what would make a turn like this so great? In the Tobey Maguire era of Spider-man, Harry Osbourne’s transition to the New Goblin always felt forced, because his relationship with Peter never felt stable. In Amazing Spider-Man 2 the change is even more inexplicable. In this instance though, with Ned, the transformation from Peter’s long-time best friend to a mind-controlled villain using tech from the baddie that killed his aunt is almost too great of an opportunity to gloss over.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day has only just recently been released and fans are already salivating for any info they can get for the next chapters of Spider-man’s latest saga. The truth is though, that while Ned had some memorable scenes, there aren’t many more places for him to go as just Peter Parker’s friend. The character is growing and maturing, but he’s also showing signs of having weaknesses, beyond just an addiction to a weird energy drink. Without knowing who Spider-man is, Ned became obsessed with him anyway. Essentially, Ned can’t stay perfect and Jacob Batalon has the right ideas on why his character could go over the edge… now we get to guess for years as to who might do the pushing.
